Data Link Layer

o In the OSI model, the data link layer is a 4th layer from the top and 2nd layer from the bottom.
o The communication channel that connects the adjacent nodes is known as links, and in order to
move the datagram from source to the destination, the datagram must be moved across an
individual link.
o The main responsibility of the Data Link Layer is to transfer the datagram across an individual link.
o The Data link layer protocol defines the format of the packet exchanged across the nodes as well as
the actions such as Error detection, retransmission, flow control, and random access.
o The Data Link Layer protocols are Ethernet, token ring, FDDI and PPP. o An important
characteristic of a Data Link Layer is that datagram can be handled by different link layer protocols
on different links in a path. For example, the datagram is handled by Ethernet on the first link, PPP on
the second link.

Following services are provided by the Data Link Layer:

o Framing & Link access: Data Link Layer protocols encapsulate each network frame within a Link
layer frame before the transmission across the link. A frame consists of a data field in which a
network layer datagram is inserted and a number of data fields. It specifies the structure of the
frame as well as a channel access protocol by which frame is to be transmitted over the link.
o Reliable delivery: Data Link Layer provides a reliable delivery service, i.e., transmits the network
layer datagram without any error. A reliable delivery service is accomplished with transmissions
and acknowledgements. A data link layer mainly provides the reliable delivery service over the
links as they have higher error rates and they can be corrected locally, link at which an error
 occurs rather than forcing to retransmit the data.
o Flow control: A receiving node can receive the frames at a faster rate than it can process the frame.
Without flow control, the receiver's buffer can overflow, and frames can get lost. To overcome
this problem, the data link layer uses the flow control to prevent the sending node on one side of
the link from overwhelming the receiving node on another side of the link.
o Error detection: Errors can be introduced by signal attenuation and noise. Data Link Layer
protocol provides a mechanism to detect one or more errors. This is achieved by adding error
detection bits in the frame and then receiving node can perform an error check.
o Error correction: Error correction is similar to the Error detection, except that receiving node not
only detect the errors but also determine where the errors have occurred in the frame.
o Half-Duplex & Full-Duplex: In a Full-Duplex mode, both the nodes can transmit the data at the
same time. In a Half-Duplex mode, only one node can transmit the data at the same time.

Data Link Layer Design Issues

The data link layer in the OSI (Open System Interconnections) Model, is in between the physical layer
and the network layer. This layer converts the raw transmission facility provided by the physical layer to a
reliable and error-free link.

The main functions and the design issues of this layer are

• Providing services to the network layer

• Framing
• Error Control
• Flow Control
Services to the Network Layer

In the OSI Model, each layer uses the services of the layer below it and provides services to the layer
above it. The data link layer uses the services offered by the physical layer.The primary function of this
layer is to provide a well defined service interface to network layer above it.
The types of services provided can be of three types −

• Unacknowledged connectionless service

• Acknowledged connectionless service
• Acknowledged connection - oriented service

Framing

The data link layer encapsulates each data packet from the network layer into frames that are then
transmitted.

A frame has three parts, namely −

• Frame Header
• Payload field that contains the data packet from network layer
• Trailer

Error Control

The data link layer ensures error free link for data transmission. The issues it caters to with respect to
error control are −

• Dealing with transmission errors

• Sending acknowledgement frames in reliable connections
• Retransmitting lost frames
• Identifying duplicate frames and deleting them
• Controlling access to shared channels in case of broadcasting
Flow Control

The data link layer regulates flow control so that a fast sender does not drown a slow receiver. When the
sender sends frames at very high speeds, a slow receiver may not be able to handle it. There will be frame
losses even if the transmission is error-free. The two common approaches for flow control are −

• Feedback based flow control

• Rate based flow control

Data-link Control & Protocols

Data-link layer is responsible for implementation of point-to-point flow and error control mechanism.

Flow Control

When a data frame (Layer-2 data) is sent from one host to another over a single medium, it is required that
the sender and receiver should work at the same speed. That is, the sender sends at a speed on which the
receiver can process and accept the data. What if the speed (hardware/software) of the sender or receiver
differs? If sender is sending too fast the receiver may be overloaded, (swamped) and data may be lost.

Two types of mechanisms can be deployed to control the flow:

• Stop and Wait

This flow control mechanism forces the sender after transmitting a data frame to stop and wait
until the acknowledgement of the data-frame sent is received.

• Sliding Window
In this flow control mechanism, both sender and receiver agree on the number of data-frames
after which the acknowledgement should be sent. As we learnt, stop and wait flow control
mechanism wastes resources, this protocol tries to make use of underlying resources as much as
possible.
Error Control

When data-frame is transmitted, there is a probability that data-frame may be lost in the transit or it is
received corrupted. In both cases, the receiver does not receive the correct data-frame and sender does not
know anything about any loss.In such case, both sender and receiver are equipped with some protocols
which helps them to detect transit errors such as loss of data-frame. Hence, either the sender retransmits
the data-frame or the receiver may request to resend the previous data-frame.

Requirements for error control mechanism:

• Error detection - The sender and receiver, either both or any, must ascertain that there is some error
in the transit.
• Positive ACK - When the receiver receives a correct frame, it should acknowledge it.
• Negative ACK - When the receiver receives a damaged frame or a duplicate frame, it sends a
NACK back to the sender and the sender must retransmit the correct frame.
• Retransmission: The sender maintains a clock and sets a timeout period. If an acknowledgement of
a data-frame previously transmitted does not arrive before the timeout the sender retransmits the
frame, thinking that the frame or it’s acknowledgement is lost in transit.
There are three types of techniques available which Data-link layer may deploy to control the errors
by Automatic Repeat Requests (ARQ):

Stop-and-wait ARQ
Stop and Wait ARQ Mechanism:

● Single Packet Transmission: The sender sends one packet at a time.

● Wait for Acknowledgment: After sending a packet, the sender waits for an acknowledgment
(ACK) from the receiver.
● Timeout and Retransmission: If the ACK is not received within a certain time (due to loss or
delay), the sender retransmits the same packet.
● Sequential Delivery: The next packet is sent only after the acknowledgment for the previous one
is received.
● Receiver Action: The receiver checks for errors, and if the packet is received correctly, it sends an
acknowledgment.
● Simple but Slow: Works well for small, reliable connections but inefficient for high-latency or
long-distance communication due to idle waiting periods.

Go-Back-N ARQ
Stop and wait ARQ mechanism does not utilize the resources at their best.When the
acknowledgement is received, the sender sits idle and does nothing. In Go Back-N ARQ method,
both sender and receiver maintain a window.

Window Size: The sender can send multiple frames (up to a predefined window size, N) without waiting
for an acknowledgment.

Sequence Numbers: Each frame is assigned a unique sequence number to keep track of its order.
Go-Back-N ARQ Mechanism:

Sending Frames:The sender can send up to N frames continuously without receiving an

acknowledgment.After sending N frames, the sender must wait for an acknowledgment (ACK) before
sending more frames.

Receiving Frames:The receiver only accepts frames in the correct sequence.If a frame is received
correctly, it sends an ACK with the sequence number of the next expected frame.

Error Handling:If a frame is lost or damaged, the receiver discards that frame and any subsequent
frames, even if they were received correctly.The receiver sends an ACK for the last correctly received
frame.

Go-Back Mechanism:When the sender detects a missing ACK (due to a lost frame or timeout), it
retransmits the missing frame along with all subsequent frames, even if some were already received
correctly by the receiver.

Example:

● Window size (N) = 4

● Sender sends frames 1, 2, 3, 4.
● Frame 2 is lost.
● Receiver acknowledges frame 1 and waits for frame 2.
● Sender times out, goes back to frame 2, and retransmits frames 2, 3, and 4.

The sender transmits multiple frames without waiting for acknowledgments.

The receiver accepts multiple frames and tracks their sequence numbers, sending
acknowledgments (ACK) for each.

After sending all frames, the sender checks which ones have received positive ACKs.

If all frames are acknowledged, the sender sends the next batch.

If any frame receives a negative acknowledgment (NACK) or no acknowledgment, the sender

retransmits all frames starting from the one that was not acknowledged.
Selective Repeat ARQ

● Sender’s Windows ( Ws) = Receiver’s Windows ( Wr).

● Window size should be less than or equal to half the sequence number in SR protocol. This is
to avoid packets being recognized incorrectly. If the size of the window is greater than half the
sequence number space, then if an ACK is lost, the sender may send new packets that the
receiver believes are retransmissions.
● Sender can transmit new packets as long as their number is with W of all unACKed packets.
● Sender retransmits un-ACKed packets after a timeout – Or upon a NAK if NAK is employed.
● Receiver ACKs all correct packets.
● Receiver stores correct packets until they can be delivered in order to the higher layer.
● In Selective Repeat ARQ, the size of the sender and receiver window must be at most
one-half of 2^m.

In Go-back-N ARQ, it is assumed that the receiver does not have any buffer space for its window
size and has to process each frame as it comes. This enforces the sender to retransmit all the
frames which are not acknowledged.

In Selective-Repeat ARQ, the receiver, while keeping track of sequence numbers, buffers the
frames in memory and sends NACK for only frames which are missing or damaged.
The sender in this case, sends only the packet for which NACK is received.
 ERROR CONTROL
Data can be corrupted during transmission. For reliable communication, errors must be detected and
corrected. Error Control is a technique of error detection and retransmission.

TYPES OF ERRORS

SINGLE-BIT ERROR
The term Single-bit error means that only one bit of a given data unit (such as byte, character, data unit or
packet) is changed from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1.

BURST ERROR
The term Burst Error means that two or more bits in the data unit have changed from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1.

ERROR DETECTION TECHNIQUES / METHODS

The basic idea behind any error detection scheme is to add additional information to a frame that can be
used to determine if errors have been introduced.
PARITY CHECK
● One bit, called parity bit, is added to every data unit so that the total number of 1’s in the data unit
becomes even (or) odd.
● The source then transmits this data via a link, and bits are checked and verified at the destination.
● Data is considered accurate if the number of bits (even or odd) matches the number transmitted
from the source.
● This technique is the most common and least complex method.

Even parity – Maintain even number of 1s

E.g., 1011 → 1011 1

Odd parity – Maintain odd number of 1s

E.g., 1011 → 1011 0

CYCLIC REDUNDANCY CHECK

Cyclic codes refers to encoding messages by adding a fixed-length check value.
CRCs are popular because they are simple to implement, easy to analyze mathematically and particularly
good at detecting common errors caused in transmission channels.

Steps Involved :
● Consider the original message (dataword) as M(x) consisting of ‘k’ bits and the divisor as C(x)
consists of ‘n+1’ bits.
● The original message M(x) is appended by ‘n’ bits of zero’s. Let us call this zero-extended
message as T(x).
● Divide T(x) by C(x) and find the remainder.
● The division operation is performed using XOR operation.
● The resultant remainder is appended to the original message M(x) as CRC and sent by the
sender(codeword).

Example 1:
● Consider the Dataword / Message M(x) = 1001
● Divisor C(x) = 1011 (n+1=4)
● Appending ‘n’ zeros to the original Message M(x).
● The resultant messages is called T(x) = 1001 000. (here n=3)
● Divide T(x) by the divisor C(x) using XOR operation.
HDLC
It is a group of communication protocols used for transmitting data between network points or nodes.
It operates at the data link layer, where data is organized into frames.
Frames are sent through the network, and the destination checks if they arrive successfully.
HDLC is a bit-oriented protocol, meaning data is handled at the bit level.
It works for both point-to-point (direct connection between two nodes) and multipoint (one-to-many
connections) communications.

Transfer Modes

HDLC supports two types of transfer modes, normal response mode and asynchronous balanced
mode.

Normal Response Mode (NRM) − Here, two types of stations are there, a primary station that sends
commands and a secondary station that can respond to received commands. It is used for both point -
to - point and multipoint communications.

Asynchronous Balanced Mode (ABM) − Here, the configuration is balanced, i.e. each station can both
send commands and respond to commands. It is used for only point - to - point communications.
HDLC Frame

HDLC is a bit - oriented protocol where each frame contains up to six fields. The structure varies
according to the type of frame. The fields of a HDLC frame are −

Flag − It is an 8-bit sequence that marks the beginning and the end of the frame. The bit pattern of the flag
is 01111110.

Address − It contains the address of the receiver. If the frame is sent by the primary station, it contains the
address(es) of the secondary station(s). If it is sent by the secondary station, it contains the address of the
primary station. The address field may be from 1 byte to several bytes.

Control − It is 1 or 2 bytes containing flow and error control information.

Payload − This carries the data from the network layer. Its length may vary from one network to another.

FCS − It is a 2 byte or 4 bytes frame check sequence for error detection. The standard code used is CRC
(cyclic redundancy code)
POINT-TO-POINT PROTOCOL (PPP)

● Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) was devised by IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) in 1990 as a
Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP).
● PPP is a data link layer communications protocol used to establish a direct connection between
two nodes.
● It connects two routers directly without any host or any other networking device in between.
● It is used to connect the Home PC to the server of ISP via a modem.
● It is a byte - oriented protocol that is widely used in broadband communications having heavy
loads and high speeds.
● Since it is a data link layer protocol, data is transmitted in frames. It is also known as RFC 1661.

Services Provided by PPP The main services provided by Point - to - Point Protocol are −
1. Defining the frame format of the data to be transmitted.
2. Defining the procedure of establishing link between two points and exchange of data.
3. Stating the method of encapsulation of network layer data in the frame.
4. Stating authentication rules of the communicating devices.
5. Providing address for network communication.
6. Providing connections over multiple links.
7. Supporting a variety of network layer protocols by providing a range of services.

PPP Frame
PPP is a byte - oriented protocol where each field of the frame is composed of one or more bytes.

1. Flag − 1 byte that marks the beginning and the end of the frame. The bit pattern of the flag is 01111110.
2. Address − 1 byte which is set to 11111111 in case of broadcast.
3. Control − 1 byte set to a constant value of 11000000.
4. Protocol − 1 or 2 bytes that define the type of data contained in the payload field.
5. Payload − This carries the data from the network layer. The maximum length of the payload field is
1500 bytes.
6. FCS − It is a 2 byte(16-bit) or 4 bytes(32-bit) frame check sequence for error detection. The standard
code used is CRC.

Byte Stuffing in PPP Frame

Byte stuffing is used is PPP payload field whenever the flag sequence appears in the message, so that the
receiver does not consider it as the end of the frame. The escape byte, 01111101, is stuffed before every
byte that contains the same byte as the flag byte or the escape byte. The receiver on receiving the message
removes the escape byte before passing it onto the network layer.

Transition Phases in PPP

The PPP connection goes through different states as shown in a transition phase diagram.

Dead: In dead phase the link is not used. There is no active carrier and the line is quiet.

Establish: Connection goes into this phase when one of the nodes start communication. In this phase, two
parties negotiate the options. If negotiation is successful, the system goes into authentication phase or
directly to networking phase.

Authenticate: This phase is optional. The two nodes may decide whether they need this phase during the
establishment phase. If they decide to proceed with authentication, they send several authentication
packets. If the result is successful, the connection goes to the networking phase; otherwise, it goes to the
termination phase.
Network: In network phase, negotiation for the network layer protocols takes place.PPP specifies that two
nodes establish a network layer agreement before data at the network layer can be exchanged. This is
because PPP supports several protocols at network layer. If a node is running multiple protocols
simultaneously at the network layer, the receiving node needs to know which protocol will receive the
data.
Open: In this phase, data transfer takes place. The connection remains in this phase until one of the
endpoints wants to end the connection.
Terminate: In this phase connection is terminated.

A. Random Access Protocol

In this protocol, all the station has the equal priority to send the data over a channel. In random access
protocol, one or more stations cannot depend on another station nor any station control another
station. Depending on the channel's state (idle or busy), each station transmits the data frame.
However, if more than one station sends the data over a channel, there may be a collision or data
conflict. Due to the collision, the data frame packets may be lost or changed. And hence, it does not
receive by the receiver end.

Following are the different methods of random-access protocols for broadcasting frames on the
channel.

○ Aloha
○ CSMA
○ CSMA/CD
○ CSMA/CA

ALOHA Random Access Protocol

It is designed for wireless LAN (Local Area Network) but can also be used in a shared medium to
transmit data. Using this method, any station can transmit data across a network simultaneously when
a data frameset is available for transmission.

Aloha Rules

1. Any station can transmit data to a channel at any time.

 2. It does not require any carrier sensing.
3. Collision and data frames may be lost during the transmission of data through multiple stations.
4. Acknowledgment of the frames exists in Aloha. Hence, there is no collision detection.
5. It requires retransmission of data after some random amount of time.

Pure Aloha
● When a station has data to send, it transmits immediately without checking if the channel is
free.
● This can lead to collisions, causing the data frame to be lost.
● After sending a frame, the station waits for an acknowledgment from the receiver.
● If no acknowledgment is received within a set time, the station waits for a random backoff
time.
● The station then retransmits the frame.
● This process continues until the data is successfully sent and acknowledged.

The total vulnerable time of pure Aloha is 2 * Tfr.

Maximum throughput occurs when G = 1/ 2 that is 18.4%.

Successful transmission of data frame is S = G * e ^ - 2 G.

 ● There are four stations accessing a shared channel to transmit data frames.
● Frames can collide when multiple stations transmit simultaneously.
● Frames that collide will be damaged and need to be retransmitted.
● Out of all transmitted frames, only two frames, specifically frame 1.1 and frame 2.2, are successfully
received.
● Collisions occur if two frames start transmitting at the same time and overlap in the channel.
● If the first bit of a new frame enters the channel before the last bit of another frame is transmitted, both
frames will be affected.
● Both colliding frames will be destroyed, requiring both stations to retransmit their frames.

Slotted Aloha

● Slotted Aloha improves on Pure Aloha by reducing the chance of collisions.

● In Slotted Aloha, the channel is divided into fixed time intervals called slots.
● Stations can only send a frame at the start of a time slot.
● If a station misses the start of a slot, it must wait for the next slot to try again.
● Despite this, collisions can still occur if multiple stations try to send a frame at the start of the
same slot.
 1. Maximum throughput occurs in the slotted Aloha when G = 1 that is 37%.
2. The probability of successfully transmitting the data frame in the slotted Aloha is S = G * e ^ - 2 G.
3. The total vulnerable time required in slotted Aloha is Tfr.

CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access)

It is a carrier sense multiple access based on media access protocol to sense the traffic on a channel
(idle or busy) before transmitting the data. It means that if the channel is idle, the station can send data
to the channel. Otherwise, it must wait until the channel becomes idle. Hence, it reduces the chances
of a collision on a transmission medium.

CSMA Access Modes

1-Persistent: In the 1-Persistent mode of CSMA that defines each node, first sense the shared channel
and if the channel is idle, it immediately sends the data. Else it must wait and keep track of the status
of the channel to be idle and broadcast the frame unconditionally as soon as the channel is idle.

Non-Persistent: It is the access mode of CSMA that defines before transmitting the data, each node
must sense the channel, and if the channel is inactive, it immediately sends the data. Otherwise, the
station must wait for a random time (not continuously), and when the channel is found to be idle, it
transmits the frames.

P-Persistent: It is the combination of 1-Persistent and Non-persistent modes. The P-Persistent mode
defines that each node senses the channel, and if the channel is inactive, it sends a frame with a P
probability. If the data is not transmitted, it waits for a (q = 1-p probability) random time and resumes
the frame with the next time slot.

O- Persistent: It is an O-persistent method that defines the superiority of the station before the
transmission of the frame on the shared channel. If it is found that the channel is inactive, each station
waits for its turn to retransmit the data.

CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection):

● This protocol is used to manage data transmission over a shared network.

 ● Before sending data, it checks if the channel is free (idle).
● If the channel is free, the station sends the data.
● If a collision is detected during transmission, a stop signal is sent to terminate the process.
● The station then waits for a random time before trying again.

CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance):

● This protocol helps avoid collisions during data transmission.

● It checks if the channel is clear by sending an acknowledgment signal before transmitting
data.
● If only the sender's acknowledgment is received, the data was successfully transmitted.
● If a second acknowledgment is received, indicating a collision, the station knows a collision
occurred.

CSMA/CA methods used to avoid collisions:

1. Interframe Space (IFS):

○ After the channel becomes idle, the station waits for a short period called the IFS
before sending data.
○ This waiting period helps prioritize which station sends data first.
2. Contention Window:
○ The time is split into slots, and when a station wants to send data, it randomly picks a
slot to wait.
○ If the channel is still busy, the station waits, but it doesn’t restart the entire
process—just the timer.
3. Acknowledgment:
○ The sender transmits data and waits for an acknowledgment.
○ If no acknowledgment is received, the station knows the transmission failed.

Controlled Access Protocol refers to a method where stations or devices in a network take turns or
are granted permission to transmit data, ensuring orderly communication and preventing collisions.
Unlike random access methods (like CSMA), controlled access protocols avoid collisions by
coordinating which device can send data at any given time. There are three main types of controlled
access protocols:

1. Reservation

● Stations reserve the right to transmit data in advance.

● A reservation request is sent, and the channel is divided into time slots for transmission.
● Once a station reserves a slot, it is allowed to send its data.

2. Polling
● A central controller or a primary station asks each station (in a round-robin or pre-determined
order) if they have data to send.
 ● If a station has data, it sends it; if not, the controller polls the next station.
● This ensures that only one station transmits at a time, avoiding collisions.

3. Token Passing

● A special token is passed around the network in a logical or physical order.

● Only the station holding the token is allowed to transmit data.
● Once the transmission is complete, the token is passed to the next station.

Channelization Protocols

● These protocols allow multiple stations to share a channel by dividing the total available
bandwidth based on time, frequency, or codes.
● All stations can access the channel at the same time, but they use different methods to avoid
interference.

Methods of Channelization:

1. FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access):

○ The available bandwidth is split into separate frequency bands.
○ Each station is assigned a unique frequency band to transmit data.
○ This avoids interference and crosstalk between stations by ensuring they use different
frequencies.
2. TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access):
○ The channel's time is divided into different time slots.
○ Each station transmits data during its allocated time slot.
○ Stations take turns sending data, ensuring no overlap in transmissions.
3. CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access):
○ Stations share the same frequency and time but use unique codes to distinguish their
data.
○ Multiple stations can transmit simultaneously, and the receiver separates the data
using the assigned codes.
High-Speed LANs

● Designed for faster data transmission than traditional LANs, typically offering speeds from
100 Mbps to several Gbps.
● These LANs support bandwidth-intensive applications like video conferencing, large file
transfers, and real-time data analytics.
● Examples include Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps), Gigabit Ethernet (1 Gbps), and 10-Gigabit
Ethernet.
● High-speed LANs often use fiber-optic cables or advanced copper wiring for faster and more
reliable connections.
● They rely on more efficient network protocols and switching technologies to handle high
data volumes.

Token Ring

Topology: Physical ring or star configuration of connected devices.

● Mechanism: A special control packet, called a token, circulates continuously on the network.
○ Only the station holding the token is allowed to transmit data.
○ After transmitting, the token is passed to the next station in the ring.
 ● Collision Prevention: Because only one station can send data at a time (while holding the
token), collisions are avoided.
● Speed: Typically operates at 4 Mbps or 16 Mbps.
● Fault Tolerance: If one station fails, the whole network can be affected unless recovery
mechanisms are in place.

Token Bus

● Topology: Logical token-passing but in a bus topology (stations are connected to a shared
communication medium like a coaxial cable).
● Mechanism: A token is passed in a logical sequence among stations, even though physically,
they are connected in a bus.
○ Only the station that holds the token can send data.
● Collision Prevention: Prevents data collisions by controlling access through the
token-passing process.
● Applications: Often used in industrial networks like in factory automation due to its ability
to handle real-time data.
● Standard: Defined under the IEEE 802.4 standard.

FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface)

● Topology: Uses a dual-ring structure with two rings:

○ Primary ring for normal data transmission.
○ Secondary ring serves as a backup in case the primary ring fails, offering
redundancy and increased reliability.
● Transmission Medium: Primarily uses fiber-optic cables, though some versions support
copper cables (CDDI – Copper Distributed Data Interface).
● Mechanism: FDDI uses a token-passing mechanism similar to Token Ring but operates at
much higher speeds.
○ The token circulates in the ring, and only the station with the token can send data.
● Speed: Provides transmission speeds of 100 Mbps, making it suitable for large-scale
enterprise networks.
● Distance: Supports long-distance connections up to 200 km using fiber optics.
● Fault Tolerance: The dual-ring architecture ensures that if one ring fails, the network can
still function using the backup ring.
● Applications: Commonly used in backbone networks, wide-area networks (WANs), and
for connecting large campuses or data centers.

IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet for LANs)

● Overview: IEEE 802.3 is the standard for Ethernet-based local area networks (LANs),
defining how data is transmitted across wired networks.
● Transmission Medium: Primarily uses twisted-pair cables (copper wires) or fiber optics for
data transmission.
● Access Method: It employs CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision
 Detection) to manage data collisions on the network.
○ Stations check if the network is idle before transmitting data.
○ If a collision occurs, the network detects it, and stations resend data after a random
delay.
● Data Rates:
○ 10 Mbps (Ethernet): Original standard for basic Ethernet.
○ 100 Mbps (Fast Ethernet): For faster data transfer.
○ 1 Gbps (Gigabit Ethernet): High-speed Ethernet commonly used today.
○ 10 Gbps (10 Gigabit Ethernet): Advanced standard for high-performance
networking.
● Topology: Primarily uses a star topology where devices are connected to a central switch or
hub.
● Frame Format:
○ The Ethernet frame includes headers with source and destination MAC addresses,
data, and error-checking information.
● Applications: Widely used in office networks, data centers, and enterprise environments
for high-speed data exchange.

IEEE 802.11 (Wireless LAN - WLAN)

● Overview: IEEE 802.11 is the standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs), which
governs how devices communicate over Wi-Fi.
● Transmission Medium: Uses radio waves to transmit data wirelessly over air.
○ Operates on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands.
● Access Method: Uses CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision
Avoidance).
○ Before transmitting, stations check if the channel is clear and then wait for a random
backoff period to avoid collisions.
● Data Rates and Versions:
○ 802.11b: Operates at 11 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band.
○ 802.11a: Operates at 54 Mbps in the 5 GHz band.
○ 802.11g: Operates at 54 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band.
○ 802.11n: Introduced MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology, offering
speeds up to 600 Mbps over both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
○ 802.11ac: Operates in the 5 GHz band, providing speeds up to 1 Gbps.
○ 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6): The latest standard, with speeds over 10 Gbps and improved
performance in crowded environments.
● Topology: Typically uses an infrastructure mode, where devices connect through a central
wireless access point (WAP).
○ Also supports ad-hoc mode, where devices communicate directly without an access
point.
● Frame Format: Includes headers with source and destination MAC addresses, control
information, and data payload.
● Security: Includes encryption protocols like WEP, WPA, and WPA2/WPA3 to ensure secure
wireless communication.
● Applications: Commonly used in homes, offices, public spaces, and mobile devices for
internet access and wireless communication.