Multiple Access

Data link layer divided into

two functionality-oriented sublayers

•Upper sublayer is responsible for Flow and Error

Control (Logical Link Control)
•Lower sublayer is responsible for resolving access to
the shared medium (Medium Access Control)
Taxonomy of multiple-access protocols
• Two or more nodes are connected to a common (called a
multipoint or broadcast) link, Medium Access Control protocol is
used to coordinate the access to the link
•Many formal protocols were developed to handle access to a
shared link
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 / does not permit, another station to send.
•Each station follows a predefined procedure, including
testing of the medium, whenever it has data to send.
•The decision depends on the state of the medium (idle or
busy).
 Random Access
• No scheduled time for a station to transmit
• Transmission is random among the
stations(Random Access)
• No rules specify which station should send
next.
• Stations compete with one another to access
the medium(Contention Methods)
• If more than one station tries to send, there is an
access conflict called collision
– Frames will be either destroyed or modified

• To avoid the access conflict, the following questions

need to be answered
• 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
• What can the station do if there is an access conflict
 ALOHA
• ALOHA was developed at University of
Hawaii, in 1970’s
• Developed for wireless LAN but can be used
for any shared medium
• Called pure ALOHA
• Idea:
• Station can transmit the frame whenever it has
frame to send
Frames in a pure ALOHA network
• Pure ALOHA protocol expects acknowledgements
from the receiver
• If Timer expires, sender needs to resend the frame
• Stations resend the frame after timeout then again
collision will occur
• So each station needs to wait for another random time
period.
• Maximum No. of retransmission attempts is Kmax.
• Timeout period is equal to maximum possible round
trip delay ( 2 * transmission delay)
• Back off Time :- Random Wait time is R (b/w 0 and 2 k
– 1) * Max Propagation time or Average time
required to send a frame.
Procedure for pure ALOHA protocol
Vulnerable time for pure ALOHA protocol

•Vulnerable time, Time period having the possibility of

collision (2*Tfr)

•Fixed length frames, each taking T to send

The throughput for pure ALOHA is
S = G × e −2G .
Where G is the average number of frames
transmitted,
S is the average No. of successful
transmissions.

The maximum throughput

Smax = 0.184 when G= (1/2).
 Slotted ALOHA
• Vulnerable time of pure ALOHA= 2 * Tfr
• No rule to decide when the station should
send the data
• Slotted ALOHA to improve the efficiency
• Forces the station to send the frame at the
beginning of the time slot
• Station misses it chance should wait for the
next time slot.
Frames in a slotted ALOHA network
Vulnerable time for slotted ALOHA protocol
•Vulnerable time = Tfr
•The throughput for slotted ALOHA is
S = G × e−G .
•The maximum throughput
Smax = 0.368 when G = 1.
 Carrier Sense Multiple Access
(CSMA)
• CSMA was developed
• To minimize the chance of collision
• To increase the efficiency
• CSMA requires the station to first listen to the
medium then transmit
• Collision can be reduced but can’t be
eliminated
Vulnerable time in CSMA

•The Vulnerable time for CSMA is

Propagation time
 Persistence Methods
• What a station should do
– If the channel is busy?
– If the channel is idle?
• Persistence strategy defines the procedures for
a station that senses a busy medium
Behavior of three persistence methods
 1-Persistent CSMA
• In this method, station that wants to transmit data
continuously sense the Channel to check whether the channel
is idle or busy.
• If the channel is busy , the station waits until it becomes idle.
• When the station detects an idle channel, it immediately
transmits the frame with probability 1. Hence it is called 1-
persistent CSMA.
• highest chance of collision
• When the collision occurs, the stations wait a random amount
of time and start all over again.
 Non –persistent CSMA
• A station that has a frame to send senses the
channel.
• If the channel is idle, it sends immediately.
• If the channel is busy, it waits a random amount of
time and then senses the channel again.
• In non-persistent CSMA the station does not
continuously sense the channel for purpose of
capturing it when it defects the end of precious
transmission
• Reduces the chance of collision
• Reduces the efficiency of the N/w because medium
remains idle, when the data is ready to transmit
 p-Persistent CSMA
• Used, if the channel has time slots with a
duration equal or greater than the maximum
propagation time
• Combines the advantages of other two strategies
• Reduces chance of collision and improves
efficiency
– With probability p, sends a frame
– With prob, q=1-p it checks for the line and goes to
the beginning of the time slot.
• If line is busy is assumes collision occurs and uses the
back off procedure
Flow diagram for three persistence methods
 CSMA/CD
• Station monitors the medium after it transmits
a frame to see if the collision occurs
• If so, the station is finished
• If there is a collision, frame is retransmitted
• Uses persistence method
• Transmits frame and continuously senses the
medium.
• Station should stop transmission
• If collision occurs
• Senses collision
• Uses jamming signal to signal collision
• Similar to ALOHA protocol with few
differences
Collision of the first bit in CSMA/CD

• Having Minimum frame size or atleast equal

to 2*Tp
Flow diagram for the CSMA/CD
Energy level during transmission, idleness, or collision
Contention Window

• Contention window is an amount of time divided into slots.

• A station that is ready to send chooses a random number of slots as its

wait time.

• The number of slots in the window changes according to the binary

exponential back-off strategy. It means that it is set of one slot the first time
and then doubles each time the station cannot detect an idle channel after
the IFS time.

• This is very similar to the p-persistent method except that a random

outcome defines the number of slots taken by the waiting station.

• In contention window the station needs to sense the channel after each
time slot.

• If the station finds the channel busy, it does not restart the process. It just
stops the timer & restarts it when the channel is sensed as idle.
Flow diagram for CSMA/CA