Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig
College of Engineering
DATA COMMUNICATIONS
Data Link Layer
Module 6
By: Godofredo S. Zapanta Jr.
PLPasig DATACOMs gsz
Module Objectives
Module Title: Data Link Layer
Module Objective: Explain how media access control in the data link layer supports
communication across networks.
Topic Title Topic Objective
Purpose of the Data Link Layer Describe the purpose and function of the
data link layer in preparing communication
for transmission on specific media.
Topologies Compare the characteristics of media access
control methods on WAN and LAN
topologies.
Data Link Frame Describe the characteristics and functions of
the data link frame.
Purpose of the Data Link Layer
The Data Link Layer
• The Data Link layer is responsible for
communications between end-device
network interface cards.
• It allows upper layer protocols to access the
physical layer media and encapsulates
Layer 3 packets (IPv4 and IPv6) into Layer 2
Frames.
• It also performs error detection and rejects
corrupts frames.
Purpose of the Data Link Layer
IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Data Link Sublayers
IEEE 802 LAN/MAN standards are specific to the
type of network (Ethernet, WLAN, WPAN, etc).
The Data Link Layer consists of two sublayers.
Logical Link Control (LLC) and Media Access
Control (MAC).
• The LLC sublayer communicates between
the networking software at the upper layers
and the device hardware at the lower
layers.
• The MAC sublayer is responsible for data
encapsulation and media access control.
Purpose of the Data Link Layer
Providing Access to Media
Packets exchanged between nodes may experience numerous data link
layers and media transitions.
At each hop along the path, a router performs four basic Layer 2 functions:
• Accepts a frame from the network medium.
• De-encapsulates the frame to expose the encapsulated packet.
• Re-encapsulates the packet into a new frame.
• Forwards the new frame on the medium of the next network segment.
Purpose of the Data Link Layer
Data Link Layer Standards
Data link layer protocols are
defined by engineering
organizations:
• Institute for Electrical and Electronic
Engineers (IEEE).
• International Telecommunications
Union (ITU).
• International Organizations for
Standardization (ISO).
• American National Standards Institute
(ANSI).
Topologies
Physical and Logical Topologies
The topology of a network is the arrangement and relationship of the network devices
and the interconnections between them.
There are two types of topologies used when describing networks:
• Physical topology – shows physical connections and how devices are
interconnected.
• Logical topology – identifies the virtual connections between devices using device
interfaces and IP addressing schemes.
Topologies
WAN Topologies
There are three common physical WAN topologies:
• Point-to-point – the simplest and most common WAN topology. Consists of a
permanent link between two endpoints.
• Hub and spoke – similar to a star topology where a central site interconnects
branch sites through point-to-point links.
• Mesh – provides high availability but requires every end system to be connected
to every other end system.
Topologies
Point-to-Point WAN Topology
• Physical point-to-point topologies directly connect two nodes.
• The nodes may not share the media with other hosts.
• Because all frames on the media can only travel to or from the two nodes,
Point-to-Point WAN protocols can be very simple.
Topologies
LAN Topologies
End devices on LANs are typically
interconnected using a star or extended star
topology. Star and extended star topologies
are easy to install, very scalable and easy to
troubleshoot.
Early Ethernet and Legacy Token Ring
technologies provide two additional
topologies:
• Bus – All end systems chained together
and terminated on each end.
• Ring – Each end system is connected to
its respective neighbors to form a ring.
Topologies
Half and Full Duplex Communication
Half-duplex communication
• Only allows one device to send or receive at a time on a shared medium.
• Used on WLANs and legacy bus topologies with Ethernet hubs.
Full-duplex communication
• Allows both devices to simultaneously transmit and receive on a shared medium.
• Ethernet switches operate in full-duplex mode.
Topologies
Access Control Methods
Contention-based access
All nodes operating in half-duplex, competing for use of the medium. Examples are:
• Carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) as used on legacy bus-
topology Ethernet.
• Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) as used on Wireless LANs.
Controlled access
• Deterministic access where each node has its own time on the medium.
• Used on legacy networks such as Token Ring and ARCNET.
Topologies
Contention-Based Access – CSMA/CD
CSMA/CD
• Used by legacy Ethernet LANs.
• Operates in half-duplex mode where only one device sends or receives at a time.
• Uses a collision detection process to govern when a device can send and what happens if
multiple devices send at the same time.
CSMA/CD collision detection process:
• Devices transmitting simultaneously will result in a signal collision on the shared media.
• Devices detect the collision.
• Devices wait a random period of time and retransmit data.
Topologies
Contention-Based Access – CSMA/CA
CSMA/CA
• Used by IEEE 802.11 WLANs.
• Operates in half-duplex mode where only one device sends or receives at a time.
• Uses a collision avoidance process to govern when a device can send and what happens if
multiple devices send at the same time.
CSMA/CA collision avoidance process:
• When transmitting, devices also include the time duration needed for the transmission.
• Other devices on the shared medium receive the time duration information and know how
long the medium will be unavailable.
Data Link Frame
The Frame
Data is encapsulated by the data link layer with a header and a trailer to form a frame.
A data link frame has three parts:
• Header
• Data
• Trailer
The fields of the header and trailer vary according to data link layer protocol.
The amount of control information carried with in the frame varies according to access control
information and logical topology.
Data Link Frame
Frame Fields
Field Description
Frame Start and Stop Identifies beginning and end of frame
Addressing Indicates source and destination nodes
Type Identifies encapsulated Layer 3 protocol
Control Identifies flow control services
Data Contains the frame payload
Error Detection Used for determine transmission errors
Data Link Frame
Layer 2 Addresses
• Also referred to as a physical address.
• Contained in the frame header.
• Used only for local delivery of a frame on the link.
• Updated by each device that forwards the frame.
Data Link Frame
LAN and WAN Frames
The logical topology and physical media determine the data link protocol
used:
• Ethernet
• 802.11 Wireless
• Point-to-Point (PPP)
• High-Level Data Link Control (HDLC)
• Frame-Relay
Each protocol performs media access control for specified logical topologies.
Module Practice and Quiz
What did I learn in this module?
• The data link layer of the OSI model (Layer 2) prepares network data for the
physical network.
• The data link layer is responsible for network interface card (NIC) to
network interface card communications.
• The IEEE 802 LAN/MAN data link layer consists of the following two
sublayers: LLC and MAC.
• The two types of topologies used in LAN and WAN networks are physical
and logical.
• Three common types of physical WAN topologies are: point-to-point, hub
and spoke, and mesh.
• Half-duplex communications exchange data in one direction at a time. Full-
duplex sends and receives data simultaneously.
• In contention-based multi-access networks, all nodes are operating in half-
duplex.
• Examples of contention-based access methods include: CSMA/CD for bus-
topology Ethernet LANs and CSMA/CA for WLANs.
• The data link frame has three basic parts: header, data, and trailer.
• Frame fields include: frame start and stop indicator flags, addressing, type,
control, data, and error detection.
• Data link addresses are also known as physical addresses.
• Data link addresses are only used for link local delivery of frames.
