Data Link Layer

Transfers datagram from one node

to other node over a link

links
• wired , wireless
• LANs

layer-2 packet: frame

Link Layer: Multiple Access Protocols

Single shared broadcast channel and

collisions
Mutiplie Access protocols:
Determines how nodes share channel, i.e.,
determine when node can transmit

 channel partitioning
 random access
 “taking turns”
Link Layer: Channel Partitioning protocol

CTDMA: time division multiple 6-slot 6-slot

access frame frame

 access to channel in “rounds” 1 3 4 1 3 4

 each station gets fixed length

6-station LAN, 1,3,4 have packets to
slot (length = packet send, slots 2,5,6 idle
transmission time) in each
round
 unused slots go idle
Link Layer: Channel partitioning protocol

FDMA: frequency division

multiple access
 channel spectrum divided into
frequency bands
 each station assigned fixed
frequency band
 unused transmission time in 6-station LAN, 1,3,4 have packet to
send, frequency bands 2,5,6 idle
frequency bands go idle
Link Layer:
Random Access protocol: Slotted ALOHA

when node has packet to send

• transmit at full channel data rate R
• no a priori coordination among
nodes
two or more transmitting nodes:
“collision”
Random Access protocol: Slotted ALOHA

Pros:
 single active node can continuously
transmit at full rate of channel
 highly decentralized: only slots in
nodes need to be in sync
 simple
Cons:
 collisions, wasting slots
 idle slots
 nodes may be able to detect collision
in less than time to transmit packet
 clock synchronization
Random Access Protocol: Pure ALOHA

Unslotted Aloha: simpler, no

synchronization
• when frame first arrives:
transmit immediately
collision probability increases
with no synchronization:
• frame sent at t0 collides
with other frames sent in
[t0-1,t0+1]
Random Access Protocols: CSMA

simple CSMA: listen before transmit:

• if channel sensed idle: transmit entire
frame
• if channel sensed busy: defer
transmission
 human analogy: don’t interrupt others!
CSMA/CD: CSMA with collision detection
• collisions detected within short time
• colliding transmissions aborted,
reducing channel wastage
• collision detection easy in wired,
difficult with wireless
 human analogy: the polite
conversationalist
 Random Access Protocols: CSMA

simple CSMA: listen before transmit:

• if channel sensed idle: transmit entire frame
• if channel sensed busy: defer transmission
 human analogy: don’t interrupt others!
 Random Access Protocols: CSMA

Vulnerable Time in CSMA

 Random Access Protocols: CSMA

Behavior of three methods of CSMA

 Random Access Protocols: CSMA/CD

Collision of first bit of CSMA/CD

 Random Access Protocols: CSMA/CD

Collision and Abortion in CSMA/CD

 Random Access Protocols: CSMA

Energy Level during transmission, idleness and

collision
 Random Access Protocols: CSMA/CA

 CSMA/CA uses IFS, CW, and ACK

 In CSMA/CA, IFS can also be used to define priority of a
station or a frame.
 In CSMA/CA, if the station finds the channel busy, it does
not restart the timer of the contention window from
zero; it just stops the timer where it is and restarts when
the channel becomes idle.