- Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance
In
computer networking , CSMA/CA belongs to a class of protocols called multiple access methods. CSMA/CA stands for: Carrier Sense Multiple Access With Collision Avoidance.In CSMA, a station wishing to transmit has to first listen to the channel for a predetermined amount of time so as to check for any activity on the channel. If the channel is sensed "idle" then the station is permitted to transmit. If the channel is sensed as "busy" the station has to defer its transmission. This is the essence of both CSMA/CA and CSMA/CD. In CSMA/CA (LocalTalk), once the channel is clear, a station sends a signal telling all other stations not to transmit, and then sends its packet. In Ethernet 802.3, the station continues to wait for a time, and checks to see if the channel is still free. If it is free, the station transmits, and waits for an acknowledgment signal that the packet was received.Details
CSMA/CA is a modification of pure Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA). Collision avoidance is used to improve the performance of CSMA by attempting to be less "greedy" on the channel. If the channel is sensed busy before transmission then the transmission is deferred for a "random" interval. This reduces the probability of collisions on the channel.
CSMA/CA is used where CSMA/CD cannot be implemented due to the nature of the channel. CSMA/CA is used in
802.11 basedwireless LAN s. One of the problems ofwireless LAN s is that it is not possible to listen while sending, therefore collision detection is not possible. Another reason is thehidden terminal problem, whereby a node A, in range of the receiver R, is not in range of the sender S, and therefore cannot know that S is transmitting to R.CSMA/CA can optionally be supplemented by the exchange of a Request to Send (RTS) packet sent by the sender S, and a Clear to Send (CTS) packet sent by the intended receiver R, alerting all nodes within range of the sender, the receiver, or both, to keep quiet for the duration of the main packet. This is known as the
IEEE 802.11 RTS/CTS exchange......Usage
*
GNET - an early proprietaryLAN protocol
*Apple'sLocalTalk implemented CSMA/CA on an electrical bus using a three-byte jamming signal.
*802.11 RTS/CTS implements virtual carrier sensing using short Request to Send and Clear to Send messages for WLANs (802.11 mainly relies on physical carrier sensing though).
*IEEE 802.15 (Wireless PAN) uses CSMA/CA
* NCRWaveLAN - an early proprietary wireless network protocol
*HomePNA
* Bus networksee also
*
Carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD): - a different approach to the same problem; used forEthernet References
* [http://www.atis.org/tg2k/ American National Standard T1.523-2001, Telecom Glossary 2000]
* [http://www.securitytube.net/CSMA-CA-video.aspx CSMA/CA Tutorial on www.SecurityTube.net]
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