UNIT 2

DATA LINK LAYER

Errors

• When bits are transmitted over the computer network, they are subject to get corrupted due to
interference and network problems. The corrupted bits leads to spurious data being received by
the destination and are called errors.
• Error control in data link layer is the process of detecting and correcting data frames that have
been corrupted or lost during transmission.
• In case of lost or corrupted frames, the receiver does not receive the correct data-frame and the
sender is ignorant about the loss.
• Data link layer follows a technique to detect transit errors and take necessary actions, which is
retransmission of frames whenever error is detected, or frame is lost. The process is called
Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ).
Types of Errors
Errors can be of three types, namely single bit errors, multiple bit errors, and burst errors.
• Single bit error − In the received frame, only one bit has been corrupted, i.e. eitherchanged
from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0.
•

• Multiple bits error − In the received frame, more than one bits are corrupted.

• Burst error − In the received frame, more than one consecutive bits are corrupted.

Error control can be done in two ways

• Error detection − Error detection involves checking whether any error has occurred ornot. The
number of error bits and the type of error does not matter.
• Error correction − Error correction involves ascertaining the exact number of bits thathas been
corrupted and the location of the corrupted bits.
 For both error detection and error correction, the sender needs to send some additional bits along with
the data bits. The receiver performs necessary checks based upon the additional redundant bits. If it
finds that the data is free from errors, it removes the redundant bits before passing the message to the
upper layers.
Bit Stuffing and Byte Stuffing
• Byte stuffing is a mechanism to convert a message formed of a sequence of bytes that may
contain reserved values such as frame delimiter, into another byte sequence that does not contain
the reserved values.
• Bit stuffing is the mechanism of inserting one or more non-information bits into a message to
be transmitted, to break up the message sequence, for synchronization purpose.
Purposes of byte stuffing and bit stuffing
• In Data Link layer, the stream of bits from physical layer are divided into data frames.
• The data frames can be of fixed length or variable length.
• In variable - length framing, the size of each frame to be transmitted may be different. So, a
pattern of bits is used as a delimiter to mark the end of one frame and the beginningof the next
frame.
• However, if the pattern occurs in the message, then mechanisms needs to be incorporated so that
this situation is avoided.
The two common approaches are −
Byte - Stuffing − A byte is stuffed in the message to differentiate from the delimiter. Thisis also
called character-oriented framing.
Bit - Stuffing − A pattern of bits of arbitrary length is stuffed in the message to differentiatefrom the
delimiter. This is also called bit - oriented framing.

Data link layer frames in byte stuffing and bit stuffing A

data link frame has the following parts −
• Frame Header − It contains the source, and the destination addresses of the frame.
• Payload field − It contains the message to be delivered. In bit stuffing it is a variable sequence
of bits, while in byte stuffing it is a variable sequence of data bytes.
• Trailer − It contains the error detection and error correction bits.
• Flags − Flags are the frame delimiters signaling the start and end of the frame. In bit stuffing,
flag comprises of a bit pattern that defines the beginning and end bits. It is generally of 8-bits
and comprises of six or more consecutive 1s. In byte stuffing, flag is of 1- byte denoting a
protocol - dependent special character.
Mechanisms of byte stuffing versus bit stuffing Byte
Stuffing Mechanism
If the pattern of the flag byte is present in the message byte sequence, there should be a strategyso that
the receiver does not consider the pattern as the end of the frame. Here, a special byte called the escape
character (ESC) is stuffed before every byte in the message with the same pattern as the flag byte. If
the ESC sequence is found in the message byte, then another ESC byte is stuffed before it.

Bit Stuffing Mechanism

Here, the delimiting flag sequence generally contains six or more consecutive 1s. Most protocols use
the 8-bit pattern 01111110 as flag. In order to differentiate the message from theflag in case of same
sequence, a single bit is stuffed in the message. Whenever a 0 bit is followed by five consecutive 1bits
in the message, an extra 0 bit is stuffed at the end of the five 1s. When the receiver receives the message,
it removes the stuffed 0s after each sequence of five 1s. The un-stuffed message is then sent to the upper
layers.

Error Detection Techniques

There are three main techniques for detecting errors in frames: Parity Check, Checksum and Cyclic
Redundancy Check (CRC).
Parity Check
• The parity check is done by adding an extra bit, called parity bit to the data to make a number of
1s either even in case of even parity or odd in case of odd parity.
• While creating a frame, the sender counts the number of 1s in it and adds the parity bit in the
following way
• In case of even parity: If a number of 1s is even then parity bit value is 0. If the number of
1s is odd then parity bit value is 1.
• In case of odd parity: If a number of 1s is odd then parity bit value is 0. If a number of 1s is
even then parity bit value is 1.
• On receiving a frame, the receiver counts the number of 1s in it. In case of even parity check,
if the count of 1s is even, the frame is accepted, otherwise, it is rejected.A similar rule is
adopted for odd parity check.
• The parity check is suitable for single bit error detection only.

Checksum
In this error detection scheme, the following procedure is applied
• Data is divided into fixed sized frames or segments.
• The sender adds the segments using 1’s complement arithmetic to get the sum. It then
complements the sum to get the checksum and sends it along with the data frames.
• The receiver adds the incoming segments along with the checksum using 1’scomplement
arithmetic to get the sum and then complements it.

• If the result is zero, the received frames are accepted; otherwise, they are discarded.

Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)

Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) involves binary division of the data bits being sent by a
predetermined divisor agreed upon by the communicating system. The divisor is generated using
polynomials.
• Here, the sender performs binary division of the data segment by the divisor. It then appends the
remainder called CRC bits to the end of the data segment. This makes the resulting data unit
exactly divisible by the divisor.
• The receiver divides the incoming data unit by the divisor. If there is no remainder, the data unit
is assumed to be correct and is accepted. Otherwise, it is understood that the data is corrupted
and is therefore rejected.

Error Correction Techniques

Error correction techniques find out the exact number of bits that have been corrupted and as well as
their locations. There are two principle ways
• Backward Error Correction (Retransmission) − If the receiver detects an error in the
incoming frame, it requests the sender to retransmit the frame. It is a relatively simple technique.
But it can be efficiently used only where retransmitting is not expensive as in fiber optics and
the time for retransmission is low relative to the requirements of the application.
• Forward Error Correction − If the receiver detects some error in the incoming frame, it
executes error-correcting code that generates the actual frame. This saves bandwidth
 required for retransmission. It is inevitable in real-time systems. However, if there aretoo many
errors, the frames need to be retransmitted.

The four main error correction codes are

• Hamming Codes
• Binary Convolution Code
• Reed – Solomon Code
• Low-Density Parity-Check Code
Flow Control
Flow control is a technique that allows two stations working at different speeds to communicate with
each other. It is a set of measures taken to regulate the amount of data thata sender sends so that a fast
sender does not overwhelm a slow receiver. In data link layer, flow control restricts the number of
frames the sender can send before it waits for an acknowledgment from the receiver.
Approaches of Flow Control

Flow control can be broadly classified into two categories

• Feedback based Flow Control - In these protocols, the sender sends frames after it hasreceived
acknowledgments from the user. This is used in the data link layer.
• Rate based Flow Control - These protocols have built in mechanisms to restrict the rate of
transmission of data without requiring acknowledgment from the receiver. This is used in the
network layer and the transport layer.
Flow Control Techniques in Data Link Layer
Data link layer uses feedback based flow control mechanisms. There are two main techniques

Stop and Wait ARQ

This protocol involves the following transitions:
• A timeout counter is maintained by the sender, which is started when a frame is sent.
 • If the sender receives acknowledgment of the sent frame within time, the sender is confirmed
about successful delivery of the frame. It then transmits the next frame in queue.
• If the sender does not receive the acknowledgment within time, the sender assumes that either
the frame or its acknowledgment is lost in transit. It then retransmits the frame.
• If the sender receives a negative acknowledgment, the sender retransmits the frame.

Go-Back-N ARQ
The working principle of this protocol is:
• The sender has buffers called sending window.
• The sender sends multiple frames based upon the sending-window size, withoutreceiving the
acknowledgment of the previous ones.
• The receiver receives frames one by one. It keeps track of incoming frame’s sequencenumber
and sends the corresponding acknowledgment frames.
• After the sender has sent all the frames in window, it checks up to what sequence numberit has
received positive acknowledgment.
• If the sender has received positive acknowledgment for all the frames, it sends next setof frames.
• If sender receives NACK or has not receive any ACK for a particular frame, itretransmits all
the frames after which it does not receive any positive ACK.

Selective Repeat ARQ

• Both the sender and the receiver have buffers called sending window and receivingwindow
respectively.
• The sender sends multiple frames based upon the sending-window size, withoutreceiving the
acknowledgment of the previous ones.
• The receiver also receives multiple frames within the receiving window size.
• The receiver keeps track of incoming frame’s sequence numbers, buffers the frames inmemory.
• It sends ACK for all successfully received frames and sends NACK for only frameswhich
are missing or damaged.
• The sender in this case, sends only packet for which NACK is received.
Sliding Window
This protocol improves the efficiency of stop and wait protocol by allowing multiple framesto be
transmitted before receiving an acknowledgment.
The working principle of this protocol can be described as follows −
• Both the sender and the receiver has finite sized buffers called windows. The sender andthe
receiver agrees upon the number of frames to be sent based upon the buffer size.
• The sender sends multiple frames in a sequence, without waiting for acknowledgment. When its
sending window is filled, it waits for acknowledgment. On receiving acknowledgment, it
advances the window and transmits the next frames, according to the number of
acknowledgments received.
HDLC
• High-level Data Link Control (HDLC) is a group of communication protocols of thedata link
layer for transmitting data between network points or nodes.
• Since it is a data link protocol, data is organized into frames.
• A frame is transmitted via the network to the destination that verifies its successfularrival.
• It is a bit - oriented protocol that is applicable for both point - to - point and multipoint
communications.
Transfer Modes
HDLC supports two types of transfer modes, normal response mode and asynchronous balanced mode.
• Normal Response Mode (NRM) − Here, two types of stations are there, a primary station that
send commands and secondary station that can respond to received commands. It is used for
both point - to - point and multipoint communications.

• Asynchronous Balanced Mode (ABM) − Here, the configuration is balanced, i.e. eachstation
can both send commands and respond to commands. It is used for only point -to - point
communications.

HDLC Frame
HDLC is a bit - oriented protocol where each frame contains up to six fields. The structure varies
according to the type of frame. The fields of a HDLC frame are −
 • Flag − It is an 8-bit sequence that marks the beginning and the end of the frame. The bitpattern
of the flag is 01111110.
• Address − It contains the address of the receiver. If the frame is sent by the primary station, it
contains the address(es) of the secondary station(s). If it is sent by the secondary station, it
contains the address of the primary station. The address field may be from 1 byte to several
bytes.
• Control − It is 1 or 2 bytes containing flow and error control information.
• Payload − This carries the data from the network layer. Its length may vary from one network
to another.
• FCS − It is a 2 byte or 4 bytes frame check sequence for error detection. The standard code used
is CRC (cyclic redundancy code)

Types of HDLC Frames

There are three types of HDLC frames. The type of frame is determined by the control field of the
frame −
• I-frame − I-frames or Information frames carry user data from the network layer. They also
include flow and error control information that is piggybacked on user data. The first bit of
control field of I-frame is 0.
• S-frame − S-frames or Supervisory frames do not contain information field. They are used for
flow and error control when piggybacking is not required. The first two bits of control field of
S-frame is 10.
• U-frame − U-frames or Un-numbered frames are used for myriad miscellaneous functions, like
link management. It may contain an information field, if required. The first two bits of control
field of U-frame is 11.

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 MEDIUM ACCESS SUB LAYER
Point to Point Protocol
• Point - to - Point Protocol (PPP) is a communication protocol of the data link layer that is used
to transmit multiprotocol data between two directly connected (point-to-point) computers.
• It is a byte - oriented protocol that is widely used in broadband communications having heavy
loads and high speeds.
• Since it is a data link layer protocol, data is transmitted in frames. It is also known as RFC 1661.
Services Provided by PPP
The main services provided by Point - to - Point Protocol are −
• Defining the frame format of the data to be transmitted.
• Defining the procedure of establishing link between two points and exchange of data.
• Stating the method of encapsulation of network layer data in the frame.
• Stating authentication rules of the communicating devices.
• Providing address for network communication.
• Providing connections over multiple links.
• Supporting a variety of network layer protocols by providing a range os services.
Components of PPP
Point - to - Point Protocol is a layered protocol having three components −
• Encapsulation Component − It encapsulates the datagram so that it can be transmittedover the
specified physical layer.
• Link Control Protocol (LCP) − It is responsible for establishing, configuring, testing,
maintaining and terminating links for transmission. It also imparts negotiation for set up of
options and use of features by the two endpoints of the links.
• Authentication Protocols (AP) − These protocols authenticate endpoints for use of services.
The two authentication protocols of PPP are:
o Password Authentication Protocol (PAP)
o Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP)
• Network Control Protocols (NCPs) − These protocols are used for negotiating the parameters
and facilities for the network layer. For every higher-layer protocol supported by PPP, one NCP
is there. Some of the NCPs of PPP are:
• Internet Protocol Control Protocol (IPCP)
• OSI Network Layer Control Protocol (OSINLCP)
• Internetwork Packet Exchange Control Protocol (IPXCP)
• DECnet Phase IV Control Protocol (DNCP)
• NetBIOS Frames Control Protocol (NBFCP)
• IPv6 Control Protocol (IPV6CP)
PPP Frame
PPP is a byte - oriented protocol where each field of the frame is composed of one or morebytes. The
fields of a PPP frame are −
• Flag − 1 byte that marks the beginning and the end of the frame. The bit pattern of theflag is
01111110.
• Address − 1 byte which is set to 11111111 in case of broadcast.
• Control − 1 byte set to a constant value of 11000000.
• Protocol − 1 or 2 bytes that define the type of data contained in the payload field.
• Payload − This carries the data from the network layer. The maximum length of the payload
field is 1500 bytes. However, this may be negotiated between the endpoints of communication.
• FCS − It is a 2 byte or 4 bytes frame check sequence for error detection. The standard code used
is CRC (cyclic redundancy code)

FDDI
Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) is a set of ANSI and ISO standards for transmission of data in
local area network (LAN) over fiber optic cables. It is applicable in large LANs that can extend up to
200 kilometers in diameter.

Features
• FDDI uses optical fiber as its physical medium.
• It operates in the physical and medium access control (MAC layer) of the Open Systems
Interconnection (OSI) network model.
• It provides high data rate of 100 Mbps and can support thousands of users.
 • It is used in LANs up to 200 kilometers for long distance voice and multimedia
communication.
• It uses ring based token passing mechanism and is derived from IEEE 802.4 token busstandard.
• It contains two token rings, a primary ring for data and token transmission and asecondary
ring that provides backup if the primary ring fails.
• FDDI technology can also be used as a backbone for a wide area network (WAN).

The following diagram shows FDDI –

Frame Format
The frame format of FDDI is similar to that of token bus as shown in the following diagram-

The fields of an FDDI frame are −

• Preamble: 1 byte for synchronization.
• Start Delimiter: 1 byte that marks the beginning of the frame.
• Frame Control: 1 byte that specifies whether this is a data frame or control frame.
• Destination Address: 2-6 bytes that specifies address of destination station.
• Source Address: 2-6 bytes that specifies address of source station.
• Payload: A variable length field that carries the data from the network layer.
• Checksum: 4 bytes frame check sequence for error detection.
 • End Delimiter: 1 byte that marks the end of the frame.

Token Bus and Token Ring

Token Ring
• Token ring (IEEE 802.5) is a communication protocol in a local area network (LAN) where all
stations are connected in a ring topology and pass one or more tokens for channel acquisition.
• A token is a special frame of 3 bytes that circulates along the ring of stations. A station can send
data frames only if it holds a token. The tokens are released on successful receipt of the data
frame.

Token Passing Mechanism in Token Ring

If a station has a frame to transmit when it receives a token, it sends the frame and then passesthe token
to the next station; otherwise it simply passes the token to the next station. Passing the token means
receiving the token from the preceding station and transmitting to thesuccessor station. The data flow
is unidirectional in the direction of the token passing. In orderthat tokens are not circulated infinitely,
they are removed from the network once their purposeis completed. This is shown in the following
diagram –

Token Bus
• Token Bus (IEEE 802.4) is a standard for implementing token ring over virtual ring in LANs.
• The physical media has a bus or a tree topology and uses coaxial cables.
• A virtual ring is created with the nodes/stations and the token is passed from one nodeto the
next in a sequence along this virtual ring.
• Each node knows the address of its preceding station and its succeeding station.
• A station can only transmit data when it has the token.
• The working principle of token bus is similar to Token Ring.

Token Passing Mechanism in Token Bus

A token is a small message that circulates among the stations of a computer network providing
permission to the stations for transmission. If a station has data to transmit when it receives a token, it
sends the data and then passes the token to the next station; otherwise, it simply passesthe token to the
next station. This is depicted in the following diagram -
 Reservation
• In the reservation method, a station needs to make a reservation before sending data.
• The time line has two kinds of periods:
1. Reservation interval of fixed time length
2. Data transmission period of variable frames.
• If there are M stations, the reservation interval is divided into M slots, and each station has one
slot.
• Suppose if station 1 has a frame to send, it transmits 1 bit during the slot 1. No other station is
allowed to transmit during this slot.
• In general, i th station may announce that it has a frame to send by inserting a 1 bit intoi th slot.
After all N slots have been checked, each station knows which stations wish to transmit.
• The stations which have reserved their slots transfer their frames in that order.
• After data transmission period, next reservation interval begins.
• Since everyone agrees on who goes next, there will never be any collisions.

The following figure shows a situation with five stations and a five slot 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.

Polling
• Polling process is similar to the roll-call performed in class. Just like the teacher, acontroller
sends a message to each node in turn.
• In this, one acts as a primary station(controller) and the others are secondary stations.All data
exchanges must be made through the controller.
• The message sent by the controller contains the address of the node being selected forgranting
access.
 • Although all nodes receive the message but the addressed one responds to it and sendsdata, if
any. If there is no data, usually a “poll reject”(NAK) message is sent back.
• Problems include high overhead of the polling messages and high dependence on thereliability
of the controller.

Pure Aloha
• It allows user to transmit whenever they have data to be sent.
• Senders wait to see if a collision occurred (after the whole message has been sent).
• If collision occurs, each station involved waits a random amount of time then tries again.
• System in which multiple users share a common channel in a way can lead to conflictsare
widely known as contention system.
• Whenever 2 frames try to copy the channel at the same time, there will be a collisionand both
will be garbled.
• If the 1st bit of the new frame overlaps with hust the last bit of a frame almost finished,both
frames will be totally destroyed and both frames will have to be retransmitted later.
• Frames are transmitted at completely arbitrary times.
• The throughput of the Pure Aloha is maximized when the frames are of uniform length.
• Formula to calculate the throughput of Pure Aloha is,
S = G * e^2G
• The throughput is maximum when G=1/2 which is 18% of the total transmitted dataframes.
Slotted Aloha
• It was invented to improve the efficiency of Pure Aloha as chances of collision in PureAloha
are very high.
• The time of the shared channel is divided into discrete intervals called slots.
• The stations can send a frame only at the beginning of the slot and only one frame issent in
each slot.
• If any station is not able to place the frame onto the channel at the beginning of the slotthen the
station has to wait until the beginning of the next time slot.
• The formula to calculate the throughput of the Slotted Aloha is
S = G * e^G
• The throughput is maximum when G=1 which is 37% of the total transmitted dataframes.
• 37% of the time slot is empty, 37% successes and 26% collision.

Difference between Pure Aloha and Slotted Aloha

S.NO Pure Aloha Slotted Aloha

In this aloha, any station can transmit the data In this, any station can transmit the data at the
1.
at any time. beginning of any time slot.
In this, The time is continuous and not In this, The time is and globally
2.
globally synchronized. discretesynchronized.
Vulnerable time for pure aloha Vulnerable time for Slotte aloha
3.
= 2 x Tt = Tt d
In Pure Aloha, Probability of successful
4. In Slotted Aloha, of successfu
transmission of data packet
Probability transmission of l
data packet
= G x e-2G
= G x e-G
5. In pure aloha, Maximum efficiency In slotted aloha, Maximum efficiency
= 18.4% = 36.8%
Pure aloha doesn’t reduces the number of Slotted aloha reduces the number of collisions to
6.
collisions to half. half and doubles the efficiency of pure aloha.
 Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA)
• This method was developed to decrease the chances of collisions when two or morestations
start sending their signals over the datalink layer.
• Carrier Sense multiple access requires that each station first check the state of themedium
before sending.
Vulnerable Time – It is the Propagation Time (Tp). This is the time needed for a signal topropagate
from one end of the medium to the other end.
Vulnerable time = Propagation time (Tp)

Persistence Methods in CSMA

• 1 – persistent method: If the station finds the line idle, it sends frame immediately(with
probability 1).

• Non – persistent method: If the line is idle, station sends the frame immediately. If theline is
not idle, it waits for a random amount of time and then senses the line again.

• p – persistent method: It combines the advantages of the other 2 strategies.

Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD)
• In this method, a station monitors the medium after it sends a frame to see if the
transmission was successful.
• If successful, the station is finished, if not, the frame is sent again.

In the diagram, A starts send the first bit of its frame at t1 and since C sees the channel idle at t2, starts
sending its frame at t2. C detects A’s frame at t3 and aborts transmission. A detects C’s frame at t4 and
aborts its transmission. Transmission time for C’s frame is therefore t3-t2 and for A’s frame is t4-t1.

So, the frame transmission time (Tfr) should be at least twice the maximum propagation time (Tp). This
can be deduced when the two stations involved in collision are maximum distance apart.

Process –
 The entire process of collision detection can be explained as follows:

Throughput and Efficiency – The throughput of CSMA/CD is much greater than pure orslotted
ALOHA.
• For 1-persistent method throughput is 50% when G=1.
• For non-persistent method throughput can go upto 90%.

FDMA
• Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) is one of the most common analoguemultiple
access methods.
• The frequency band is divided into channels of equal bandwidth so that eachconversation is
carried on a different frequency (as shown in the figure below).

Overview
• In FDMA method, guard bands are used between the adjacent signal spectra to minimizecrosstalk
between the channels.
• A specific frequency band is given to one person, and it will be received by identifyingeach of
the frequency on the receiving end.
• It is often used in the first generation of analog mobile phone.

Advantages of FDMA
As FDMA systems use low bit rates (large symbol time) compared to average delay spread, itoffers the
following advantages −
• Reduces the bit rate information and the use of efficient numerical codes increases thecapacity.
• It reduces the cost and lowers the inter symbol interference (ISI)
• Equalization is not necessary.
• An FDMA system can be easily implemented. A system can be configured so that the
improvements in terms of speech encoder and bit rate reduction may be easily incorporated.
• Since the transmission is continuous, less number of bits are required for synchronization and
framing.

Disadvantages of FDMA
Although FDMA offers several advantages, it has a few drawbacks as well, which are listedbelow −

50
 • It does not differ significantly from analog systems; improving the capacity depends onthe
signal-to-interference reduction, or a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
• The maximum flow rate per channel is fixed and small.
• Guard bands lead to a waste of capacity.
• Hardware implies narrowband filters, which cannot be realized in VLSI and thereforeincreases
the cost.
TDMA
• Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) is a digital cellular telephone communication
technology.
• It facilitates many users to share the same frequency without interference.
• Its technology divides a signal into different timeslots, and increases the data carryingcapacity.

Overview
• Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) is a complex technology, because it requiresan
accurate synchronization between the transmitter and the receiver.
• TDMA is used in digital mobile radio systems. The individual mobile stations cyclicallyassign a
frequency for the exclusive use of a time interval.
• In most of the cases, the entire system bandwidth for an interval of time is not assignedto a
station.
• However, the frequency of the system is divided into sub-bands, and TDMA is used forthe
multiple access in each sub-band. Sub-bands are known as carrier frequencies.
• The mobile system that uses this technique is referred as the multi-carrier systems.

In the following example, the frequency band has been shared by three users. Each user is assigned
definite timeslots to send and receive data. In this example, user ‘B’ sends after user ‘A,’ and user ‘C’
sends thereafter. In this way, the peak power becomes a problem and larger by the burst communication.

Advantages of TDMA
Here is a list of few notable advantages of TDMA −
• Permits flexible rates (i.e. several slots can be assigned to a user, for example, each timeinterval
translates 32Kbps, a user is assigned two 64 Kbps slots per frame).
• Can withstand gusty or variable bit rate traffic. Number of slots allocated to a user can be
changed frame by frame (for example, two slots in the frame 1, three slots in the frame 2, one
slot in the frame 3, frame 0 of the notches 4, etc.).
• No guard band required for the wideband system.
 • No narrowband filter required for the wideband system.

Disadvantages of TDMA
The disadvantages of TDMA are as follow −
• High data rates of broadband systems require complex equalization.
• Due to the burst mode, a large number of additional bits are required for synchronizationand
supervision.
• Call time is needed in each slot to accommodate time to inaccuracies (due to clock
instability).
• Electronics operating at high bit rates increase energy consumption.
• Complex signal processing is required to synchronize within short slots.

CDMA
• Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is a sort of multiplexing that facilitates varioussignals
to occupy a single transmission channel.
• It optimizes the use of available bandwidth. The technology is commonly used in ultra-high-
frequency (UHF) cellular telephone systems.

Overview
• Code Division Multiple Access system is very different from time and frequencymultiplexing.
• In this system, a user has access to the whole bandwidth for the entire duration.
• The basic principle is that different CDMA codes are used to distinguish among thedifferent
users.

How communication with code takes place?

i. If codes are multiplied with each other, then the answer is 0.
ii. If codes are multiplied with itself, then we get 4 [no. of stations]. For
ex.
Let there be 4 stations.
Let code for Station 1, 2, 3 and 4 be c1, c2, c3 and c4 respectively. Let
data for Station 1, 2, 3 and 4 be d1, d2, d3 and d4 respectively. Therefore,
c1 * c2 = 0 and c2 * c2 = 4
 The factors deciding the CDMA capacity are −
• Processing Gain
• Signal to Noise Ratio
• Voice Activity Factor
• Frequency Reuse Efficiency

Advantages of CDMA
CDMA has a soft capacity. The greater the number of codes, the more the number of users. It has the
following advantages −
• CDMA requires a tight power control, as it suffers from near-far effect. In other words, a user
near the base station transmitting with the same power will drown the signal latter.All signals
must have more or less equal power at the receiver
• Rake receivers can be used to improve signal reception. Delayed versions of time (a chip or
later) of the signal (multipath signals) can be collected and used to make decisions at the bit
level.
• Flexible transfer may be used. Mobile base stations can switch without changingoperator. Two
base stations receive mobile signal and the mobile receives signals from the two base stations.
• Transmission Burst − reduces interference.

Disadvantages of CDMA
The disadvantages of using CDMA are as follows −
• The code length must be carefully selected. A large code length can induce delay or maycause
interference.
• Time synchronization is required.
• Gradual transfer increases the use of radio resources and may reduce capacity.
• As the sum of the power received and transmitted from a base station needs constanttight
power control. This can result in several handovers.

LLC
• The logical link control (LLC) is the upper sublayer of the data link layer of the opensystem
interconnections (OSI) reference model for data transmission.
• It acts act an interface between the network layer and the medium access control (MAC)sublayer
of the data link layer.
• The LLC sublayer is mainly used for its multiplexing property.
• It allows several network protocols to operate simultaneously within a multipointnetwork over
the same network medium.
 • The Open System Interconnections (OSI) model is a 7 – layered networking frameworkthat
conceptualizes how communications should be done between heterogeneous systems.
• The data link layer is the second lowest layer. It is divided into two sublayers −
• The logical link control (LLC) sublayer
• The medium access control (MAC) sublayer
The following diagram depicts the position of the LLC sublayer -

Functions
• The primary function of LLC is to multiplex protocols over the MAC layer while
transmitting and likewise to de-multiplex the protocols while receiving.
• LLC provides hop-to-hop flow and error control.
• It allows multipoint communication over computer network.
• Frame Sequence Numbers are assigned by LLC.
• In case of acknowledged services, it tracks acknowledgements

Ethernet
• Ethernet is most widely used LAN Technology, which is defined under IEEE standards802.3.
• The reason behind its wide usability is Ethernet is easy to understand, implement,maintain and
allows low-cost network implementation.
• Also, Ethernet offers flexibility in terms of topologies which are allowed.
• Ethernet operates in two layers of the OSI model, Physical Layer, and Data Link Layer.
• For Ethernet, the protocol data unit is Frame since we mainly deal with DLL. In orderto handle
collision, the Access control mechanism used in Ethernet is CSMA/CD.

Traditional Ethernet and Fast Ethernet

• Traditional Ethernet supports data transfers at a rate of 10 megabits per second (Mbps). As the
performance needs of networks increased over time, the industry created additional Ethernet
specifications for Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet. The most common form of traditional
Ethernet, however, is 10Base-T. It offers better electrical properties than Thicknet or Thinnet
because 10Base-T cables use unshielded twisted pair (UTP) wiring rather than coaxial. 10Base-
T is also more cost-effective than alternatives such as fiber optic cabling.
 • Fast Ethernet extends traditional Ethernet performance up to 100 Mbps, and Gigabit Ethernet,
up to 1,000 Mbps. Although they aren't available to the average consumer, 10Gigabit Ethernet
(10,000 Mbps) now powers the networks of some businesses, data centers, and Internet2 entities.
Generally, however, the expense limits its widespread adoption. Fast Ethernet comes in two
major varieties:
i. 100Base-T (using unshielded twisted pair cable)
ii. 100Base-FX (using fiber optic cable)

spanning tree algorithm.

1. In a bridged LAN, spanning tree algorithm means creating a topology in which each LAN can be
reached from any other LAN through one path only.
2. There is no loop present.
3. We cannot change the physical topology of the system because of physical connections between
cables and bridges.
4. So we create a logical topology that overlay the physical one.
5. Both LANs and bridges are represented as nodes.
6. The connection of a LAN to a bridge and vice versa is represented by the connecting arcs.
7. To find the spanning tree, we need to assign a cost (metric) to each arc.
8. The process to find the spanning tree involves three steps:
Step 1: Every bridge has a built-in ID. Each bridge broadcasts this ID so that all bridges know which one
has the smallest ID. The bridge with the smallest ID is selected as the root bridge (root of the tree).
Step 2: The algorithm tries to find the shortest path (a path with the shortest cost) from the root bridge to
every other bridge or LAN. The shortest path can be found by examining the total cost from the root
bridge to the destination. The combination of the shortest paths creates the shortest tree.
Step 3: Based on the spanning tree, we mark the ports that are part of the spanning tree, the forwarding
ports, which forward a frame that the bridge receives. We also mark those ports that are not part of the
spanning tree, the blocking ports, which block the frames received by the bridge.
9. There is only one single path from any LAN to any other LAN in the spanning tree system. No loops
are created.

Network Devices
1. Repeater – A repeater operates at the physical layer. Its job is to regenerate the signal over the same
network before the signal becomes too weak or corrupted so as to extend the length to which the signal
can be transmitted over the same network. An important point to be noted about repeaters is that they
do not amplify the signal. When the signal becomes weak, they copy the signal bit by bit and regenerate
it at the original strength. It is a 2 port device.

2. Hub – A hub is basically a multiport repeater. A hub connects multiple wires coming fromdifferent
branches, for example, the connector in star topology which connects different stations. Hubs cannot
filter data, so data packets are sent to all connected devices. In other words, collision domain of all hosts
connected through Hub remains one. Also, they do not have intelligence to find out best path for data
packets which leads to inefficiencies and wastage.

Types of Hub
• Active Hub - These are the hubs which have their own power supply and can clean, boost and
relay the signal along with the network. It serves both as a repeater as well aswiring centre.
 These are used to extend the maximum distance between nodes.
• Passive Hub - These are the hubs which collect wiring from nodes and power supply from active
hub. These hubs relay signals onto the network without cleaning and boosting them and can’t
be used to extend the distance between nodes.

3. Bridge – A bridge operates at data link layer. A bridge is a repeater, with add on the functionality
of filtering content by reading the MAC addresses of source and destination. Itis also used for
interconnecting two LANs working on the same protocol. It has a single input and single output port,
thus making it a 2 port device.

Types of Bridges
• Transparent Bridges - These are the bridge in which the stations are completely unaware of
the bridge’s existence i.e. whether or not a bridge is added or deleted from the network,
reconfiguration of the stations is unnecessary. These bridges make use of two processes i.e.
bridge forwarding and bridge learning.
• Source Routing Bridges - In these bridges, routing operation is performed by source station
and the frame specifies which route to follow. The hot can discover frame by sending a special
frame called discovery frame, which spreads through the entirenetwork using all possible paths
to destination.
 4. Switch – A switch is a multiport bridge with a buffer and a design that can boost its efficiency (a
large number of ports imply less traffic) and performance. A switch is a data linklayer device. The
switch can perform error checking before forwarding data, that makes it veryefficient as it does not
forward packets that have errors and forward good packets selectively to correct port only. In other
words, switch divides collision domain of hosts, but broadcast domain remains same.

5. Routers – A router is a device like a switch that routes data packets based on their IP addresses.
Router is mainly a Network Layer device. Routers normally connect LANs and WANs together and
have a dynamically updating routing table based on which they make decisions on routing the data
packets. Router divide broadcast domains of hosts connected through it.

6. Gateway – A gateway, as the name suggests, is a passage to connect two networks togetherthat may
work upon different networking models. They basically work as the messenger agentsthat take data from
one system, interpret it, and transfer it to another system. Gateways are also called protocol converters
and can operate at any network layer. Gateways are generally more complex than switch or router.

7. Brouter – It is also known as bridging router is a device which combines features of both bridge and
router. It can work either at data link layer or at network layer. Working as router,it is capable of
routing packets across networks and working as bridge, it is capable of filteringlocal area network
traffic.
 Spanning tree algorithm.
1. In a bridged LAN, spanning tree algorithm means creating a topology in which each LAN can be reached
from any other LAN through one path only.
2. There is no loop present.
3. We cannot change the physical topology of the system because of physical connections between cables
and bridges.
4. So we create a logical topology that overlays the physical one.
5. Both LANs and bridges are represented as nodes.
6. The connection of a LAN to a bridge and vice versa is represented by the connecting arcs.
7. To find the spanning tree, we need to assign a cost (metric) to each arc.
8. The process to find the spanning tree involves three steps:
Step 1: Every bridge has a built-in ID. Each bridge broadcasts this ID so that all bridges know which one
has the smallest ID. The bridge with the smallest ID is selected as the root bridge (root of the tree).
Step 2: The algorithm tries to find the shortest path (a path with the shortest cost) from the root bridge to
every other bridge or LAN. The shortest path can be found by examining the total cost from the root bridge
to the destination. The combination of the shortest paths creates the shortest tree.
Step 3: Based on the spanning tree, we mark the ports that are part of the spanning tree, the forwarding
ports, which forward a frame that the bridge receives. We also mark those ports that are not part of the
spanning tree, the blocking ports, which block the frames received by the bridge.
9. There is only one single path from any LAN to any other LAN in the spanning tree system. No loops
are created.

Need of spanning tree algorithm

1. As long as there are no redundant bridges in the system transparent bridges work fine.
2. However it is desirable to have redundant bridges to make the system more reliable.
3. If a bridge fails, another bridge takes over until the failed one is repaired or replaced.
4. Redundancy can create loops in the system, which is very undesirable
5. To solve the looping problem, bridges use the spanning tree algorithm to create a loop less topology.