ELC 443: Selected Topics (1)

Multiple Access Techniques

Lecturer: Dr. Reham Samir

 References
n Behrouz A. Forouzan “Data Communication and
Networking” (5th Edition), McGraw Hill, 2015.
 Introduction
n When nodes or stations are connected and use a common link, we
need a multiple-access protocol to coordinate access to the link.
n Many protocols have been devised to handle access to a shared
link. All of these protocols belong to a sublayer in the data-link
layer called media access control (MAC).
n Multiple Access Protocols
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
n In random access protocols, no station is superior to another station
and none is assigned the control over another.
n No station permits, or does not permit, another station to send.
n At each instance, a station that has data to send uses a procedure
(protocol) to make a decision on whether or not to send.
n This decision depends on the state of the medium (idle or busy).
n Two features give this method its name.
n First, there is no scheduled time for a station to transmit.
Transmission is random among the stations (random access).
n Second, no rules specify which station should send next. Stations
compete with one another to access the medium (contention).
n If more than one station tries to send, there is an access conflict-
collision-and the frames will be either destroyed or modified.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
n The random-access methods:
n ALOHA is a very simple protocol.

n 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 (CSMA).

n CSMA is divided to:

n CSMA with collision detection (CSMA/CD) that tells the station what
to do when a collision is detected.

n CSMA with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) tries to avoid the

collision.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(ALOHA)
n ALOHA was the earliest random access method.
n It was designed for a radio (wireless) LAN.
n ALOHA protocols are Pure ALOHA (The original ALOHA) and
Slotted ALOHA.
n Pure ALOHA
n Each station sends a frame whenever it has a frame to send.
n Since there is only one channel to share, there is the possibility of
collision between frames from different stations.
n We need to resend the frames that have been destroyed during
transmission.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(ALOHA)

n Pure ALOHA
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(ALOHA)

n Pure ALOHA
n The pure ALOHA relies on acknowledgments from the receiver.
n If the acknowledgment does not arrive after a time-out period, the
station assumes that the frame (or the ack.) has been destroyed and
resends the frame.
n The time-out period is equal to the maximum possible round-trip
propagation delay, which is twice the time required to send a frame
between the two most widely separated stations (2 x Tp).
n If all the collided stations try to resend their frames after the time-out,
the frames will collide again.
n Pure ALOHA dictates that after the time-out period, each station
waits a random amount of time before resending its frame.
n The randomness will help avoid more collisions. We call this time the
back-off time TB.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(ALOHA)

n Pure ALOHA
n Back-off time TB is a random value (binary exponential back-off).
n For each retransmission, a multiplier R = 0 to 2K - 1 is randomly
chosen and multiplied by Tp (maximum propagation time) or Tfr (the
average time required to send out a frame). the range of the random
numbers increases after each collision.
TB = R x Tp or TB = R x Tfr
n After a maximum number of retransmission attempts Kmax. A station
must give up and try later.
n The value of Kmax is usually chosen as 15.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(ALOHA)

n Pure ALOHA
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(ALOHA)

n Pure ALOHA
n Example: The stations on a wireless ALOHA network are a
maximum of 600 km apart. If we assume that signals propagate at 3 x
108 m/s. Find the value of TB for K = 2.

n Sol:
n We find Tp = (600 x 103) / (3 x 108) = 2 ms.

n For K =2, the range R is {0, 1, 2, 3}. This means that TB can be 0, 2, 4,
or 6 ms.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(ALOHA)

n Slotted ALOHA
n Slotted ALOHA was invented to improve the efficiency of pure
ALOHA.
n In slotted ALOHA, there is a rule that defines when the station can
send.
n In slotted ALOHA we divide the time into slots of Tfr s and force the
station to send only at the beginning of the time slot.
n If a station misses this moment, it must wait until the beginning of the
next time slot.
n Of course, there is still the possibility of collision if two stations try to
send at the beginning of the same time slot.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(ALOHA)

n Slotted ALOHA
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA)

n CSMA minimizes the chance of collision and, therefore, increase the

performance.

n CSMA requires that each station first listen to the medium (or check the
state of the medium) before sending.

n In other words, CSMA is based on the principle "sense before transmit"

or "listen before talk.“

n CSMA can reduce the possibility of collision, but it cannot eliminate it.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA)
n Stations are connected to a shared channel (usually a dedicated medium).
n At time tl, station B senses the medium and finds it idle, so it sends a frame.
n At time t2 (t2 > t1), station C senses the medium and finds it idle because, at this
time, the first bits from station B have not reached station C.
n Station C also sends a frame. The two signals collide and both frames are
destroyed.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA)

n The possibility of collision still exists because of propagation delay;

when a station sends a frame, it still takes time (although very short) for
the first bit to reach every station and for every station to sense it.

n In other words, a station may sense the medium and find it idle, only
because the first bit sent by another station has not yet been received.

n Persistence Methods
n What should a station do if the channel is busy? What should a station do if
the channel is idle?
n Three methods have been devised to answer these questions:
n 1-persistent method

n nonpersistent method

n p-persistent method
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA)

n Persistence Methods
n 1-Persistent
n The 1-persistent method is simple and straightforward.

n In this method, after the station finds the line idle, it sends its frame

immediately (with probability 1).

n This method has the highest chance of collision because two or more

stations may find the line idle and send their frames immediately.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA)

n Persistence Methods
n Nonpersistent
n In this method, a station that has a frame to send senses the line. If the line is idle, it
sends immediately.
n If the line is not idle, it waits a random amount of time and then senses the line again.
n This approach reduces the chance of collision because it is unlikely that two or more
stations will wait the same amount of time and retry to send simultaneously.
n However, this method reduces the efficiency of the network because the medium
remains idle when there may be stations with frames to send.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA)

n Persistence Methods
n p-Persistent
n The p-persistent method is used if the channel has time slots with a slot

duration equal to or greater than the maximum propagation time.

n The p-persistent approach reduces the chance of collision and improves

efficiency.
n In this method, after the station finds the line idle it follows these steps:

1. With probability p, the station sends its frame.

2. With probability q = 1- p, the station waits for the beginning of the next time slot
and checks the line again.
a. If the line is idle, it goes to step 1.
b. If the line is busy, it acts as though a collision has occurred and uses the
back-off procedure.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA)

n Persistence Methods
n p-Persistent
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA/CD)
n The CSMA method does not specify the procedure following a collision.
n Carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD)
augments the algorithm to handle the collision.
n In this method, a station monitors the medium after it sends a frame to
see if the transmission was successful. If so, the station is finished.
n If, however, there is a collision, short jamming signal is sent to make sure
that all other stations become aware of the collision, then the frame is
sent again.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA/CD)
n At time t1, station A has executed its persistence procedure and starts
sending the bits of its frame.
n At time t2, station C has not yet sensed the first bit sent by A.
n Station C executes its persistence procedure and starts sending the bits in
its frame, which propagate both to the left and to the right.
n The collision occurs some-time after time t2.
n Station C detects a collision at time t3 when it receives the first bit of A's
frame.
n Station C immediately (or after a short time, but we assume immediately)
aborts transmission.
n Station A detects collision at time t4 when it receives the first bit of C's
frame; it also immediately aborts transmission.
n A transmits for the duration t4 - t1
n C transmits for the duration t3 - t2
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA/CD)
n
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA/CA)

n Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) was

invented for wireless networks.

n Collisions are avoided through the use of three strategies:

n Interframe space.

n Contention window.

n Acknowledgments.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA/CA)

n Interframe space
n Even though the channel may appear idle when it is sensed, a distant station
may have already started transmitting.

n The distant station's signal has not yet reached this station.

n The IFS time allows the front of the transmitted signal by the distant station
to reach this station.

n After waiting an IFS time, if the channel is still idle, the station can send, but
it still needs to wait a time equal to the contention window.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA/CA)

n Contention window
n The contention window is an amount of time divided into slots.
n A station that is ready to send chooses a random number of slots as its wait
time.
n The number of slots in the window changes according to the binary
exponential backoff strategy.
n This means that it is set to one slot the first time and then doubles each time
the station cannot detect an idle channel after the IFS time.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA/CA)

n Acknowledgment
n With all these precautions, there still may be a collision resulting in
destroyed data.

n In addition, the data may be corrupted during the transmission.

n The positive acknowledgment and the time-out timer can help guarantee that
the receiver has received the frame
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA/CA)

n
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA/CA)

n Network Allocation Vector

 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA/CA)

n The exchange of data and control frames.

1. Before sending a frame, the source station senses the medium by checking the
energy level at the carrier frequency.
a) The channel uses a persistence strategy with backoff until the channel is idle.

b) After the station is found to be idle, the station waits for a period of time called the
distributed interframe space (DIFS); then the station sends a control frame called
the request to send (RTS)

2. After receiving the RTS and waiting a period of time called the short
interframe space (SIFS), the destination station sends a control frame, called
the clear to send (CTS), to the source station. This control frame indicates that
the destination station is ready to receive data.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA/CA)

n The exchange of data and control frames.

3. The source station sends data after waiting an amount of time equal to SIFS.

4. The destination station, after waiting an amount of time equal to SIFS, sends
an acknowledgment to show that the frame has been received.
Acknowledgment is needed in this protocol because the station does not have
any means to check for the successful arrival of its data at the destination.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA/CA)

n Network Allocation Vector

n (how is the collision avoidance aspect of this protocol accomplished?)

n The key is a feature called NAV.
n When a station sends an RTS frame, it includes the duration of time that it
needs to occupy the channel.
n The stations that are affected by this transmission create a timer called a
network allocation vector (NAV) that shows how much time must pass
before these stations are allowed to check the channel for idleness.
n Each time a station accesses the system and sends an RTS frame, other
stations start their NAV.
n In other words, each station, before sensing the physical medium to see if it
is idle, first checks its NAV to see if it has expired.
 Random Access Protocols (Contention Methods)
(CSMA/CA)

n Collision During Handshaking

n What happens if there is a collision during the time when RTS or CTS
control frames are in transition, often called the handshaking period?

n Two or more stations may try to send RTS frames at the same time.

n These control frames may collide.

n Because there is no mechanism for collision detection, the sender

assumes there has been a collision if it has not received a CTS frame
from the receiver.

n The backoff strategy is employed, and the sender tries again.

 Controlled Access

n The stations consult one another to find which station has the right to
send.

n A station cannot send unless it has been authorized by other stations.

n Controlled-access methods:
n Reservation

n Polling

n Token Passing
 Controlled Access

n Reservation
n In the reservation method, a station needs to make a reservation before
sending data.

n Time is divided into intervals.

n In each interval, a reservation frame precedes the data frames sent in that
interval.
 Controlled Access

n Polling
n Polling works with topologies in which one device is designated as a
primary station and the other devices are secondary stations.

n The primary device controls the link; the secondary devices follow its
instructions.

n It is up to the primary device to determine which device is allowed to use the

channel at a given time.

n This method uses poll and select functions to prevent collisions.

n However, the drawback is if the primary station fails, the system goes down.
 Controlled Access

n Polling
n Select
n The select function is used whenever the primary device has something to

send.
n Poll
n The poll function is used by the primary device to solicit transmissions from

the secondary devices.

 Controlled Access

n Token Passing
n In this method, the stations in a network are organized in a logical ring.

n In other words, for each station, there is a predecessor and a successor.

n The predecessor is the station which is logically before the station in the
ring; the successor is the station which is after the station in the ring.

n A special packet called a token circulates through the ring.

n The possession of the token gives the station the right to access the channel
and send its data.
 Controlled Access

n Token Passing
n 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.

n When the station has no more data to send, it releases the token, passing it to the
next logical station in the ring.

n The station cannot send data until it receives the token again in the next round.

n In this process, when a station receives the token and has no data to send, it just
passes the data to the next station

n Stations must be limited in the time they can have possession of the token.

n If a station that is holding the token fails, the token will disappear from the
network.
 Channelization

n Channelization is a multiple-access method in which the available

bandwidth of a link is shared in time, frequency, or through code,
among different stations.
n Frequency-division multiple access (FDMA)
n Available bandwidth of the common channel is divided into
frequency bands that are separated by guard bands to prevent station
interferences.
n Each station is allocated a band to send its data (it belongs to the
station all the time).
n Each station uses a bandpass filter to confine the transmitter
frequencies.
 Channelization
n Frequency-division multiple access (FDMA)
 Channelization
n Time-division multiple access (TDMA)
n The stations share the bandwidth of the channel in time.
n Each station is allocated a time slot during which it can send data.
n Each station transmits its data in its assigned time slot.
 Channelization
n Time-division multiple access (TDMA)
n The main problem with TDMA is synchronization between the
different stations.
n Each station needs to know the beginning of its slot and the location
of its slot which is difficult because of propagation delays in the
system.
n To compensate for the delays, we can insert guard times.
n Synchronization is accomplished by having synchronization bits
(preamble bits) at the beginning of each slot.
 Channelization
n Code-division multiple access (CDMA)
n CDMA differs from FDMA because only one station occupies the
bandwidth of the link. It differs from TDMA because all stations can
send data simultaneously; there is no timesharing.
n CDMA simply means communication with different codes.
n Idea
n Let us assume we have four stations, 1,2,3, and 4, connected to the same
channel. The data from station 1 are d1 , from station 2 are d2 , and so
on.
n The code assigned to the first station is c1, to the second is c2, and so on.
n The assigned codes have two properties.
n If we multiply each code by another, we get 0.

n If we multiply each code by itself, we get 4 (the number of stations).

n The data that go on the channel are:

d1.c1 + d2.c2 + d3.c3 + d4.c4
 Channelization
n Code-division multiple access (CDMA)
n Idea

n Any station that wants to receive data from one of the other three,
multiplies the data on the channel by the code of the sender.
n For example, suppose stations 1 and 2 are talking to each other. Station 2
wants to hear what station 1 is saying. It multiplies the data on the
channel by c1.

n So station 2 divides the result on 4 to get the data from station 1.