Chapter Four

Physical and Data link layer

Part- II

Data Communication and Computer Networks

(SE 3051)
 Physical Layer
 The physical layer coordinates the functions required to carry a bit stream
over a physical medium.
 It deals with the mechanical and electrical specifications of the interface and
transmission medium.
 It also defines the procedures and functions that physical devices and
interfaces have to perform for transmission to occur.

2
Physical layer

The physical layer is responsible

for the movement of individual bits
from one hop (node) to the next. Page 3
 Physical Layer (cont’d)

• What are the Physical Layer components on my

computer?
• NIC
– Network Interface Card
– Has a unique 12 character Hexadecimal number permanently
burned into it at the manufacturer.
– The number is the MAC Address/Physical address of a computer
• Cabling
– Twister Pair
– Fiber Optic
– Coax Cable
Page 4
The physical layer is also concerned with the following:

1. Physical characteristics of interfaces and medium. The physical layer defines

the characteristics of the interface between the devices and the transmission

medium. It also defines the type of transmission medium.

2. Representation of bits. The physical layer data consists of a stream of bits

(sequence of 0s or 1s) with no interpretation. To be transmitted, bits must be

encoded into signals - electrical or optical. The physical layer defines the

type of encoding (how 0s and 1s are changed to signals) (Refer chapter one).

3. Data rate. The transmission rate - the number of bits sent each second - is

also defined by the physical layer. In other words, the physical layer defines

the duration of a bit, which is how long it lasts. 5

Contd.

4. Synchronization of bits. The sender and receiver not only must use the

same bit rate but also must be synchronized at the bit level. In other words,

the sender and the receiver clocks must be synchronized.

5. Line configuration. The physical layer is concerned with the connection of

devices to the media (point – to – point or multipoint).

6. Physical topology. The physical topology defines how devices are

connected to make a network.

7. Transmission mode. The physical layer also defines the direction of

transmission between two devices: simplex, half-duplex, or full-duplex. 6

 Data Link Layer
• The data link layer transforms the physical layer, a raw
transmission facility, to a reliable link.
• It makes the physical layer appear error-free to the upper layer
(network layer). The following figure shows the relationship of
the data link layer to the network and physical layers.

The data link layer is responsible for moving frames from one hop (node) to the next.
7
Layer 2 frame structure
Header Trailer
Start Frame Stop Frame
Data
(Flag) Address Type/Length FCS (Flag)

Data Link Layer Responsibilities

1. Framing. The data link layer divides the stream of bits received from the
network layer into manageable data units called frames.
2. Physical addressing. If frames are to be distributed to different systems on
the network, the data link layer adds a header to the frame to define the
sender and/or receiver of the frame.
 If the frame is intended for a system outside the sender‘s network, the
receiver address is the address of the device that connects the network
to the next one. Page 8
MAC Address: Ethernet Identity
 Layer 2 Ethernet MAC address is a 48-bit binary value expressed as 12
hexadecimal digits
 IEEE requires a vendor to follow two simple rules:
o Must use that vendor's assigned OUI as the first 3 bytes
o All MAC addresses with the same OUI must be assigned a unique value in the last
3 bytes

9
MAC Addresses and Hexadecimal

10
MAC Addresses Representations

11
Unicast MAC Address

12
Broadcast MAC Address

Broadcast MAC address is a

special value that has FF-FF- FF-
FF- FF Destination MAC address 13
Multicast MAC Address

Multicast MAC address is a Range of IPV4 multicast addresses

special value that begins with is 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255
01-00-5E in hexadecimal
14
MAC and IP
MAC address
o This address does not change
o Similar to the name of a person
o Known as physical address because physically assigned to the host NIC

IP address
o Similar to the address of a person
o Based on where the host is actually located
o Known as a logical address because assigned logically
o Assigned to each host by a network administrator
 Both the physical MAC and logical IP addresses are required for a computer to
communicate just like both the name and address of a person are required to send
15
a letter
Contd.
1. Flow control. If the rate at which the data are absorbed by the receiver is
less than the rate at which data are produced in the sender, the data link
layer imposes a flow control mechanism to avoid overwhelming the
receiver.
2. Error control. The data link layer adds reliability to the physical layer by
adding mechanisms to detect and retransmit damaged or lost frames.
 It also uses a mechanism to recognize duplicate frames.
 Error control is normally achieved through a trailer added to the end
of the frame.
3. Access control. When two or more devices are connected to the same
link, data link layer protocols are necessary to determine which device has
control over the link at any given time. 16
Hop-to-hop (node-to-node) delivery by data link layer

17
Contd.
 As the figure above shows, communication at the data link layer occurs between
two adjacent nodes.
 To send data from A to F, three partial deliveries are made.
 First, the data link layer at A sends a frame to the data link layer at B (a
router).
 Second, the data link layer at B sends a new frame to the data link layer at E.
 Finally, the data link layer at E sends a new frame to the data link layer at F.
 Note that the frames that are exchanged between the three nodes have
different values in the headers. The frame from A to B has B as the destination
address and A as the source address. The frame from B to E has E as the
destination address and B as the source address. The frame from E to F has F as
the destination address and E as the source address. The values of the trailers
can also be different if error checking includes the header of the frame. 18
 Framing
 The data link layer, needs to pack bits into frames, so that each frame is
distinguishable from another. Our postal system practices a type of
framing.
 The simple act of inserting a letter into an envelope separates one piece of
information from another; the envelope serves as the delimiter.
 In addition, each envelope defines the sender and receiver addresses
since the postal system is a many-to-many carrier facility.
 Framing in the data link layer separates a message from one source to a
destination, or from other messages to other destinations, by adding a
sender address and a destination address.
 The destination address defines where the packet is to go; the sender
address helps the recipient acknowledge the receipt. 19
Contd.
 NB: Addressing here is about the next node in the LAN

 Although the whole message could be packed in one frame, that is not

normally done.

 One reason is that a frame can be very large, making flow and error

control very inefficient.

 When a message is carried in one very large frame, even a single-bit error

would require the retransmission of the whole message.

 When a message is divided into smaller frames, a single-bit error affects

only that small frame. 20

Frames can be of fixed or variable size

1. Fixed-Size Framing:- In fixed-size framing, there is no need for defining the

boundaries of the frames; the size itself can be used as a delimiter. An

example of this type of framing is the ATM wide-area network, which uses

frames of fixed size called cells (48 bytes).

2. Variable-Size Framing:- variable-size framing is prevalent in local area

networks. In variable-size framing, we need a way to define the end of the

frame and the beginning of the next frame. Historically, two approaches were

used for this purpose: a character-oriented approach and a bit-oriented

approach. 21
Frame Processing
 MAC addresses assigned to workstations, servers, printers, switches, and
routers
Example MACs: 00-05-9A-3C-78-00, 00:05:9A:3C:78:00, or
0005.9A3C.7800.

 Forwarded message to an Ethernet network, attaches header information

to the packet, contains the source and destination MAC address
 Each NIC views information to see if the destination MAC address in
the frame matches the device’s physical MAC address stored in RAM
 No match, the device discards the frame

 Matches the destination MAC of the frame, the NIC passes the frame up
22
Ethernet Encapsulation
 Early versions of Ethernet were relatively slow at 10 Mbps

 Now operate at 10 Gigabits per second and faster

 Ethernet frame structure adds headers and trailers around the Layer 3 PDU to
encapsulate the message being sent

Ethernet II is the
Ethernet frame format
used in TCP/IP
networks. 23
Contd.
Preamble and Start Frame Frame Check Sequence Field
Delimiter Fields Used to detect errors in a frame with cyclic
Used for synchronization redundancy check (4 bytes), if calculations
between the sending and match at source and receiver, no error occurred.
receiving devices

Length/Type Field Data and Pad Fields

Defines the exact length of the frame's Contain the
data field/ describes which protocol is encapsulated data from a
implemented higher layer, an IPv4
packet 24
Ethernet Frame Size

 Ethernet II and IEEE 802.3 standards define the minimum frame size as

64 bytes and the maximum as 1518 bytes

 Less than 64 bytes in length is considered a "collision fragment" or "runt

frame”

 If size of a transmitted frame is less than the minimum or greater than the

maximum, the receiving device drops the frame

 At the physical layer, different versions of Ethernet vary in their method

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Character-Oriented Protocols
 In a character-oriented protocol, data to be carried are 8-bit characters
from a coding system such as ASCII.
 The header, which normally carries the source and destination addresses
and other control information, and the trailer, which carries error
detection or error correction redundant bits, are also multiples of 8 bits.
 To separate one frame from the next, an 8-bit (1-byte) flag is added at the
beginning and the end of a frame.
 The flag, composed of protocol-dependent special characters, signals the
start or end of a frame.
 Character-oriented framing was popular when only text was exchanged by
the data link layers. The flag could be selected to be any character not used
for text communication. 26
Contd.
 Now, however, we send other types of information such as graphs, audio,
and video.
 Any pattern used for the flag could also be part of the information.
 If this happens, the receiver, when it encounters this pattern in the
middle of the data, thinks it has reached the end of the frame.
 To fix this problem, a byte-stuffing strategy was added to character-
oriented framing.
 In byte stuffing (or character stuffing), a special byte is added to the data
section of the frame when there is a character with the same pattern as
the flag. The data section is stuffed with an extra byte.
 This byte is usually called the escape character (ESC), which has a
predefined bit pattern. 27
Contd.
 Whenever the receiver encounters the ESC character, it removes it from the
data section and treats the next character as data, not a delimiting flag.
 Byte stuffing by the escape character allows the presence of the flag in the
data section of the frame, but it creates another problem.
 What happens if the text contains one or more normal escape characters
followed by a flag?
 The receiver removes the escape character, but keeps the flag, which is
incorrectly interpreted as the end of the frame.
 To solve this problem, the escape characters that are part of the text must
also be marked by another escape character.
 In other words, if the escape character is part of the text, an extra one is
added to show that the second one is part of the text. 28
Contd.

Byte stuffing is the process of adding 1 extra byte whenever there is a flag
or escape character in the text.
29
Bit-Oriented Protocols
 In a bit-oriented protocol, the data section of a frame is a sequence of bits to
be interpreted by the upper layer as text, graphic, audio, video, and so on.
 However, in addition to headers (and possible trailers), we still need a
delimiter to separate one frame from the other. Most protocols use a special
8-bit pattern flag 01111110 as the delimiter to define the beginning and the
end of the frame, as shown in the figure.

30
Contd.
 This flag can create the same type of problem we saw in the byte-oriented
protocols.
 That is, if the flag pattern appears in the data, we need to somehow inform
the receiver that this is not the end of the frame.
 We do this by stuffing 1 single bit (instead of 1 byte) to prevent the pattern
from looking like a flag.
 The strategy is called bit stuffing.
 In bit stuffing, if a 0 and five consecutive 1 bits are encountered, an extra
0 is added. This extra stuffed bit is eventually removed from the data by
the receiver.
 Note that the extra bit is added after one 0 followed by five 1s regardless
of the value of the next bit.
 This guarantees that the flag field sequence does not inadvertently appear
in the frame. 31
 Contd.

Bit stuffing is the process of adding one extra 0 whenever five consecutive 1s follow a
0 in the data, so that the receiver does not mistaken the pattern 0111110 for a flag. 32
Contd.
 The above figure shows bit stuffing at the sender and bit removal at
the receiver.
 Note that even if we have a 0 after five 1s, we still stuff a 0. The 0 will
be removed by the receiver.
 This means that if the flag like pattern 01111110 appears in the data,
it will change to 011111010 (stuffed) and is not mistaken as a flag by
the receiver.
 The real flag 01111110 is not stuffed by the sender and is recognized
by the receiver as a flag.

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 Flow Control
• Flow control coordinates the amount of data that can be sent before
receiving an acknowledgment and is one of the most important duties
of the data link layer. In most protocols, flow control is a set of
procedures that tells the sender how much data it can transmit before
it must wait for an acknowledgment from the receiver.
• The flow of data must not be allowed to overwhelm the receiver. Any
receiving device has a limited speed at which it can process incoming
data and a limited amount of memory in which to store incoming data.
• The receiving device must be able to inform the sending device before
those limits are reached and to request that the transmitting device
send fewer frames or stop temporarily. Incoming data must be checked
and processed before they can be used. 34
Contd.
• The rate of such processing is often slower than the rate of
transmission. For this reason, each receiving device has a block of
memory, called a buffer, reserved for storing incoming data until they
are processed. If the buffer begins to fill up, the receiver must be able
to tell the sender to halt transmission until it is once again able to
receive.

35
 Media Access control
• The data link layer can further be divided in to two layers: the upper
sub-layer that is responsible for flow and error control is called the
logical link control (LLC) layer; the lower sub-layer that is mostly
responsible for multiple access resolution is called the media access
control (MAC) layer
• When nodes or stations are connected and use a common link, called
a multipoint or broadcast link, we need a multiple-access protocol to
coordinate access to the link. The problem of controlling the access
to the medium is similar to the rules of speaking in an assembly. The
procedures guarantee that the right to speak is upheld and ensure
that two people do not speak at the same time, do not interrupt
each other, do not monopolize the discussion, and so on. 36
Contd.

• Read about channelization protocols:

– Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple
Access (TDMA), and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

37
 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.
 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 the
testing of the state of the medium.
38
Contd.
• In a random access method, each station has the right to the medium
without being controlled by any other station.
• However, if more than one station tries to send, there is an access
conflict-collision-and the frames will be either destroyed or modified.
• To avoid access conflict or to resolve it when it happens, each station
follows a procedure that answers the following questions:
 When can the station access the medium?
 What can the station do if the medium is busy?
 How can the station determine the success or failure of the
transmission?
 What can the station do if there is an access conflict? 39
Contd.
 The random access methods have evolved from a very interesting
protocol known as ALOHA, which used a very simple procedure called
multiple access (MA).
 The method was improved with the addition of a procedure that forces
the station to sense the medium before transmitting.
 This was called carrier sense multiple access.
 This method later evolved into two parallel methods: carrier sense
multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) and carrier
sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA).
 CSMA/CD tells the station what to do when a collision is detected.
 CSMA/CA tries to avoid the collision.
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 Pure ALOHA

 ALOHA is the simplest technique in multiple accesses.

 Basic idea of this mechanism is a user can transmit the data

whenever they want.

 If data is successfully transmitted then there isn’t any problem.

 But if collision occurs then the station will transmit again.

 Sender can detect the collision if it doesn’t receive the

acknowledgement from the receiver.

41
Procedure for pure ALOHA protocol

42
Procedure for pure ALOHA protocol

43
 Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA)
 Protocols that listen for a carrier and act accordingly are called
carrier sense protocols.
 Carrier sensing allows the station to detect whether the medium is
currently being used.
 Schemes that use a carrier sense circuits are classed together as
carrier sense multiple access or CSMA schemes.
 There are two variants of CSMA. CSMA/CD and CSMA/CA
 The simplest CSMA scheme is for a station to sense the medium,
sending packets immediately if the medium is idle.
 If the station waits for the medium to become idle it is called
persistent otherwise it is called non persistent. 44
 Persistent
 Persistent:-wait if busy and transmit only when the media becomes

idle again (not transmission after a triggered timer expire)

 When a station has the data to send, it first listens the channel to

check if anyone else is transmitting data or not.

If it senses the channel idle, station starts transmitting the data.

 If it senses the channel busy it waits until the channel is idle, by

continuously sensing the channel.

45
 Non-Persistent
 Non persistent CSMA is less aggressive compared to persistent

protocol.

 In this protocol, before sending the data, the station senses the

channel and if the channel is idle it starts transmitting the data.

 But if the channel is busy, the station does not continuously sense

it but instead of that it waits for random amount of time and

repeats the algorithm.

 Here the algorithm leads to better channel utilization but also

results in longer delay compared to persistent. 46

Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD)
 CSMA/CD is a technique for multiple access protocols.

 If no transmission is taking place at the time, the particular station

can transmit.

 If two stations attempt to transmit simultaneously, this causes a

collision, which is detected by all participating stations.

 After a random time interval, the stations that collided attempt to

transmit again.

 If another collision occurs, the time intervals from which the

random waiting time is selected are increased step by step.

 This is known as exponential back off. 47

 Flow diagram for the CSMA/CD

Reading Assignment: Read About CSMA/CA and understand the difference with CSMA/CD48
 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.

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 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
mini slots in the reservation frame.
 Each mini slot belongs to a station. When a station needs to send a
data frame, it makes a reservation in its own mini slot.
 The stations that have made reservations can send their data
frames after the reservation frame.
50
Contd.
• The following figure shows a situation with five stations and a five-
mini slot reservation frame.
• In the first interval, only stations 1, 3, and 4 have made reservations.
In the second interval, only station 1 has made a reservation.

51
 Polling
 Polling works with topologies in which one device is designated as
a primary station and the other devices are secondary stations.
 All data exchanges must be made through the primary device
even when the ultimate destination is a secondary device.
 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.
 The primary device, therefore, is always the initiator of a session.

52
Contd.

 If the primary wants to receive data, it asks the secondary

devices if they have anything to send; this is called poll function.
 If the primary wants to send data, it tells the secondary to get
ready to receive; this is called select function.
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 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.
 The right to this access has been passed from the predecessor to the
current station.
 The right will be passed to the successor when the current station has
54
Contd.
 But how is the right to access the channel passed from one station to
another?
 In this method, a special packet called a token circulates through the
ring.
 The possession of the token gives the station the right to access the
channel and send its data.
 When a station has some data to send, it waits until it receives the
token from its predecessor.
 It then holds the token and sends its data.
 When the station has no more data to send, it releases the token,
passing it to the next logical station in the ring.
 The station cannot send data until it receives the token again in the
55
next round.
?

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