Patent ID: 7756089

Claim:
A method for regulating transmission of traffic on a communication medium, said method comprising: providing a plurality of stations able to successfully transmit on the communication medium not more than one at a time, the plural stations expiring simultaneously and at a common rate respective actual delays applied before re-attempting to transmit on said communication medium; and using a single timing parameter, by specifying as said timing parameter's values respective default quantities based upon which values corresponding ones of said delays are selected, to regulate, for any given one or more of the plural stations, the number of attempts to gain exclusive transmission-access to the communication medium for a predefined period, the values being updated responsive to outcomes of respective ones of said attempts, the products of said default quantities and expected rates of respective ones of said attempts, for long-term periods when none of said attempts is unsuccessful and during which the stations are continuously backlogged, respectively approaching a predefined constant.