Multiple Access

McGraw-Hill ©The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000

Data link layer divided into two functionality-oriented sublayers
Taxonomy of multiple-access protocols discussed in this chapter
ANDOM ACCESS

In random access or contention methods, no station is

superior to another station and none is assigned the
control over another. No station permits, or does not
permit, another station to send. At each instance, a
station that has data to send uses a procedure defined
by the protocol to make a decision on whether or not to
send.
Topics discussed in this section:
ALOHA
Carrier Sense Multiple Access
Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection
Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance
Additive Links On-line Hawaii Area (ALOHA)
Frames in a pure ALOHA network
Procedure for pure ALOHA protocol
Vulnerable time for pure ALOHA protocol
Frames in a slotted ALOHA network
Vulnerable time for slotted ALOHA protocol
Vulnerable time in CSMA
 CSMA/CD

McGraw-Hill ©The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000

 Carrier sense multiple access with collision detection
(CSMA/CD) is a computer networking access method
in which:
 a carrier sensing scheme is used.
 a transmitting data station that detects another signal while
transmitting a frame,
 stops transmitting that frame,
 transmits a jam signal, and then waits for a random time
interval before trying to send that frame again.
 CSMA/CD is a modification of pure carrier sense multiple
access (CSMA).
 CSMA/CD is used to improve CSMA performance by
terminating transmission as soon as a collision is detected,
thus reducing the probability of a second collision on retry.
 CSMA/CD is a layer 2 access method, not a protocol of
the OSI model.
 When a station wants to send some information, it
uses the following algorithm:
 Main procedure:
 Frame ready for transmission.
 Is medium idle? If not, wait until it becomes ready
 Start transmitting.
 Did a collision occur? If so, go to collision detected
procedure.
 Reset retransmission counters and end frame
transmission.
 Example:
 This can be likened to what happens at a dinner
party, where all the guests talk to each other
through a common medium (the air). Before
speaking, each guest politely waits for the current
speaker to finish. If two guests start speaking at
the same time, both stop and wait for short,
random periods of time (in Ethernet, this time is
measured in microseconds). The hope is that by
each choosing a random period of time, both
guests will not choose the same time to try to
speak again, thus avoiding another collision.
 Example:
 Imagine a very simple Ethernet network with
only two nodes.
 Each node, independently, decides to send
an Ethernet frame to the other node.
 Both nodes listen to the Ethernet wire and
sense that no carrier is present.
 Both nodes transmit simultaneously, causing
a collision.
 Both nodes detect the collision and each
node waits a random amount of time before
transmitting again.
Behavior of three persistence methods
Flow diagram for three persistence methods
Collision of the first bit in CSMA/CD
Collision and abortion in CSMA/CD
Flow diagram for the CSMA/CD
Energy level during transmission, idleness, or collision
CSMA/CA
 Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance
(CSMA/CA), in computer networking, is a wireless
network multiple access method in which:
 a carrier sensing scheme is used.
 a node wishing to transmit data has to first listen to the
channel for a predetermined amount of time to determine
whether or not another node is transmitting on the channel
within the wireless range.
 If the channel is sensed "idle," then the node is permitted to
begin the transmission process.
 If the channel is sensed as "busy," the node defers its
transmission for a random period of time.
 Once the transmission process begins, it is still possible for
the actual transmission of application data to not occur.
Timing in CSMA/CA
Inter−frame spaces (IFS) are waiting periods between

transmission of frames operating in the medium access control

(MAC) sublayer where carrier-sense multiple access with

collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) is used. These are techniques

used to prevent collisions as defined in IEEE 802.11-based

WLAN standard (Wi-Fi)

1.InterFrame Space (IFS): When a station finds the channel busy it senses the
channel again, when the station finds a channel to be idle it waits for a period of

time called IFS time. IFS can also be used to define the priority of a station or a

frame. Higher the IFS lower is the priority.

2.Contention Window: It is the amount of time divided into slots. A station that
is ready to send frames chooses a random number of slots as wait time.

3.Acknowledgments: The positive acknowledgments and time-out timer can help

guarantee a successful transmission of the frame.
Note

In CSMA/CA, if the station finds the

channel busy, it does not restart the
timer of the contention window;
it stops the timer and restarts it when
the channel becomes idle.
Flow diagram for CSMA/CA
S.NO CSMA/CD CSMA/CA

Whereas CSMA / CA is effective

1. CSMA / CD is effective after a collision. before a collision.

Whereas CSMA / CA is commonly

2. CSMA / CD is used in wired networks. used in wireless networks.

Whereas CSMA/ CA minimizes the

3. It only reduces the recovery time. possibility of collision.

Whereas CSMA / CA will first

CSMA / CD resends the data frame transmit the intent to send for data
4. whenever a conflict occurs. transmission.

While CSMA / CA is used in 802.11

5. CSMA / CD is used in 802.3 standard. standard.

While it is similar to simple

It is more efficient than simple CSMA(Carrier Sense Multiple
6. CSMA(Carrier Sense Multiple Access). Access).
12-2 CONTROLLED ACCESS

In controlled access, the stations consult one another

to find which station has the right to send. A station
cannot send unless it has been authorized by other
stations. We discuss three popular controlled-access
methods.

Topics discussed in this section:

Reservation
Polling
Token Passing
Reservation access method
Select and poll functions in polling access method
Logical ring and physical topology in token-passing access method