Chapter 4:

Data Link Layer (OSI Model)

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Chapter 4
4.1 Data Link Layer Protocols
4.2 Media Access Control

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 4.1Data Link Layer

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Purpose of the Data Link Layer
4.1 The Data Link Layer

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▪ Prepares network data for the physical network.
▪ Responsible for network interface card (NIC) to network interface
card communications
▪ Does the following :

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Purpose of the Data Link Layer
Data Link Sublayers

Network

LLC Sublayer

Data Link

MAC Sublayer

Physical

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▪ The IEEE 802 LAN/MAN data link layer consists of the following two
sublayers:
• Logical Link Control (LLC) -
• This IEEE 802.2 sublayer communicates between the networking software at
the upper layers and the device hardware at the lower layers.
• It places information in the frame that identifies which network layer
protocol is being used for the frame.
• This information allows multiple Layer 3 protocols, such as IPv4 and IPv6, to
use the same network interface and media.

• Media Access Control (MAC) –

• Implements this sublayer (IEEE 802.3, 802.11, or 802.15) in hardware.
• It is responsible for data encapsulation and media access control.
• It provides data link layer addressing and it is integrated with various physical
layer technologies.

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LLC sublayer
▪ takes the network protocol data, which is typically an IPv4 or IPv6
packet,
▪ and adds Layer 2 control information to help deliver the packet to
the destination node.

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MAC Sublayer
▪ controls the NIC and other hardware
that is responsible for sending and receiving data on the wired or wireless
LAN/MAN medium.

• provides data encapsulation:

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LAN Topologies
▪ Legacy LAN Topologies
▪ Early Ethernet and legacy Token Ring LAN technologies
included two other types of topologies:
•Bus
o All end systems are chained to each other and terminated
in some form on each end.
o Infrastructure devices such as switches are not required to
interconnect the end devices.
o Legacy Ethernet networks were often bus topologies using
coax cables because it was inexpensive and easy to set up.

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LAN Topologies
▪ Legacy LAN Topologies
•Ring
• End systems are connected to their respective neighbor
forming a ring.
• The ring does not need to be terminated, unlike in the bus
topology.
• example > Legacy Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI)
and Token Ring networks

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Star Topology
▪ n multiaccess LANs, end devices (i.e., nodes) are interconnected
using star or extended star topologies, as shown in the figure.
▪ In this type of topology, end devices are connected to a central
intermediary device, in this case, an Ethernet switch.
▪ An extended star extends this topology by interconnecting
multiple Ethernet switches.
▪ The star and extended topologies are easy to install, very scalable
(easy to add and remove end devices), and easy to troubleshoot.
▪ Early star topologies interconnected end devices using Ethernet
hubs.

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Point to Point Topology
▪ At times there may be only two devices connected on the Ethernet
LAN. An example is two interconnected routers.
▪ This would be an example of Ethernet used on a point-to-point
topology.

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Half Duplex and Full Duplex Communication
▪ Half Duplex
• Both devices can transmit and receive on the media
but cannot do so simultaneously.
• WLANs and legacy bus topologies with Ethernet hubs
use the half-duplex mode.
• Half-duplex allows only one device to send or receive
at a time on the shared medium

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▪ Full Duplex
• Both devices can simultaneously transmit and receive
on the shared media.
• The data link layer assumes that the media is
available for transmission for both nodes at any time

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Half and Full Duplex

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▪ Hubs operate in half duplex mode
▪ Ethernet switches operate in full-duplex mode by default, but they
can operate in half-duplex if connecting to a device such as an
Ethernet hub.
▪ It is important that two interconnected interfaces, such as a host
NIC and an interface on an Ethernet switch, operate using the
same duplex mode.
• Otherwise, there will be a duplex mismatch creating
inefficiency and latency on the link.

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4.2 Media Access Control

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Providing Access to Media
▪ Ethernet LAN usually consists of many hosts contending
for access on the network medium.
▪ The MAC sublayer resolves this
▪ Different type of networks uses different network access
methods
• Point to point connection eg serial connection
• Multiaccess networks eg Ethernet LANs and WLANS

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Access Control Methods
▪ A multiaccess network is a network that can have two or
more end devices attempting to access the network
simultaneously.
▪ require rules to govern how devices share the physical
media
▪ There are two basic access control methods for shared
media:
•Contention-based access
•Controlled access

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Contention Based Access
▪ all nodes are operating in half-duplex, competing for the
use of the medium.
▪ only one device can send at a time.
▪ there is a process if more than one device transmits at
the same time.
▪ Examples of contention-based access methods include
the following:
•Carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD)
used on legacy bus-topology Ethernet LANs
•Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance
(CSMA/CA) used on Wireless LANs
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LAN Topologies
Contention-Based Access

Characteristics Contention-Based Technologies

• Stations can transmit at any time • CSMA/CD for 802.3 Ethernet networks
• Collision exist • CSMA/CA for 802.11 wireless networks
• There are mechanisms to resolve
contention for the media

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Controlled Access
▪ In a controlled-based multiaccess network, each node
has its own time to use the medium.
▪ These deterministic types of legacy networks are
inefficient because a device must wait its turn to access
the medium.
▪ Examples of multiaccess networks that use controlled
access include the following:
•Legacy Token Ring
•Legacy ARCNET

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LAN Topologies
Controlled Access

Characteristics Controlled Access Technologies

• Only one station can transmit at a time • Token Ring (IEEE 802.5)
• Devices wishing to transmit must wait • Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI)
their turn
• No collisions
• May use a token passing method

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 4.2a
Data Link Layer Frame

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DATA LINK FRAME
❑ Each frame type has three basic parts:

•Header
•Data
•Trailer
❑ the structure of the frame and the fields
contained in the header and trailer vary
according to the protocol.

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Data Link Frame

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LAN Data Link Layer Frames
▪ There is no one frame structure that meets the needs of all data transportation
across all types of media.
▪ Depending on the environment, the amount of control information needed in
the frame varies to match the access control requirements of the media and
logical topology.
▪ For example, a WLAN frame must include procedures for collision avoidance and
therefore requires additional control information when compared to an
Ethernet frame.

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Data Link Frame
Ethernet Frame

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Data Link Frame
Point-to-Point Protocol Frame

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Data Link Frame
802.11 Wireless Frame

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WAN Data Link Layer Protocols
▪ A LAN typically uses a high bandwidth technology capable of
supporting large numbers of hosts
▪ However, using a high bandwidth technology is usually not cost-
effective for WANs that cover large geographic areas (cities or
multiple cities, for example).
▪ The cost of the long-distance physical links and the technology
used to carry the signals over those distances typically results in
lower bandwidth capacity.

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Data Link Frame
WAN Protocols

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6.3.4
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