Method and system for controlling the interconnecting of a plurality of

Abstract

This disclosure relates to the instant method and system for controlling the interconnecting of a plurality of local communications networks. A source station and a destination station may respectively be adapted to be coupled to at least one communications channel of a communications path, which path includes a plurality of channels, each channel being assignable to at least one of a plurality of local data networks. The respective stations are adapted to determine the home network of the other respective stations with which the respective stations may communicate. Broadly, a source station, which has a message to transmit to a destination station, determines the home network of the destination and couples a first source receiver and a source transmitter to the home network of the destination for transmitting a packet from the source to the destination. A first packet may be transmitted when the source station acquires access to an idle channel of the destination home network. Further packets may be transmitted, not on the destination home network, but rather on the source home network. The source transmitter may be decoupled from the destination home network (if already so coupled) and may be coupled to the source home network for such further packet transmission.