ELEC 373 Computer Networks The Medium Access Control Sublayer

Dr. N. Manjikian, P.Eng.

The Medium Access

Control Sublayer
A. S. Tanenbaum and D. J. Wetherall, Computer Networks,
5th edition, Prentice Hall, 2011,
Chapter 4.

Broadcast Channels and Protocols

• Focus here is on broadcast channels/protocols,
also known as multi-access or random-access
• Sublayer of data link has protocols for deciding
the next user of a shared multi-access channel
• Particularly important in LANs and for wireless
(most WANs typically use point-to-point links)
• Medium access control (MAC) sublayer is the
lowermost portion of the overall data link layer
• Primary MAC issue is control over the channel
2

Dept. of Elec. & Comp. Eng.

Queen's University
ELEC 373 Computer Networks The Medium Access Control Sublayer
Dr. N. Manjikian, P.Eng.

The Channel Allocation Problem

• Users competing for radio, wire, or fibre link;
more than one user leads to interference/errors
• Static allocation of bandwidth or access time
is inefficient for many users with varying usage
• Need dynamic allocation to enhance efficiency
• Key assumptions for the allocation problem:
independent traffic from users, single channel,
observable collisions, continuous/slotted time,
with/without carrier sensing (is channel in use?)
3

Multiple Access Protocols

• ALOHA (U. of Hawaii, 1971) – pure and slotted
• Carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) variations
of 1-persistent, non-persistent, and p-persistent
• CSMA that has collision detection (CSMA/CD)
is the basis of classic Ethernet from 1973-1974
• Collision-free protocols: bit map, token passing;
improved scalability with binary countdown
• Limited-contention protocols – adap. tree walk
• Wireless – mult. access with collision avoidance
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Dept. of Elec. & Comp. Eng.

Queen's University
ELEC 373 Computer Networks The Medium Access Control Sublayer
Dr. N. Manjikian, P.Eng.

Ethernet
• Classic Ethernet involved one shared coax cable
• CSMA/CD with binary exponential backoff
• Contention interval set by max. cable length
• Good efficiency achievable for large packets
• Switched Ethernet is used today; no collisions,
but buffering of packets required at each port
• Evolution from 10Mbps to 100M, 1G, and 10G
• Success is due to simplicity and flexibility,
and also good interworking with TCP/IP 5

Wireless LANs
• 802.11 MAC sublayer has evolved with changes
in the physical layer (freq. hop, OFDM, MIMO)
• Logical link control (LLC) sublayer just above
MAC sublayer hides those differences to make
everything appear the same to network layer
• MAC sublayer uses sensing & collision avoidance
because coll. detection not feasible for wireless
• Wait with random backoff before transmission,
pausing the countdown if other users transmit
• Receiver acknowledges if no error/collision 6

Dept. of Elec. & Comp. Eng.

Queen's University
ELEC 373 Computer Networks The Medium Access Control Sublayer
Dr. N. Manjikian, P.Eng.

Broadband Wireless
• 802.16 (WiMAX) introduced then enhanced
as alternative to cable & DSL for Internet access
• Challenge from 3G led to introduction of mobility
• Combined the good elements of 802.11 and 3G
• MAC sublayer supported different traffic types
• Adjusted for distances with modulation changes
• Introduction of 4G presented further challenges
and ultimately reduced importance of WiMAX
7

Bluetooth
• Short-range communication in small piconets
through pairing protocol and specialized profiles
• Need for adaptive frequency hopping emerged
when Bluetooth signals interfered with 802.11
• Link manager protocol sets up logical channels
between pair devices; secured with PIN usage
• Links can be synchronous or asynchronous
• More emphasis on low power in Bluetooth 4.0

Dept. of Elec. & Comp. Eng.

Queen's University
ELEC 373 Computer Networks The Medium Access Control Sublayer
Dr. N. Manjikian, P.Eng.

Radio Frequency IDentification

• RFID tags/readers: low-end wireless networks
• Focus on Electronic Product Code (EPC) format
that involves short-range (~10m) transmission
• No battery in tag; get power from radio waves
emanating continuously from reader device
• Communication: tag backscatter (reflect/absorb)
• Tags select random time slot for reader query
• Later enhancements beyond identification
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Data Link Layer Switching

• Bridges (switches) for interconnection of LANs;
operate at data link layer to forward packets
• Each incoming packet to bridge (or switch)
is sent to appropriate port(s)/destination(s)
• Initially flood all ports, then learn destinations
and maintain table to map destination to port;
backward learning by looking at packet sources
• Redundant paths and loop paths among bridges
require distributed spanning-tree algorithms
• Switches enable virtual LAN management 10

Dept. of Elec. & Comp. Eng.

Queen's University
ELEC 373 Computer Networks The Medium Access Control Sublayer
Dr. N. Manjikian, P.Eng.

Summary
• Dynamic allocation of shared medium: efficiency
• ALOHA, carrier sensing, handling of collisions
• Ethernet, its evolution from cabling to switches
• Wireless challenges, 802.11 and its evolution
• Broadband wireless, WiMAX and 3G/4G
• Other wireless networks such as Bluetooth, RFID
• Switches as bridges with backward learning
and distributed spanning-tree algorithm
• Virtual LAN management enabled by switches
11

Dept. of Elec. & Comp. Eng.

Queen's University