MAC Layer in the OSI Model

 The medium access control (MAC) is a sublayer of the data link layer
of the open system interconnections (OSI) reference model for data
transmission.
 It is responsible for flow control and multiplexing for transmission
medium.
 It controls the transmission of data packets via remotely shared channels.
 It sends data over the network interface card.

It is divided into two sublayers −

 The logical link control (LLC) sublayer

 The medium access control (MAC) sublayer

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 Functions of MAC Layer

 It provides an abstraction of the physical layer to the LLC and

upper layers of the OSI network.
 It is responsible for encapsulating frames so that they are
suitable for transmission via the physical medium.
 It resolves the addressing of source station as well as the
destination station, or groups of destination stations.
 It performs multiple access resolutions when more than one
data frame is to be transmitted. It determines the channel access
methods for transmission.
 It also performs collision resolution and initiating
retransmission in case of collisions.
 It generates the frame check sequences and thus contributes to
protection against transmission errors.

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 Channel Allocation Problem
 In order to carry out user-specific duties, a single channel is
separated and assigned to many users. This procedure is known as
channel allocation.
 The number of users may change each time the operation runs.
 Each user is allotted a share of the channel if it has N equal-sized
subchannels and N users overall.
 Frequency Division Multiplexing is an easy and effective channel
bandwidth allocation technique that can be employed if the number
of users is minimal and doesn't fluctuate.

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 Static channel allocation

The process of static channel allocation scheme:

 Let us start with mean time delay T,
 Send a frame onto a channel of capacity C bps.
 Let us assume frames arrive randomly at an average
arrival time λ frames/sec Example :1
 Average length of the frame is 1/µ bits. If C is 100Mbps, the mean frame length 1/µ is
 With the help of these parameters the service rate of 10,000 bits and the frame arrival time λ is 5000
channel is μC frame/sec frames/ sec then,
 Standard queueing theory result is , T=1/(µC- λ) =
T= 1/( µC- λ) 200 μsec.
 Now divide the single channel into N independent
subchannels, each with capacity C/N bps.
 The mean input rate on each subchannel is λ/N.
 Finally we get TN=1/(µ(C/N) – (λ/N))
= N/( µC- λ)
Data Communication = NT AI-DS
 Dynamic Channel Allocation (DCA)

 In DCA schemes, all channels are kept in a central pool and are
assigned dynamically to new calls as they arrive in the system.
 After each call is completed, the channel is returned to the central
pool. It is fairly straightforward to select the most appropriate
channel for any call based simply on current allocation and current
traffic, with the aim of minimizing the interference.
 DCA scheme can overcome the problem of FCA (Fixed channel
allocation) scheme.
 However, variations in DCA schemes center around the different
cost functions used for selecting one of the candidate channels for
assignment.

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 Dynamic Channel Allocation (DCA)

 DCA schemes can be Centralized or Distributed.

 The centralized DCA scheme involves a single controller
selecting a channel for each cell;
 The distributed DCA scheme involves a number of controllers
scattered across the network.
 Centralized DCA schemes can theoretically provide the best
performance.
 Nevertheless, centralized DCA schemes often provide a useful
benchmark to compare practical decentralized DCA schemes.

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 Multiple Access protocols

 In Random-access or contention methods, no station is superior to another

station and none is assigned control over another.
 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.
 This decision depends on the state of the medium (idle or busy).
 In other words, each station can transmit when it desires on the condition that
it follows the predefined procedure, including testing the state of the medium.
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 What is ALOHA
 ALOHA is an early computer networking method created at the
University of Hawaii in the early 1970s.
 It’s a straightforward way to send data over a shared medium, like a
wireless or wired network.
 The main idea of ALOHA is how it handles collisions, which happen
when two devices try to send data at the same time, causing interference.

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 Pure ALOHA
 Pure ALOHA refers to the original ALOHA protocol. The idea is that each
station sends a frame whenever one is available. Because there is only one channel
to share, there is a chance that frames from different stations will collide.
 The pure ALOHA protocol utilizes acknowledgments from the receiver to ensure
successful transmission. When a user sends a frame, it expects confirmation from
the receiver. If no acknowledgment is received within a designated time period,
the sender assumes that the frame was not received and retransmits the frame.
 When two frames attempt to occupy the channel simultaneously, a collision occurs
and both frames become garbled. If the first bit of a new frame overlaps with the
last bit of a frame that is almost finished, both frames will be completely destroyed
and will need to be retransmitted. If all users retransmit their frames at the same
time after a time-out, the frames will collide again.
 To prevent this, the pure ALOHA protocol dictates that each user waits a random
amount of time, known as the back-off time, before retransmitting the frame. This
randomness helps to avoid further collisions.

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 PROCEDURE

Data Communication AI-DS

 PROCEDURE

 The time-out period is equal to the maximum possible round-trip

propagation delay, which is twice the amount of time required to send a
frame between the two most widely separated stations (2 x Tp).
 Let all the packets have the same length. And each requires a one-time unit
for transmission (tp).
 Consider any user to send packet A at a time. If any other user B has
generated a packet between time (to), and (to + tp), the end of packet B will
collide with the beginning of packet A.
 Since in a pure ALOHA packet, a station does not listen to the channel
before transmitting, it has no way of knowing that the above frame was
already underway.
 Similarly, if another user wants to transmit between (to, +tp) and (to +2tp)
i.e. packet C, the beginning of packet C will collide with the end of packet
A.
 Thus if two packets overlap by even the smallest amount in the vulnerable
period both packets will be corrupted and need to be retransmitted.

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 Slotted ALOHA
 Slotted ALOHA is an improved version of the pure ALOHA protocol that aims
to make communication networks more efficient.
 In this version, the channel is divided into small, fixed-length time slots and
users are only allowed to transmit data at the beginning of each time slot.
 This synchronization of transmissions reduces the chances of collisions
between devices, increasing the overall efficiency of the network.
 The channel time is separated into time slots in slotted ALOHA, and stations
are only authorized to transmit at particular times.
 These time slots correspond to the packet transmission time exactly.
 All users are then synchronized to these time slots so that whenever a user
sends a packet, it must precisely match the next available channel slot.
 As a result, wasted time due to collisions can be reduced to one packet time or
the susceptible period can be half.
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  Slotted ALOHA increases channel utilization by reducing the number of collisions. However, it also
increases the delay for users, as they have to wait for the next time slot to transmit their frames.
 It’s also worth noting that there is a variant of slotted ALOHA called “non-persistent slotted
ALOHA” which is a variation of slotted ALOHA, in this variant the station that wants to send data,
first listens to the channel before sending the data.
 If the channel is busy it waits for a certain time before trying again.

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