The information frame circulates the ring until it reaches the intended destination station, which copies the information for further processing. The information frame continues to circle the ring and is finally removed when it reaches the sending station. The sending station can check the returning frame to see whether the frame was seen and subsequently copied by the destination. In other words, it is possible to calculate the maximum time that will pass before any end station will be able to transmit. Factory automation environments are examples of such applications.
Patch cables connect MSAUs to adjacent MSAUs.
Lobe cables connect MSAUs to stations. MSAUs include bypass relays for removing stations from the ring. Only stations with a priority equal to or higher than the priority value contained in a token can seize that token. Once the token is seized and changed to an information frame, only stations with a priority value higher than that of the transmitting station can reserve the token for the next pass around the network. When the next token is generated, it includes the higher priority of the reserving station.