Data Communication & Computer Networks

Lecture 10 Datalink Layer: Datalink control and protocols

Amad Zafar
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Data Link Layer

Data Link Layer Topics to Cover

Wireless LANs

FRAMING

The data link layer needs to

Pack bits into frames so that each frame is distinguishable from another The simple act of inserting a letter into an envelope separates one piece of information from another

Postal system practices a type of framing

Framing

Although whole message could be packed in a frame but that is not normally done

Why?

Framing

Answer

Frame would be vary large. As a result

Error control & flow control very insufficient

When message is carried in one very large frame, even a single bit error would require

Retransmission of whole message Two types of framing Fixed size framing Variable size framing

FLOW AND ERROR CONTROL

The most important responsibilities of the data link layer are

Flow control Error control

Collectively, these functions are known as data link control

Notes:

Flow control refers to

A set of procedures used to restrict the amount of data that the sender can send before waiting for acknowledgment

Error control in the data link layer is based on

Automatic repeat request, which is the retransmission of data

PROTOCOLS

How the data link layer can combine framing, flow control, and error control to

Achieve the delivery of data from one node to another

The protocols are normally implemented in software by

Using one of the common programming languages Pseudocode version of each protocol discussed here

Taxonomy of Protocols

NOISELESS CHANNELS

Let us first assume

An ideal channel in which no frames are lost, duplicated, or corrupted

Introduce two protocols for this type of channel

Simplest Protocol Stop-and-Wait Protocol

Design of Simplest Protocol with No Flow or Error Control

Algorithm Sender-Site Algorithm for Simplest Protocol

Algorithm Receiver-Site Algorithm for Simplest Protocol

Example

Next Slide Figure shows an example of communication using this protocol. It is very simple. The sender sends a sequence of frames without even thinking about the receiver. To send three frames, three events occur at the sender site and three events at the receiver site. Note that the data frames are shown by tilted boxes; the height of the box defines the transmission time difference between the first bit and the last bit in the frame.

Flow Diagram for Example (Previous Slide)

Design of Stop-and-Wait Protocol

Sender-Site Algorithm for Stop-andWait Protocol

Receiver-site Algorithm for Stop-andWait Protocol

Example
Figure on next slide shows an example of communication using this protocol. It is still very simple. The sender sends one frame and waits for feedback from the receiver. When the ACK arrives, the sender sends the next frame. Note that sending two frames in the protocol involves the sender in four events and the receiver in two events.

Flow Diagram for Example of Previous Slide

NOISY CHANNELS

Stop-and-Wait Protocol gives

An idea of how to add flow control to its predecessor but

Noiseless channels are nonexistent

Now lets discuss three protocols that use error control

Stop-and-Wait Automatic Repeat Request Go-Back-N Automatic Repeat Request Selective Repeat Automatic Repeat Request

Error Correction in Stop-and-Wait ARQ

Keeping a copy of the sent frame and retransmitting of the frame when the timer expires Use sequence numbers to number the frames

The sequence numbers are based on modulo-2 arithmetic

Acknowledgment number always announces in modulo-2 arithmetic the

Sequence number of the next frame expected

Design of Stop-and-Wait ARQ Protocol

Example

Figure on next slide shows an example of Stopand-Wait ARQ. Frame 0 is sent and acknowledged. Frame 1 is lost and resent after the time-out. The resent frame 1 is acknowledged and the timer stops. Frame 0 is sent and acknowledged, but the acknowledgment is lost. The sender has no idea if the frame or the acknowledgment is lost, so after the time-out, it resends frame 0, which is acknowledged.

Flow diagram for Example of Previous Slide

Example

Assume that, in a Stop-and-Wait ARQ system, the bandwidth of the line is 1 Mbps, and 1 bit takes 20 ms to make a round trip. What is the bandwidth-delay product? If the system data frames are 1000 bits in length, what is the utilization percentage of the link?

Solution

The bandwidth-delay product is

The system can send 20,000 bits during the time it takes for the data to go from the sender to the receiver and then back again However, the system sends only 1000 bits. We can say that the link utilization is only 1000/20,000, or 5 percent For this reason, for a link with a high bandwidth or long delay, the use of Stop-and-Wait ARQ wastes the capacity of the link

Example

What is the utilization percentage of the link in Previous Example if we have a protocol that can send up to 15 frames before stopping and worrying about the acknowledgments?

Solution

The bandwidth-delay product is still 20,000 bits. The system can send up to 15 frames or 15,000 bits during a round trip. This means the utilization is 15,000/20,000, or 75 percent. If there are damaged frames, the utilization percentage is much less because frames have to be resent.

Notes:

In the Go-Back-N Protocol

Sequence numbers are modulo 2m, where m is the size of the sequence number field in bits

The send window is an abstract concept defining an imaginary box of

Size 2m 1 with three variables: Sf, Sn, and Ssize

The send window can slide one or more slots when a valid acknowledgment arrives Next slide shows figure

Send window for Go-Back-N ARQ

Receive window for Go-Back-N ARQ

The receive window is an abstract concept defining an

Imaginary box of size 1 with one single variable R n. The window slides when a correct frame has arrived; sliding occurs one slot at a time

Design of Go-Back-N ARQ

Window Size for Go-Back-N ARQ

Example

Figure on next slide shows an example of Go-Back-N. This is an example of a case where the forward channel is reliable, but the reverse is not. No data frames are lost, but some ACKs are delayed and one is lost. The example also shows how cumulative acknowledgments can help if acknowledgments are delayed or lost. After initialization, there are seven sender events. Request events are triggered by data from the network layer; arrival events are triggered by acknowledgments from the physical layer. There is no time-out event here because all outstanding frames are acknowledged before the timer expires. Note that although ACK 2 is lost, ACK 3 serves as both ACK 2 and ACK 3.

Flow diagram for Example on Previous Slide

Example

Figure on slide after next shows what happens when a frame is lost. Frames 0, 1, 2, and 3 are sent. However, frame 1 is lost. The receiver receives frames 2 and 3, but they are discarded because they are received out of order. The sender receives no acknowledgment about frames 1, 2, or 3. Its timer finally expires. The sender sends all outstanding frames (1, 2, and 3) because it does not know what is wrong. Note that the resending of frames 1, 2, and 3 is the response to one single event. When the sender is responding to this event, it cannot accept the triggering of other events. This means that when ACK 2 arrives, the sender is still busy with sending frame 3.

Example Continued

The physical layer must wait until this event is completed and the data link layer goes back to its sleeping state. We have shown a vertical line to indicate the delay. It is the same story with ACK 3; but when ACK 3 arrives, the sender is busy responding to ACK 2. It happens again when ACK 4 arrives. Note that before the second timer expires, all outstanding frames have been sent and the timer is stopped.

Flow diagram for Example on Previous Slides

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