BIT 03204 L4 Data Communication Media Access Control

BIT 03204: Communications Systems & Technologies
OSI, Media Access control & Network addressing

Lesson 4
Stephen Magu Waweru

Introduction
• The OSI Architecture

(objectives, principles, Role)
• Data Units
• Layer Functions
• Media access Control
• Network addressing
OSI Architecture
• OSI (Open systems interconnect) is a reference model that depicts data communication over a
network.
• it helps visualize and communicate how networks operate, and helps isolate and troubleshoot
networking problems.
• It was created based on a proposal from International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in
1984, and is now considered as an architectural model for the inter-computer communications.
• The model is a conceptual framework that helps to better understand the complex interactions that
in the network framework.
• It describes information flow from a software application in one computer moves through a
physical medium to the software application in another computer
• It transates computing functions into a universal set of rules and requirements in order to support
interoperability between different products and software
• OSI model divides the whole task into seven smaller and manageable tasks. Each layer is assigned
a particular task.
• The modern Internet is not based on OSI, but on the simpler TCP/IP model.
OSI Architecture cont…
OSI Reference Model describes systems that are available for

communication with other devices and defines standards for:
1.Communication between devices.
2.The means to inform devices on when to transmit/ not transmit
3.Methods that ensure accurate data flow rate to devices.
4.Methods that ensure the data is received by the intended recipient.
5.Arrangement & connection of physical transmission media.
• The upper layer mainly deals with the application related issues, & are implemented only in the software.
• The lower layer deals with the data transport issues. The data link layer & the physical layer are
implemented in hardware and software.
• The seven layers of function are provided by a combination of applications, operating systems , network
card device drivers, networking hardware and protocols that enable a system to transmit a signal over a
network through various physical mediums, including twisted-pair copper, fiber optics, Wi-Fi
Principles of OSI Reference Model
The principles that were applied to arrive at the seven layers are:
• A layer should be created where a different abstraction is needed.
• Each layer should perform a well-defined function.
• The function of each layer is chosen to defining internationally standardized protocols.
• The layer boundaries are chosen to minimize the information flow across the interfaces.
• Distinct functions should not be put in the same layer out of necessity.
• Each layer calls upon the services of the layer just below it.
• Communication is governed by an agreed-upon series of rules & conventions (protocols).
• At the physical layer, communication is direct. A device A sends a stream of bits to device B (through
intermediate nodes).
• At the higher layers, however, communication must move down through the layers on device A, over to
device B, and then back up through the layers. Each layer in the sending device adds its own
information to the message it receives from the layer just above it and passes the whole package
downwards.
• At layer 1 the entire package is converted to a form that can be transmitted to the receiving device. At
the receiving machine, the message is unwrapped layer by layer, with each process receiving and
removing the data meant for it.
Principles of OSI Reference Model
Data Units cont…
Frame: a frame is the unit of data used in OSI Models’ data link layer. A frame
contains more information about the transmitted message than a packet in the
Network Layer. A Flag marks the beginning and end of the frame
Trailer to error checking (also called a Frame Check Sequence (FCS)).
Segment: The data from the application layer is broken into smaller parts and data
in transport layer is the units is referred as segment.
Bit : Binary digits(1,0): the data unit the Physical layer

Data Units
Packet: The basic unit of communication in the

network layer between a source & destination
A network packet is divided into three parts; the header, payload, and trailer
Network Packet Header: Contains the source address and a destination address, protocol, and packet number.
The protocol identify what type of packet is being transferred,(e.g. an email, a web page, a video, etc). The
packet number(two identifying numbers the i.e. one indicating how many packets a piece of information was
split into, and the second indicates the place of the individual packet as a part of the complete information.
Packet Payload: The actual data being transported by the packet & received by the destination, as the header
information is stripped from the packet when it reaches the destination.
Packet Trailer: contains a few bits that inform the recipient device that it has gotten to the end of the
packet(ACK), as well as a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC). The CRC is recalculated on retrieval (or
reception) and compared to the value originally transmitted, to detect errors introduced during transmission
Physical layer in OSI model
Functions :
• Representation of bits. It defines encoding of Bits( 0s or 1s) into signals(electrical
or optical) for transmission between networking devices and infrastructure
• Defines the type of transmission medium.(i.e. specifications of the interface and
transmission medium such as cable size, signal frequency, voltages, etc).
• Modulation: Adding the information to an electrical or optical nerve signal.
• Synchronization of bits. The sender and receiver must use the same bit rate, and
clock controls both sender and receiver to provide synchronization at bit level.
Provides the synchronization of the bits by providing a clock..
• Bit rate control: Defines the transmission rate or Data rate or how long a bit lasts i.e. Bps
• Physical topologies: specifies devices/nodes are arranged in a network i.e. bus, star, or mesh topology.
• Transmission mode: the transmission direction i.e. Simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex.
• Line configuration: The physical connection establishment and processing
• Switching mechanism: Defines establishment, maintaining and deactivating the physical connection.
Data packets forwarding from one port (sender port) to the leading destination port.
• The Hub, Repeater, Modem, Cables are devices in the Physical Layer
The Data Link layer
The Data link Layer has to sub-layers: Logical Link Control (LLC)
and Media Access Control(MAC) sublayers
The Data link layer functions:
i. unique addressing & the control of access to media.
ii.It ensures data flows pace doesn't overwhelm receiving devices.
iii.It permits the transmission of data to Network Layer
iv.Detection of errors.
• The data link layer (second layer) is responsible for moving frames from one hop (node) to
the next. Other responsibilities or functions are:
• Framing. the Layer receives Packets from the Network Layer and encapsulates them into
frames. The physical's stream of bits received are divided into manageable data units the
packets from the Network Layer and encapsulates them into frames then added the header
(which contains the hardware destination and source address.) and trailer .
•Multiplexing: Enable multiple signal transmission and determines the channel access methods
for transmission.
The Data Link layer cont…
functions :
• Physical addressing: After creating frames, MAC address of the sender and/or receiver is
added . The frame is transmitted to the destination address mentioned in the header :
i) frames to be distributed to different systems on the network are added a header to define
the sender and/or receiver of the frame.
ii) frames to be sent to a system outside the sender's network the receiver address is the
address of the device that connects the network to the next one).
• Flow control: the data link layer imposes a flow control mechanism to avoid overwhelming
the receiver incase the data rate of sender is higher
• LLC is a sublayer provides the logic for the data link and undertakes error-checking and act an interface between
the network layer and the MAC sublayer and tracks the acknowledgments
•Error control:. if LLC detects any frame loss, immediately it sends back to the source to transmit over
again. Error control is achieved by adding a calculated value (Cyclic Redundancy Check) that is placed to
the Data link layer's trailer which is added to the message frame before it is sent to the physical layer.
i) The layer adds reliability to the physical layer by mechanisms to detect & retransmit damaged or lost frames.
ii) It also uses a mechanism to recognize duplicate frames
Phases in Error Control: The error control mechanism in data link layer involves the following phases
i. Detection of Error: Transmission error, if any, is detected by either the sender or the receiver.
ii. Acknowledgment: On receiving a correct frame, the receiver sends a positive ACK and on receiving
a damaged frame or a duplicate frame, the receiver sends a negative ACK back to the sender.
iii.Retransmission: The sender maintains a clock and sets a timeout period. If an ACK of a data-frame
previously transmitted does not arrive before the timeout, or a negative ACK is received, the sender
retransmits the frame.
Note: Devices in this layer : Bridges and Switch and Network Interface Card
Hop-to-hop (node-to-node) delivery: communication at the

data link layer occurs between two adjacent nodes.
Example. To send data from A to F, three partial deliveries are
made. First, the data link layer at A sends a frame to the data
link layer at B (a router). Second, the data link layer at B sends
a new frame to the data link layer at E. Finally, the data link
layer at E sends a new frame to the data link layer at F
Note that the frames that are exchanged between the three nodes
have different values in the headers. The frame from A to B has
B as the destination address and A as the source address. The
frame from B to E has E as the destination address and B as the
source address. The frame from E to F has F as the destination
address and E as the source address. The values of the trailers
can also be different if error checking includes the header of the
frame
NIC
•Network Interface Card or Ethernet Card or LAN Adapter is a hardware
component in the computer for communication over the Network
•MAC address is a 48-bit or 64-bit address, unique serial number stored in
NIC ROM for physical identification of a computer in the Network.
•The address can be used by routers and switches to control access to a
network.
•Devices in this layer: Bridges and Switch and Network Interface Card
Get Media Access Control address

i.Open Command line as administrator.
ii.Type getmac OR ipconfig /all
The Network layer
IP Address
Internet Protocol (IP) Address:

This is a logical address of the computer
used to uniquely locate, or identify a
network connection.
Logical Addressing:
•Network layer is responsible for source-to-destination delivery packets and routing
•It adds a logical address (source and destination address) as a part of IP header to the
segment coming from above Transport Layer.
The Network layer cont…
The third layer of the OSI model organizes and transmits data across multiple networks (links). If two systems
are connected to the same link, there is usually no need for a network layer. This is handled by data link layer.
The functions of the Network :
Network routing
• At the time when independent networks or links are connected together in order to create internetworks/large
network, then the routing devices(router or switches) route the packets to their final destination. This is one of
the main functions of the network layer
• A router is a network device at network layer for establishing communication by maintaining a routing table
(list of connections) about destinations and local connections i.e. It determines the path by reading the header
of the packet to get intended destination based on information in its routing tables. In packet-switching
networks, such as the Internet, routing decisions are made by Routers using an routing algorithm (a software)
to decide the optimal path for packet transmission.
• The network layer protocols determine which transmission route is suitable from source to destination( one
host to the other located in different networks). The best physical path based on a range of factors including
network characteristics, best available path, traffic control, congestion of data packets, and priority of service.
The sender & receiver’s IP addresses are placed in the header by the network layer.
Source-to-destination addressing:
• The Network Layer provides host-to-host addressing or end-to-end delivery.
• These requires mapped the physical and logical addresses to reach the destination device.
• The Address Resolution protocol is used for the translation.
Packetizing:
• The first duty of the network layer is definitely packetizing: encapsulating the payload (data
received from upper layer) into a network-layer packet at the source and decapsulating the
payload from the network-layer packet at the destination
Example of an email. When an email is sent, the message go through the OSI model layers until it reaches the
network access layer where the packet should be created. The data sent through an email is formatted into a
packet, containing information about the used protocol, the error correction, IP addresses of the sender and the
receiver, as well as the email text
Routing: After establishment connections to

create internetworks, then the routing devices
direct packets to paths leading to final
destination. This is one of the main functions of
the network layer.
The network layer at the A node sends the packet to the network layer at
the B node. When the packet arrives at router B then the router makes the
decision of the path based on the final destination that is the F node of the
packet transmitted. Router B makes use of its routing table for finding the
next hop that is router E. The Network layer at node B sends the packet to
the network layer at E which then sends the packet to the network layer at
F.
• Routing example:For a data packet to get

from Computer A to Computer B, should
it pass through networks 1, 3, and 5 or
networks 2 and 4? The packet will take a
shorter path through networks 2 and 4,
but networks 1, 3, and 5 might be faster at
forwarding packets than 2 and 4. This
are the decisions that the routing
algorithm makes.
Note: Network layer devices: router and brouter

The Transport layer cont…
The fourth layer of the OSI model ensures complete and reliable delivery of data packets & provides :
• Segmentation and Reassembling: The data in this layer is referred to as Segments.
• A message is divided into segments. Each segments contains a sequence number to support
reassembling message correctly upon arriving at the destination and to identify and replace packets that
were lost in transmission. Transport Layer reads the port number (At receiver’s side)from its header
and forwards the Data which it has received to the respective application.
• Flow & Error control: The layer adds Source and Destination port numbers in its header and forwards the
segmented data to the Network Layer.
• Error control performed process-to-process rather than across a single link (unlike data link layer) to avoid at
damage, loss, or duplication the receiving transport layer. Error correction is usually achieved through
retransmission. Generally, the destination port number is configured, either by default or manually e.g.when a
web application makes a request to a web server, it typically uses port number 80 as the default port assigned to
web applications. Common protocols: TCP for connection-oriented data transmission &UDCP for
connectionless data transmission
The Transport layer cont…
• The transport layer is responsible for the delivery of a message from one process to another.
• Service Point Addressing: Computers often run several programs at the same time. For this reason,
source-to-destination delivery means delivery not only from one computer to the next but also from a
specific process (running program) on one computer to a specific process (running program) on the other.
• Transport Layer header includes service point address which is port address.
• This layer gets the message to the correct process on the computer ).
Process and Port address
Note. The network layer gets each packet to the correct

computer; the transport layer gets the entire message to the
correct process on that computer.
Transport layer devices are gateways and Firewall system

The Session layer
The session layer manages sessions between servers to coordinate communication. Session refers
to any interactive data exchange between two entities within a network.
• Common examples include HTTPS sessions that allow Internet users to visit and browse
websites for a specific time period.
• The Session Layer is responsible for a range of functions including: opening, closing, and re-
establishing session activities, authentication and authorization of communication between
specific apps and servers, identifying full-duplex or half-duplex operations, and synchronizing
data streams.
• The functions of the session layer are :
i.Session establishment, maintenance, and termination: The layer allows the two processes
to establish, use and terminate a connection.
ii.Dialog Controller: The session layer allows two systems to start communication with each
other in half-duplex or full-duplex.
The Session layer cont…
•Layer protocols include: Remote procedure call protocol (RPC), Point-to-Point Tunneling
Protocol (PPTP), Session Control Protocol (SCP),Session Description Protocol (SDP).
ii) Synchronization of communication: This layer allows a process to add checkpoints or

synchronization points into the for long communications. This ensures that data streams up to
the checkpoints are successfully received and acknowledged. In case of any failures, only the
streams after the checkpoints have to be re-transmitted.
Example: if a system is sending a file of 2000 pages, it is advisable to insert checkpoints after
every 100 pages to ensure that each 100-page unit is received and acknowledged
independently. In this case, if a crash happens during the transmission of page 523, the only
pages that need to be resent after system recovery are pages 501 to 523. Pages previous to
501 need not be resent
The Presentation layer
The layer is also referred as Translation layer. The data from the application layer is
extracted here and manipulated as per the required format to transmit over the network. The
functions of the presentation layer are :
Translation: This layer is responsible for interoperability between different encoding
methods. The processes (running programs) in two systems are usually exchanging
information in the form of character strings, numbers e.g. ASCII to EBCDIC.
Encryption/ Decryption: Encryption means that the sender transforms the original
information to another form or code(cipher text to ensure privacy) and sends the resulting
message out over the network Translation of the data into another form or code(cipher text)
to ensure privacy. The decrypted data is known as plain text. A key value is used for
encrypting as well as decrypting data.
Compression: Reduces the number of bits that need to be transmitted on the network
(especially for of multimedia such as text, audio, and video).
The Application layer
• The layer enables the user, whether human or software, to access the network. It provides
user interfaces and support for services such as electronic mail, remote file access and
transfer, shared database management, and other types of distributed information services
• The upper most layer of the OSI model identifies networking entities to facilitate
networking requests by end-user requests, determines resource availability, synchronizes
communication, and manages application-specific networking requirements. The
application layer also identifies constraints at the application level such as those
associated with authentication, privacy, quality of service, networking devices, and data
syntax.
• Common protocols include: File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
(SMTP) and Domain Name System (DNS). telnet. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
Post Office Protocol (POP).
The Application layer
Specific services provided by the application layer include the following:

• Network virtual terminal. This is a software version of a physical terminal, and it allows a
user to log on to a remote host. The application creates a software emulation of a terminal at the
remote host. The user's computer talks to the software terminal which, in turn, talks to the host
and vice versa. The remote host believes it is communicating with one of its own terminals and
allows the user to log on. e.g. when using application like Teamviewer
• File transfer, access, and management FTAM): This application layer allows a user to
access files in a remote host (to make changes or read data), to retrieve files from a remote
computer for use in the local computer, and to manage or control files in a remote computer
locally.
• Mail services: message-handling services (forwarding and storage)
• Directory services: provides distributed database sources and access for global information
about various objects and services.
OSI model (Seven layer) Architecture
OSI model
Media Access Methods in LAN
Media Access Methods in LAN
Protocol : This refers to a set of rules observed by two or more devices for
communication with each other. It includes everything from the meaning of data to
the voltage levels on connection wires.
A protocol defines how a network will handle the following tasks:
1) Communication line errors
2) Flow control (to keep buffers from overflowing)
3) Access by multiple devices
4) Failure detection
5) Data translation
6) Interpretation of messages
Media Access Methods in LAN cont…
• Abramson problem 1971: users Sharing the big central computer at the University not only on the
mainland but on the group of islands in Hawaii.
• Solution: link users to the central computer using radio channels without any master synchronizing
signal being needed. ALOHAnet (wireless packet data network) invented by Abramson
• Talking Problem: If two people speak at the same time the person listening doesn't hear what the other
says and there is no response. Modify behavior if there is a "collision" to allow one person to speak,
those involved back-off and wait for a clear period when they can say something. But the others may
start speaking simultaneously or even those involved in collision, but if they are few chances are that one
will start talking and the others will listen, when there is a pause, another may proceed. Also .Consider
sharing a road round about
• ALOHAnet : Terminals transmitted data on the channel whenever they had data and then waited for an
acknowledgment (ACK) from the central computer. If they got an ACK then they knew that they had the
channel to themselves and the message got through. And if no ACK they knew that they had transmitted
at the same time as one or more other users.
• Aloha is a multiple access protocol at the data link layer and proposes how multiple terminals access the
medium without interference or collision. It provided data transmission between computers on several of
the Hawaiian Islands involving packet radio networks
Multiple Access protocols used in wired LAN consist of:

i. Channelization protocols: allows the total usable bandwidth in a shared channel to be
shared across multiple stations based on their time, frequence,wavelength distance and
codes. It can allow access of all the stations at the same time to send the data frames to
the channel (e.g. FDMA,CDMA ,TDMA)
ii.Random access protocols : all the station has the equal priority to send the data over a
channel e.g. ALOHA, CSMA/CD CSMA/CA . These random access MAC protocol
specifies how to detect collisions & how to recover from collisions (e.g., via delayed
retransmissions)
iii.Controlled protocols : In the controlled access method, each station interacts and
decides to send a data frame after approval by a particular station or by all other
stations: Polling and token Passing.
Pure ALOHA Random Access: the time of transmission is continuous. Any station to
broadcast at any time. It is un-slotted & decentralized
1. Whenever a station has an available frame, it sends the frame( no sensing).
2. In case, two or more stations transmit simultaneously the frame is destroyed, the
station waits a random amount of time before retransmitting it.
3.When the central station receives a frame it sends an acknowledgment on a different
frequency.
4. If a user station receives an acknowledgment(ACK) it assumes that the transmitted
frame was successfully received
5. If NO ACK, then a collision occurred and ready to retransmit after a random amount
of time
NB The randomness helps in avoiding more collisions. This scheme works well in small networks
where the load is not much but fails in big ones. This led to the development of Slotted Aloha.
Slotted ALOHA is a Multiple Access Protocol : Assume All frames consist of exactly L bits.
The time of the shared channel is divided into discrete intervals called Slots of size L/R seconds
(i.e., a slot equals the time to transmit one frame).In a random access protocol, a transmitting
node always transmits at the full rate of the channel, namely, R bps.
i. Sending: When the node has a fresh frame to send, it waits until the beginning of the next slot
and transmits the entire frame in the slot.
ii.Preparation of a frame: If there isn't a collision, the node prepares a new frame to transmit.
iii.Collision detection: There is still a possibility of collision if two stations try to send at the
beginning of the same time slot. The node detects the collision before the end of the slot.
iv.Random wait: when a node experiences a collision, waits a random delay before
retransmitting the frame. Each node involved in a collision chooses independent random
delays. The number of possible collision is reduced by a large margin and the performance
becomes much well compared to Pure Aloha.
v. Retransmission: after own calculated random time, each node involved in the collision
repeatedly retransmit its frame until the frame gets through without a collision
Slotted ALOHA
• Assumption: all packets (frames) same size, time divided into equal size slots (time to transmit 1 packet) , nodes
start to transmit only at the beginning of a slot , nodes are synchronized and if two or more nodes transmit in slot,
all nodes detect collision.
• Operation: When node obtains fresh packet, transmits in next slot - if no collision: node can send new frame in
next slot - if collision: node retransmits frame in each subsequent slot with probability. p until success
When there are multiple active nodes, a certain fraction of the slots will have collisions and will therefore be
"wasted.“ and another fraction of the slots will be empty because all active nodes refrain from transmitting as a
result of the probabilistic transmission policy.
Nodes 1, 2 and 3 collide in the first slot. Node 2 finally succeeds in the fourth slot, node 1 in the eighth slot, and node 3 in
the ninth slot. The notation C, E and S represent "collision slot", "empty slot" and "successful slot", respectively
• Metcalfe improved on the Aloha system of arbitrating access to a shared communications

channel and developing a new system that included a mechanism that detected when a
collision occurred (collision detect).
• The system also included “listen before talk,” in which stations listened for activity (carrier
sense) before transmitting, and supported access to a shared channel by multiple stations
(multiple access). Hence the Ethernet channel access protocol is called Carrier Sense
Multiple Access with Collision Detect (CSMA/CD).
• CSMA/CD is defined by carrier sensing or listening to the wire, collision detection and
access priority of first come- first served (FCFS) i.e. no reliance on a master station to
controls stations on when to transmit.
• Features of the Improved Aloha system : collision detect, carrier sense, multiple access,
FSFS access priority
• Frame format of CSMA/CD

1 Preamble: It is seven bytes (56 bits) that provides bit synchronization. It consists of
alternating Os and 1s. The purpose is to provide alert and timing pulse.
2. Start Frame Delimiter (SFD): It is one byte field with unique pattern: 10 10 1011. It marks
the beginning of frame.
3. Destination Address (DA): It is six byte field that contains physical address of packet’s
destination.
4. Source Address (SA): It is also a six byte field and contains the physical address of source
or last device to forward the packet (most recent router to receiver).
5. Length: This two byte field specifies the length or number of bytes in data field.
6. Data: It can be of 46 to 1500 bytes, depending upon the type of frame and the length of the
information field.
7. Frame Check Sequence (FCS): This for byte field contains CRC for error detection.
Data transmissions in LAN

LAN data transmissions fall into 3 categories :
Unicast transmission: A single packet is sent from the source to the destination on a network
Multicast transmission: single data packet is copied to a specific subset of nodes in a network
Broad cast transmission: a single data packet copied and sent to all nodes on the network
Primary access methods in LAN are Token based access and CSMA/CD.
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
Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection: CSMA/CD media access control
method is used in Ethernet LAN to determine the station to transmit at over the shared medium.
• Characteristics:
i. Listening or carrier sensing: A station with frame sets back-off time to zero, listens to
the network and transmits data only if no other stations are currently using the network.
ii.Contention to transmit: If the wire is free of signals, any station that wants to transmit
contends for opportunity in network. Access in the Ethernet operate on a first-come, first-
served basis, i.e. no reliance on a master station to controls stations on when to transmit).
iii. Collision detection: Where two stations try to transmit data simultaneously, a collision
occurs, and both stations stop transmitting. Each sends the jam signal to inform the other stations
about the collision and increments the back off time
iv Random wait: After collision, each station involved wait a random interval of time (back off
time in milliseconds) and then try retransmission.
NB One way of solving the problem of collisions is to use Ethernet switches to segment your
Ethernet network into smaller collision domains.
CSMA/CD Access Algorithm:
1. A station that wishes to transmit listens to the medium. If the medium is idle, transmit;
otherwise, go to step 2.
2. If the medium is busy, keep listening to it until the link is idle and then
transmit immediately.
3. Where two stations try to transmit data simultaneously, a collision occurs, and both
stations stop transmitting. If a collision is detected while transmitting, transmit a
signal to notify other stations of the collision and then cease transmission.
4. After a collision signal, wait a random interval of time (measured in milliseconds) and then try
again (retransmit).
The method in a network works well without excessive amount of traffic. There decrease in throughput
and increased access time as traffic increases when collisions happen followed by retry ( i.e. this time
cannot be used for transmission of data leading to traffic increase).
Therefore collision detection is not popular in control networks, but it is popular in business applications
and can be used In industrial applications for data gathering and program maintenance in large systems
and real-time distributed control applications with a relatively small number of nodes.
CSMA/CD Access Algorithm

Collision Detection in • Half-duplex Ethernet networks use an algorithm called CSMA/CD to help
CSMA/CD
devices on the same network segment to decide when to send packets and what to
do in case of collisions.
• CSMA/CD is commonly used in networks with repeaters and hubs because these
devices run in the half-duplex mode and all of their ports are in the same collision
domain.
• Packet collisions occur when packets are transmitted from different host at the
same time. To prevent this, CSMA/CD forces a transmitting station to check for
the presence of a digital signal on the wire.
• If no other hosts are transmitting packets, the sender begins sending the frame.
The sender also monitors the wire to make sure no other hosts begin transmitting.
However, if another host begins transmitting at the same time and a collision
occur, the transmitting host sends a jam signal that causes all hosts on the
network segment to stop sending data. After a random period of time, hosts
retransmit their packets.
There are four hosts connected to a hub in the network . Since

hubs work in the half-duplex mode and each port on a hub is in
the same collision domain, packet collisions can occur and
CSMA/CD is used to prevent and detect them. Host A detects
that there are no other signals on the network and decides to send
a packet. However, Host B also assumes that no other station is
transmitting and sends a packet as well. A collision occurs and it
is detected by Host A and Host B. The sending stations send a
jamming signal telling all hosts on the segment that a collision
occurred. After a random period of time, Host A and Host B
resend their packets.
Since switches have replaced hubs in most of today’s LANs,
CSMA/CD is not often used anymore.
Switches work in full-duplex mode and each port on a switch is
in a separate collision domain, so no collisions can occur.
Token based access:

• A token is a frame of data transmitted between network point.
• Token based access is used in bus and ring topologies .Each computer in the network can
only sends its data if it has a token. This prevents collisions that occur when data is sent at
the same time over the network.
• Features of Token based access
i. Collision avoidance: A token is used i.e. a special pattern of bits /bit in a frame that
is directly detectable by each node in the network
ii. Message sending: A computer may only transmit information if it is in possession of
the token.
iii. Access : There is no central controller but approval is from the rest of nodes but the
message is sent to all the other computers in the network.
Token Ring Architecture: Token ring utilizes a special three-byte frame called a token that
goes through a logical ring of workstations or servers
• This is a concatenation of point-to-point communications links arranged in a closed loop. Each
link is terminated with an active repeater that detects a data packet on the in-bound link and re-
transmits it on the outbound link.
• The detection, regeneration and all intelligence are carried out by the Ring
Interface Unit (RIU) which interfaces the data equipment unit to the Ring.
• The ring transmission uses a token-passing access scheme. A special packet structure ("idle
token.“) circulates around the ring. When a connected data equipment user wants to transmit a
data packet grabs the "idle token," change it to a "busy state" and append its data packet to the
busy token. At the end of the packet transmission, the data equipment unit issues another idle
token.
• The most significant factor affecting the ring performance is the ring propagation time, the
processing time for token recognition and regeneration at each RIU.
Token Ring Media Access: The following steps are followed to transmit data between nodes
in a ring network.
1. Over the ring, empty tokens are freely circulated. The speed of the ring is 16Mbps and it goes
up to 100Mbps and still faster ring is under development. The empty token has placeholders
for storing data frames to be transmitted and holding sender/receiver addresses.
2. If a sending node needs to transmit a message, it grabs a token and packs it with the data,
receiving node’s MAC address and its own ID in the corresponding spaces in the token.
3. The filled token is sent to the next node in the ring.
4. The next node receives the token and examines whether the data transmitted is meant for if it
is so, the data is copied from the frame to the node and the token is set to zero and passed to
the next node . otherwise the token is passed to the next node as it is. The prior step is
repeated until the data reaches the right destination.
5. When the token reaches the sender if it finds the receiver has read the data it will initialize
the message. The token is recirculated and ready to be consumed by any of the nodes.
6. If a node is inactive in the ring path and the communication is broken, if the network
supports dual ring the data is sent in the reverse direction to the destination.
Polling
The master interrogates, or polls, each station (slave) willing to send data
participates in sequence to see if it has data to transmit.
1. The polling algorithm chooses one of the stations to send the data. The master
sends a message to a specific slave and waits a fixed amount of time for the
slave to respond.
2. The slave should respond by sending either data or a short message saying that
it has no data to send. If the slave does not respond within the allotted time, the
master assumes that the slave is dead and continues polling the other slaves.
3. The chosen station sends the data to the destination.
Token Passing is employed In Ring topology & Fiber Distributed Data Interface(FDDI)
Fiber Distributed Data Interface: Provides a standard for data transmission in a local area
network that can extend in range up to 200km and can support thousands of users.
FDDI Characteristics:
i. Transmission Media: uses fiber-optic cable (The standard can support copper cable in which
case one can refer to as CDDI).
ii. Employs ring topology: FDDI is an expensive LAN technology uses a dual attached counter-
rotating token-ring topology(FDDI). One is primary ring and the second ring is used to
replace the primary ring in the case of a network failure.
iii. Media access Method: Token passing. If the token is not seen within the maximum amount of
time that it takes to circulate the largest ring, it indicates a network problem.
iv. Speed of transmission: Provides high-speed network backbones that can be used to connect
and extend LANs.
v. FDDI also has error-detection and correction capabilities.
• The MAC sublayer within the data link layer specifies the physical address (MAC address)
used for uniquely identifying FDDI nodes.
• The data link layer specifies the way a node accesses the underlying physical medium and
how it formats data for transmission.
• Single Attached Stations(SAS): Some FDDI NIC enable a work station to be attached only to
the primary Ring often via a router or concentrator; work station that connect to FDDI
Network.
• Dual Attached stations (DAS): Workstations IN FDDI that attach to both FDDI rings
Logical to Hardware Address Resolution
Address Mapping:
• The delivery of a packet to a host or a router requires two
levels of addressing: logical(IP) and physical (MAC).
• As Devices sends messages using Logical addresses in the
network, the Destination MAC address is required for
communicating between two devices.
• ARP is used to translate or Map Logical (IP) address to
physical( MAC) addresses, so that the Data-Link layer can
package a frame to transmit on the physical medium.
Logical to Hardware Address Resolution cont…
Address Resolution Protocol

• Anytime a host/router needs to find the physical address of another host/router
on its network, it broadcasts ARP query packet.
• The packet include the physical and IP addresses of sender and only IP address
of receiver because sender does not know physical address.
• Every host/router on network receives and processes the ARP packet, but only
intended recipient recognizes its IP address & sends ARP response packet
(unicast )with required physical address to the inquirer.
Two Hosts conduct dialog

i. Machine 1 ARP request( with IP=2) : Who has
address 131.175.15.124?
ii.ARP reply from Machine 2: I do. This machine
contains it Ethernet Address( i.e MAC address
00:00:a2:32:5a:3) hence Machine 1 recognizes
iii.Machine one saves temporarily this address in
ARP Cache to avoid repetition incase the mach
needs it again.
ARP is used to discover the physical or MAC add

( i.e. mapping of IP dynamic addresses to MAC
addresses
Routing & connectivity commands

Tracert command Ping command
Tracert command displays the pathway, the Ping command to test the connection and
response delays and routing loops and helps in latency between two connections, to check
locating points of failure if a server is accessible
• Routing Tracert command . It used to find out the route, determine response delays and
routing loops & to locate points of failure e.g. traceroute to 8.8.8.8(Googles’s Domain Name
server) or to any IP address or server.
• Col 1 represents hop number, Col 2-4 shows round trip time(RTT) time it took for data packet
to travel from source to destination and back. Three packets are sent to each hop check for
consistency (hence the three time values per row).
• RTT values below 100millisecinds are acceptable . Consistence increase from the middle hop
to destination indicates a problem.
• Column 5 : name of IP addresses and routers on every hop from your computer to destination
The first line or row indicates gateways IP address usually your routers Ip address, the middle
hops are from ISP and the last ones those near destination.
A star * in RTT means the router did not respond to the request within the stipulated time but
does not necessarily mean that the packet was dropped. Verify whether the packet was lost by
•The two computers, H1 and H2 have their IP

Connectivity command
addresses and their MAC addresses. When on H1,
open up a command prompt & type:Ping
192.168.1.1
•Ping uses the Internet Control Message Protocol
ICMP protocol.
• Our IP packet will have a source IP address of
192.168.1.1 and a destination IP address of
192.168.1.2.
• Next step will be to put our IP packet in an
Ethernet frame where we set our source MAC
address AAA and destination MAC address BBB.
•Arp –a Command:
•Connect two PC, say A and B with a cross cable. If you type arp
-a
•There will be no entry at the table because they never
.
communicated with each other.
•If you use Ping command i.e. ping 192.168.1.2. You have made
communication .
•Time To live (TTL) refers to the amount of time or network
hops that a packet is set to live inside a network before it is
discarded by a router. The TTL prevents any data packet from
circulating indefinitely.
•IP address of destination is 192.168.1.2 Reply comes from
destination but one packet is lost because of ARP processing.
•Confirm Address mapping by arp –a command
• All operating systems maintain ARP caches that are

checked before sending an ARP request message.
• Each time a host needs to send a packet to another
host on the LAN, it first checks its ARP cache for the
correct IP address and matching MAC address.
• The addresses will stay in the cache for a couple of
minutes.
Arp -a command: display ARP entries in Windows by using the arp -a command

The H1 will use the broadcast MAC address for the destination (FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF) to all computers.
ARP table on a H1. There is only one entry, the IP address 192.168.1.2 has been mapped to the MAC
address 4e:el:9e:70:4c:f2
( i.e. for H2 computer)
•CASE-1: The sender is a host and wants to send a packet to another host on the same network.
•Use ARP to find another host’s physical address
•CASE-2: The sender is a host and wants to send a packet to another host on another network.
•The sender looks at its routing table.
•Find the IP address of the next-hop (router) for this destination.
•Use ARP to find the router’s physical address
•CASE-3: the sender is a router and received a datagram destined for a host on another network.
•The router checks its routing table.
•Find the IP address of the next router.
•Use ARP to find the next router’s physical address.
•CASE-4: The sender is a router that has received a datagram destined for a host in the same network.
•Use ARP to find this host’s physical address.
•NOTE: An ARP request is a broadcast, and an ARP response is a Unicast.
• Host A determines if the destination IP address of 10.1.1.6 is itself. If that

address is configured on a local interface, the packet never leaves Host A. In
Host A communicate with Host B: this example, 10.1.1.6 is not locally configured on Host A.
• Next, Host A will determine if the 10.1.1.6 address is on the same network or
subnet as itself. Host A consults its local routing table to make this
determination. The subnet mask is /16. Thus, Host A address of 10.1.1.5 & the
destination 10.1.1.6 are on the same network (10.1).
• Because Host A and Host B are on the same network, Host A will then
broadcast an ARP request to get the MAC address of the 10.1.1.6 address.
• Host B responds with an ARP reply, containing its MAC address
(AAAA.BBBB.CCCC).Host A can now construct a Layer-2 frame, with a
destination of Host B’s MAC address.
• HostA forwards this frame to the switch, which then forwards the frame to
Host B
• Netstat
• This command displays active connections, ports on which the computer is listening, Ethernet
statistics, the IP routing table, and IP statistics.
• The output of this command is organized in rows and columns. Each row represents a new
connection or an entry in the output. It contains four columns. These columns provide the
following information about the row.
• Proto: - This column displays the name of the protocol (TCP or UDP).
• Local Address: - This column displays the IP address of the local computer and the port
number being used. If the port is not yet established, the port number is shown as an asterisk
(*).
• Foreign Address: - This column displays the IP address and port number of the remote
computer to which the port is connected.
• State: - This column displays the status of the connection.
Summary
1. Describe the transmission Events or states for Nodes in the following:

i) AlohaNet Random Access.
ii) Single Ring Topology.
iii) Polling in BUS topology
2. Explain:
i) Collision in CSMA/CD in LAN
ii) The features in implementation of FDDI
3.Distinguish modern application for:
i) CSMA/CD with the HUB and Switch in Networks
ii) FDM and TDM
4Explain any two roles of the following in OSI model:
i) Data link layer
ii) Physical layer
5 Describe the TCP/IP model
Reference
Chen, S., Sun, S., & Kang, S. (2020). System integration of terrestrial mobile communication and satellite communication—the trends,
challenges and key technologies in B5G and 6G. China Communications, 17(12), 156-171.
Fujimoto, M., Matsuda, W., & Mitsunaga, T. (2018, November). Detecting abuse of domain administrator privilege using windows event
log. In 2018 IEEE Conference on Application, Information and Network Security (AINS) (pp. 15-20). IEEE.
Halsey, M., & Halsey, M. (2022). Networks and Internet Connections. Windows 10 Troubleshooting: Learn to Troubleshoot and Repair
Wind
Reference
https://www.techbaz.org/Blog/Communication-Media.php
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/a/u/auk3/teaching/portfolio/ist220/notes/CH5_DataLink_Layer.pdf
https://www.scaler.com/topics/differences-between-virtual-circuits-datagram-networks/
Data Communication & Networking by Behrouz A. Forouzan, IV Edition, Tata McGraw-Hill.
(2002)International Organization for Standardization, “ISO/IEC 11801. information technology .generic cabling for customer premises,”
2nd edition
LOCAL AREA NETWORKS CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. Synergy means behavior of whole systems unpredicted by the behavior of their parts.
Richard Buckminster Fuller. Industrial Text & Video Company 1-800-752-8398 www.industrialtext.com
R. Jain994, "FDDI Handbook : High-Speed Networking Using Fiber and Other Media," Addison-Wesley (Reading MA, 1994).
[Rom 1990] R. Rom and M. Sidi, "Multiple Access Protocols: Performance and Analysis," Springer-Verlag, New York, 1990.
Cannon, K., Caudle, K., & Chiarella, A. (2009). CCNA: Guide to Cisco networking (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Course Technology
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Publishing.
Dye, M. A., McDonald, R., & Rufi, A. W. (2008). Network fundamentals: CCNA exploration companion guide. Indianapolis, IN: Cisco Press
IEEE 802. (2009). IEEE standards association: IEEE 802.3 LAN/MAN CSMA/CD access method, Retrieved April 8, 2009, from
http://standards.ieee.org/getieee802/802.3.html
McQuerry, S. (2008). CCNA Self-Study: Introduction to Cisco networking technologies Part 1 (ICND1) 640-822 (2nd ed.). Indianapolis, IN:
Cisco Press.
Odom, W. (2003). CCNA INTRO exam certification guide (CCNA Self-Study, 640-821, 640-801), (1st ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Cisco Press.
https://book.systemsapproach.org/e2e.html
END

BIT 03204 L4 Data Communication Media Access Control

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BIT 03204 L4 Data Communication Media Access Control

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BIT 03204: Communications Systems & Technologies

OSI, Media Access control & Network addressing

Stephen Magu Waweru

• The OSI Architecture

OSI Reference Model describes systems that are available for

Bit : Binary digits(1,0): the data unit the Physical layer

Packet: The basic unit of communication in the

Hop-to-hop (node-to-node) delivery: communication at the

Get Media Access Control address

Internet Protocol (IP) Address:

Routing: After establishment connections to

• Routing example:For a data packet to get

Note: Network layer devices: router and brouter

Process and Port address

Note. The network layer gets each packet to the correct

Transport layer devices are gateways and Firewall system

ii) Synchronization of communication: This layer allows a process to add checkpoints or

Specific services provided by the application layer include the following:

Multiple Access protocols used in wired LAN consist of:

• Metcalfe improved on the Aloha system of arbitrating access to a shared communications

• Frame format of CSMA/CD

Data transmissions in LAN

CSMA/CD Access Algorithm

There are four hosts connected to a hub in the network . Since

Token based access:

Address Resolution Protocol

Two Hosts conduct dialog

ARP is used to discover the physical or MAC add

Routing & connectivity commands

•The two computers, H1 and H2 have their IP

• All operating systems maintain ARP caches that are

Arp -a command: display ARP entries in Windows by using the arp -a command

• Host A determines if the destination IP address of 10.1.1.6 is itself. If that

1. Describe the transmission Events or states for Nodes in the following:

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