Abstract: A flow control protocol is used to optimize the throughput on transmission opportunities without exceeding the allocated bandwidth in a Fiber optic Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) Local Area Network (LAN). The flow control protocol limits the number of flames that a station can chain together to a maximum number that insures that the station does not exceed its bandwidth allocation per Token opportunity. When this maximum number is reached, the current chain is placed in a first-in, first-out (FIFO) queue to await the next transmission opportunity. When a chain is enabled for transmission, subsequent flames are placed on a free standby chain, and this process continues until the maximum allowed number of frames is reached. By either chaining together fewer flames than the maximum number or continuing to the maximum number, the number of frames to be chained together in the current chain is optimized providing improved performance.