Carrier sense multiple access with

collision avoidance
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In computer networking, CSMA/CA belongs to a class of protocols called multiple

access methods. CSMA/CA stands for: Carrier Sense Multiple Access With Collision
Avoidance. In CSMA, a station wishing to transmit has to first listen to the channel for a
predetermined amount of time so as to check for any activity on the channel. If the
channel is sensed "idle" then the station is permitted to transmit. If the channel is sensed
as "busy" the station has to defer its transmission. This is the essence of both CSMA/CA
and CSMA/CD. In CSMA/CA (LocalTalk), once the channel is clear, a station sends a
signal telling all other stations not to transmit, and then sends its packet. In Ethernet
802.3, the station continues to wait for a time, and checks to see if the channel is still free.
If it is free, the station transmits, and waits for an acknowledgment signal that the packet
was received.

Contents
[hide]
 1 Details
 2 Usage
 3 See also

 4 References

[edit] Details
CSMA/CA is a modification of pure Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA). Collision
avoidance is used to improve the performance of CSMA by attempting to be less
"greedy" on the channel. If the channel is sensed busy before transmission then the
transmission is deferred for a "random" interval. This reduces the probability of collisions
on the channel.

CSMA/CA is used where CSMA/CD cannot be implemented due to the nature of the
channel. CSMA/CA is used in 802.11 based wireless LANs. One of the problems of
wireless LANs is that it is not possible to listen while sending, therefore collision
detection is not possible. Another reason is the hidden terminal problem, whereby a node
A, in range of the receiver R, is not in range of the sender S, and therefore cannot know
that S is transmitting to R.

CSMA/CA can optionally be supplemented by the exchange of a Request to Send (RTS)

packet sent by the sender S, and a Clear to Send (CTS) packet sent by the intended
receiver R, alerting all nodes within range of the sender, the receiver, or both, to keep
quiet for the duration of the main packet. This is known as the IEEE 802.11 RTS/CTS
exchange......

[edit] Usage
 GNET - an early proprietary LAN protocol
 Apple's LocalTalk implemented CSMA/CA on an electrical bus using a three-
byte jamming signal.
 802.11 RTS/CTS implements virtual carrier sensing using short Request to
Send and Clear to Send messages for WLANs (802.11 mainly relies on physical
carrier sensing though).
 IEEE 802.15 (Wireless PAN) uses CSMA/CA
 NCR WaveLAN - an early proprietary wireless network protocol
 HomePNA

[edit] See also