AIRNET: A real-time comunications network for aircraft

Abstract

A real-time local area network was developed for use on aircraft and space vehicles. It uses token ring technology to provide high throughput, low latency, and high reliability. The system was implemented on PCs and PC/ATs operating on PCbus, and on Intel 8086/186/286/386s operating on Multibus. A standard IEEE 802.2 logical link control interface was provided to (optional) upper layer software; this permits the controls designer to utilize standard communications protocols (e.g., ISO, TCP/IP) if time permits, or to utilize a very fast link level protocol directly if speed is critical. Both unacknowledged datagram and reliable virtual circuit services are supported. A station operating an 8 MHz Intel 286 as a host can generate a sustained load of 1.8 megabits per second per station, and a 100-byte message can be delivered from the transmitter's user memory to the receiver's user memory, including all operating system and network overhead, in under 4 milliseconds