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CSMA is a network access method used on shared network topologies such as Ethernet to control access to the network. Devices attached to the network cable listen (carrier sense) before transmitting. If the channel is in use, devices wait before transmitting. MA (multiple access) indicates that many devices can connect to and share the same network. All devices have equal access to use the network when it is clear. Even though devices attempt to sense whether the network is in use, there is a good chance that two stations will attempt to access it at the same time. On large networks, the transmission time between one end of the cable and another is enough that one station may access the cable even though another has already just accessed it. There are two methods for avoiding these so-called collisions, listed here:

• CSMA/CD (carrier sense multiple access/collision detection)    CD (collision detection) defines what happens when two devices sense a clear channel, then attempt to transmit at the same time. A collision occurs, and both devices stop transmission, wait for a random amount of time, then retransmit. This is the technique used to access the 802.3 Ethernet network channel. This method handles collisions as they occur, but if the bus is constantly busy, collisions can occur so often that performance drops drastically. It is estimated that network traffic must be less than 40 percent of the bus capacity for the network to operate efficiently. If distances are long, time lags occur that may result in inappropriate carrier sensing, and hence collisions.


• CSMA/CA (carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance)    In CA (collision avoidance), collisions are avoided because each node signals its intent to transmit before actually doing so. This method is not popular because it requires excessive overhead that reduces performance.

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