INVESTIGATION OF PROPAGATION-LIMITED COMPUTER NETWORKS.
Abstract
This report summarizes research on techniques for the logical analysis and design of computer networks in which the propagation delays on the lines connecting logic blocks within the network are appreciable compared to the delays within the blocks. The first part is concerned with basic techniques for the transfer of information between blocks. The problem of preserving the separation of pulses propagating in a cascade of delay elements is shown to be fundamental. For a cascade in which information flows in only one direction, through stages whose delays vary randomly and independently in time, preservation of pulse separation on a cascade of infinite length is shown to be impossible. A method for compensation of delays (which removes their independence) is proposed, but proof of its stability is incomplete. The second part is concerned with communication in large systems, and with special logical arrays. An analogy is made between propagation-limited networks and topological graphs, and the relation between graph size (number of nodes) and maximum distance (number of connecting branches in the shortest path) between nodes, is analyzed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0603165
Entities
People
- B. Elspas
- H. S. Stone
- J. Goldberg
- R. A. Short
- R. C. Minnick
Organizations
- SRI International