MIN A Metropolitan Interconnection Network

A metropolitan network mostly built with teehnology and eomponents typieal of loeal networks is presented. The shared bus arehiteeture, the bit rate and the paeket format are taken from the IEEE 802.3 standard. High level protoeol implementations and network serviees available for Ethernet environments are used too. On the eontrary, a different channel-access protocol and possibly different eommunieation media are used. The main purpose is a transparent intereonneetion among loeal networks distributed all around a town, so that services typieally available in loeal environment ean be extended allover a town. A prototype of the network here presented is being implemented in Pisa.