Development of design guidelines for local area CSMA/CD networks

Abstract

A local area communications network is complex with many interdependent variables which influence system perfor mance. The purpose of this research was to develop simplified design guidelines that can be used by local area communications network designers. These guidelines apply to situations where designers are consider ing the CSMA/CD contention access protocol. A simulation model applied to this type environment can aid in design by helping to define the range of efficient system operation during the preliminary network configuration design and evalua tion. The research includes the development of a GPSS simulation model that is used to analyze the effects of network design variables. These variables are considered in an experimental design that inputs simula tion results to a multiple regression analysis. The resulting regression equation offers network designers a simplified tool useful in estimating message transmission delay. This will provide an easy method for network perfonnance evaluatiort during the initial network design phase when sophisti cated simulation or analytical modeling techniques are not applicable or not appro priate to the design environment.