B.N.M.

Institute of Technology
Approved by AICTE, Affiliated to VTU, Accredited as Grade A Institution by NAAC.
All UG branches – CSE, ECE, EEE, ISE & Mech.E Accredited by NBA for academic years 2018-19 to 2020-21 & valid upto 30.06.2021
Post box no. 7087, 27th cross, 12th Main, Banashankari 2nd Stage, Bengaluru- 560070, INDIA
Ph: 91-80- 26711780/81/82 Email: [email protected], www. bnmit.org
Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering
Question Bank with Solutions
Course Name: Computer Communication Networks Semester: VI A & B
Course Code: 15EC64 Staff in charge: Dr. JRM/SBL
Module 2
1. Why random-access or contention methods are called so?
Solution: It is called so because of two features:
1. There is no scheduled time for a station to transmit. Transmission is random among the
stations. That is why these methods are called random access.
2. No rules specify which station should send next. Stations compete with one another to
access the medium. That is why these methods are also called contention methods.

In a random-access method, each station has the right to the medium without being controlled by
any other station. However, if more than one station tries to send, there is an access conflict
called as collision and the frames will be either destroyed or modified. To avoid access conflict
or to resolve it when it happens, each station should follow a procedure which gives information
on when the station can access the medium, what the station can do if the medium is busy, how
to determine the success or failure of the transmission and what can the station do if there is an
access conflict.

2. A pure ALOHA network transmits 200-bit frames on a shared channel of 200 kbps.
What is the requirement to make this frame collision-free?
Solution:
Average frame transmission time Tfr = 200 bits/200 kbps =1 ms.
The vulnerable time = 2 × Tfr = 2 × 1 ms = 2 ms.
It means no station should send later than 1 ms before this station starts transmission and no
station should start sending during the period (1 ms) that this station is sending.

3. Explain I-persistent, non-persistent and p-persistent with flow diagram.

Solution: Persistent methods are devised for stations to know how they should react/act when
channel is busy or idle. There are three methods:
a. 1-Persistent method

1
In this method, after the station finds the line idle, it sends its frame immediately (with
probability 1). This method has the highest chance of collision because two or more stations may
find the line idle and send their frames immediately. Ethernet uses this method.
b. Nonpersistent method

In this method, a station that has a frame to send senses the line. If the line is idle, it sends
immediately. If the line is not idle, it waits a random amount of time and then senses the line
again. This approach reduces the chance of collision because it is unlikely that two or more
stations will wait the same amount of time and retry to send simultaneously. However, this
method reduces the efficiency of the network because the medium remains idle when there may
be stations with frames to send.

c. p-Persistent method

The p-persistent method is used if the channel has time slots with slot duration equal to or greater
than the maximum propagation time. The p-persistent approach combines the advantages of the
other two strategies. It reduces the chance of collision and improves efficiency.

2
 Flowchart

In this method, after the station finds the line idle it follows these steps:
1. With probability p, the station sends its frame.
2. With probability q = 1 − p, the station waits for the beginning of the next time slot and
checks the line again.
a. If the line is idle, it goes to step 1.
b. If the line is busy, it acts as though a collision has occurred and uses the backoff
procedure.

4. Explain vulnerable time for Pure and slotted ALOHA.

Solution: Vulnerable time is the length of time in which there is a possibility of collision. Let us
assume that the stations send fixed-length frames with each frame taking Tfr seconds to send.
Consider three stations and station B starts to send a frame at time t. Now if station A starts to
send its frame after t- Tfr. This leads to a collision between the frames from station B and station
A. On the other hand, suppose that station C starts to send a frame before time t + Tfr. Again,
there is a collision between frames from station B and station C. Therefore, the vulnerable time
during which a collision may occur in pure ALOHA is 2 times the frame transmission time.

Pure ALOHA vulnerable time = 2 × Tfr

3
In slotted ALOHA we divide the time into slots of Tfr seconds and force the station to send only
at the beginning of the time slot. Figure shows an example of frame collisions in slotted
ALOHA.

As a station is allowed to send only at the beginning of the synchronized time slot, if a station
misses this moment, it must wait until the beginning of the next time slot. This means that the
station which started at the beginning of this slot has already finished sending its frame. There is
still the possibility of collision if two stations try to send at the beginning of the same time slot.

The vulnerable time is reduced to one-half, equal to Tfr.

Slotted ALOHA vulnerable time = Tfr

5. A pure ALOHA and a slotted ALOHA network transmits 200-bit frames on a shared
channel of 200 kbps. What is the throughput if the system (all stations together) produces
a. 1000 frames per second?
b. 500 frames per second?
c. 250 frames per second?
Solution:
Pure ALOHA:
The frame transmission time Tfr = 200 bits/200 kbps =1 ms.
a. If the system creates 1000 frames per second, or 1 frame per millisecond, then G = 1.

4
 In this case S = G × e−2G = 0.135 (13.5 percent).
This means that the throughput is 1000 × 0.135 = 135 frames. Only 135 frames out of
1000 will probably survive.

b. If the system creates 500 frames per second, or 1/2 frames per millisecond, then G = 1/2.
In this case S = G × e−2G = 0.184 (18.4 percent).
This means that the throughput is 500 × 0.184 = 92 and those only 92 frames out of 500
will probably survive.

c. If the system creates 250 frames per second, or 1/4 frames per millisecond, then G = 1/4.
In this case S = G × e−2G = 0.152 (15.2 percent).
This means that the throughput is 250 × 0.152 = 38. Only 38 frames out of 250 will
probably survive.

Slotted ALOHA:
The frame transmission time Tfr = 200 bits/200 kbps =1 ms.
a. If the system creates 1000 frames per second, or 1 frame per millisecond, then G = 1.
In this case S = G × e−G = 0.368 (36.8 percent).
This means that the throughput is 1000 × 0. 368 = 368 frames. Only 368 frames out of
1000 will probably survive.

b. If the system creates 500 frames per second, or 1/2 frames per millisecond, then G = 1/2.
In this case S = G × e−G = 0.303(30.3 percent).
This means that the throughput is 500 × 0.303= 151 and those only 151 frames out of 500
will probably survive.

c. If the system creates 250 frames per second, or 1/4 frames per millisecond, then G = 1/4.
In this case S = G × e−G = 0.195 (19.5 percent).
This means that the throughput is 250 × 0. 195 = 49. Only 49 frames out of 250 will
probably survive.

6. A network using CSMA/CD has a bandwidth of 10 Mbps. If the maximum propagation

time (including the delays in the devices and ignoring the time needed to send a jamming
signal, as we see later) is 25.6 μs, what is the minimum size of the frame?
Solution:
Given Tp=25.6 μs
Minimum frame transmission time is Tfr = 2 × Tp = 51.2 μs.
This means, in the worst case, a station needs to transmit for a period of 51.2 μs to detect
the collision.
Minimum size of the frame =10 Mbps × 51.2 μs = 512 bits or 64 bytes.

7. Explain with a neat flow diagram for CSMA/CD

Solution:

5
Procedure
The working of CSMA/CD is similar to ALOHA protocol. But there are three differences.
1. The addition of the persistence process. Stations need to sense the channel before they
start sending the frame by using one of the persistence processes (nonpersistent, 1-
persistent, or p-persistent). The corresponding box can be replaced by one of the
persistence processes.
2. The frame transmission. In ALOHA, stations first transmit the entire frame and then wait
for an acknowledgment. In CSMA/CD, transmission and collision detection are
continuous processes. The stations do not send the entire frame and then look for a
collision. The station transmits and receives continuously and simultaneously (using two
different ports or a bidirectional port). A loop is used to show that transmission is a
continuous process. Ii is constantly monitored in order to detect one of two conditions:
either transmission is finished or a collision is detected. Either event stops transmission.
When we come out of the loop, if a collision has not been detected, it means that
transmission is complete; the entire frame is transmitted. Otherwise, a collision has
occurred.
3. The sending of a short jamming signal to make sure that all other stations become aware
of the collision.

8. Explain how collisions are avoided through the three strategies of CSMA/CA.
Solution:
The three strategies are
1. Interframe space
2. Contention window
3. Acknowledgments

6
 1. Interframe Space (IFS):
First, collisions are avoided by deferring transmission even if the channel is found idle. When an
idle channel is found, the station does not send immediately. It waits for a period of time called
the interframe space or IFS. Even though the channel may appear idle when it is sensed, a
distant station may have already started transmitting. The distant station’s signal has not yet
reached this station. The IFS time allows the front of the transmitted signal by the distant station
to reach this station. After waiting an IFS time, if the channel is still idle, the station can send,
but it still needs to wait a time equal to the contention window. The IFS variable can also be used
to prioritize stations or frame types. For example, a station that is assigned shorter IFS has a
higher priority
2. Contention Window:

7
The contention window is an amount of time divided into slots. A station that is ready to send
chooses a random number of slots as its wait time. The number of slots in the window changes
according to the binary exponential backoff strategy. This means that it is set to one slot the first
time and then doubles each time the station cannot detect an idle channel after the IFS time. This
is very similar to the p-persistent method except that a random outcome defines the number of
slots taken by the waiting station.
One interesting point about the contention window is that the station needs to sense the channel
after each time slot. However, if the station finds the channel busy, it does not restart the process;
it just stops the timer and restarts it when the channel is sensed as idle. This gives priority to the
station with the longest waiting time.
3. Acknowledgment:
With all these precautions, there still may be a collision resulting in destroyed data. In addition,
the data may be corrupted during the transmission. The positive acknowledgment and the time-
out timer can help guarantee that the receiver has received the frame.

9. Describe the Reservation method in controlled access method.

Solution:
In the reservation method, a station needs to make a reservation before sending data. Time is
divided into intervals. In each interval, a reservation frame precedes the data frames sent in that
interval. If there are N stations in the system, there are exactly N reservation minislots in the
reservation frame. Each minislot belongs to a station. When a station needs to send a data frame,
it makes a reservation in its own minislot. The stations that have made reservations can send
their data frames after the reservation frame.
Example of five stations and a five-minislot reservation frame. In the first interval, only stations
1, 3, and 4 have made reservations. In the second interval, only station 1 has made a reservation.

10. Describe the polling method in controlled access method.

Solution:
Polling works with topologies in which one device is designated as a primary station and the
other devices are secondary stations. All data exchanges must be made through the primary
device even when the ultimate destination is a secondary device. The primary device controls the
link; the secondary devices follow its instructions. It is up to the primary device to determine
which device is allowed to use the channel at a given time. The primary device, therefore, is
always the initiator of a session. This method uses poll and select functions to prevent collisions.
However, the drawback is if the primary station fails, the system goes down.

8
Select
The select function is used whenever the primary device has something to send. The primary
controls the link. If the primary is neither sending nor receiving data, it knows the link is
available. If it has something to send, the primary device sends it. What it does not know,
however, is whether the target device is prepared to receive. So the primary must alert the
secondary to the upcoming transmission and wait for an acknowledgment of the secondary’s
ready status. Before sending data, the primary creates and transmits a select (SEL) frame, one
field of which includes the address of the intended secondary.
Poll
The poll function is used by the primary device to solicit transmissions from the secondary
devices. When the primary is ready to receive data, it must ask (poll) each device in turn if it has
anything to send. When the first secondary is approached, it responds either with a NAK frame if
it has nothing to send or with data (in the form of a data frame) if it does. If the response is
negative (a NAK frame), then the primary polls the next secondary in the same manner until it
finds one with data to send. When the response is positive (a data frame), the primary reads the
frame and returns an acknowledgment (ACK frame), verifying its receipt.

11. Describe the token passing method in controlled access method.

Solution:
In the token-passing method, the stations in a network are organized in a logical ring. In other
words, for each station, there is a predecessor and a successor. The predecessor is the station
which is logically before the station in the ring; the successor is the station which is after the
station in the ring. The current station is the one that is accessing the channel now. The right to
this access has been passed from the predecessor to the current station. The right will be passed
to the successor when the current station has no more data to send.

In this method, a special packet called a token circulates through the ring. The possession of the
token gives the station the right to access the channel and send its data. When a station has some
data to send, it waits until it receives the token from its predecessor. It then holds the token and
sends its data. When the station has no more data to send, it releases the token, passing it to the

9
next logical station in the ring. The station cannot send data until it receives the token again in
the next round. In this process, when a station receives the token and has no data to send, it just
passes the data to the next station.

Token management is needed for this access method. Stations must be limited in the time they
can have possession of the token. The token must be monitored to ensure it has not been lost or
destroyed. For example, if a station that is holding the token fails, the token will disappear from
the network. Another function of token management is to assign priorities to the stations and to
the types of data being transmitted. And finally, token management is needed to make low-
priority stations release the token to high-priority stations.

In a token-passing network, stations do not have to be physically connected in a ring; the ring
can be a logical one.

In the physical ring topology, when a station sends the token to

its successor, the token cannot be seen by other stations; the
successor is the next one in line. This means that the token does
not have to have the address of the next successor. The problem
with this topology is that if one of the links—the medium
between two adjacent stations—fails, the whole system fails.

The dual ring topology uses a second (auxiliary) ring which

operates in the reverse direction compared with the main ring.
The second ring is for emergencies only. If one of the links in the
main ring fails, the system automatically combines the two rings
to form a temporary ring. After the failed link is restored, the
auxiliary ring becomes idle again. Note that for this topology to
work, each station needs to have two transmitter ports and two
receiver ports. The high-speed Token Ring networks called
FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) and CDDI (Copper
Distributed Data Interface) use this topology.

In the bus ring topology, also called a token bus, the stations are
connected to a single cable called a bus. They, however, make a
logical ring, because each station knows the address of its
successor (and also predecessor for token management
purposes). When a station has finished sending its data, it
releases the token and inserts the address of its successor in the
token. Only the station with the address matching the destination
address of the token gets the token to access the shared media.
The Token Bus LAN, standardized by IEEE, uses this topology.

10
 In a star ring topology, the physical topology is a star. There is
a hub, however, that acts as the connector. The wiring inside
the hub makes the ring; the stations are connected to this ring
through the two wire connections. This topology makes the
network less prone to failure because if a link goes down, it
will be bypassed by the hub and the rest of the stations can
operate. Also adding and removing stations from the ring is
easier. This topology is still used in the Token Ring LAN
designed by IBM.

12. Explain IEEE 802 Ethernet

Solution:
In 1985, the Computer Society of the IEEE started a project, called Project 802, to set standards
to enable intercommunication among equipment from a variety of manufacturers. Project 802 is
a way of specifying functions of the physical layer and the data-link layer of major LAN
protocols. The IEEE has subdivided the data-link layer into two sublayers: logical link control
(LLC) and media access control (MAC). IEEE has also created several physical-layer
standards for different LAN protocols.

Logical Link Control (LLC)

Earlier we discussed data link control. We said that data link control handles framing, flow
control, and error control. In IEEE Project 802, flow control, error control, and part of the
framing duties are collected into one sublayer called the logical link control (LLC). Framing is
handled in both the LLC sublayer and the MAC sublayer. The LLC provides a single link-layer
control protocol for all IEEE LANs. This means LLC protocol can provide interconnectivity
between different LANs because it makes the MAC sublayer transparent.

Media Access Control (MAC)

Earlier we discussed multiple access methods including random access, controlled access, and
channelization. IEEE Project 802 has created a sublayer called media access control that defines
the specific access method for each LAN. For example, it defines CSMA/CD as the media access

11
method for Ethernet LANs and defines the token-passing method for Token Ring and Token Bus
LANs. As we mentioned in the previous section, part of the framing function is also handled by
the MAC layer.

13. Define the type of the following destination addresses

a) 4A:30:10:21:10:1A
b) 47:20:1B:2E:08:EE
c) FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF
Solution:
To find the type of the address, we need to look at the second hexadecimal digit from the left. If
it is even, the address is unicast. If it is odd, the address is multicast. If all digits are Fs, the
address is broadcast. Therefore, we have the following:
a) This is a unicast address because A in binary is 1010 (even).
b) This is a multicast address because 7 in binary is 0111 (odd).
This is a broadcast address because all digits are Fs in hexadecimal

14. Write a short note on Ethernet Evolution

Solution:
The Ethernet LAN was developed in the 1970s by Robert Metcalfe and David Boggs. Since then,
it has gone through four generations.

1. Standard Ethernet (10 Mbps)

The original Ethernet technology with the data rate of 10 Mbps is referred as the Standard
Ethernet. The standard defines the maximum length of a frame (without preamble and SFD field)
as 1518 bytes. If we subtract the 18 bytes of header and trailer, the maximum length of the
payload is 1500 bytes. The maximum length restriction has two historical reasons. First, memory
was very expensive when Ethernet was designed; a maximum length restriction helped to reduce
the size of the buffer. Second, the maximum length restriction prevents one station from
monopolizing the shared medium, blocking other stations that have data to send. Each station on
an Ethernet network (such as a PC, workstation, or printer) has its own network interface card
(NIC). The NIC fits inside the station and provides the station with a link-layer address. The
Ethernet address is 6 bytes (48 bits), normally written in hexadecimal notation, with a colon
between the bytes. A source address is always a unicast address—the frame comes from only
one station. The destination address, however, can be unicast, multicast, or broadcast. Since the
network that uses the standard Ethernet protocol is a broadcast network, we need to use an access
method to control access to the sharing medium. The standard Ethernet chose CSMA/CD with 1-
persistent method.
The efficiency of the Ethernet is defined as the ratio of the time used by a station to send data to
the time the medium is occupied by this station. The practical efficiency of standard Ethernet has
been measured to be

12
Efficiency = 1/ (1+6.4 ×a)
in which the parameter “a” is the number of frames that can fit on the medium.
The standard Ethernet uses a baseband signal (digital signaling) at 10Mbps, which means that the
bits are changed to a digital signal and directly sent on the line.
At the sender, data are converted to a digital signal using the Manchester scheme; at the receiver,
the received signal is interpreted as Manchester and decoded into data. Manchester encoding is
self-synchronous, providing a transition at each bit interval.
Four ways of the Standard Ethernet implementations: 10Base5, 10Base2, 10Base-T and 10Base-
F
Changes have been occurred to the 10-Mbps Standard Ethernet. These changes actually
opened the road to the evolution of the Ethernet to become compatible with other high-data-
rate LANs.
1. Bridged Ethernet
2. Switched Ethernet
3. Full-Duplex Ethernet

2.Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps)

 Ethernet made a big jump by increasing the transmission rate to 100 Mbps, and the new
generation was called the Fast Ethernet.
 LAN technologies such as FDDI and Fiber Channel require transmission rates higher
than 10 Mbps.
 MAC sublayer of the standard Ethernet was left unchanged, which meant the frame
format and the maximum and minimum size could also remain unchanged.
 Features of Fast Ethernet:
1. Upgrade the data rate to 100 Mbps.
2. Make it compatible with Standard Ethernet.
3. Keep the same 48-bit address.
4. Keep the same frame format
 The proper operation of the CSMA/CD depends on the transmission rate, the minimum
size of the frame, and the maximum network length.
 If we want to keep the minimum size of the frame, the maximum length of the network
should be changed.
 In other words, if the minimum frame size is still 512 bits, and it is transmitted 10 times
faster, the collision needs to be detected 10 times sooner, which means the maximum
length of the network should be 10 times shorter (the propagation speed does not
change).
Topology
 Fast Ethernet is designed to connect two or more stations.
 If there are only two stations, they can be connected point-to-point.
 Three or more stations need to be connected in a star topology with a hub or a switch at
the center.

Encoding
 Manchester encoding needs a 200-Mbaud bandwidth for a data rate of 100 Mbps, which
makes it unsuitable for a medium such as twisted-pair cable.

13
  For this reason, the Fast Ethernet uses alternative encoding/decoding scheme. Three
different encoding schemes were chosen as one scheme would not perform equally well
for all three implementations.

3.Gigabit Ethernet (1 Gbps)

The need for an even higher data rate resulted in the design of the Gigabit Ethernet Protocol
(1000 Mbps). The IEEE committee calls it the Standard 802.3z.
Goals of the Gigabit Ethernet:
 To upgrade the data rate to 1 Gbps, but keep the address length, the frame format, and the
maximum and minimum frame length the same.
 Make it compatible with Standard or Fast Ethernet. Use the same 48-bit address.
 Use the same frame format.
 Keep the same minimum and maximum frame lengths.
 Support autonegotiation as defined in Fast Ethernet.

MAC Sublayer
 MAC sublayer is modified in Gigabit Ethernet.
 Gigabit Ethernet has two distinctive approaches for medium access:
 half-duplex
 fullduplex.
 Almost all implementations of Gigabit Ethernet follow the full-duplex approach, so we
mostly ignore the half-duplex mode.
Topology
Gigabit Ethernet is designed to connect two or more stations.
If there are only two stations, they can be connected point-to-point. Three or more stations need
to be connected in a star topology with a hub or a switch at the center. Another possible
configuration is to connect several star topologies or let one star topology be part of another.

Implementation
 Gigabit Ethernet can be categorized as either a two-wire or a four-wire implementation.
 The two-wire implementations use fiber-optic cable (1000Base-SX, short-wave, or
 1000Base-LX, long-wave), or STP (1000Base-CX).
 The four-wire version uses category 5 twisted-pair cable (1000Base-T).
 In other words, we have four implementations. 1000Base-T was designed in response to
those users who had already installed this wiring for other purposes such as Fast Ethernet
or telephone services
Encoding
 Gigabit Ethernet cannot use the Manchester encoding scheme because it involves a very
high bandwidth (2 GBaud). The two-wire implementations use an NRZ scheme, but NRZ
does not self-synchronize properly.
 In the four-wire implementation it is not possible to have 2 wires for input and 2 for
output, because each wire would need to carry 500 Mbps, which exceeds the capacity for
category 5 UTP
4.10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 Gbps)
 It is used in metropolitan areas.

14
  It extends the technology, the data rate, and the coverage distance so that the Ethernet can
be used as LAN and MAN (metropolitan area network).
 The IEEE committee created 10 Gigabit Ethernet and called it Standard 802.3ae.

Goals of the 10 Gigabit Ethernet design:

upgrading the data rate to 10 Gbps, keeping the same frame size and format, and allowing the
interconnection of LANs, MANs, and WAN possible.
This data rate is possible only with fiber-optic technology at this time.
The standard defines two types of physical layers: LAN PHY and WAN PHY.
The first is designed to support existing LANs; the second actually defines a
WAN with links connected through SONET OC-192.

Implementation
10 Gigabit Ethernet operates only in full-duplex mode, which means there is no need for
contention;
CSMA/CD is not used in 10 Gigabit Ethernet.
Four implementations are the most common: 10GBase-SR, 10GBase-LR, 10GBase-EW, and
10GBase-X4.

15. With a neat diagram explain Ethernet Frame Format.

Solution:
The Ethernet frame contains seven fields, as shown in figure.

 Preamble: This field contains 7 bytes (56 bits) of alternating 0s and 1s that alert the
receiving system to the coming frame and enable it to synchronize its clock if it’s out of
synchronization. The pattern provides only an alert and a timing pulse. The 56-bit pattern
allows the stations to miss some bits at the beginning of the frame. The preamble is
actually added at the physical layer and is not (formally) part of the frame.
 Start frame delimiter (SFD): This field (1 byte: 10101011) signals the beginning of the
frame. The SFD warns the station or stations that this is the last chance for
synchronization. The last 2 bits are (11)2 and alert the receiver that the next field is the
destination address. This field is actually a flag that defines the beginning of the frame.
We need to remember that an Ethernet frame is a variable-length frame. It needs a flag to
define the beginning of the frame. The SFD field is also added at the physical layer.

15
  Destination address (DA): This field is six bytes (48 bits) and contains the link layer
address of the destination station or stations to receive the packet. We will discuss
addressing shortly. When the receiver sees its own link-layer address, or a multicast
address for a group that the receiver is a member of, or a broadcast address, it
decapsulates the data from the frame and passes the data to the upper layer protocol
defined by the value of the type field.
 Source address (SA): This field is also six bytes and contains the link-layer address of
the sender of the packet. We will discuss addressing shortly.
 Type: This field defines the upper-layer protocol whose packet is encapsulated in the
frame. This protocol can be IP, ARP, OSPF, and so on. In other words, it serves the same
purpose as the protocol field in a datagram and the port number in a segment or user
datagram. It is used for multiplexing and demultiplexing.
 Data: This field carries data encapsulated from the upper-layer protocols. It is a
minimum of 46 and a maximum of 1500 bytes. We discuss the reason for these minimum
and maximum values shortly. If the data coming from the upper layer is more than 1500
bytes, it should be fragmented and encapsulated in more than one frame. If it is less than
46 bytes, it needs to be padded with extra 0s. A padded data frame is delivered to the
upper-layer protocol as it is (without removing the padding), which means that it is the
responsibility of the upper layer to remove or, in the case of the sender, to add the
padding. The upper-layer protocol needs to know the length of its data. For example, a
datagram has a field that defines the length of the data.
 CRC: The last field contains error detection information, in this case a CRC-32. The
CRC is calculated over the addresses, types, and data field. If the receiver calculates the
CRC and finds that it is not zero (corruption in transmission), it discards the frame.

16. Explain the standard Ethernet physical layer implementation of (i)10base 2 (ii)10base5
Solution:
10Base2: Thin Ethernet Implementation

 The second implementation is called 10Base2, thin Ethernet, or Cheapernet.

 10Base2 also uses a bus topology, but the cable is much thinner and more flexible. The
cable can be bent to pass very close to the stations.
 In this case, the transceiver is normally part of the network interface card (NIC), which is
installed inside the station.
16
  The collision here occurs in the thin coaxial cable.
 This implementation is more cost effective than 10Base5 because thin coaxial cable is
less expensive than thick coaxial and the tee connections are much cheaper than taps.
 Installation is simpler because the thin coaxial cable is very flexible.
 However, the length of each segment cannot exceed 185 m (close to 200 m) due to the
high level of attenuation in thin coaxial cable.

10Base5: Thick Ethernet Implementation

 The first implementation is called 10Base5, thick Ethernet, or Thicknet.
 It is called so because of the size of the cable, which is roughly the size of a garden hose
and too stiff to bend with your hands.
 10Base5 was the first Ethernet specification to use a bus topology with an external
transceiver (transmitter/receiver) connected via a tap to a thick coaxial cable.

 The figure above shows 10Base5 implementation.

 The transceiver is responsible for transmitting, receiving, and detecting collisions.
 The transceiver is connected to the station via a transceiver cable that provides separate
paths for sending and receiving.
 This means that collision can only happen in the coaxial cable.
 The maximum length of the coaxial cable must not exceed 500 m, otherwise, there is
excessive degradation of the signal.
 If a length of more than 500 m is needed, up to five segments, each a maximum of 500
meters, can be connected using repeaters.

17. With a neat diagram, explain Gigabit Ethernet encoding scheme.

Solution:
Gigabit Ethernet cannot use the Manchester encoding scheme because it involves a very high
bandwidth (2 GBaud). The two-wire implementations use an NRZ scheme, but NRZ does not
self-synchronize properly. To synchronize bits, particularly at this high data rate, 8B/10B block
encoding is used. This block encoding prevents long sequences of 0s or 1s in the stream, but the
resulting stream is 1.25 Gbps. Note that in this implementation, one wire (fiber or STP) is used
for sending and one for receiving.

17
In the four-wire implementation it is not possible to have 2 wires for input and 2 for output,
because each wire would need to carry 500 Mbps, which exceeds the capacity for category 5
UTP. As a solution, 4D-PAM5 encoding is used to reduce the bandwidth. Thus, all four wires are
involved in both input and output; each wire carries 250 Mbps, which is in the range for category
5 UTP cable.

18. In the Standard Ethernet with the transmission rate of 10 Mbps, we assume that the
length of the medium is 2500 m and the size of the frame is 512 bits. The propagation speed
of a signal in a cable is normally 2 × 108 m/s.
Solution:
Propagation delay = 2500/(2×108) = 12.5 µs
Transmission delay = 512/(107) = 51.2 µs
a = (propagation delay)/(transmission delay)
= 12.5/51.2
= 0.24
Efficiency = 1/ (1+6.4 ×a)
= 1/ (1+6.4 × 0.24)
= 39.4% ~39%

18
19. Explain with the diagram 10Base-T: Twisted-Pair Ethernet Implementation
Solution:

 The third implementation is called 10Base-T or twisted-pair Ethernet.

 10Base-T uses a physical star topology.
 The stations are connected to a hub via two pairs of twisted cable.
 Two pairs of twisted cable create two paths (one for sending and one for receiving)
between the station and the hub.
 Any collision here happens in the hub.
 Compared to 10Base5 or 10Base2, the hub actually replaces the coaxial cable as far as a
collision is concerned.
 The maximum length of the twisted cable here is defined as 100 m, to minimize the effect
of attenuation in the twisted cable.

20. Explain with the diagram 10Base-F: Fiber Ethernet Implementation

Solution:

 Although there are several types of optical fiber 10-Mbps Ethernet, the most common is
called 10Base-F.
 10Base-F uses a star topology to connect stations to a hub.
 The stations are connected to the hub using two fiber-optic cables.

21. What is Autonegotiation? Where it is used?

Solution:
A new feature of Fast Ethernet is called autonegotiation. It allows a station or a hub a range of
capabilities. Autonegotiation allows two devices to negotiate the mode or data rate of operation.

19
It was designed particularly to allow incompatible devices to connect to one another. For
example, a device with a maximum data rate of 10 Mbps can communicate with a device with a
100 Mbps data rate (but which can work at a lower rate).

Goals of autonegotiation:
1. To allow incompatible devices to connect to one another. For example, a device with
a maximum capacity of 10 Mbps can communicate with a device with a 100 Mbps
capacity (but which can work at a lower rate).
2. To allow one device to have multiple capabilities.
3. To allow a station to check a hub’s capabilities.

22. Explain two distinctive approaches for medium access in Gigabit Ethernet.
Solution:
 MAC sublayer is modified in Gigabit Ethernet.
 Gigabit Ethernet has two distinctive approaches for medium access:
 half-duplex
 fullduplex.
 Almost all implementations of Gigabit Ethernet follow the full-duplex approach, so we
mostly ignore the half-duplex mode.

Full-Duplex Mode
 In full-duplex mode, there is a central switch connected to all computers or other
switches.
 In this mode, for each input port, each switch has buffers in which data are stored until
they are transmitted.
 The switch uses the destination address of the frame and sends a frame out of the port
connected to that particular destination, there is no collision.
 This means that CSMA/CD is not used.
 Lack of collision implies that the maximum length of the cable is determined by the
signal attenuation in the cable, not by the collision detection process.
Half-Duplex Mode
 In this case, a switch can be replaced by a hub, which acts as the common cable in which
a collision might occur.
 The half-duplex approach uses CSMA/CD.
 However, the maximum length of the network in this approach is totally dependent on the
minimum frame size.
 Three methods have been defined: traditional, carrier extension, and frame bursting.
In the traditional approach, we keep the minimum length of the frame as in
traditional Ethernet (512 bits). However, because the length of a bit is 1/100 shorter in
Gigabit Ethernet than in 10-Mbps Ethernet, the slot time for Gigabit Ethernet is 512 bits × 1/
1000 μs, which is equal to 0.512 μs. The reduced slot time means that collision is detected
100 times earlier. This means that the maximum length of the network is 25 m. This length
may be suitable if all the stations are in one room, but it may not even be long enough to
connect the computers in one single office.

20
 The carrier extension approach defines the minimum length of a frame as 512 bytes
(4096 bits). This means that the minimum length is 8 times longer. This method forces a
station to add extension bits (padding) to any frame that is less than 4096 bits. In this way,
the maximum length of the network can be increased 8 times to a length of 200 m. This
allows a length of 100 m from the hub to the station. Carrier extension is very inefficient if
we have a series of short frames to send; each frame carries redundant data.
To improve efficiency, frame bursting was proposed. Instead of adding an extension
to each frame, multiple frames are sent. However, to make these multiple frames look like
one frame, padding is added between the frames (the same as that used for the carrier
extension method) so that the channel is not idle. In other words, the method deceives other
stations into thinking that a very large frame has been transmitted.

21