Distributed protocols for access arbitration in tree-structured communication channels

We consider the problem of arbitrating access to a tree stn~ctured communication channel with large geographic extent, providing multipoint communication among a set of terminals. In our model. terminals transmit information in bursts consisting of many packets and compete for the right to transmit bursts. In the simplest case, the channel allows only one terminal to transmit at a time; this can be extended to k concurrent” transmitters. The problem resembles contention resolution in local area networks. It is distinguished by the topology of the channel, the magnitude of the delays involved and the potential for multiple transmitters. In this paper we identify two general approaches and several specific access arbitration algorithms and make a preliminary assessment of their promise.