Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) Standards are being established to allow for connectivity and interoperability of dispersed simulations through the standardization of application layer protocols. However, the underlying datagram design is governed by the network bandwidth thus limiting what information can be shared between simulations. The finite bandwidth of serial networks limits how much information can be transferred from one point to another within a specified period. In addition, interfacing to a DIS environment requires a computational element capable of filtering information needed by the individual simulator and performing common functions necessary to interact in this distributed environment. Filtering of simulation data is required since most PDUs are transmitted using broadcast addressing. Dead reckoning provides an engineering tradeoff which reduces network bandwidth, but increases the computation necessary at the simulation interface.

Functions like filtering, dead reckoning, simulation management, collision detection, and time stamping are performed at the DIS interface. The time required to accomplish these functions as well as reliable Ethernet and FDDI communication for DIS is deterministic. The purpose of this paper is to identify the performance limitations of accomplishing the DIS interface as well as to identify the time required to perform the basic functions that make up the DIS interface.