Media Access Control

MAC-Media Access Control

MAC is a sub layer of data link layer.
It controls the flow and multiplexing for
transmission medium.
Transmission of packets is controlled by this
layer.
Functions of MAC
To perform the control of access to media.
It performs the unique addressing to stations
directly connected to LANs.
Detection of errors.
Multiple Access Protocols
Multiple access protocols is of three types:
1.Random Access protocols:
(a)ALOHA (b)CSMA (c)CSMA/CD
2. Controlled Access Protocols
(a)Reservation (b) Polling (c) Token Passing
3. Channelization Protocols
(a) FDMA (b) TDMA (c) CDMA
Random Access or Contention Methods
No station is superior to another station
No station is assigned control to another station.
No station permits or does nor permits another
station to send.
Each station makes its own decision on whether
or not to send the data.
Features
There is no scheduled time for a station to
transmit. Transmission is random among
stations. That is why these methods are called
random access.
No rules specify which station should send next.
Stations compete with each another to access
the medium. That is why these methods are
called contention methods.
Each station has right to the medium without
being controlled by another station.
However, if one or more station tries to send,
there is an access conflict called collision and
frames will be either destroyed or modified.
Avoid access conflict
Each station follows a procedure :
When station access the medium?
What can station do if the medium is busy?
How can station determine the success or
failure of the transmission?
What can station do if there is an access
conflict?
Procedure
Random access uses a procedure called multiple
access protocols.
It forces the station to sense the medium before
transmitting.
Tells the medium what to do when a collision is
detected.
ALOHA
Norman Abramson in 1970s devised a new and
elegant method to solve channel allocation
problem.
2 versions of ALOHA:
1. Pure ALOHA: does not require global time
synchronization.
2. Slotted ALOHA does require.
Pure ALOHA
Users transmit data at any time
If there is collision
sender knows about it after a certain time,
waits random amount of time,
sends the frame again
Contention systems
Systems in which multiple users share a common
channel in a way that can lead to conflicts
To maximize throughput, frames have uniform
size
Frames in Pure ALOHA
ALOHA Assumptions
Frame time=time to transmit one frame
Number of frames generated in a frame time is
a Poisson Distribution with mean N.
If N>1, every frame will suffer a collision
0<N<1 is reasonable
Probability of k transmission attempts in a frame
time is Poisson with parameter G.
Pr[k]=Gk e-G/k!
• For small N, G  N
• For large N, G>N
ALOHA cont’d
P0 = probability that a frame does not suffer a
collision
S = Probability of a transmission succeeding
S = G P0
ALOHA Frame Collision Period
Efficiency of ALOHA
Vulnerable time is the time in which there is a
possibility of collision.
The vulnerable period is two frame times
The probability that no frame is transmitted
during this period is e-2G
Pr[0]=e-G in one frame period so P0=e-2G in two
frame periods
Therefore S = G e-2G
The maximum of S occurs at G=0.5, S=1/2e
ALOHA Throughput
Slotted ALOHA
 In 1972 Robert published a method for doubling the
capacity of an ALOHA.
 Can only transmit at the beginning of a time slot
 Vulnerable period is halved, the probability of no other
traffic during the same slot as our test frame is e-G
 Hence S = G e-G
 Slotted ALOHA peaks at G = 1, with a throughput of
S=1/e.
 Probability that a frame avoids a collision is e-G
 The probability of a collision is 1-e-G
 Probability of a transmission requiring exactly k attempts is
Pk=e-G(1-e-G)k-1
Slotted ALOHA
Expected number of transmissions, E, per each
created frame is
  
E =  k Pk =  ke-G(1-e-G)k-1=  d/dG(1-e-G)k =
k=1 k=1 k=1


d/dG  (1-e-G)k = d/dG eG = eG

k=1
Conclusion: Performance exponentially degrades
by the load
Carrier Sense Multiple Access
(CSMA) Protocols
ALOHA does not listen to the channel before it
transmits, ending up with poor performance
Carrier Sense Protocols
Stations listen the channel if there is any
transmission going on before they transmit
CSMA based on principle “sense before transmit” or
listen before talk”
CSMA reduce the possibility of collision but it cannot
eliminate it because of propagation delay
When a station sends a frame it stills takes time for
first bit to reach every station and for every station to
sense it.
Persistence Methods
What should a station do if the channel is busy?
What should a station do if the channel is idle?
Persistent and Nonpersistent
CSMA
 1-persistent CSMA
Stations transmit with probability 1 whenever they find the
channel idle
 Nonpersistent CSMA
If the channel is idle before the first attempt, transmit
If the channel is already in use, wait for a random amount of
time, and then listen to the channel for transmission
 P-persistent CSMA
Applies to slotted channels: If the channel has time slots with a
slot duration equal to greater than the max. propagation time
If the channel is idle,
transmit with probability p
Defer transmission until the next slot with probability q = 1 – p
If, in the mean time, someone else transmits, wait a random time
If channel busy
Wait for the next slot
Channel Utilization for Random
Access Protocols
CSMA with Collision Detection
(CSMA/CD)
 Station monitors the medium after it sends a frame to
see if the transmission was successful.
Abort transmission as soon as detect collision.
If 2 stations detect collisions, rather than finish
transmitting their frame are destroyed.
If  is the time the signal propagates between two
farthest stations, the station has to wait 2  to make
sure that no collision has occurred
 CSMA/CD model has contention, transmission and idle
periods
 Contention period is modeled as a slotted ALOHA with slot
size 2
CSMA/CD States