EE 5315 - DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTER
NETWORKING
FDDI – TOKEN RING
1. Introduction
A token passing ring LAN is a group of computers connected in a loop. The group uses a token passing access
mechanism. A computer wishing to send data should first receive permission. When it gets control of the
network it may transmit a frame. Each frame transmitted on the ring is transmitted from one computer to the
next, until it ultimately returns to the initiator of the transmission.
The Token Passing Ring Network was originally developed by IBM and only Ethernet LANs are more popular.
The IEEE 802.5 specification which was modeled after IBM's Token Ring is almost identical and the term Token
Ring is used to refer both specifications.
FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interconnect) is an improved token ring specification based on fiber as the
physical medium. As opposed to Token Ring's single ring, FDDI, uses two to achieve better results.
2. Token Ring Networks
Token ring local area network (LAN) technology is a local area network protocol which resides at the data link
layer (DLL) of the OSI model. It uses a special three-byte frame called a token that travels around the ring.
Token ring frames travel completely around the loop.
Unlike Ethernet, Token Ring uses a ring topology whereby the data is sent from one machine to the next and
so on around the ring until it ends up back where it started. It also uses a token passing protocol which means
that a machine can only use the network when it has control of the Token, this ensures that there are no
collisions because only one machine can use the network at any given time.
2.1. How Token Ring works?
Figure 01 – Token ring network
In the example given in Figure 01, machine 1 wants to send some data to machine 4, so it first has to capture
the free Token. It then writes its data and the recipient's address onto the Token. The packet of data is then
sent to machine 2 who reads the address, realizes it is not its own, so passes it on to machine 3. Machine 3
does the same and passes the Token on to machine 4.
This time it is the correct address and so number 4 reads the message. It cannot, however, release a free
Token on to the ring, it must first send the message back to number 1 with an acknowledgement to say that
it has received the data. The receipt is then sent to machine 5 who checks the address, realizes that it is not
its own and so forwards it on to the next machine in the ring, number 6. Machine 6 does the same and
forwards the data to number 1, who sent the original message. Machine 1 recognizes the address, reads the
acknowledgement from number 4 and then releases the free Token back on to the ring ready for the next
machine to use.
That's the basics of Token Ring and it shows how data is sent, received and acknowledged, but Token Ring
also has a built in management and recovery system which makes it very fault tolerant.
2.2. Token Ring Self Maintenance
When a Token Ring network starts up, the machines all take part in a negotiation to decide who will control
the ring, or become the 'Active Monitor' to give it its proper title. This is won by the machine with the highest
MAC address who is participating in the contention procedure, and all other machines become 'Standby
Monitors'.
The job of the Active Monitor is to make sure that none of the machines are causing problems on the
network, and to re-establish the ring after a break or an error has occurred. The Active Monitor performs
Ring Polling every seven seconds and ring purges when there appears to be a problem. The ring polling
allows all machines on the network to find out who is participating in the ring and to learn the address of
their Nearest Active Upstream Neighbor (NAUN). Ring purges reset the ring after an interruption or loss of
data is reported.
Each machine knows the address of its Nearest Active Upstream Neighbor. This is an important function in a
Token Ring as it updates the information required to re-establish itself when machines enter or leave the
ring. When a machine enters the ring it performs a lobe test to verify that its own connection is working
properly, if it passes, it sends a voltage to the hub which operates a relay to insert it into the ring. If a
problem occurs anywhere on the ring, the machine that is immediately after the fault will cease to receive
signals. If this situation continues for a short period of time it initiates a recovery procedure which assumes
that its NAUN is at fault, the outcome of this procedure either removes its neighbor from the ring or it
removes itself.
2.3. Token ring frame format
Token Ring and IEEE 802.5 support two basic frame types: tokens and data/command frames. Tokens are 3
bytes in length and consist of a start delimiter, an access control byte, and an end delimiter. Data/command
frames vary in size, depending on the size of the Information field. Data frames carry information for upper-
layer protocols, while command frames contain control information and have no data for upper-layer
protocols.
Token Frame
SD – Starting Delimiter
SD AC ED AC – Access Control
8 bits 8 bits 8 bits
ED – Ending Delimiter
2.4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Token Ring networks
Advantages
1. "Deterministic" Nature
Token Ring networks are deterministic in nature. In English, this means that the nodes may only
transmit at certain, well defined times. This eliminates incidents of two or more nodes transmitting at
the same time and corrupting each other's transmission (collisions). The elimination of collisions results
in a network where data almost always gets to its destination on the first attempt, greatly reducing
retransmissions which waste bandwidth. The end result is a higher effective bandwidth at the same
wire speed.
Disadvantages
1. Network Planning Required
Token Ring networks must be properly preplanned before installation. This is due to limitations in the
maximum length of the ring which can be handled. If a Token Ring network is simply "thrown together"
without following the rules, it may not work.
2. Difficult To Physically Install
Token Ring networks using STP cable can be very difficult to physically install due to the size, weight,
and stiffness of the STP cable. Networks using UTP cable avoid these difficulties, but are very limited in
distance and number of nodes which can be put on one ring.
3. Difficult Troubleshooting
All ring networks share a somewhat difficult troubleshooting procedure. If any node or cable run fails,
there is not usually an easy way to determine where the fault has occurred. This results in a long and
tedious process of elimination where the network must be broken into several small pieces and each
piece troubleshot individually until the problem is found and corrected. If an intermittent problem is
encountered, it may be nearly impossible to find and correct it.
4. Cost
Token Ring network equipment costs several times as much as Ethernet hardware. This is due to the
complex token passing protocol which increases the difficulty of manufacturing such equipment.
Networks built around STP cable require the use of a specialized, expensive cable which is not very
useful for other applications, and networks built around UTP are so limited in size and maximum
number of nodes that they generally require many small rings to be interconnected with costly bridges
and routers.
3. FDDI Networks
FDDI stands for Fiber Distributed Data Interface. The FDDI standard is ANSI X3T9.5 . Although FDDI logical
topology is a token ring network, it does not use the IEEE 802.5 token ring protocol as its basis; instead, its
protocol is derived from the IEEE 802.4 token bus timed token protocol. In addition to covering large
geographical areas, FDDI local area networks can support thousands of users. As a standard underlying
medium it uses optical fiber, although it can use copper cable, in which case it may be refer to as CDDI. FDDI
uses a dual-attached, counter-rotating token ring topology.Connectors are specialized. Multiple tokens may
be used by the system. The maximum length is 100 kilometers. The maximum number of nodes on the
network is 500. Speed is 100 Mbps. FDDI is normally used as a backbone to link other networks. A typical
FDDI network can include servers, concentrators, and links to other networks.
Due to its dual ring architecture, FDDI has the ability to recover from link and station failures. If a station
goes down, the signals are routed around it by a loop formed from the rings.
4. Comparison between Token Ring and FDDI
Similarities
• FDDI uses a rotating ring setup in the same way as the token ring protocol.
• FDDI's ring operation is basically very similar to the Token Ring early release operation in the way that
tokens are passed on the network.
Differences
• As opposed to Token Ring's single ring, FDDI uses two to achieve better results and less chance of
failure.
• In a basic Token Ring network, at any instant there is a single active ring monitor which supplies the
master clock for the ring, whereas in FDDI this approach isn't ideal because of the high data rates.
Instead, each ring interface has its own local clock, and outgoing data is transmitted using this clock.
• Unlike the basic Token Ring, which is based on the use of priority and reservation bits, the priority
operation of the FDDI ring uses a principle that is based on a parameter known as the Token Rotation
Time, or TRT.
• FDDI uses a timed token protocol where Token Ring uses priority/reservation token access, leading to
differences in frame format and how station traffic is handled
Comparison Chart
Data Rate Segment Length
Protocol Media Rings
(Mbps) (m)
FDDI 100 Unlimited Optical Fiber 2
IEEE 802.5 4/16 250 Not Specified 1
IBM Token Ring 4/16 250 Twisted Pair 1
