Difference Between CSMA CA and CSMA CD

CSMA CA vs CSMA CD

Carrier Sense Multiple Access or CSMA is a Media Access Control (MAC) protocol that is used
to control the flow of data in a transmission media so that packets do not get lost and data
integrity is maintained. There are two modifications to CSMA, the CSMA CD (Collision
Detection) and CSMA CA (Collision Avoidance), each having its own strengths.

CSMA operates by sensing the state of the medium in order to prevent or recover from a
collision. A collision happens when two transmitters transmit at the same time. The data gets
scrambled, and the receivers would not be able to discern one from the other thereby causing the
information to get lost. The lost information needs to be resent so that the receiver will get it.

CSMA CD operates by detecting the occurrence of a collision. Once a collision is detected,

CSMA CD immediately terminates the transmission so that the transmitter does not have to
waste a lot of time in continuing. The last information can be retransmitted. In comparison,
CSMA CA does not deal with the recovery after a collision. What it does is to check whether the
medium is in use. If it is busy, then the transmitter waits until it is idle before it starts
transmitting. This effectively minimizes the possibility of collisions and makes more efficient
use of the medium.

Another difference between CSMA CD and CSMA CA is where they are typically used. CSMA
CD is used mostly in wired installations because it is possible to detect whether a collision has
occurred. With wireless installations, it is not possible for the transmitter to detect whether a
collision has occurred or not. That is why wireless installations often use CSMA CA instead of
CSMA CD.

Most people do not really have to deal with access control protocols as they work behind the
scenes in order for our devices to work together. CSMA CD has also fallen out of favor with
modern wired networks as they were only necessary with hubs and not with modern switches
that route the information instead of broadcasting it.

Summary:

1.CSMA CD takes effect after a collision while CSMA CA takes effect before a collision.
2.CSMA CA reduces the possibility of a collision while CSMA CD only minimizes the recovery
time.
3.CSMA CD is typically used in wired networks while CSMA CA is used in wireless networks.
Aloha is a simple communication protocol where each source in the network transmits data whenever it
has a frame to be transmitted. If the frame is transmitted successfully, the next frame will be
transmitted. If the transmission is failed, the source will send the same frame again. Aloha works well
with wireless broadcast systems or half-duplex two-way links. But when the network becomes more
complex, such as an Ethernet with multiple sources and destinations that uses a common data path,
problems occur due to colliding of data frames. When the communication volume increases, the
collision problem becomes worse. This can reduce the efficiency of a network since colliding frames will
cause loss of data in both the frames. Slotted Aloha is an improvement to the original Aloha protocol,
where discrete time slots were introduced to increase the maximum throughput while reducing
collisions. This is achieved by allowing sources to transmit only at the beginning of a timeslot.

Difference between CSMA and ALOHA

Main difference between Aloha and CSMA is that Aloha protocol does not try to detect whether
the channel is free before transmitting but the CSMA protocol verifies that the channel is free
before transmitting data. Thus CSMA protocol avoids clashes before they happen while Aloha
protocol detects that a channel is busy only after a clash happens. Due to this, CSMA is more
suitable for networks such as Ethernet where multiple sources and destinations use the same
channel.

Sr.no. CSMA-CD CSMA-CS

Carrier sense multiple access with collision
1
detection
2 CSMA/CD is standardized in IEEE 802.3
It act as interference between the logical link
3 control sublayer and the networks physical
layer.
4 Collisions detected within short time
If a collision is detected, the station aborts the
transmission and sends a jamming signal to
5 disabled depending on the traffic
inform all other stations that a collision has
occurred.
This protocol is the basis of classical Ethernet
6
LAN.
Carrier sense multiple access with
collision avoidance
802.11b uses CSMA/CA MAC protocol
It is protocol to implement the
distributed coordination function(DCF)
of the MAC sublayer.
RTS/CTS is used to avoid collisions.
Use of RTS/CTS can be enabled or
load(probablility of collisions).
Used in a network where collision
cannot be detected.,Eg. Wireless LAN