CSMA (carrier sense multiple access)

Chapter 5
Link Layer CSMA: listen before transmit:
if channel sensed idle: transmit entire frame
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We’re making these slides freely available to all (faculty, students, readers).  if channel sensed busy, defer transmission
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They obviously represent a lot of work on our part. In return for use, we only
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Computer  human analogy: don’t interrupt others!

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If you post any slides on a www site, that you note that they are adapted
Networking: A Top
from (or perhaps identical to) our slides, and note our copyright of this
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Down Approach
6th edition
Thanks and enjoy! JFK/KWR Jim Kurose, Keith Ross
All material copyright 1996-2012 Addison-Wesley
J.F Kurose and K.W. Ross, All Rights Reserved
March 2012
The course notes are adapted for Bucknell’s CSCI 363
Xiannong Meng
Spring 2016
Link Layer 5-1 Link Layer 5-2

CSMA collisions spatial layout of nodes

CSMA/CD (collision detection)
 collisions can still occur: CSMA/CD: carrier sensing, deferral as in CSMA
propagation delay means  collisions detected within short time
two nodes may not hear  colliding transmissions aborted, reducing channel wastage
each other’s
transmission  collision detection:
 collision: entire packet  easy in wired LANs: measure signal strengths, compare
transmission time transmitted, received signals
wasted  difficult in wireless LANs: received signal strength
 distance & propagation overwhelmed by local transmission strength
delay play role in in
determining collision  human analogy: the polite conversationalist
probability

Link Layer 5-3 Link Layer 5-4

CSMA/CD (collision detection) Ethernet CSMA/CD algorithm

spatial layout of nodes 1. NIC receives datagram 4. If NIC detects another
from network layer, transmission while
creates frame transmitting, aborts and
2. If NIC senses channel sends jam signal
idle, starts frame 5. After aborting, NIC
transmission. If NIC enters binary (exponential)
senses channel busy, backoff:
waits until channel idle,  after mth collision, NIC
then transmits. chooses K at random
3. If NIC transmits entire from {0,1,2, …, 2m-1}.
frame without detecting NIC waits K·512 bit
another transmission, times, returns to Step 2
NIC is done with frame !  longer backoff interval if
more collisions
Link Layer 5-5 Link Layer 5-6

1
CSMA/CD efficiency (1) CSMA/CD efficiency (2)
 Performance of the CSMA/CD can be determined by one
 tprop = max prop delay between 2 nodes in LAN single number!
 ttrans = time to transmit max-size frame  Let a = tpro / ttrans 1
efficiency 
1 1  5a
efficiency  By Simon Lam of UT Austin (1979):
1  5t prop/ttrans http://www.cs.utexas.edu/ftp/techreports/tr79-113.pdf

 efficiency goes to 1  Some examples:

 as tprop goes to 0, or  a = 0.1, efficiency = 0.667
 a = 0.01, efficiency = 0.952
 as ttrans goes to infinity
 better performance than ALOHA: and simple, cheap,  How to make a small, thus higher efficiency?
 Shorter cables  smaller tpro
decentralized!
 Slower(!!!) network  large trans
 Larger packets  large trans
Schwartz (1987), page 445 says e = 1/(1+6.44 a), derivation from probability.
Link Layer 5-7 Link Layer 5-8

“Taking turns” MAC protocols “Taking turns” MAC protocols

channel partitioning MAC protocols: polling:
 share channel efficiently and fairly at high load  master node “invites”
 inefficient at low load: delay in channel access, 1/N slave nodes to transmit data
bandwidth allocated even if only 1 active node! in turn poll
 typically used with
random access MAC protocols “dumb” slave devices master
 efficient at low load: single node can fully utilize  concerns:
data
channel
 polling overhead
 high load: collision overhead
 latency
“taking turns” protocols  single point of slaves
look for best of both worlds! failure (master)

Link Layer 5-9 Link Layer 5-10

“Taking turns” MAC protocols Cable access network

Internet frames,TV channels, control transmitted
token passing: downstream at different frequencies
T
 control token passed cable headend
from one node to next
sequentially. CMTS
…
 token message (nothing cable
 concerns: to send) cable modem … splitter
modem
termination system
 token overhead T
ISP
 latency upstream Internet frames, TV control, transmitted
upstream at different frequencies in time slots
 single point of failure  multiple 40Mbps downstream (broadcast) channels
(token)  single CMTS transmits into channels
 multiple 30 Mbps upstream channels
 multiple access: all users contend for certain upstream channel time slots
(request slots), once granted, requesting data can be sent.
data  Combination of random access (request slots), time division (request data slots), and
Link Layer 5-11
frequency division (separate channels for signal and data)!

2
Cable access network Summary of MAC protocols
cable headend MAP frame for
Interval [t1, t2]

Downstream channel i
 channel partitioning, by time, frequency or code
CMTS  Time Division, Frequency Division
Upstream channel j
 random access (dynamic),
 ALOHA, S-ALOHA, CSMA, CSMA/CD
t1 t2
 carrier sensing: easy in some technologies (wire), hard
Residences with cable modems

Minislots containing Assigned minislots containing cable modem in others (wireless)

minislots request frames upstream data frames
 CSMA/CD used in Ethernet
DOCSIS: data over cable service interface spec  CSMA/CA used in 802.11
 FDM over upstream, downstream frequency channels  taking turns
 TDM upstream: some slots assigned, some have contention  polling from central site, token passing
 downstream MAP frame: assigns upstream slots  bluetooth, FDDI, token ring
 request for upstream slots (and data) transmitted  hybrid DOCSIS combines random access, TDMA, and FDMA
random access (binary backoff) in selected slots
Link Layer 5-13 Link Layer 5-14