Computer Communications Network Design and Analysis
Computer Communications Network Design and Analysis
Computer Networks and Their Protocols
Computer Networks and Their Protocols
SOSP '75 Proceedings of the fifth ACM symposium on Operating systems principles
| Hi-index | 0.00 |
This paper reports the design and operational experiences of a packet-switched local computer network developed at Purdue University. Hardwired communication links (1 mega-baud) are used to interconnect seven UNIX computer systems (two PD11/70, one VAX 11/780, and 4 PDP11/45). Over 20 microprocessors and 210 timesharing CRT terminals are connected to the seven hosts. Instead of using the UUCP protocols for dial-up UNIX networks, several protocol programs are locally developed to make possible the hardwired UNIX networking. The network provides the capabilities of virtual terminal access, remote process execution, file transfer, load balancing, and user programmed network I/O. Only at the lowest protocol level is the DDCMP of DECNET used. The network is expandable and provides appreciable bandwidth with moderate cost and low system overhead. Described in this paper are the network architecture, system components, protocol hierarchy, local UNIX extension, load balancing methods, and performance evaluation of the Purdue ECN network.