Data Link Control
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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.
Topics discussed in this section:
Fixed-Size Framing
Variable-Size Framing
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Figure 1 A frame in a character-oriented protocol
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Byte Stuffing
Byte stuffing is the process of adding 1 extra
byte whenever there is a flag or escape
character in the text.
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Figure 2 Byte stuffing and unstuffing
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Figure 3 A frame in a bit-oriented protocol
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Bit Stuffing
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 mistake
the pattern 0111110 for a flag.
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Figure 4 Bit stuffing and unstuffing
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FLOW AND ERROR CONTROL
The most important responsibilities of the data link
layer are:
►flow control and
► error control.
Collectively, these functions are known as data link
control.
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Flow control
Flow control refers to a set of procedures used
to restrict the amount of data
that the sender can send before
waiting for acknowledgment.
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Error Control
Error control in the data link layer is based on
automatic repeat request, which is the
retransmission of data.
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PROTOCOLS
Now let us see how the data link layer can combine
framing, flow control, and error control to achieve the
delivery of data from one node to another. The protocols
are normally implemented in software by using one of the
common programming languages. To make our
discussions language-free, we have written in pseudocode
a version of each protocol that concentrates mostly on the
procedure instead of delving into the details of language
rules.
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Figure 11.5 Taxonomy of protocols used for flow control and error control
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NOISELESS CHANNELS
Let us first assume we have an ideal channel in which no
frames are lost, duplicated, or corrupted. We introduce two
protocols for this type of channel for flow control:
● Simplest Protocol
● Stop-and-Wait Protocol
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Simplest Protocol
Figure 7 shows an example of communication using
simplest protocol. It is very simple.
The sender sends a sequence of frames without even
thinking about the receiver. For example, to send three
frames, three events occur at the sender site and three
events at the receiver site.
Note that the data frames are shown by tilted boxes; the
height of the box defines the transmission time difference
between the first bit and the last bit in the frame.
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Figure 11.7 Flow diagram for simplest protocol
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Figure 11.6 The design of the simplest protocol with no flow or error control
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Stop-and Wait protocol
Figure 9 shows an example of communication using this
protocol. It is still very simple.
The sender sends one frame and waits for feedback from
the receiver. When the ACK arrives, the sender sends the
next frame.
Note that sending two frames in the protocol involves the
sender in four events and the receiver in two events.
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Figure 11.9 Flow diagram for Example 11.2
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NOISY CHANNELS
Although the Stop-and-Wait Protocol gives us an idea
of how to add flow control to its predecessor, noiseless
channels are nonexistent. We discuss three protocols in
this section that use error control.
● Stop-and-Wait ARQ (Automatic Repeat Request)
● Go-Back-N Automatic Repeat Request
● Selective Repeat Automatic Repeat Request
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Note
Error correction in Stop-and-Wait ARQ
is done by keeping a copy of the sent
frame and retransmitting of the frame
when the timer expires.
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Note
In Stop-and-Wait ARQ, we use sequence numbers to
number the frames. The sequence numbers are based
on modulo-2 arithmetic. For example: 0,1,0,1,0,1…
Modulo-n means: 0,1,2, … (n-1)
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Note
In Stop-and-Wait ARQ, the
acknowledgment number always
announces in modulo-2 arithmetic the
sequence number of the next frame
expected.
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Example 11.3
Figure 11 shows an example of Stop-and-Wait ARQ.
Frame 0 is sent and acknowledged. Frame 1 is lost and
resent after the time-out. The resent frame 1 is
acknowledged and the timer stops. Frame 0 is sent and
acknowledged, but the acknowledgment is lost. The
sender has no idea if the frame or the acknowledgment is
lost, so after the time-out, it resends frame 0, which is
acknowledged.
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Figure 11.11 Flow diagram for Example 11.3
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Figure 11.10 Design of the Stop-and-Wait ARQ Protocol
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Go-Back-N Protocol
In the Go-Back-N Protocol, the sequence
numbers are modulo 2m,
where m is the size of the sequence
number field in bits.
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Figure 11.12 Send window for Go-Back-N ARQ
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