Tree-Net, A Multi-Level Fiber Optics MAN

High bandwidth requirements make the use of fiber optics very attractive for Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) implementations. Several fiber optics MAN architectures have been proposed. A common drawback of such architectures is the presence of active processing components (e.g. ring interfaces, switches, gateways) at intermediate points along the path. Such elements tend to reduce reliability and throughput capacity. This paper presents a novel fiber optics architecture, Tree-Net, which does not require intermediate processing components. Tree-Net is based on a tree topology, passive station taps, and implicit token protocol. The properties and performance of Tree-Net are evaluated, and possible extensions of the basic scheme are discussed.