Multiple Access

Figure Data link layer divided into two functionality-oriented sublayers

We can consider the data link layer as two sub layers.

The upper sub layer is responsible for data link control, and the
lower sub layer is responsible for resolving access to the shared media.
If the channel is dedicated, we do not need the lower sub layer.
Figure Taxonomy of multiple-access protocols

Many formal protocols have been devised to handle access to a

shared link. We categorize them into three groups.
Protocols belonging to each group are shown in Figure
 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.
ALOHA
Carrier Sense Multiple Access
Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection(CSMA/CD)
Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance(CSMA/CA)
ALOHA
ALOHA, the earliest random access method, was developed at the
University of Hawaii in early 1970. It was designed for a radio

(wireless) LAN, but it can be used on any shared medium.

Pure ALOHA
The original ALOHA protocol is called pure ALOHA. This is a
simple, but elegant protocol. The idea is that each station sends a
frame whenever it has a frame to send.
Figure Frames in a pure ALOHA network
The pure ALOHA protocol relies on acknowledgments from the
receiver.
When a station sends a frame, it expects the receiver to send an
acknowledgment.
Back-off time TB.
Pure ALOHA dictates that when the time-out period passes, each
station waits a random amount of time before resending its frame.
The randomness will help avoid more collisions. We call this time
the back-off time TB.
**After a maximum number of retransmission attempts Kmax a
station must give up and try later.
Figure Procedure for pure ALOHA protocol
we see that the vulnerable time,is during which a collision may
occur in pure ALOHA, is 2 times the frame transmission time
Throughput
Let us call G the average number of frames generated by the
system during one frame transmission time. Then it can be
proved that the average number of successful transmissions
for pure ALOHA is S = G * e-2G.
The maximum throughput Smax is 0.184, for G = 1/2.
Slotted ALOHA
Pure ALOHA has a vulnerable time of 2 x Tfr . This is so because
there is no rule that defines when the station can send. A station
may send soon after another station has started or soon before
another station has finished. Slotted ALOHA was invented to

improve the efficiency of pure ALOHA.

Figure Frames in a slotted ALOHA network
Figure Vulnerable time for slotted ALOHA protocol
Throughput
It can be proved that the average number of successful
transmissions for slotted ALOHA is S = G x e-G. The maximum
throughput Smax is 0.368, when G = 1.
In other words, if a frame is generated during one frame
transmission time, then 36.8 percent of these frames reach their
destination successfully.
Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA)
To minimize the chance of collision and, therefore,
increase the performance, the CSMA method was
developed. The chance of collision can be reduced if a
station senses the medium before trying to use it.
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.
Figure Vulnerable time in CSMA

The vulnerable time for CSMA is the propagation time Tp .

This is the time needed for a signal to propagate from one end
of the medium to the other.
Persistence Methods
What should a station do if the channel is busy?
What should a station do if the channel is idle?
Three methods have been devised to answer these questions: the
1-persistent method
nonpersistent method,
p-persistent method.
Figure Behavior of three persistence methods-
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.
The p-persistent approach combines the advantages of the other
two strategies. It reduces the chance of collision and improves
efficiency.
Figure Flow diagram for three persistence methods
Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection
(CSMA/CD)
The CSMA method does not specify the procedure following a
collision. Carrier sense multiple access with collision detection
(CSMA/CD) augments the algorithm to handle the collision.
Figure Collision of the first bit in CSMA/CD
Figure Collision and abortion in CSMA/CD
 Example 1

A network using CSMA/CD has a bandwidth of 10 Mbps.

If the maximum propagation time (including the delays in
the devices and ignoring the time needed to send a
jamming signal, as we see later) is 25.6 μs, what is the
minimum size of the frame?
Solution
The frame transmission time is Tfr = 2 × Tp = 51.2 μs.
This means, in the worst case, a station needs to transmit
for a period of 51.2 μs to detect the collision. The
minimum size of the frame is 10 Mbps × 51.2 μs = 512
bits or 64 bytes. This is actually the minimum size of the
frame for Standard Ethernet.
Figure Flow diagram for the CSMA/CD
 Figure Energy level during transmission, idleness, or collision

Throughput
The throughput of CSMA/CD is greater than that of pure or slotted ALOHA. The
maximum throughput occurs at a different value of G and is based on the persistence
method and the value of p in the p-persistent approach.
Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance
(CSMA/CA)
We need to avoid collisions on wireless networks because they
cannot be detected.
Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance
(CSMA/CA) was invented for this network. Collisions are
avoided through the use of CSMA/CA's three strategies: the
Interframe space,
contention window
acknowledgments
Interframe Space (IFS)
First, 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 interframe

space or IFS.
Contention Window
The 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.
In CSMA/CA, if the station finds the channel busy, it does not
restart the timer of the contention window; it stops the timer and
restarts it when the channel becomes idle.
Acknowledgment
With all these precautions, there still may be a collision resulting
in destroyed data.
In addition, the data may be corrupted during the transmission.
The positive acknowledgment and the time-out timer can help
guarantee that the receiver has received the frame.
Figure Flow diagram for CSMA/CA

Channel idle? Don’t transmit yet!

Wait IFS time.

Still idle after IFS? Don’t transmit yet!

Now in Contention Window.

Choose random number and wait that

many slots.

Did you wait R slots and all slots were

available? Go ahead, transmit.

Now, wait time-out for a response.

Figure Timing in CSMA/CA
In CSMA/CA, the IFS can also be used to
define the priority of a station or a
frame.
 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.
Three popular controlled-access methods are

i)Reservation
ii)Polling
iii)Token Passing
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 minislots in the reservation frame. Each
minislot belongs to a station.
Figure Reservation access method
Polling
Polling works with topologies in which one device is designated as
a primary station and the other devices are secondary stations.
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.
poll function
If the primary wants to receive data, it asks the secondaries if they
have anything to send; this is called poll function.
select function
If the primary wants to send data, it tells the secondary to get ready
Figure Select and poll functions in polling access method
Token Passing
In the token-passing method, the stations in a network are
organized in a logical ring.
In other words, for each station, there is a predecessor and a
successor.
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.
The current station is the one that is accessing the channel now.
In this method, a special packet called a token circulates through
the ring.
Token management is needed for this access method. Stations
must be limited in the time they can have possession of the
token.
The token must be monitored to ensure it has not been lost or
destroyed.
Finally, token management is needed to make low-priority
stations release the token to high priority stations.
Figure Logical ring and physical topology in token-passing access method
In the physical ring topology, when a station sends the token to
its successor, the token cannot be seen by other stations.
The problem with this topology is that if one of the links-the
medium between two adjacent stations fails, the whole system fails.
In dual ring topology If one of the links in the main ring fails,
the system automatically combines the two rings to form a
temporary ring. After the failed link is restored, the auxiliary ring
becomes idle again.
In Bus ring topology ,because each station knows the address of
its successor (and also predecessor for token management
purposes). Token Bus LAN, standardized by IEEE, uses this
In a star ring topology, the physical topology is a star.
There is a hub, however, that acts as the connector.
The wiring inside the hub makes the ring;
the stations are connected to this ring through the two
wire connections.
 CHANNELIZATION

Channelization is a multiple-access method in which the

available bandwidth of a link is shared in time,
frequency, or through code, between different stations.
three channelization protocols are :

Frequency-Division Multiple Access (FDMA)

Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
Frequency-Division Multiple Access (FDMA)

In FDMA, the available bandwidth

of the common channel is divided into bands that
are separated by guard bands.
Figure Frequency-division multiple access (FDMA)
Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
In time-division multiple access (TDMA), the stations share the
bandwidth of the channel in time.
Each station is allocated a time slot during which it can send data. Each
station transmits its data in is assigned time slot.
Figure Time-division multiple access (TDMA)
In TDMA, the bandwidth is just one
channel that is timeshared between
different stations.
Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
CDMA differs from FDMA because only one channel occupies
the entire bandwidth of the link. It differs from TDMA because
all stations can send data simultaneously; there is no
timesharing.
We assume that the assigned codes have two properties.
1. If we multiply each code by another, we get O.
2. If we multiply each code by itself, we get 4 (the number of
stations).
In CDMA, one channel carries all
transmissions simultaneously.
Figure Simple idea of communication with code
Figure Chip sequences
Figure Data representation in CDMA
Figure Sharing channel in CDMA
Figure Digital signal created by four stations in CDMA
Figure Decoding of the composite signal for one in CDMA

Figure shows how station 3 can detect the data sent by

station 2 by using the code for station 2.
Sequence Generation
To generate chip sequences, we use a Walsh table, which is a
two-dimensional table with an equal number of rows and
columns, as shown in Figure

The number of sequences in a Walsh

table needs to be N = 2m.
Figure General rule and examples of creating Walsh tables
 Example

Find the chips for a network with

a. Two stations b. Four stations

Solution
We can use the rows of W2 and W4 in Figure
a. For a two-station network, we have
[+1 +1] and [+1 −1].

b. For a four-station network we have

[+1 +1 +1 +1], [+1 −1 +1 −1],
[+1 +1 −1 −1], and [+1 −1 −1 +1].
 Example 2.

What is the number of sequences if we have 90 stations in

our network?

Solution
The number of sequences needs to be 2m. We need to
choose m = 7 and N = 27 or 128. We can then use 90
of the sequences as the chips.
 Example 3

Prove that a receiving station can get the data sent by a

specific sender if it multiplies the entire data on the
channel by the sender’s chip code and then divides it by
the number of stations.

Solution
Let us prove this for the first station, using our previous
four-station example. We can say that the data on the
channel
D = (d1 ⋅ c1 + d2 ⋅ c2 + d3 ⋅ c3 + d4 ⋅ c4).
The receiver which wants to get the data sent by station 1
multiplies these data by c1.
 Example 3 (continued)

When we divide the result by N, we get d1 .