On the Performance of Shared-Channel Multihop Lightwave Networks

In this paper we study the effect of channel sharing on the performance of multihop lightwave networks when channel sharing is achieved b y using a time-division multiple-access (TDMA) technique. We present a result which gives an upper bound for the throughput that can be achieved with any virtual topology that can be established with N stations assuming that the t raf ic distribution i s uniform and that all virtual links have the same capacity. Using this result we determine the optimal degree of channel sharing that maximizes throughput. We also determine the optimal degree of channel sharing when the criterion is to maximize the network power, which is defined as a ratio of throughput and delay.