Method and apparatus for controlling latency and jitter in shared CSMA/CD (repeater) environment

In a shared network environment, a method for transferring data among nodes connected via said shared environment comprising the steps of:

• allowing a plurality of nodes to attempt to transmit on the network;
• when a collision occurs, detecting which nodes are colliding nodes;
• selecting one of said colliding nodes to transmit and going silent on said one selected node while transmitting a signal to non-selected nodes to prevent further transmission from said non-selected nodes during an early part of an inter-packet gap so as to hold said non-selected nodes in a ready-to-transmit state whereby a non-selected node will transmit data immediately when it detects silence;
• allowing said one selected node to transmit an amount of data;
• when said one selected node is finished transmitting said amount of data, allowing all nodes to hear silence long enough so that said nodes detect an end of transmission and then transmitting a signal to prevent transmission to all but a second selected node, so that all but a second selected node remain in a deferral mode.