Data Link Control

11.1 Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
 11-1 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

11.2
 Figure 11.1 A frame in a character-oriented protocol

11.3
 Figure 11.2 Byte stuffing and unstuffing

11.4
 Note

Byte stuffing is the process of adding 1

extra byte whenever there is a flag or
escape character in the text.

11.5
 Figure 11.3 A frame in a bit-oriented protocol

11.6
 Note

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 01111110 for a flag.

11.7
 Figure 11.4 Bit stuffing and unstuffing

11.8
 11-2 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.

Topics discussed in this section:

Flow Control
Error Control

11.9
 Note

Flow control refers to a set of procedures

used to restrict the amount of data
that the sender can send before
waiting for acknowledgment.

11.10
 Note

Error control in the data link layer is

based on automatic repeat request,
which is the retransmission of data.

11.11
 11-3 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.

11.12
 Figure 11.5 Taxonomy of protocols discussed in this chapter

11.13
 11-4 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.

Topics discussed in this section:

Simplest Protocol
Stop-and-Wait Protocol

11.14
 Figure 11.6 The design of the simplest protocol with no flow or error control

11.15
 Example 11.1

Figure 11.7 shows an example of communication using

this protocol. It is very simple. The sender sends a
sequence of frames without even thinking about the
receiver. 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.

11.16
 Figure 11.7 Flow diagram for Example 11.1

11.17
 Figure 11.8 Design of Stop-and-Wait Protocol

11.18
 Example 11.2

Figure 11.9 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.

11.19
 Figure 11.9 Flow diagram for Example 11.2

11.20
 11-5 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.

Topics discussed in this section:

Stop-and-Wait Automatic Repeat Request
Go-Back-N Automatic Repeat Request
Selective Repeat Automatic Repeat Request

11.21
 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.

11.22
 Stop-and-Wait ARQ
 Sender keeps a copy of sent frame until
successful delivery is ensured
 Receiver responds with an ack when it
successfully receives a frame
 Both data and ack frames must be numbered
 When sender does not receive an ack within
certain time, it assumes frame is lost, then
retransmits the same frame.

23
Flow Diagram: Normal Operation
Sender Receiver

S=0
Frame 0 R=0

Deliver
ACK 1

R=1
S=1
Frame 1

Deliver
ACK 0
R=0

Time Time

24
 Flow Diagram: Lost Frame
Sender Receiver

S=0
Frame 0 R=0

Deliver
ACK 1

R=1
S=1
Frame 1

Timeout
Frame 1

Deliver
ACK 0
R=0

Time Time 25
 Thinking Corner

 Why data frames need to be numbered?

26
 Flow Diagram: Lost ACK
Sender Receiver

S=0
Frame 0 R=0

Deliver
A CK 1

R=1
S=1
Frame 1

Deliver
A CK 0

Timeout R=0
S=1
Frame 1 Frame 0 expected; discard

A CK 0
R=0
S=0

Time Time
27
 Thinking Corner

 Why ACK frames need to be numbered?

28
 Flow Diagram: Delayed ACK
Sender Receiver

S=0
Frame 0 R=0

Deliver

R=1
Timeout F r am e 0
ACK 1
Frame 1 expected; discard

1
S=1 A CK

R=1
Frame 1

Timeout
Frame 1

Deliver
A CK 0 R=0

S=0
29
 Go-Back-N ARQ
 Allows multiple frames to be sent before
waiting for ACK
 These frames must be numbered differently
 Frame numbers are called Sequence numbers
 Frames must be received in the correct
order
 If a frame is lost, the lost frame and all of
the following frames must be retransmitted

30
Sequence Numbers
 Frame header contains m bits for
sequence number
 That allows up to 2m different frame
numbers

31
Go-Back-N: Window Sizes

 For m-bit sequence numbers

 Send window size: at most 2m-1
 Up to 2m-1 frames can be sent without
ACK
 Receive window size: 1
 Frames must be received in order

32
Send vs. Receive Windows

33
Go-Back-N: Normal Operation

34
Go-Back-N: Lost Frame

ACKs are cumulative

35
Lost ACK: Window Size < 2 m

36
☺ Thinking Corner

■ What is a problem if send window is

greater than 2m-1?

37
Lost ACK: Window Size = 2 m

38
Selective Repeat ARQ
 Go-Back-N always discards out-of-order
frames
 Losing one frame may result in
retransmission of multiple frames
 Very inefficient in noisy link
 Selective Repeat ARQ allows frames to
be received out of order
 Therefore, receive window > 1

39
Send and Receive Windows

 Sender and receiver share window space

equally
 For m-bit sequence numbers
 Send window: up to 2m-1
 Receive window: up to 2m-1

40
Send Window

41
Receive Window

42
 Negative ACK
 Used by receiver to indicate missing frame

43
Selective Repeat: Window Size

44