The comparative performance of a number of reservation-based bandwidth sharing policies that could be used to maximize the link utilization and/or offer equally fair or preferential treatment to a class of supported users, is examined in the context of a radio asynchronous transfer mode local-area network (ATM LAN). Our analytical results, based an a recursion for the link occupancy distribution originally suggested by Kaufman (1981) and Roberts (1981) independently and subsequently extended to include finite source population models, are further extended in the cases of equal sharing of the resources with retries, and a dynamic sharing mechanism in which, when the available capacity is exceeded, weighted reductions for the active users' rates and queueing are employed. Next, examining the application of the above sharing schemes in an indoor radio environment, we apply switched diversity and a Reed-Solomon-based forward error correction (FEC) scheme to recover radio-related (Rayleigh fading) packet losses. The performance and the effects of the fading-mitigating switched-antenna-diversity mechanism and the required on a packet-basis coding protection are taken into account in order to establish the actual radio link throughput under the above conditions.

An experience with formal specification, analysis, and testing of an application layer protocol is presented. The ISO file, transfer, access, and management (FTAM) protocol is chosen due to its potential for widespread use. The specification language used was the ISO standard Estelle. This tool generates control and dataflow graphs of the specification and derives unparameterized test sequences for each function identified by the user. The authors describe formal specification of application layer protocols in Estelle and translation of ASN.1 data definitions into Estelle data types. The test design tool is used to obtain functional decomposition of the control and dataflow graphs. This way unparameterized test sequences are obtained. These sequences lead to a complete test suite obtained by parameterization which must be the next step. Analysis of the control and dataflow graphs leads to the derivation of several properties that most of the application layer protocols must possess. The identified properties are shown to simplify the test design process.>

An experience is presented with an automated test design tool for functional analysis and test derivation of distributed systems formally specified using Estelle, a description technique based on an extended finite-state machine model. The tool accepts a formal specification of the system and generates control, data flow graphs, and unparameterised test sequences. The tool has been used, on an experimental basis, for conformance test design of ISO File, Transfer, access and Management protocols.>