Multiple

Access

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Figure 12.1 Data link layer divided into two functionality-oriented sublayers
Multiple Access Protocols

ALOHA
 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.
Topics discussed in this section:
ALOHA
Carrier Sense Multiple Access
Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection
Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance
ALOHA network
 Developed by Norm Abramson at the Univ. of Hawaii
 in early 1970
 the guy had interest in surfing and packet switching
 mountainous islands → land-based network difficult to
install

ACK ACK

ACK ACK
Frames in a pure ALOHA network
Procedure for pure ALOHA protocol
 Example 12.1

The stations on a wireless ALOHA network are a

maximum of 600 km apart. If we assume that signals
propagate at 3 × 108 m/s, we find
Tp = (600 × 105 ) / (3 × 108 ) = 2 ms.
Now we can find the value of TB for different values of
K.

a. For K = 1, the range is {0, 1}. The station needs to

generate a random number with a value of 0 or 1. This
means that TB is either 0 ms (0 × 2) or 2 ms (1 × 2),
based on the outcome of the random variable.
 Example 12.1 (continued)

b. For K = 2, the range is {0, 1, 2, 3}. This means that T B

can be 0, 2, 4, or 6 ms, based on the outcome of the
random variable.

c. For K = 3, the range is {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}. This

means that TB can be 0, 2, 4, . . . , 14 ms, based on the
outcome of the random variable.
Vulnerable time for pure ALOHA protocol
 Example 12.2

A pure ALOHA network transmits 200-bit frames on a

shared channel of 200 kbps. What is the requirement to
make this frame collision-free?

Solution
(frame time=frame length/bit rate)
Average frame transmission time Tfr is 200 bits/200 kbps or
1 ms. The vulnerable time is 2 × 1 ms = 2 ms. This means
no station should send later than 1 ms before this station
starts transmission and no station should start sending
during the one 1-ms period that this station is sending.
Note
Let us G is the average number of frames generated by the
system during one frame transmission time. And S is the
successful transmission for pure ALOHA then
The throughput for pure ALOHA is
S = G × e −2G
The maximum throughput
Smax = 0.184 when G= (1/2).
 Example 12.3
A pure ALOHA network transmits 200-bit frames on a
shared channel of 200 kbps. What is the throughput if the
system (all stations together) produces
a. 1000 frames per second b. 500 frames per second
c. 250 frames per second.
Solution
The frame transmission time is 200/200 kbps or 1 ms.
a. If the system creates 1000 frames per second, this is 1
frame per millisecond. The load is 1. In this case
S = G× e−2 G or S = 0.135 (13.5 percent). This means
that the throughput is 1000 × 0.135 = 135 frames. Only
135 frames out of 1000 will probably survive.
 Example 12.3 (continued)
b. If the system creates 500 frames per second, this is
(1/2) frame per millisecond. The load is (1/2). In this
case S = G × e −2G or S = 0.184 (18.4 percent). This
means that the throughput is 500 × 0.184 = 92 and that
only 92 frames out of 500 will probably survive. Note
that this is the maximum throughput case,
percentagewise.

c. If the system creates 250 frames per second, this is (1/4)

frame per millisecond. The load is (1/4). In this case
S = G × e −2G or S = 0.152 (15.2 percent). This means
that the throughput is 250 × 0.152 = 38. Only 38
frames out of 250 will probably survive.
Slotted ALOHA
 doubling the capacity of the ALOHA
system
 time divided into discrete intervals
 1 interval → 1 frame
 the sending station waits until the
beginning of the next discrete
interval
Figure 12.6 Frames in a slotted ALOHA network
Figure 12.7 Vulnerable time for slotted ALOHA protocol
Note
Let us G is the average number of frames generated by the system during
one frame transmission time. And S is the successful transmission for
pure ALOHA then
The throughput for slotted ALOHA is
S = G × e−G .
The maximum throughput
Smax = 0.368 when G = 1.
 maximum efficiency: 1/e

maximum efficiency: 1/2e

Throughput versus offered traffic for ALOHA network

G - mean of the Poisson prob. of k transmission attempts per frame time

 Example 12.4
A slotted ALOHA network transmits 200-bit frames on a
shared channel of 200 kbps. What is the throughput if the
system (all stations together) produces
a. 1000 frames per second b. 500 frames per second
c. 250 frames per second.
Solution
The frame transmission time is 200/200 kbps or 1 ms.
a. If the system creates 1000 frames per second, this is 1
frame per millisecond. The load is 1. In this case
S = G× e−G or S = 0.368 (36.8 percent). This means
that the throughput is 1000 × 0.0368 = 368 frames.
Only 386 frames out of 1000 will probably survive.
 Example 12.4 (continued)
b. If the system creates 500 frames per second, this is
(1/2) frame per millisecond. The load is (1/2). In this
case S = G × e−G or S = 0.303 (30.3 percent). This
means that the throughput is 500 × 0.0303 = 151.
Only 151 frames out of 500 will probably survive.

c. If the system creates 250 frames per second, this is (1/4)

frame per millisecond. The load is (1/4). In this case
S = G × e −G or S = 0.195 (19.5 percent). This means
that the throughput is 250 × 0.195 = 49. Only 49
frames out of 250 will probably survive.
Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA)
 Invented to minimize collisions and increase the
performance
 A station now “follows” the activity of other stations
 Simple rules for a polite human conversation
 Listen before talking

 If someone else begins talking at the same time as you,

stop talking
 CSMA:
 A node should not send if another node is already

sending

carrier sensing
 CD (collision detection):
 A node should stop transmission if there is interference


collision detection
 Carrier Sense Multiple Access
 If everyone is sensing the medium how come
that collisions still occur?

channel propagation

delay
Space/time model of the collision in CSMA
Vulnerable time in CSMA
Behavior of three persistence methods
Flow diagram for three persistence methods
Collision of the first bit in CSMA/CD
Collision and abortion in CSMA/CD
 Example 12.5

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) 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 12.14 Flow diagram for the CSMA/CD
Figure 12.16 Timing in CSMA/CA
Note

In CSMA/CA, the IFS can also be used to

define the priority of a station or a
frame.
Note

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.
Figure 12.17 Flow diagram for CSMA/CA
12-2 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. We discuss three popular controlled-access
methods.

Topics discussed in this section:

Reservation
Polling
Token Passing
Figure 12.18 Reservation access method
Figure 12.19 Select and poll functions in polling access method
Figure 12.20 Logical ring and physical topology in token-passing access method
12-3 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.
In this section, we discuss three channelization
protocols.

Topics discussed in this section:

Frequency-Division Multiple Access (FDMA)
Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
Figure 12.21 Frequency-division multiple access (FDMA)
Note

In FDMA, the available bandwidth

of the common channel is divided into
bands that are separated by guard
bands.
Figure 12.22 Time-division multiple access (TDMA)
Note

In TDMA, the bandwidth is just one

channel that is timeshared between
different stations.
Note

In CDMA, one channel carries all

transmissions simultaneously.
Figure 12.23 Simple idea of communication with code
Figure 12.24 Chip sequences
Figure 12.25 Data representation in CDMA
Figure 12.26 Sharing channel in CDMA
Figure 12.27 Digital signal created by four stations in CDMA