ECP 2056 :

DATACOMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTER

NETWORKING

CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

4.1) Error detection and correction

Saiful Jumaat Osman, SUPELEC France

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING,
CYBERJAYA
YEAR 2008
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Table Of Contents

(1) Error detection and correction

(2) Framing, flow and error control
(3) Stop-and-Wait protocol, Automatic Repeat
Request (ARQ), Go-Back-N & Selective Repeat
(4) HDLC
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

Error Detection
● If transmission lines are in electrically noisy
environment such as PSTN (Public switched
telephone network), the electrical signal
representing the transmitted bit stream may be
changed (corrupted) [affected by EMI, distortion,
thermal noise etc]

● Altered signal(s) incorrectly interpreted at receiver

-transmitted ‘1’ received as a ‘0’ and vice versa
● Error detection uses the concept of redundancy,
which means adding extra bits for detecting errors
and its destination
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

Error Detection
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

Error Detection

• There are 2 ways to alleviate the problem

a) Forward error control – receiver has the
ability to detect and correct errors

b) Feedback (backward) error control – the

receiver only able to detect errors since it does
not know the exact location of the errors;
hence a retransmission control scheme is used
to request that another copy of the information
to be sent
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

Error Detection – Forward Error Control

●
Forward Error Control (FEC)
- transmitted data contains additional redundant
data (in addition to the information bits) for receiver
- receiver can detect when corruption is present
- determine which bits are corrupt
- correct corruption – inverting incorrect bits
- number of bits required for FEC increases rapidly as
frame size increases
- high overhead, used only if retransmission is
impractical, such as simplex transmission, long delay,
high error rate
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

Error Detection – Feedback Error Control

● Feedback (Backward) Error Control (FBC)
- transmitted data contains redundant data
for receiver
- receiver can detect when corruption is
present
- retransmission control scheme used to
request another
- for low error rate in data communication
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

Error Detection
●
Disadvantages of FEC
i The number of additional bits required to achieve
reliable forward error control increase rapidly with the
number of information bits
ii It is also algorithmically more complex than
feedback error control method
●
Feedback error control is therefore the predominant
method used in most of the data communication and
networking systems
● The most common feedback error detection methods
are:
i Parity bit
ii Block (sum) check character (BCC)
iii Cyclic redundancy check (CRC)
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

Type of errors
1) Random single errors
2) Burst errors : string of bit errors
• Different techniques detect different types of
errors
• Number of bits used for error detection –
determines burst lengths detected

• BER (bit error rate): probability of 1 bit being

corrupted in some time interval
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

In a single-bit error, only 1 bit in the data

unit has changed.

Figure 1 Single-bit
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

A burst error means that 2 or more bits

in the data unit have changed.

Figure 2 Burst error of length

CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

To detect or correct errors, we need to

send extra (redundant) bits with data.

Figure 3 The structure of encoder and

CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

BLOCK CODING

In block coding, we divide our message into blocks,

each of k bits, called datawords. We add r redundant
bits to each block to make the length n = k + r. The
resulting n-bit blocks are called codewords.

Topics discussed in this section:

Error Detection
Error Correction
Hamming Distance
Minimum Hamming Distance

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Error detection and correction

Figure 5 Datawords and codewords in block

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Figure 6 Process of error detection in block

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Example

Let us assume that k = 2 and n = 3. Table 1 shows the

list of datawords and codewords. Later, we will see
how to derive a codeword from a dataword.

Table 1 A code for error detection

Assume the sender encodes the dataword 01 as 011
and
sends it to the receiver. Consider the following cases:
1.The receiver receives 011. It is a valid codeword. The
receiver extracts the dataword 01 from it.
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Example 2

2. The codeword is corrupted during transmission, and

111 is received. This is not a valid codeword and is
discarded.
3. The codeword is corrupted during transmission, and
000 is received. This is a valid codeword. The
receiver
incorrectly extracts the dataword 00. Two corrupted
bits have made the error undetectable.

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Error detection and correction

An error-detecting code can detect

only the types of errors for which it is
designed; other types of errors may remain
undetected.

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Error detection and correction

Figure 7 Structure of encoder and decoder in error

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 Example

Let us add more redundant bits to Example 1 to see if the receiver

can correct an error without knowing what was actually sent. We
add 3 redundant bits to the 2-bit dataword to make 5-bit codewords.
Table 2 shows the datawords and codewords.
Assume the dataword is 01. The sender creates the codeword
01011. The codeword is corrupted during transmission, and 01001
is received.
First, the receiver finds that the received codeword is not in the
table. This means an error has occurred. The receiver, assuming
that there is only 1 bit corrupted, uses the following strategy to
guess the correct dataword.

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Table 2 A code for error correction

Example 2

1. Comparing the received codeword with the first

codeword in the table (01001 versus 00000), the
receiver decides that the first codeword is not the
one that was sent because there are two different
bits.
2. By the same reasoning, the original codeword
cannot be the third or fourth one in the table.
3.The original codeword must be the second one in the
table because this is the only one that differs from
the received codeword by 1 bit. The receiver
replaces 01001 with 01011 and consults the table to
find the dataword 01.

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Error detection and correction

Note

The Hamming distance between two words

is the number of differences between
corresponding bits.

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Example

Let us find the Hamming distance between two pairs of

words.
1. The Hamming distance d(000, 011) is 2 because

2. The Hamming distance d(10101, 11110) is 3 because

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Note

The minimum Hamming distance is the

smallest Hamming distance between
all possible pairs in a set of words.

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 Example

Find the minimum Hamming distance of the coding

scheme in following table.

Table 1 A code for error detection

Solution
We first find all Hamming distances.

The dmin in this case is 2.

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 Example

Find the minimum Hamming distance of the coding

scheme in following table.

Table 2 A code for error correction

Solution
We first find all the Hamming distances.

The dmin in this case is 3.

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Error detection and correction

Note

To guarantee the detection of up to s errors

in all cases, the minimum
Hamming distance in a block
code must be dmin = s + 1.

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Example

The minimum Hamming distance for our first code

scheme (Table 1) is 2.
This code guarantees detection of only a single error.
For example, if the third codeword (101) is sent and
one error occurs, the received codeword does not
match any valid codeword.
If two errors occur, however, the received codeword
may match a valid codeword and the errors are not
detected.

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Example

Our second block code scheme (Table 2) has dmin = 3.

This code can detect up to two errors.
Again, we see that when any of the valid codewords is
sent, two errors create a codeword which is not in the
table of valid codewords. The receiver cannot be
fooled.
However, some combinations of three errors change a
valid codeword to another valid codeword.
The receiver accepts the received codeword and the
errors are undetected.

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Error detection and correction

Figure 8 Geometric concept for finding dmin in error

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Error detection and correction

Figure 9 Geometric concept for finding dmin in error

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Error detection and correction

Note

To guarantee correction of up to t errors in

all cases, the minimum Hamming distance in
a block code
must be dmin = 2t + 1.

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Example

A code scheme has a Hamming distance dmin = 4.

What is the error detection and correction capability of
this scheme?

Solution
This code guarantees the detection of up to three errors
(s = 3), but it can correct up to one error. In other words,
if this code is used for error correction, part of its capability is
wasted. Error correction codes need to have an odd minimum
distance (3, 5, 7, . . . ).

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CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

LINEAR BLOCK CODES

Almost all block codes used today belong to a

subset called linear block codes. A linear block code
is a code in which the exclusive OR (addition
modulo-2) of two valid codewords creates another
valid codeword.

Topics discussed in this section:

Minimum Distance for Linear Block Codes
Some Linear Block Codes

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Error detection and correction

Note

In a linear block code, the exclusive OR

(XOR) of any two valid codewords creates
another valid codeword.

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 Example

Let us see if the two codes we defined in Table 1 and

Table 2 belong to the class of linear block codes.
1. The scheme in Table 1 is a linear block code
because the result of XORing any codeword with any
other codeword is a valid codeword. For example, the
XORing of the second and third codewords creates the
fourth one.
2. The scheme in Table 2 is also a linear block code.
We can create all four codewords by XORing two
other codewords.

36
 Example 11

In our first code (Table 1), the numbers of 1s in the

nonzero codewords are 2, 2, and 2. So the minimum
Hamming distance is dmin = 2. In our second code
(Table 2), the numbers of 1s in the nonzero codewords
are 3, 3, and 4. So in this code we have dmin = 3.

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Error detection and correction

Note

A simple parity-check code is a

single-bit error-detecting
code in which
n = k + 1 with dmin = 2.

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Error detection and correction

Table 3 Simple parity-check code C(5, 4)

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Error detection and correction

Figure 10 Encoder and decoder for simple parity-check

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 Example

Let us look at some transmission scenarios. Assume the

sender sends the dataword 1011. The codeword created
from this dataword is 10111, which is sent to the receiver.
We examine five cases:
1. No error occurs; the received codeword is 10111. The
syndrome is 0. The dataword 1011 is created.
2. One single-bit error changes a1 . The received
codeword is 10011. The syndrome is 1. No dataword
is created.
3. One single-bit error changes r0 . The received codeword
is 10110. The syndrome is 1. No dataword is created.

41
 Example 12

4. An error changes r0 and a second error changes a3 .

The received codeword is 00110. The syndrome is 0.
The dataword 0011 is created at the receiver. Note that
here the dataword is wrongly created due to the
syndrome value.
5. Three bits—a3, a2, and a1—are changed by errors.
The received codeword is 01011. The syndrome is 1.
The dataword is not created. This shows that the simple
parity check, guaranteed to detect one single error, can
also find any odd number of errors.

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CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

Note

A simple parity-check code can detect an

odd number of errors.

All Hamming codes discussed in this

syllabus have dmin = 3.
The relationship between m and n in these
codes is n = 2m − 1.

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Figure 11 Two-dimensional parity-check code

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Figure 11 Two-dimensional parity-check code

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Error detection and correction

Figure 11 Two-dimensional parity-check code

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Error detection and correction

Table 4 Hamming code C(7, 4)

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Error detection and correction

Figure 12 The structure of the encoder and decoder for a Hamming

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Error detection and correction

Table 5 Logical decision made by the correction logic analyzer

49
Example

Let us trace the path of three datawords from the

sender to the destination:
1. The dataword 0100 becomes the codeword 0100011.
The codeword 0100011 is received. The syndrome is
000, the final dataword is 0100.
2. The dataword 0111 becomes the codeword 0111001.
The syndrome is 011. After flipping b2(changing the
1 to 0), the final dataword is 0111.
3. The dataword 1101 becomes the codeword 1101000.
The syndrome is 101. After flipping b0, we get 0000,
the wrong dataword. This shows that our code
cannot correct two errors.

50
Example

We need a dataword of at least 7 bits. Calculate values

of k and n that satisfy this requirement.

Solution
We need to make k = n − m greater than or equal to 7, or 2m
− 1 − m ≥ 7.
1. If we set m = 3, the result is n = 23 − 1 and k = 7 − 3,
or 4, which is not acceptable.
2. If we set m = 4, then n = 24 − 1 = 15 and k = 15 − 4 =
11, which satisfies the condition. So the code is

C(15, 11)

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Figure 13 Burst error correction using Hamming

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Error detection and correction

CYCLIC CODES
Cyclic codes are special linear block codes with one
extra property. In a cyclic code, if a codeword is
cyclically shifted (rotated), the result is another
codeword.

Topics discussed in this section:

Cyclic Redundancy Check
Hardware Implementation
Polynomials
Cyclic Code Analysis
Advantages of Cyclic Codes
Other Cyclic Codes

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Table 6 A CRC code with C(7, 4)

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Figure 14 CRC encoder and

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Figure 15 Division in CRC

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Figure 16 Division in the CRC decoder for two

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Figure 17 Hardwired design of the divisor in

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Figure 18 Simulation of division in CRC

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Figure 19 The CRC encoder design using shift

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Figure 20 General design of encoder and decoder of a CRC

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Figure 21 A polynomial to represent a binary

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Figure 22 CRC division using

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Error detection and correction

Note

The divisor in a cyclic code is normally

called the generator polynomial
or simply the generator.

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Error detection and correction

Note

In a cyclic code,
If s(x) ≠ 0, one or more bits is corrupted.
If s(x) = 0, either
a. No bit is corrupted. or
b. Some bits are corrupted, but the
decoder failed to detect them.

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CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

Note

In a cyclic code, those e(x) errors that are

divisible by g(x) are not caught.

If the generator has more than one term and

the coefficient of x0 is 1,
all single errors can be caught.

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Example

Which of the following g(x) values guarantees that a

single-bit error is caught? For each case, what is the
error that cannot be caught?
a. x + 1 b. x3 c. 1

Solution
a. No xi can be divisible by x + 1. Any single-bit error can
be caught.
b. If i is equal to or greater than 3, xi is divisible by g(x).
All single-bit errors in positions 1 to 3 are caught.
c. All values of i make xi divisible by g(x). No single-bit
error can be caught. This g(x) is useless.

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 CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Error detection and correction

Figure 23Representation of two isolated single-bit errors using

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Error detection and correction

Note

If a generator cannot divide xt + 1

(t between 0 and n – 1),
then all isolated double errors
can be detected.

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Example

Find the status of the following generators related to

two isolated, single-bit errors.
a.x + 1 b. x4+ 1 c. x7 + x6+ 1 d. x15 + x14 + 1

Solution
a. This is a very poor choice for a generator. Any two
errors next to each other cannot be detected.
b. This generator cannot detect two errors that are four
positions apart.
c. This is a good choice for this purpose.
d. This polynomial cannot divide xt + 1 if t is less than
32,768. A codeword with two isolated errors up to
32,768 bits apart can be detected by this generator.

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Error detection and correction

Note

A generator that contains a factor of

x + 1 can detect all odd-numbered errors.

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Error detection and correction

Note

❏ All burst errors with L ≤ r will be

detected.
❏ All burst errors with L = r + 1 will be
detected with probability 1 – (1/2)r–1.
❏ All burst errors with L > r + 1 will be
detected with probability 1 – (1/2)r.

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Example

Find the suitability of the following generators in

relation to burst errors of different lengths.
a. x6+ 1 b. x18 + x7+ x + 1 c. x32 + x23 + x7 + 1

Solution
a. This generator can detect all burst errors with a length
less than or equal to 6 bits; 3 out of 100 burst errors
with length 7 will slip by; 16 out of 1000 burst errors of
length 8 or more will slip by.

73
Example 17

b. This generator can detect all burst errors with a length

less than or equal to 18 bits; 8 out of 1 million burst
errors with length 19 will slip by; 4 out of 1 million
burst errors of length 20 or more will slip by.

c. This generator can detect all burst errors with a length

less than or equal to 32 bits; 5 out of 10 billion burst
errors with length 33 will slip by; 3 out of 10 billion
burst errors of length 34 or more will slip by.

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Note

A good polynomial generator needs to have

the following characteristics:
1. It should have at least two terms.
2. The coefficient of the term x0 should
be 1.
3. It should not divide xt + 1, for t
between 2 and n − 1.
4. It should have the factor x + 1.

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Table 7 Standard polynomials

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Error detection and correction

CHECKSUM
The last error detection method we discuss here is
called the checksum. The checksum is used in the
Internet by several protocols although not at the
data link layer. However, we briefly discuss it here to
complete our discussion on error checking

Topics discussed in this section:

Idea
One’s Complement
Internet Checksum

77
Example

Suppose our data is a list of five 4-bit numbers that we

want to send to a destination. In addition to sending
these numbers, we send the sum of the numbers.
For example, if the set of numbers is (7, 11, 12, 0, 6), we
send (7, 11, 12, 0, 6, 36), where 36 is the sum of the
original numbers.
The receiver adds the five numbers and compares the
result with the sum.
If the two are the same, the receiver assumes no error,
accepts the five numbers, and discards the sum.
Otherwise, there is an error somewhere and the data
are not accepted.

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 Example

We can make the job of the receiver easier if we send

the negative (complement) of the sum, called the
checksum.
In this case, we send (7, 11, 12, 0, 6, −36). The receiver
can add all the numbers received (including the
checksum).
If the result is 0, it assumes no error; otherwise, there
is an error.

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 Example

How can we represent the number 21 in one’s

complement arithmetic using only four bits?

Solution
The number 21 in binary is 10101 (it needs five bits). We can
wrap the leftmost bit and add it to the four rightmost bits. We
have (0101 + 1) = 0110 or 6.

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Example

How can we represent the number −6 in one’s

complement arithmetic using only four bits?

Solution
In one’s complement arithmetic, the negative or complement of
a number is found by inverting all bits. Positive 6 is 0110;
negative 6 is 1001. If we consider only unsigned numbers, this
is 9. In other words, the complement of 6 is 9. Another way to
find the complement of a number in one’s complement
arithmetic is to subtract the number from 2n − 1 (16 − 1 in this
case).

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Example

Let us redo Exercise 19 using one’s complement

arithmetic. Figure 10.24 shows the process at the
sender and at the receiver.
The sender initializes the checksum to 0 and adds all
data items and the checksum (the checksum is
considered as one data item and is shown in color).
The result is 36.
However, 36 cannot be expressed in 4 bits. The extra
two bits are wrapped and added with the sum to
create the wrapped sum value 6. In the figure, we have
shown the details in binary.
The sum is then complemented, resulting in the
checksum value 9 (15 − 6 = 9). The sender now sends
six data items to the receiver including the checksum
9.
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Example 22

The receiver follows the same procedure as the

sender.
It adds all data items (including the checksum); the
result is 45.
The sum is wrapped and becomes 15.
The wrapped sum is complemented and becomes 0.
Since the value of the checksum is 0, this means that
the data is not corrupted.
The receiver drops the checksum and keeps the other
data items. If the checksum is not zero, the entire
packet is dropped.

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Figure 24 Example

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Note

Sender site:
1. The message is divided into 16-bit words.
2. The value of the checksum word is set to 0.
3. All words including the checksum are
added using one’s complement addition.
4. The sum is complemented and becomes the
checksum.
5. The checksum is sent with the data.

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Note

Receiver site:
1. The message (including checksum) is
divided into 16-bit words.
2. All words are added using one’s
complement addition.
3. The sum is complemented and becomes the
new checksum.
4. If the value of checksum is 0, the message
is accepted; otherwise, it is rejected.

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Example

Let us calculate the checksum for a text of 8 characters

(“Forouzan”).
The text needs to be divided into 2-byte (16-bit) words.
We use ASCII (see Appendix A) to change each byte to
a 2-digit hexadecimal number.
For example, F is represented as 0x46 and o is
represented as 0x6F.
Figure 25 shows how the checksum is calculated at the
sender and receiver sites. In part a of the figure, the
value of partial sum for the first column is 0x36. We
keep the rightmost digit (6) and insert the leftmost digit
(3) as the carry in the second column. The process is
repeated for each column.
Note that if there is any corruption, the checksum recalculated
by the receiver is not all 0s. We leave this an exercise.
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Figure 25 Example

88
ECP 2056 :
DATACOMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTER
NETWORKING

CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

4.2) Framing, flow and error control
4.3) Stop-and-Wait protocol, Automatic Repeat
Request (ARQ), Go-Back-N & Selective Repeat
4.4) HDLC

Saiful Jumaat Osman, SUPELEC France

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING,
CYBERJAYA
YEAR 2008
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications
Table Of Contents

(1) Error detection and correction

(2) Framing, flow and error control
(3) Stop-and-Wait protocol, Automatic Repeat
Request (ARQ), Go-Back-N & Selective Repeat
(4) HDLC
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

FRAMIN
G
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

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Figure 1 A frame in a character-oriented

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Figure 2 Byte stuffing and

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Note

Byte stuffing is the process of adding 1 extra

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

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Figure 3 A frame in a bit-oriented

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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 0111110 for a flag.

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Figure 4 Bit stuffing and

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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

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Flow control refers to a set of procedures

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

Error control in the data link layer is based

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

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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.
The protocols are normally implemented in software
by using one of the common programming
languages.
To make our discussions language-free, we have
written in pseudocode a version of each protocol
that concentrates mostly on the procedure instead
of delving into the details of language rules.

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Flow controls
• Flow control refers to a set of procedures used
to restrict the amount of data that the sender
can send before waiting for acknowledgment.
• It ensures the sending entity does not
overwhelm the receiving entity.This is to
prevent buffer overflow
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

Model of Frame Transmission

CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

Error Control
• Error control in the data link layer is based on
automatic repeat request, which is the
retransmission of data.
• Mechanism to detect and correct errors occur in
the transmission of frames.
• The possibility of 2 types of errors:
1) Lost frames: A frame fails to arrives at the other side
2) Damaged frames: A recognizable frame does arrive, but
some of the bits are in error (have been altered during
transmission)
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

Figure 5 Taxonomy of protocols discussed in this

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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

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Figure 6 The design of the simplest protocol with no flow or error

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Example

Figure 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.

107

Figure 7 Flow diagram for Example 11.1

Figure 8 Design of Stop-and-Wait

108
Example

Figure 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.

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Figure 9 Flow diagram for Example 11.2
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

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

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CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

Stop-and-Wait ARQ
• This is the simplest flow and error control mechanism.
• In case of retransmission, the sending device keeps a copy of
the last frame transmitted, until it receives an
acknowledgment for that frame.
• For identification purposes, both data and acknowledgment
frames are alternately numbered 0 or 1. This numbering allows
identification and avoid duplications.
• The sender starts a timer when it sends a frame. If
acknowledgment is not received within allotted
time(Timeout), the frame is resend.
• Only positive acknowledgment is sent by receiver as an
indication of frame received. The acknowledgment frame
comes with number that defines the next expected frame.
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

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.

112
Figure 10 Design of the Stop-and-Wait ARQ Protocol

113
 Example

Figure 11 shows an example of Stop-and-Wait ARQ.

Frame 0 is sent and acknowledged.
Frame 1 is lost and resent after the time-out. The resent frame 1 is
acknowledged and the timer stops.
Frame 0 is sent and acknowledged, but the acknowledgement is lost.
The sender has no idea if the frame or the acknowledgement is lost, so
after the time-out, it resends frame 0, which is acknowledged.

114
Figure 11
Flow diagram
for Example 3
Example

Assume that, in a Stop-and-Wait ARQ system, the

bandwidth of the line is 1 Mbps, and 1 bit takes 20 ms
to make a round trip. What is the bandwidth-delay
product? If the system data frames are 1000 bits in
length, what is the utilization percentage of the link?
Solution
The bandwidth-delay product is

The system can send 20,000 bits during the time it

takes for the data to go from the sender to the receiver
and then back again. However, the system sends only
1000 bits. We can say that the link utilization is only
1000/20,000, or 5 percent. For this reason, for a link
with a high bandwidth or long delay, the use of Stop-
and-Wait ARQ wastes the capacity of the link.

116
Example

What is the utilization percentage of the link in

Example 4 if we have a protocol that can send up to
15 frames before stopping and worrying about the
acknowledgments?

Solution
The bandwidth-delay product is still 20,000 bits. The system can
send up to 15 frames or 15,000 bits during a round trip. This
means the utilization is 15,000/20,000, or 75 percent. Of course,
if there are damaged frames, the utilization percentage is much
less because frames have to be resent.

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CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

In the Go-Back-N Protocol, the sequence

numbers are modulo 2m,
where m is the size of the sequence number
field in bits.

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CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

Figure 12 Send window for Go-Back-N

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CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

Figure 13 Receive window for Go-Back-N

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CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

The receive window is an abstract concept

defining an imaginary box
of size 1 with one single variable Rn.
The window slides
when a correct frame has arrived; sliding
occurs one slot at a time.

121
Figure 14 Design of Go-Back-N

122
Figure 15 Window size for Go-Back-N

123
Example

Figure 16 shows an example of Go-Back-N.

This is an example of a case where the forward channel
is reliable, but the reverse is not. No data frames are
lost, but some ACKs are delayed and one is lost.
The example also shows how cumulative
acknowledgments can help if acknowledgments are
delayed or lost.
After initialization, there are seven sender events.
Request events are triggered by data from the network
layer; arrival events are triggered by acknowledgments
from the physical layer.
There is no time-out event here because all
outstanding frames are acknowledged before the timer
expires. Note that although ACK 2 is lost, ACK 3 serves
as both ACK 2 and ACK 3.
124
Figure 16 Flow diagram for Example 11.6

125
Example

Figure 17 shows what happens when a frame is lost.

Frames 0, 1, 2, and 3 are sent.
However, frame 1 is lost. The receiver receives frames
2 and 3, but they are discarded because they are
received out of order.
The sender receives no acknowledgment about frames
1, 2, or 3. Its timer finally expires. The sender sends all
outstanding frames (1, 2, and 3) because it does not
know what is wrong.
Note that the resending of frames 1, 2, and 3 is the
response to one single event. When the sender is
responding to this event, it cannot accept the
triggering of other events. This means that when ACK 2
arrives, the sender is still busy with sending frame 3.

126
Example 7

The physical layer must wait until this event is

completed and the data link layer goes back to its
sleeping state.
We have shown a vertical line to indicate the delay. It is
the same story with ACK 3;
but when ACK 3 arrives, the sender is busy responding
to ACK 2. It happens again when ACK 4 arrives.
Note that before the second timer expires, all
outstanding frames have been sent and the timer is
stopped.

127
Figure 17 Flow diagram for Example 11.7

128
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

Note

Stop-and-Wait ARQ is a special case of Go-

Back-N ARQ in which the size of the send
window is 1.

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CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

Figure 18 Send window for Selective Repeat

Figure 19 Receive window for Selective Repeat

130
Figure 20 Design of Selective Repeat

131
Figure 21 Selective Repeat ARQ, window

132
CHAPTER 4 : Reliable Data Communications

Figure 22 Delivery of data in Selective Repeat

133
Example

This example is similar to Example 11.3 in which frame

1 is lost. We show how Selective Repeat behaves in
this case. Figure 11.23 shows the situation. One main
difference is the number of timers. Here, each frame
sent or resent needs a timer, which means that the
timers need to be numbered (0, 1, 2, and 3). The timer
for frame 0 starts at the first request, but stops when
the ACK for this frame arrives. The timer for frame 1
starts at the second request, restarts when a NAK
arrives, and finally stops when the last ACK arrives.
The other two timers start when the corresponding
frames are sent and stop at the last arrival event.

134
Example 8

At the receiver site we need to distinguish between the

acceptance of a frame and its delivery to the network
layer. At the second arrival, frame 2 arrives and is
stored and marked, but it cannot be delivered because
frame 1 is missing. At the next arrival, frame 3 arrives
and is marked and stored, but still none of the frames
can be delivered. Only at the last arrival, when finally a
copy of frame 1 arrives, can frames 1, 2, and 3 be
delivered to the network layer. There are two
conditions for the delivery of frames to the network
layer: First, a set of consecutive frames must have
arrived. Second, the set starts from the beginning of
the window.

135
Example 8

Another important point is that a NAK is sent after the

second arrival, but not after the third, although both
situations look the same. The reason is that the
protocol does not want to crowd the network with
unnecessary NAKs and unnecessary resent frames.
The second NAK would still be NAK1 to inform the
sender to resend frame 1 again; this has already been
done. The first NAK sent is remembered (using the
nakSent variable) and is not sent again until the frame
slides. A NAK is sent once for each window position
and defines the first slot in the window.

136
 Example 8

The next point is about the ACKs. Notice that only two
ACKs are sent here. The first one acknowledges only the
first frame; the second one acknowledges three frames.
In Selective Repeat, ACKs are sent when data are
delivered to the network layer. If the data belonging to n
frames are delivered in one shot, only one ACK is sent
for all of them.

137
Figure 23 Flow diagram for Example 11.8

138
Figure 24 Design of piggybacking in Go-Back-N

139
 HDLC

High-level Data Link Control (HDLC) is a bit-oriented

protocol for communication over point-to-point and
multipoint links. It implements the ARQ mechanisms
we discussed in this chapter.

Topics discussed in this section:

Configurations and Transfer Modes
Frames
Control Field

140
Figure 25 Normal response

141
Figure 26 Asynchronous balanced

142
Figure 27 HDLC

143
Figure 28 Control field format for the different frame

144
Table 1 U-frame control command and response

145