A distributed control mechanism for managing a packet-switched voice conference connection is presented. The principal concept introduced is the idea of viewing a conference connection as a logical ring of participants. Alternative methods for implementing voice conferencing on both broadcast and point-to-point networks are introduced, analyzed, and compared. Tradeoffs between the two methods with respect to station workload and maximum number of conference participants are discussed. Experimental implementations on both a carrier-sense multi-access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) Ethernet and a token-ring ProNet are described. The mechanisms presented can be used as part of a packet-switched voice communications protocol that includes conferencing capabilities.
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