Communication Ring Initialization Without Central Control

Abstract

This short memorandum describes a novel combination of three well-known techniques; the combination provides a systematic way of initializing a local-area ring network without previous, static designation of a distinguished station. The result is a distributed algorithm that dynamically designates a distinguished station from among a group of stations whose ability to communicate is hampered by the fact that the ring is not yet initialized. An appendix describes how this approach could be implemented as part of the 10 Megabit/second (version 2) ring network currently being installed at the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science.