DATA COMMUNICATION AND

COMPUTER NETWORKS (ECEg-

4308)
Overview of Data link layer
Outline
• Overview of Data link layer protocols
• Frame structure, Flow control, Error control, DLC
protocols, & MAC addressing

2
Data Link Layer Responsibilities

• Framing:
• Media Access control:
• Flow control:
• Error control:

3
 i. Framing
• separates a message from one source to a destination, or from
other messages to other destinations, by adding a sender address
and a destination address.
• The destination address defines where the packet is to go; the
sender address helps the recipient acknowledge the receipt.
• Although the whole message could be packed in one frame, that is
not normally done.
reason:
• a frame can be very large, making flow and error control very
inefficient.
• When a message is carried in one very large frame, even a
single-bit error would require the retransmission of the whole
4
message.
 Cont.
Frames can be of fixed or variable size

• Fixed-Size Framing:- In fixed-size framing, there is no need

for defining the boundaries of the frames; the size itself can be
used as a delimiter.
• An example of this type of framing is the ATM wide-area
network, which uses frames of fixed size called cells.
• Variable-Size Framing:- variable-size framing is prevalent in
local area networks.
• we need a way to define the end of the frame and the
beginning of the next.
• Historically, two approaches were used for this purpose: a
character-oriented (byte) approach and a bit-oriented
approach.
5
 Cont.
Character-Oriented (byte-oriented) Protocols

• data to be carried are 8-bit characters from a coding system such

as ASCII.
• The header, which normally carries the source and destination
addresses and other control information, and the trailer,
which carries error detection or error correction redundant
bits, are also multiples of 8 bits.
• To separate one frame from the next, an 8-bit (1-byte) flag is
added at the beginning and the end of a frame.
• Character-oriented framing was popular when only text was
exchanged by the data link layers. The flag could be selected to
be any character not used for text communication.

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 Cont.
Bit-Oriented Protocols

• In a bit-oriented protocol, the data section of a frame is a

sequence of bits to be interpreted by the upper layer as text,
graphic, audio, video, and so on.

• However, in addition to headers (and possible trailers), we still

need a delimiter to separate one frame from the other. Most
protocols use a special 8-bit pattern flag 01111110 as the
delimiter to define the beginning and the end of the frame, as
shown in the figure.

7
 Cont.

• This flag can create the same type of problem we saw in the byte-
oriented protocols.
• That is, if the flag pattern appears in the data, we need to somehow
inform the receiver that this is not the end of the frame.
• We do this by stuffing 1 single bit (instead of 1 byte) to prevent
the pattern from looking like a flag.
• The strategy is called bit stuffing.
• In bit stuffing, if a 0 and five consecutive 1 bits are encountered,
an extra 0 is added. This extra stuffed bit is eventually removed
from the data by the receiver.
• Note that the extra bit is added after one 0 followed by five
1s regardless of the value of the next bit.
8
• This guarantees that the flag field sequence does not appear in the
 Cont.

Bit stuffing is the process of adding one extra 0 whenever five consecutive
1s follow a 0 in the data, so that the receiver does not mistaken the
pattern 0111110 for a flag.
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 Cont.

• Note that even if we have a 0 after five 1s, we still stuff a 0. The 0
will be removed by the receiver.

• This means that if the flag like pattern 01111110 appears in the
data, it will change to 011111010 (stuffed) and is not mistaken as
a flag by the receiver.

• The real flag 0111110 is not stuffed by the sender and is

recognized by the receiver as a flag.

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 ii. Media Access control

• The data link layer can further be divided in to two layers:

• the upper sub-layer that is responsible for flow and error control is called
the logical link control (LLC) layer;
• the lower sub-layer that is mostly responsible for multiple access resolution
is called the media access control (MAC) layer

• When nodes or stations are connected and use a common link,

called a multipoint or broadcast link, we need a multiple-access
protocol to coordinate access to the link.

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 iii. Flow Control
• Flow control refers to a set of procedures used to restrict the amount
of data that the sender can send before waiting for
acknowledgment.
• Flow control coordinates the amount of data that can be sent before
receiving an acknowledgment and is one of the most important duties
of the data link layer.
• In most protocols, flow control is a set of procedures that tells the
sender how much data it can transmit before it must wait for
an acknowledgment from the receiver.
• The flow of data must not be allowed to overwhelm the receiver. Any
receiving device has a limited speed at which it can process incoming
data and a limited amount of memory in which to store incoming data.
• The receiving device must be able to inform the sending device before
12
those limits are reached and to request that the transmitting device
 iv. Error control

• We need to build systems that are robust to errors in data.

• There is no way to guarantee that all bits will be sent
uncorrupted.
• One way to cope with this is to detect errors and request
that corrupted data should be retransmitted.
• Detecting errors cannot be guaranteed either.
• We can at least make it extremely unlikely that errors will go
undetected.

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 Cont.
 Detecting Errors

• Usually, noise levels are fairly low and most of the bits are
received correctly by the receiver.
• The question is, how can the receiver know when an error
has occurred?
• Because errors occur randomly, there is no way of
knowing with complete certainty if the data is correct.
• The best we can do is detect most errors.
• Even when we detect an error, the next question is: what to do
about it?

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 Cont.
Error Detection Process

• For a given frame of bits, additional bits that constitute an error-

detecting code are added by the transmitter.
• for a data block of k bits, the error-detecting algorithm yields
an error-detecting code of n – k bits, where (n – k) < k.
• The error-detecting code, also referred to as the check bits, is
appended to the data block to produce a frame of n bits,
• The receiver separates the incoming frame into the k bits of
data and (n – k) bits of the error-detecting code.
• The receiver performs the same error-detecting calculation on the
data bits and compares this value with the value of the incoming
error-detecting code.
• A detected error occurs if and only if there is a mismatch.

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Cont.

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Types of Error

• single bit errors

• only one bit altered
• caused by white noise
• burst errors
• contiguous sequence of 8 bits in which first, last and any
number of intermediate bits are in error
• caused by impulse noise or by fading in wireless
• effect is greater at higher data rates

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 1. Parity Checking (Vertical Redundancy Check (VRC))

• One of the most common ways of checking to see if an error

occurs is to count the bits in a character to see if there is an
even or odd number.

• Before transmission, an extra bit (parity bit) is appended to

the character to force the number of bits to be even (or odd).

• If the received character does not have an even (or odd) number
of bits then an error must have occurred.

• Both the sender and receiver must know which form of parity to
use. 18
 Cont.

• A character such as 0110001 would be transmitted as:

Odd Parity: 0110001 0 (There are an odd number of 1s)

Even Parity: 0110001 1 (There are an even number of 1s)

• Parity checking will detect a single error in a character

but not double errors.
8 bits including parity
7 bits of data
(count of 1 bits) Even odd

0000000 (0) 00000000 (0) 10000000 (1)

1010001 (3) 11010001 (4) 01010001 (3)
1101001 (4) 01101001 (4) 11101001 (5)
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1111111 (7) 11111111 (8) 01111111 (7)
 2. Checksum

• Another simple way of checking if there has been an error in a

block of data is to find a checksum.
• Imagine we send the data 121, 17, 29 and 47. Adding these
numbers up, we get 214.
• We actually send 121,17,29,47 and 214.
• The receiver can total up the first numbers and compare it to the
last one.
• A difference means an error has occurred.

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3. Cyclic Redundancy Check

• A far more effective way of detecting errors in a block of data is

to use a Cyclic Redundancy Code.
• In CRC, a number is mathematically calculated for a packet by
its source computer, and then recalculated by the destination
computer.
• for block of k bits, transmitter generates an n-k bit frame check
sequence (FCS)
• Transmits n bits which is exactly divisible by some
predetermined number
• The receiver then divides the incoming frame by that number
and, if there is no remainder, assumes there was no error.
• Can state this procedure in three equivalent ways: modulo 2
arithmetic, polynomials, and digital logic 21
 1. Modulo 2 Arithmetic
uses binary addition with no carries, which is just the
exclusive-OR (XOR) operation.
Binary subtraction with no carries is also interpreted as the
XOR operation:

 We would like T/P to have no remainder. It should be clear that

 by multiplying D by 2^ (n-k)
we have in effect shifted it to the left by n-k bits and padded out the result
with zeroes.
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Cont.

23
Cont.

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 2. Polynomials

• A second way of viewing the CRC process is to express

all values as polynomials in a dummy variable X, with
binary coefficients.
• The coefficients correspond to the bits in the binary
number. Thus, for D = 110011we have D(X) =
X^5 + X^4 + X + 1and for P = 11001, we have P(X) =
X^4 + X^3 + 1.
• Arithmetic operations are again modulo 2.
• The CRC process can now be described as

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26
3. Digital Logic

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 Protocols
o Data link layer can combine framing, flow control, and error control to achieve
the delivery of data from one node to another.
o Protocols are those that can be used for noiseless (error-free) channels and
those that can be used for noisy (error-creating) channels.

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 Noiseless channels
o channel in which no frames are lost, duplicated, or corrupted
Simplest Protocol
o is one that has no flow or error control
o unidirectional protocol in which data frames are traveling in
only one direction-from the sender to receiver.

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 Stop-and-wait Protocol
 Sender sends one frame, stops until it receives confirmation from
the receiver (okay to go ahead), and then sends the next frame.
 still have unidirectional communication for data frames, but
auxiliary ACK frames (simple tokens of acknowledgment) travel
from the other direction.

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 Noisy channels

Can ignore the error (as we sometimes do), or we need to add

error control to our protocols.
Stop-and-Wait Automatic Repeat Request (Stop and wait ARQ)
 Error correction in Stop-and-
Wait ARQ is done by keeping a
copy of the sent frame and
retransmitting of the frame
when the timer expires.

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Go-Back-N Automatic Repeat Request (Go-Back-N ARQ)
 Multiple frames must be in transition while waiting for
acknowledgment.
 let more than one frame be outstanding to keep the channel busy
while the sender is waiting for Acknowledgment
 can send several frames before receiving acknowledgments; we
keep a copy of these frames until the acknowledgments arrive.

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 Sliding Window
• is an abstract concept that defines the range of sequence numbers
that is the concern of the sender and receiver.
• In other words, the sender and receiver need to deal with only part
of the possible sequence numbers.
• The range which is the concern of the sender is called the send
sliding window
• The range that is the concern of the receiver is called the receive
sliding window

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 The send window can slide one or more slots when a valid
acknowledgment arrives.
 The window slides when a correct frame has arrived; sliding
occurs one slot at a time during receiver window sliding

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 High-level Data Link Control HDLC
o is a bit-oriented protocol for communication over point-to-point
and multipoint links.
o It implements the Automatic Repeat Request ARQ mechanisms
We will discuss some concepts of:
 Configurations and Transfer Modes
 Frames
 Control Field
Configurations and Transfer Modes
o HDLC provides two common transfer modes that can be used in
different configurations:
 normal response mode (NRM) and
 asynchronous balanced mode (ABM)

11.35
 Normal response mode

o The station configuration is unbalanced

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 Asynchronous balanced mode
o The station configuration is balanced

Frames
o HDLC defines three types of frames:
 information frames (I-frames)
 supervisory frames (S-frames) and
 unnumbered frames (U-frames)
o Each type of frame serves as an envelope for the transmission of
a different type of message.
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o I-frames are used to transport user data and control information
relating to user data
o S-frames are used only to transport control information
o U-frames are reserved for system management.
 Information carried by U-frames is intended for
managing the link itself
Frame Format
Each frame in HDLC may contain up to six fields:
 a beginning flag field
 an address field
 a control field
 an information field
 a frame check sequence (FCS) field and
 an ending flag field.
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HDLC frames

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 HDLC frames

Let us now discuss the fields and their use in different frame types.

Flag field. is an 8-bit sequence with the bit pattern 01111110 that
identifies both the beginning and the end of a frame and serves as a
synchronization pattern for the receiver.
Address field.
• An address field can be 1 byte or several bytes long, depending on
the needs of the network. One byte can identify up to 128 stations
(1 bit is used for another purpose).
• Larger networks require multiple-byte address fields.
• If the address field is only 1 byte, the last bit is always a 1.
• If the address is more than 1 byte, all bytes but the last one will end
with 0; only the last will end with 1.
• Ending each intermediate byte with 0 indicates to the receiver that 40
 HDLC frames

Control field. The control field is a 1- or 2-byte segment of the frame

used for flow and error control.
• The interpretation of bits in this field depends on the frame type.

Information field. The information field contains the user's data from
the network layer or management information.
• Its length can vary from one network to another.
FCS field. The frame check sequence (FCS) is the HDLC error
detection field.
• It can contain either a 2- or 4-byte ITU-T CRC.

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 Control field

The control field determines the type of frame and defines its functionality
Control field format for the different frame types

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 Control field

I-frames are designed to carry user data from the network layer.
• In addition, they can include flow and error control information
(piggybacking).
• The first bit defines the type. If the first bit of the control field is 0,
this means the frame is an I-frame.
• The next 3 bits, called N(S), define the sequence number of the
frame. Note that with 3 bits, we can define a sequence number
between 0 and 7; but in the extension format, in which the control
field is 2 bytes, this field is larger. The last 3 bits, called N(R),
correspond to the acknowledgment number when piggybacking is
used.
• The single bit between N(S) and N(R) is called the P/F bit.
• The P/F field is a single bit with a dual purpose. It has meaning only
when it is set (bit = 1) and can mean poll or final. It means poll 43
 Control field

Control Field for S-Frames

• Supervisory frames are used for flow and error control whenever
piggybacking is either impossible or inappropriate (e.g., when the
station either has no data of its own to send or needs to send a
command or response other than an acknowledgment).
• S-frames do not have information fields. If the first 2 bits of the
control field is 10, this means the frame is an S-frame.
• The last 3 bits, called N(R), corresponds to the acknowledgment
number (ACK) or negative acknowledgment number (NAK)
depending on the type of S-frame.
• The 2 bits called code is used to define the type of S-frame itself.
With 2 bits, we can have four types of S-frames:

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 Control field

Receive ready (RR). If the value of the code subfield is 00, it is an

RR S-frame.
• This kind of frame acknowledges the receipt of a safe and sound
frame or group of frames. In this case, the value N(R) field defines
the acknowledgment number.
Receive not ready (RNR). If the value of the code subfield is 10, it
is an RNR S-frame.
• It acknowledges the receipt of a frame or group of frames, and it
announces that the receiver is busy and cannot receive more
frames.
• It acts as a kind of congestion control mechanism by asking the
sender to slow down.
Reject (REJ). If the value of the code subfield is 01, it is a REJ S-
frame. 45
 Control field

Control Field for U-Frames

• Unnumbered frames are used to exchange session management
and control information between connected devices.
• Unlike S-frames, U-frames contain an information field, but one
used for system management information, not user data.
• As with S-frames, however, much of the information carried by U-
frames is contained in codes included in the control field.
• U-frame codes are divided into two sections: a 2-bit prefix before
the P/F bit and a 3-bit suffix after the P/F bit.
• Together, these two segments (5 bits) can be used to create up to
32 different types of U-frames.

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 Error Correction

• correction of errors using an error-detecting code, requires that

block of data be retransmitted.
• For wireless applications this approach is inadequate for two
reasons:
1. The bit error rate on a wireless link can be quite high, which would result in
a large number of retransmissions.
2. In some cases, especially satellite links, the propagation delay is very long
compared to the transmission time of a single frame. With a long data link,
an error in a single frame necessitates retransmitting many frames.
• Instead, it would be desirable to enable the receiver to correct errors
in an incoming transmission on the basis of the bits in that
transmission.
• Error correction operates in a fashion similar to error detection but
is capable of correcting certain errors in a transmitted bit stream.
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Error Correction Process

48
 How Error Correction Works

• error correction works by adding redundancy to the transmitted

message.
• The redundancy makes it possible for the receiver to deduce what
the original message was, even in the face of a certain level of
error rate.
• If we wish to transmit blocks of data of length k bits, we map each
k-bit sequence into a unique n-bit code-word, which differ
significantly from each other.
• Typically, each valid code-word reproduces the original k data bits
and adds to them (n – k) check bits to form the n-bit code-word.

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 Cont.

• Then if an invalid code-word is received, assume the valid code-

word is the one that is closest to it, and use the input bit sequence
associated with it.
• The ratio of redundant bits to data bits, (n – k)/k, is called the
redundancy of the code, and the ratio of data bits to total bits, k/n,
is called the code rate.
• The code rate is a measure of how much additional bandwidth is
required to carry data at the same data rate as without the code.
• For example, a code rate of 1/2 requires double the transmission
capacity of an uncoded system to maintain the same data rate.

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 Hamming Distance

 The Hamming distance between two bit patterns is the

number of dissimilar bits.
 It measures the minimum number of substitutions required to
change one string into the other, or the number of errors that
transform one string into the other.
 For example, the Hamming distance between 01000001 (‘A’)
and 01000011 (‘C’) is 1 because there is only one dissimilar
bit.
 One error in the wrong place can turn an ‘A’ into a ‘C’.

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 Cont.

 The Hamming distance between 01000001 (‘A’) and

01000010 (‘B’) is 2 because there are two dissimilar bits.

 It would take two errors in the wrong place to turn an ‘A’

into a ‘B’.

 Adding a parity bit ensures that there is at least a Hamming

distance of 2 between any two code words.

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Hamming ECC

‘use of extra parity bits to allow the position identification of a

single error’
1. Mark all bit positions that are powers of 2 as parity bits.
(positions 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.)
2. All other bit positions are for the data to be encoded.
(positions 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, etc.)
3. Each parity bit calculates the parity for some of the bits in the
code word. The position of the parity bit determines the sequence
of bits that it checks.
• Position 1: checks bits (1,3,5,7,9,11,...) – Alternate
Position 2: checks bits (2,3,6,7,10,11,14,15,...) – Alternate 2-
bits
• Position 4: checks bits (4,5,6,7,12,13,14,15,20,21,22,23,...) -
Alternate 4-bits 53
A Layout of Data and Check Bits
that Achieves Our Design Criteria:
Bit position 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Bit number 1100 1011 1010 1001 1000 0111 0110 0101 0100 0011 0010 0001
Data bit D8 D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1
Check bit C8 C4 C2 C1

C1 is a parity check on every data bit whose position is xxx1

C1 = D1 exor D2 exor D4 exor D5 exor D7
C2 is a parity check on every data bit whose position is xx1x
C2 = D1 exor D3 exor D4 exor D6 exor D7
C4 is a parity check on every data bit whose position is x1xx
C4 = D2 exor D3 exor D4 exor D7
C8 is a parity check on every data bit whose position is 1xxx
C8 = D4 exor D5 exor D7 exor D8

Why this ordering? Because we want the syndrome, the Hamming test word,
to yield the address of the error.
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Example:
Data stored = 00111001
Check bits:

Putting it together:
Example:
Example:
Word fetched: Check Bits:

Comparing:
C8 C4 C2 C1
0 1 1 1 Orig Check
Bits
0 0 0 1 New Check Bits
0 1 1 0 Syndrome
0110 = 6  bit
position 6 is wrong,
Putting it all together: i.e. bit D3 is wrong
58
Random Access

In random access or contention methods, no station is superior

to another station and none is assigned the control over another.
No station permits, or does not permit, another station to
send.

At each instance, a station that has data to send uses a

procedure defined by the protocol to make a decision on
whether or not to send.

This decision depends on the state of the medium (idle or busy).

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In other words, each station can transmit when it desires on the
 Cont.

• 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, collision-and the frames will be either destroyed or
modified.
• To avoid access conflict or to resolve it when it happens, each
station follows a procedure that answers the following questions:
 When can the station access the medium?

 What can the station do if the medium is busy?

 How can the station determine the success or failure of the

transmission? 60
 Cont.

 The random access methods have evolved from a very interesting

protocol known as ALOHA, which used a very simple procedure
called multiple access (MA).

 The method was improved with the addition of a procedure that

forces the station to sense the medium before transmitting.
• This was called carrier sense multiple access.

• This method later evolved into two parallel methods: carrier sense multiple
access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) and carrier sense multiple access
with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA).
• CSMA/CD tells the station what to do when a collision is detected. 61
 1. Pure ALOHA

ALOHA is the simplest technique in multiple accesses.

Basic idea of this mechanism is a user can transmit the data

whenever they want.

If data is successfully transmitted then there isn’t any problem.

But if collision occurs then the station will transmit again.

Sender can detect the collision if it doesn’t receive the

acknowledgement from the receiver.

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Procedure for pure ALOHA protocol

63
Procedure for pure ALOHA protocol

64
• Under what conditions will the shaded packet arrive undamaged?
Vulnerable Period

65
 2. Slotted ALOHA
• Divide time up into discrete intervals, each
corresponding to one packet.
• The vulnerable period is now reduced in
half.

66
Figure Vulnerable time for slotted ALOHA protocol

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 3. Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA)

 Protocols that listen for a carrier and act accordingly are called
carrier sense protocols.
 Carrier sensing allows the station to detect whether the medium is
currently being used.
 There are two variants of CSMA: CSMA/CD and CSMA/CA
 The simplest CSMA scheme is for a station to sense the medium,
sending packets immediately if the medium is idle.
 If the station waits for the medium to become idle it is called
persistent otherwise it is called non persistent.

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 Assumptions with CSMA
Networks
1. Constant length packets
2. No errors, except those caused by collisions
3. Each host can sense the transmissions of all other hosts
4. The propagation delay is small compared to the transmission time

There are several types of CSMA protocols:

1. 1-Persistent CSMA
2. Non-Persistent CSMA
3. P-Persistent CSMA

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 1-Persistent CSMA
• Sense the channel.
– If busy, keep listening to the channel and transmit immediately when
the channel becomes idle.
– If idle, transmit a packet immediately.
• If collision occurs,
– Wait a random amount of time and start over again.
The protocol is called 1-persistent because the host transmits
with a probability of 1 whenever it finds the channel idle.

70
Figure Behavior of three persistence methods

71
 Non-Persistent CSMA
• Sense the channel.
– If busy, wait a random amount of time and sense the channel again
– If idle, transmit a packet immediately
• If collision occurs
– wait a random amount of time and start all over again

Tradeoff between 1- and Non- Persistent CSMA

• If B and C become ready in the middle of A’s transmission,
– 1-Persistent: B and C collide
– Non-Persistent: B and C probably do not collide
• If only B becomes ready in the middle of A’s transmission,
– 1-Persistent: B succeeds as soon as A ends
– Non-Persistent: B may have to wait

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Figure Behavior of three persistence methods

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 P-Persistent
CSMA
• Optimal strategy: use P-Persistent CSMA
• Assume channels are slotted
• One slot = contention period (i.e., one round trip propagation delay)

1. Sense the channel

– If channel is idle, transmit a packet with probability p
• if a packet was transmitted, go to step 2
• if a packet was not transmitted, wait one slot and go to step 1
– If channel is busy, wait one slot and go to step 1.
2. Detect collisions
– If a collision occurs, wait a random amount of time and go to step 1

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Figure Behavior of three persistence methods

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 3.1 Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection
(CSMA/CD)

 CSMA/CD is a technique for multiple access protocols.

 If no transmission is taking place at the time, the particular station
can transmit.

 If two stations attempt to transmit simultaneously, this causes a

collision, which is detected by all participating stations.

 After a random time interval, the stations that collided attempt to

transmit again.

 If another collision occurs, the time intervals from which the random
waiting time is selected are increased step by step.
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 This is known as exponential back off.
Flow diagram for the CSMA/CD

77
3.2 Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance
(CSMA/CA)
• We need to avoid collisions on wireless networks because they
cannot be detected.
• 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 inter frame space or IFS.
• In CSMA/CA, the Inter frame space (IFS) can be used to define the
priority of a station or a frame.
• In CSMA/CA, if the station finds the channel busy, it does not restart
the timer of the contention window (amount of time divided in time
slots); it stops the timer and restarts it when the channel becomes
idle.
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79
Controlled access
In controlled access, the stations consult one another to
find which station has the right to send.

A station cannot send unless it has been authorized by

other stations.

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 1. Reservation

• 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
mini slots in the reservation frame.
• Each mini slot belongs to a station. When a station needs to send a
data frame, it makes a reservation in its own mini slot.
• The stations that have made reservations can send their data
frames after the reservation frame.

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 Cont.

• The following figure shows a situation with five stations and a

five-mini 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.

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 2. Polling

 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.
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 The primary device, therefore, is always the initiator of a session.
 Cont.

 If the primary wants to receive data, it asks the secondary devices

if they have anything to send; this is called poll function.

 If the primary wants to send data, it tells the secondary to get

ready to receive; this is called select function. 84
 3. Token Passing

 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 next logical station in the ring.
 The station cannot send data until it receives the token again in the
next round.
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Cont…

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Channelization protocols
• FDMA
 the available bandwidth of the common channel is divided into
bands that are separated by guard bands.
• TDMA
 the bandwidth is just one channel that is timeshared between
different stations.
• CDMA
 one channel carries all transmissions simultaneously.

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Thank You!

Questions?

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