Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

An exemplary point-to-multipoint network including an upstream headend facility and a plurality of downstream network terminals ('NTs') employs a contention-based multi-slot MAC permit protocol for upstream request transmission, wherein each NT compiles a congestion rank for each upstream slot position based on feedback information supplied by the headend. At such time as an NT wishes to attempt an upstream response to an multi-slot permit, it excludes the slot position having the highest rank for purposes of selecting an upstream response slot, and chooses among the others at random. If there are two or more slots having an equally high rank, the NT still excludes only one of the slots, based on a predetermined order of priority calculated at random from the NT's unique physical ID. If an NT is not successful with its initial response in the selected slot position, it will randomly select a waiting period of zero, one or two multi-slot permit cycles before attempting another upstream transmission. If, before attempting a re-transmission, the NT observes an intervening collision between two or more other NTs in the same upstream response slot, it will increase its waiting period by yet another two permit cycles.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim