MAC Protocols

By Qixin Wang
Most part of this Power Point can be find in Andrew Tanenbaum’s “C
omputer Networks (3rd Edition)”. Some ideas brought about by me ar
e colored in Blue.
• AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System)
• GSM (TDM+FDM+ALOHA)
• CDMA
• ALOHA (pure, slotted)
• CSMA (1/non/p - persistent)
• CSMA/CD
• Bitmap
• Binary Count Down
• Limited Contention
• Token Bus
• Token Ring
 Suppose every cell is
1km2. Then in a
F
100km2 area, we can
A E F have 100 cells. The
G A E cells using band A
are 100/7. I.e. There
B D G can be
C B D simultaneously 100/7
users using A band
F C in a 100km2 area.
A E
G
B D
C
 Suppose B contains
F 119 channels (832/7),
A E F In each B area, there c
an be 119 simultaneou
G A E s user.
B D 3 2 G
1 7 After 2ndery division,
C 4 B5 6 D Bi contains 17 channel
7 2
F 3 C s (119/7). Suppose the
re are n Bi areas in eac
A E h B, then there can be
G 119/7n 7=119n sim
ultaneous users in eac
B D h B area.
C
See [1] for details of h
ow to divide the cells.
The only trick played by AMPS is FDM
824MHz ~ 849MHz 832 simplex trans. channels (30kHz per channel)
869MHz ~ 894MHz 832 simplex receive channels (30kHz per channel)
The 832 channels are divided into 4 categories:
1) 21 channels are for control (base  mobile). For announcement. T
here is no discovery. The announcement can be continuous
2) Paging (base  mobile) for alert mobile of calls for them.
3) Access (base  mobile) for call setup and channel assignment
4) Data (base  mobile) for real data communication (voice, fax, dat
a)
Hand off: detected by sensing the power of mobile signal by base. Overh
ead is 300msec.
Phone register every 15 min(also informing Home MSC for receive); Ma
ke a call; Receiver a call…
Totally insecure, wiretap, theft of phone identity, base damage
GSM(Global
GSM Systems for Mobile commun.) is base on AMPS.
Over 5000 pages long.
Digital FDM+TDM+Aloha
890.2MHz ~ 914.8MHz 124 simplex trans. channels (200kHz per chan
nel), 8 Time slot per band (200/8=25kHz), making total of 992 channels.
935.2MHz ~ 959.8MHz 832 simplex receive channels (30kHz per chan
nel)
9.6kbps Data trans. Per channel.
Every 8 Time Slot => TDM Frame, Every 26 TDM frame => Multifram
e
12th TDM frame of a multiframe is the control TDM frame, which conta
ins:
 1) Broadcast control channel (base  mobile). For announcement.
There is no discovery. The announcement can be continuous
2) Dedicated control channel (base  mobile) for location updatin
g, registration, call set up.
3) Paging (base  mobile) for alert mobile of calls for them.
4) Random access (base  mobile) for request a slot on Dedicated
control channel(requesting call setup using shared channel, Sloted Al
oha for conf. res.)
5) Access grant (base  mobile) for channel assignment.
Hand off: same as AMPS? 300msec.
Phone location register; Make a call; Receiver a call…
Security?
CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data)
AMPS structured packet-switched system (AMPS is circuit switched)
TDM for each cell. Only one downlink(broadcast from base) and one upli
nk.
DSMA(Digital Sense Multiple Access) is used for uplink compete. I.e. Ba
se broadcast whether uplink is idle, and mobile phone use Aloha. This is s
omewhat like CSMA. Collision Detect is by not receiving ack signal.
9.6kbps approx.
Data through air are compressed, encrypted, and checksumed.
CDMA(Code
CDMA Division M. A.): See Marco’s
MACA(Multiple
MACA Access with Collision Avoidance)
3rd Party heard RTS (with data length) should wait long enough
for following CTS (Guarantee that A hear the CTS), if can’t receive the
CTS, then the 3rd Party is FREE. Expose station problem eliminated.
3rd Party heard CTS (with data length) should wait long enough
for data transmission (Guarantee that B receive the data). Hidden Station
Problem Eliminated.
Problem: 1. what if a wireless device powered on after the RTS,
CTS period? 2. What if a moving wireless device entered the A/B area
after A/B’s RTS/CTS?
Expose station problem will exist, though it will not cause data
garbling, it will cause Real Time problem. Hidden station problem will
exist, it will garble B’s received data (e.g., A is sending to B, C suddenly
powered on and tries to send to D, how can C know when to send RTS?)
A B C D
MACAW (… with receiver acknowledgement)
Is to partially solve the problem. If Hidden Station Problem occur
after all, A will fail to receive the acknowledgement from B. A will try
to retransmit, thus the data will guaranteed to be sent correctly.
Real Time Problem still exist!
The contention rate is related to:
How much parallelism the shared air media is supporting (TDM,
FDM, CDMA);
How small the radio covered area is (That is the reason why we
use the Cellular Structure).
Aloha:
Aloha Transmit as soon as want, if collision, wait random time
Pure Aloha (non time slotted)
Slotted Aloha (time slotted)
CSMA:
CSMA Aloha with carrier sense
1-Persistant (if busy, wait till idle; if collision, wait random)
non-Persistant(if busy, wait random. Better channel utilization an
d longer delay than 1-Persistant)
p-Persistant(only apply to slotted channels. If busy, wait until the
next time slot and try algorithm again; If idle, p to send, (1-p) defers unti
l the next time slot; If collision, wait random and start the algorithm agai
n)
CSMA/CD(IEEE
CSMA/CD 802.3): Stops transmission as soon as detected a collisi
on.
Bit-Map
N host -- N contention slots (for reservation). After transmission
of all reserved frames, the next N contention slots begin. Not clear about
the global reservation, no right to transmit until next N contention slots.
Binary Countdown
N host -- logN contention slots. The biggest number wins. Unfair
for small numbered host --> virtual host number (host number rotation. S
ee IEEE 802.4)
 Light Load Heavy Load
Contention small delay long delay
Protocols small throughput
Contention-free larger delay shorter delay
Protocols larger throughput

Limited Contention Protocols

Between Groups, BitMap; Inside a Group, Aloha
When load is light, enlarge group size (shrink number of
groups), --> Aloha
When load is high, shrink group size (enlarge number of g
roups), --> BitMap
Key: how to decide the group size according to load.
Token Bus (IEEE 802.4)
Contention may cause wait arbitrarily long time. Token will
solve this problem. With token, we can also easily provide priority.
Token Possession Time
0,2,4,6 Priority for traffic. Guaranteed fraction of the token-
holding time for priority 6, which can be used to “implement real-time
traffic”.
Frame 00000000 00000001 00000010 00000011 00000100 00001000 00001100
Ctrl Fld
Name Claim Token Solicit Solicit Who follows Resolve Token Set successor
successor 1 successor 2 contention
Meaning Claim token Allow stations Allow stations Recover from Used when Pass the token Allow station
during ring to enter the ring to enter the ring lost token multiple to leave the
initialization stations want to ring
enter

Once the ring is established, every station maintains the address of its
predecessor and successor internally.
The circular link is ordered in the descending order of address
 Frame 00000000 00000001 00000010 00000011 00000100 00001000 00001100
Ctrl Fld
Name Claim Token Solicit Solicit Who follows Resolve Token Set successor
successor 1 successor 2 contention
Meaning Claim token Allow stations Allow stations Recover from Used when Pass the token Allow station
during ring to enter the ring to enter the ring lost token multiple to leave the
initialization stations want to ring
enter

1. Enter the Ring: Periodically, the token holder sends Solicit_successo

r_1 to solicit bids from stations that wish to join the ring. The frame giv
es the sender’s address and the successor’s address.
If no bids to enter the ring after 2, response window is closed. If mu
ltiple new comers, Resolve_contention frame is broadcast. A variation
of Binary countdown is used.
Solicit new comer should not interfere with the longest token rotatio
n time (real time guaranteeing). If token arrives in large intervals, the st
ation will guess there are too much traffics already, so NO solicit.
Every time only one station is allow to enter to guarantee the token r
otation time limit. NO guarantee of waiting time to enter the ring. NOT
so real time.
 Frame 00000000 00000001 00000010 00000011 00000100 00001000 00001100
Ctrl Fld
Name Claim Token Solicit Solicit Who follows Resolve Token Set successor
successor 1 successor 2 contention
Meaning Claim token Allow stations Allow stations Recover from Used when Pass the token Allow station
during ring to enter the ring to enter the ring lost token multiple to leave the
initialization stations want to ring
enter

2. Leaving the Ring (Normal): P->X->S, suppose X is to leave. X shoul

d send SET_SUCCESSOR frame telling P its successor is changed to S.
X then can leave.
3. Ring Initialization: When the first start up notice there is no traffic fo
r a certain period, it sends a CLAIM_TOKEN frame. (1) If not hearing
any competitors, it creates a token and set up a ring containing only itse
lf. Periodically, other station can be solicited to enter the ring. (2) If the
re is competitors, standard modified binary countdown algorithm.
 Frame 00000000 00000001 00000010 00000011 00000100 00001000 00001100
Ctrl Fld
Name Claim Token Solicit Solicit Who follows Resolve Token Set successor
successor 1 successor 2 contention
Meaning Claim token Allow stations Allow stations Recover from Used when Pass the token Allow station
during ring to enter the ring to enter the ring lost token multiple to leave the
initialization stations want to ring
enter

4. Token Successor Disappears (Abnormal Leaving Ring): After passin

g the token, a station listen to see if its successor (1) either transmits a f
rame or passes the token. (2) Otherwise, the token is passed a second ti
me. (3) If still fails, the station transmits a WHO_FOLLOWS frame spe
cifying the address of its successor, the next next station should be able
to accept the token. (4) If this still fails, then the station sends SOLICIT
_SUCCESSOR_2 frame to see if anyone else is still alive, so that the ri
ng is re-established.
5. Token (Holder) Disappears (Abnormal Leaving Ring): Use the same
method of ring initialization. Each station has a timer that is reset when
ever a frame appears. When this time hits a threshold, the station issues
a CLAIM_TOKEN frame to initialize the ring (see 1)
 Frame 00000000 00000001 00000010 00000011 00000100 00001000 00001100
Ctrl Fld
Name Claim Token Solicit Solicit Who follows Resolve Token Set successor
successor 1 successor 2 contention
Meaning Claim token Allow stations Allow stations Recover from Used when Pass the token Allow station
during ring to enter the ring to enter the ring lost token multiple to leave the
initialization stations want to ring
enter

6. Multiple Token: If a station holding a token notices a transmission fr

om another station, it discards its token. This process is repeated until al
l but one token were discarded. If by accident, all tokens are discarded,
then the lack of activity will cause the re-initialization of the ring.

Note: this may be applied to the collision of two mobile (virt

ual) token rings (2 convoys collided -> decrease token (or re-i
nitialize for the union of the 2 convoys)->2 convoys separate
d ->The one lost token re-initialize.). But maybe such solutio
n will cause another concern in Security!!
Token Ring (IEEE 802.5): Study it by yourself
Have token-holding time limit.
Using A/C bits to determine the destination power on/off and frame
receipt/reject.
Support multiple priority. Can reserve with priority (not to be
preempted by lower priority reservation attempts). When current frame
is finished, the station raising the priority is responsible for lowering
again when it is done. Not like Token Bus, low priority station may
starve to death.

Each token ring has ONE monitor station that oversees the ring (token).
Ctrl Fld 00000000 00000010 00000011 00000100 00000101 00000110
Name Duplicate address Beacon Claim token Purge Active Monitor Standby Monitor
test Present Present
Meaning Test if 2 stations Used to locate Attempt to become Reinitialize the Issued periodically Announces the
have the same breaks in the ring monitor ring by the monitor presence of
address potential monitors

1. Initialization (or monitor gone): When any station notices that ther
e is no monitor, it can transmit a CLAIM_TOKEN control frame to b
ecome the monitor (contention if multiple stations compete)
2. Token lost: The monitor has a timer set to the longest possible toke
nless interval. If timer goes off, the monitor drains the ring and issues
a new token
3. Garbled frame appears: The monitor can detect it by its invalid for
mat or checksum, open the ring to drain it, and issue a new token whe
n the ring has be cleaned up.
4. Orphan frame: The monitor set the monitor bit in Access Ctrl byte
whenever a data frame passes through. So it can detect it and drain it.
5. Ring to short to hold the token: The monitor inserts extra delay bits
so that a token can circulate.
6. Host shutdown: When a station notices that either of its neighbors a
ppears to be dead, it transmits a BEACON frame giving the addres f t
he presumably dead station. When the beacon has propagated around
as far as it can, it is then possible to see how many stations are down
and delete them from the ring using the bypass relays in the wire cent
er, all without human intervention.
 Need Base Priority Throughput Continuous Desirable
Station? Supported (Parallelism) Radio deployment
Emission Scenario
Token Bus No Yes No  Needed Sensor mutual
(802.4) (Try to use commun.
FDM, TDM
and CDMA?)
CDMA  Yes (for No  Yes  Not needed Sensor
power (but can have reporting to
adjustment, higher center
sync) parallelism)
MACAW No No No  Not needed Sensor mutual
(802.11) (Improvement (Try to use commun.
possible?) FDM, TDM
and CDMA?)
Token Ring No Yes No  Needed Sensor mutual
(802.5) (Try to use commun.
FDM, TDM
and CDMA?)
CSMA/CD No  No No  Not needed Sensor mutual
(802.3) (Try to use commun
FDM, TDM
and CDMA?)
 Compl Distance Covered Interference Radius Worst /
icated? when two Required Expected
mobile LAN Delay
collide (contention,
handover)
Token Bus  Yes  Each other should Yes Reach each ?
(802.4) > 200 be within radius (Maybe node in the
pages solvable by network
cost of time)
CDMA ?  Large because of  No (as base Reach base ?
base station station station
network is
distinctive)
MACAW ?  Large if you use  No Reach base ?
(802.11) base station station
Token Ring ? ? As long as the  Yes Reach Pre and ?
(802.5) neighboring 2 are Suc
within radius, but can
you do Token Ring in
wireless?
CSMA/CD ?  Each other should ? No Reach each ?
(802.3) be within radius other
[1] Hac, Anna: “Wireless and Cellular Architecture and Services”, I
EEE Commun. Magazine, vol. 33, pp98-104, Nov., 1995