Data Link Layer

Protocol Data
Frames
Unit
Protocols 1. Ethernet
2. Token Ring
3. FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface)
4. PPP (Point to Point Protocol)

More Protocols in 1. Synchronous Data Link Protocol (SDLC): A computer communication protocol
the data Link that supports multipoint links with error recovery or correction.
Layer 2. High-Level Data Link Protocol (HDLC): Is based on SDLC and offers both
reliable and unreliable service with best effort.
3. Serial Line Interface Protocol (SLIP)for encoding: Adds a framing byte to the
end of an IP packet.
4. Point to Point Protocol (PPP): Used to transport not only IP packets but also
other kinds of packets. Additionally, dial-up and leased router-router lines may
need it. In essence, it offers a framing technique to describe frames. This
character-oriented protocol also has an error-detection function.
5. Link Access Procedure (LAP): Is necessary for framing and moving data over
point-to-point links.
6. Link Control Protocol (LCP): Its purposes is in establishing, configuring, testing,
maintaining, and ending or terminating links for the transmission of data
frames, LCP is essentially a PPP protocol.
7. Network Control Protocol (NCP): It enables users to access computers and a
few other devices at distant locations and transfer files between two or more
computers.

Services 1. Framing
/Functions 2. Addressing
3. Reliable Delivery
4. Access Control: CSMA/CD and CSMA/CA
5. Flow Control
6. Error Detection
7. Error Correction
8. Half-Duplex and Full-Duplex

Sub layers if the 1. Logical Link Control (LLC): deals with 1. Multiplexing 2. the flow of data
Data Link Layer among applications and other services and 3. providing error messages and
acknowledgments.
2. Media Access Control (MAC): manages 1. the device’s interaction 2.
Responsible for addressing frames. 3. controls physical media access.

The data link layer receives the information in the form of packets from the Network layer, it divides
packets into frames and sends those frames bit-by-bit to the underlying physical layer.

Links are the communication paths that connect the nearby nodes, and each link must be traversed
for a datagram to travel from source to destination.
The data link layer manages the delivery of local frames between nodes on the same level of the
network. These protocol data packet, also referred to as data-link frames, do not leave a local area
network. The data connection layer is similar to a local traffic cop in that it tries to mediate between
parties vying for access to a medium without considering their final destination. When multiple
devices try to use the same medium at once, frame collisions occur.
Data-link protocols specify device detection and recovery from such collisions, and they may also
include countermeasures to reduce or completely avoid them.
The Data Link Layer’s primary duty is to move the datagram across a specific link.
The format of packets exchanged between nodes, as well as operations like error detection,
retransmission, flow control, and random access, are all defined by the data link layer protocol.
Datagrams can be handled by various link layer protocols on various links in a path, which is a key
feature of a data link layer. For instance, Ethernet handles the datagram on the first link while PPP
handles it on the second link.

What Is Ethernet
If two or more connected devices on a shared network attempt to transmit data packets at the same
time, a packet collision occurs. Ethernet was designed to solve the problem of packet collision. It
provides network devices with a set of rules that essentially says: "Make sure no one else is talking
before you talk. If you hear someone talking while you're talking, stop, listen, and wait for the talking
to end before you talk again."
Ethernet technology provides rules that allow network-connected devices to talk to one another
without packet collisions.
Ethernet is a common name for the IEEE 802.3 standard based on the Carrier Sense Multiple
Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) protocol. CSMA/CD defines when to transmit and what is to
happen if a collision is detected, as well as endpoint addressing, transmission speeds, and media.
Ethernet has evolved dramatically since its first application. Today it's the de facto protocol for IP-
based networks.
Ethernet frames: In an Ethernet network, data is broken into packets, with each packet transmitted
using the CSMA/CD algorithm until it arrives at its destination without colliding with any other packet.
The first open slot after a transmission is reserved for an acknowledge packet. A device or node is
either transmitting or receiving at any instant.
When sending data to another device on an Ethernet network, the MAC sublayer (data link sublayer):

 Encapsulates higher-level frames into frames appropriate for the transmission medium
 Adds a frame check sequence to identify transmission errors
 Forwards the data to the physical layer as soon as the CSMA/CD protocol permits, waiting as
necessary to avoid collisions.
 Is responsible for compensating for collisions by starting retransmission when a collision (jam
signal) is detected.
CSMA/CD protocol (Wired Networks): When a frame is ready, the transmitting station checks to see
whether the channel is idle or busy. If the channel is busy, the station waits until the channel
becomes idle. If the channel is idle, the station starts transmitting and continually monitors the
channel to detect collision.
NOTE: CSMA/CD used in Ethernet, cannot be used for the radio frequency transmissions of IEEE
802.11. The reason is that when a node is transmitting it cannot hear any other node in the system
which may be transmitting, since its own signal will drown out any others arriving at the node.

CSMA/CA (Wireless Medium Access Control Protocol) is a medium access control for IEEE 802.11
wireless local area network. Carrier sense means that a node on the network can detect what is
going on in the transmission medium. Carrier means shared medium. Sense means a node can
listen and detect. Multiple access means every node has an equal right to access the transmission
channel but must take turns.
All put together means that a node can listen or check if the transmission medium is free or busy
so that when the medium is not busy the node can transmit the data or its signal to the destination
via the medium.
Unlike CSMA/CD the nodes can’t detect collision because of the medium being wireless instead of
cables, so CSMA/CA tries to avoid the collision in the first place.

It’s a common LAN standard. It consists of shared transmission media and cable, concentrator,
Network bridge. With respect to its types, it’s made up of:

 Standard Ethernet（10Mbit/s)
 Fast Ethernet（100Mbit/s
 10G Ethernet（10Gbit/s
It adopts the CSMA/CD access control method and confirmed to IEEE802.3. In the Ethernet, all
computers are connected into the same coaxial cable, and the CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple
Access with Collision Detection) method, competition mechanism and bus topology architecture are
adopted. In addition, the present Ethernet is available for the four kinds of transmission rates under
the supports of fibre and twisted pair:

 10 Mbps — 10Base-T Ethernet（802.3）

 100 Mbps — Fast Ethernet（802.3u）
 1000 Mbps — Gigabit Ethernet（802.3z)
 10 Gigabit Ethernet — IEEE 802.3ae
In the IEEE 802.3 standard, different physical layer standards are specially made for different
transmission medias, in which the front number means transmission speed (unit: Mbps); the last
number represents the length of one network cable (unit: 100m); the base means base band and the
broad means broad band.
Ethernet Physical Mediums
1. Coaxial Cables
2. Twisted Pair Cable
3. Fiber Optic Cable
Ethernet cable Categories

What is Switching
Switching is the process of transferring data packets from one device to another in a network, or
from one network to another, using specific devices called switches.
Switching can be classified into two types on a broader level:
1. Connectionless:
 In connectionless switching, there is no order of delivering the data.
 The data packets are forwarded individually in the form of packets.
 There is no need to build a prior connection to deliver the data packets.
2. Connection-oriented:
 A semi-permanent connection or a communication circuit is formed along the paths
between two endpoints.
 This makes sure that the data is delivered in the right order to the connection layers.
 After the data is transferred, these connections can either be kept for future use or can be
destroyed on the spot.
Why Do We Need Switching Techniques?
There can be multiple paths to deliver information from a sender to a receiver in large networks. This
is where the function of switching techniques comes in. These techniques help decide the switch to
the best path for data transmission.

There are three types of switching techniques/methods.

 Circuit switching: A dedicated path or circuit is created between the sender and receiver to
communicate. A connection is established before the transfer of the data. A circuit can be
permanent or temporary. Circuit Switching goes through 3 phases: Establish a circuit > Transfer
Data > Disconnecting the circuit
 Message switching: Is when the whole data is considered as a single data packet and
transferred in one go. It goes through two phases: Storing the data > Forwarding the data
 Packet switching: A message is broken down into smaller chunks called packets. There are two
approaches by which packet switching can be done. These are: 1. Datagram Approach –
Connectionless switching 2. Virtual Circuit Approach – Connection Oriented Switching