Author(s)

A. T. Burrell, P. Papantoni-Kazakos

Computer Science Department, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, USA.
Electrical Engineering Department, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, USA.

We present a coherent and systematic review of Random Access Algorithms for packet networks, as developed over three and a half decades. We consider the appropriate user models and we classify the algorithms according to the channel sensing constraints imposed. We also present a review of the analytical methodologies required for the performance analysis of these algorithms.

Random Access; Packet Networks; Channel Sensing; Throughput and Delay Analysis; Sensitivity to Feedback Errors; Limit Poisson User Model

A. T. Burrell and P. Papantoni-Kazakos, "Random Access Algorithms in Packet Networks—A Review of Three Research Decades," International Journal of Communications, Network and System Sciences, Vol. 5 No. 10, 2012, pp. 691-707. doi: 10.4236/ijcns.2012.510072.