Unit 5 Data Link Layer: Services; Error Detection and Correction Techniques; Multiple Access

Protocols: Polling, ALOHA, CSMA/CD; MAC Addresses and ARP; Switches; Point-to-Point
Protocol.

1. Data Link Layer: Services

●​ Definition: The data link layer is the second layer of the OSI model responsible
for providing reliable data transfer across a physical link.
●​ Services Provided:
●​ Frame Synchronization: Delimits the start and end of frames for proper
transmission.
●​ Error Detection and Correction: Detects and corrects errors to ensure data
integrity.
●​ Flow Control: Regulates the flow of data to prevent overwhelming the
receiver.
●​ Access Control: Manages access to the physical medium for multiple
devices.

2. Error Detection and Correction Techniques

●​ Error Detection: Detects the presence of errors in transmitted data.

●​ Parity Checking: Adds an additional bit (parity bit) to make the number of
ones either even (even parity) or odd (odd parity).
●​ Checksum: Computes a checksum value based on the data bits and
appends it to the message. The receiver recalculates the checksum and
compares it to the received value.

●​ Error Detection in Computer Networks

●​ Error is a condition when the receiver’s information does not
match the sender’s. Digital signals suffer from noise during
transmission that can introduce errors in the binary bits traveling
from sender to receiver. That means a 0 bit may change to 1 or a
1 bit may change to 0.
●​ Data (Implemented either at the Data link layer or Transport
Layer of the OSI Model) may get scrambled by noise or get
corrupted whenever a message is transmitted. To prevent such
errors, error-detection codes are added as extra data to digital
 messages. This helps in detecting any errors that may have
occurred during message transmission.
●​ Types of Errors
●​ Single-Bit Error
●​ A single-bit error refers to a type of data transmission error that
occurs when one bit (i.e., a single binary digit) of a transmitted
data unit is altered during transmission, resulting in an incorrect
or corrupted data unit.

●​
●​ Single-Bit Error

●​ Multiple-Bit Error
●​ A multiple-bit error is an error type that arises when more than
one bit in a data transmission is affected. Although multiple-bit
errors are relatively rare when compared to single-bit errors, they
can still occur, particularly in high-noise or high-interference
digital environments.
 ●​
●​ Multiple-Bit Error

●​ Burst Error
●​ When several consecutive bits are flipped mistakenly in digital
transmission, it creates a burst error. This error causes a
sequence of consecutive incorrect values.

Burst Error

Error Detection Methods

To detect errors, a common technique is to introduce redundancy bits that
provide additional information. Various techniques for error detection include:
 ●​ Simple Parity Check

●​ Two-Dimensional Parity Check

●​ Checksum

●​ Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)

Simple Parity Check

Simple-bit parity is a simple error detection method that involves adding an
extra bit to a data transmission. It works as:

●​ 1 is added to the block if it contains an odd number of 1’s, and

●​ 0 is added if it contains an even number of 1’s

This scheme makes the total number of 1’s even, that is why it is called even
parity checking.

Advantages of Simple Parity Check

 ●​ Simple parity check can detect all single bit error.

●​ Simple parity check can detect an odd number of errors.

●​ Implementation: Simple Parity Check is easy to implement in both

hardware and software.

●​ Minimal Extra Data: Only one additional bit (the parity bit) is added

per data unit (e.g., per byte).

●​ Fast Error Detection: The process of calculating and checking the

parity bit is quick, which allows for rapid error detection without

significant delay in data processing or communication.

●​ Single-Bit Error Detection: It can effectively detect single-bit errors

within a data unit, providing a basic level of error detection for

relatively low-error environments.

Disadvantages of Simple Parity Check

●​ Single Parity check is not able to detect even no. of bit error.

●​ For example, the Data to be transmitted is 101010. Codeword

transmitted to the receiver is 1010101 (we have used even parity). ​

Let’s assume that during transmission, two of the bits of code word

flipped to 1111101.​

On receiving the code word, the receiver finds the no. of ones to be

even and hence no error, which is a wrong assumption.

Two-Dimensional Parity Check
Two-dimensional Parity check bits are calculated for each row, which is
equivalent to a simple parity check bit. Parity check bits are also calculated
for all columns, then both are sent along with the data. At the receiving end,
these are compared with the parity bits calculated on the received data.

Advantages of Two-Dimensional Parity Check

●​ Two-Dimensional Parity Check can detect and correct all single bit

error.

●​ Two-Dimensional Parity Check can detect two or three bit error that

occur any where in the matrix.

Disadvantages of Two-Dimensional Parity Check

●​ Two-Dimensional Parity Check can not correct two or three bit error.

It can only detect two or three bit error.

●​ If we have a error in the parity bit then this scheme will not work.

Checksum
Checksum error detection is a method used to identify errors in transmitted
data. The process involves dividing the data into equally sized segments and
using a 1’s complement to calculate the sum of these segments. The
calculated sum is then sent along with the data to the receiver. At the
receiver’s end, the same process is repeated and if all zeroes are obtained in
the sum, it means that the data is correct.

Checksum – Operation at Sender’s Side

●​ Firstly, the data is divided into k segments each of m bits.

●​ On the sender’s end, the segments are added using 1’s complement

arithmetic to get the sum. The sum is complemented to get the

checksum.

●​ The checksum segment is sent along with the data segments.

Checksum – Operation at Receiver’s Side

●​ At the receiver’s end, all received segments are added using 1’s

complement arithmetic to get the sum. The sum is complemented.

 ●​ If the result is zero, the received data is accepted; otherwise

discarded.

Advantages of Error Detection

●​ Increased Data Reliability: Error detection ensures that the data

transmitted over the network is reliable, accurate, and free from

errors. This ensures that the recipient receives the same data that

was transmitted by the sender.

 ●​ Improved Network Performance: Error detection mechanisms can

help to identify and isolate network issues that are causing errors.

This can help to improve the overall performance of the network

and reduce downtime.

●​ Enhanced Data Security: Error detection can also help to ensure

that the data transmitted over the network is secure and has not

been tampered with.

Disadvantages of Error Detection

●​ Overhead: Error detection requires additional resources and

processing power, which can lead to increased overhead on the

network. This can result in slower network performance and

increased latency.

●​ False Positives: Error detection mechanisms can sometimes

generate false positives, which can result in unnecessary

retransmission of data. This can further increase the overhead on

the network.

●​ Limited Error Correction: Error detection can only identify errors but

cannot correct them. This means that the recipient must rely on the

sender to retransmit the data, which can lead to further delays and

increased network overhead.

●​
●​ Error Correction: Corrects errors found in transmitted data.
 ●​ Hamming Code: Adds redundant bits to the data to allow for error
correction. The receiver uses these bits to detect and correct errors.

3. Multiple Access Protocols

●​ Polling: A master device polls each node in a network sequentially to determine

which device has data to transmit.
●​ ALOHA: In pure ALOHA, nodes transmit data whenever they have it, leading to
collisions. Slotted ALOHA divides time into slots and synchronizes transmissions
to reduce collisions.
●​ CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection): Devices
listen to the medium before transmitting to avoid collisions. If a collision occurs,
devices detect it and back off for a random period before retransmitting.

4. MAC Addresses and ARP (Address Resolution Protocol)

●​ MAC Addresses: Unique hardware addresses assigned to network interface

cards (NICs) for communication within a local network.
●​ ARP: Resolves IP addresses to MAC addresses. When a device wants to
communicate with another on the same subnet, it sends an ARP request to find
the MAC address associated with the IP address.

5. Switches

●​ Functionality: Devices that operate at the data link layer and forward frames
based on MAC addresses.
●​ Advantages over Hubs: Provide dedicated bandwidth to each port, offer
full-duplex communication, and reduce collisions by creating separate collision
domains per port.

6. Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)

●​ Definition: Protocol used for establishing and maintaining a direct connection

between two nodes.
●​ Features: Provides authentication, encryption, and compression for secure and
efficient data transmission over point-to-point links.

These lecture notes cover essential concepts in the data link layer, including services
provided, error detection and correction techniques, multiple access protocols, MAC
addresses and ARP, switches, and the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP). Understanding
these concepts is crucial for designing and managing computer networks effectively.
Q 1 Expolain Data Link Layer: Services;

Q 2 Explain Error Detection and Correction Techniques.

Q3 Multiple Access Protocols: Polling, ALOHA,

Q 4 Explain CSMA/CD in detail

5 MAC Addresses and ARP in detail.

Q6 Explain Switches in detail

Q7 explain Point-to-Point Protocol.