Modren Ethernets have moved away from

CSMA/ CD.?Why?

CSMA/CD was used in now obsolete shared media Ethernet variants (10BASE5, 10BASE2)
and in the early versions of twisted-pair Ethernet which used repeater hubs. Modern
Ethernet networks, built with switches and full-duplex connections, no longer need to utilize
CSMA/CD because each Ethernet segment, or collision domain, is now isolated.
With the advent of Ethernet switches Ethernet moved away from CSMA/CD and is
now, in essence, a point to point switched network.

Modern switches isolate each device and place a high speed buffer between them.
There's no reason to lose packets in a LAN these days.


Put simplt CSMA/CD is all about managing access from many stations to a single shared media. Ethernet
used to be one long coax cable, with all systems connected to the same piece of wire.

The signal took time to pass from one end of the wire to another, so collisions were a possibility.
CSMA/CD was all about trying to avoid collisions, and manage them when they happened.

Most modern networks are based around a single device connected to a single switch port. Four
conductors are used. One pair carries data from the switch to the device and one pair carries data back.
When used like that there is only one device that can transmit on any pair, so collisions cannot happen. In
this case we can run the link in full duplex - both ends can transmit at the same time.

All NICs will still have correct CSMA /CD functionality, as it is possible to connect to a hub. A hub is
shared media - the moment a device starts to transmit it is sending out on all other ports, That makes the
outbound links shared, so collisions are again possible. On a hub all links will be half duplex, so a device
will class receive data while transmitting as a collision.

This is why duplex mismatches are a problem. One end will think the link is full duplex, and will just
transmit whenever it has something to say. The other end will get upset if something is received while it is
transmitting thinking it is a collision. It will stop transmitting and retry. One big indicator of a duplex
mismatch is a late collision.

The minimum length of an ethernet frame is based on the maximum length of wire. A frame can fill the
whole length of te wire at once, meaning collisions can be avoided, and if the do happen they will be
detected. A late collision is one that happens after that minimum length. Tere are two real reasons for that
- an overlength traditional ethernet, or a duplex mismatch.

Wireless still needs to always perform CSMA/CD fully as the air is a shared media.
So Full duplex is used instead of CSMA/CD
Full Duplex and its advantages

Full-duplex is an optional mode of operation allowing simultaneous
communication between a pair of stations. The link between the stations must
use a point-to-point media segment, such as twisted-pair or fiber optic media, to
provide independent transmit and receive data paths. With full-duplex mode
enabled, both stations can simultaneously transmit and receive, which doubles
the aggregate capacity of the link. For example, a half-duplex Fast Ethernet
twisted-pair segment provides a maximum of 100 Mbps of bandwidth. When
operated in full-duplex, the same 100BASE-TX twisted-pair segment can
provide a total bandwidth of 200 Mbps.
Another major advantage of full-duplex operation is that the maximum segment
length is no longer limited by the timing requirements of shared channel half-
duplex Ethernet. In full-duplex mode, the only limits are those set by the signal-
carrying capabilities of the media segment. This is especially useful for fiber
optic segments.
Operation of Full-Duplex
The following requirements, as stated in the 802.3x standard, must be met for
full-duplex operation:
o The media system must have independent transmit and receive data paths
that can operate simultaneously. Such data paths are typically found on
twisted-pair and fiber optic links.
o There are exactly two stations connected with a full-duplex point-to-point
link. Since there is no contention for use of a shared medium, the multiple
access algorithms (i.e., Carrier Sense with Multiple Access and Collision
Detect, or CSMA/CD) are unnecessary.
o Both stations on the LAN are capable of, and have been configured to
use, the full-duplex mode of operation. This means that both Ethernet
interfaces must have the capability to simultaneously transmit and receive
frames.