ALOHA
RANDOM-ACCESS METHODS The random-access methods we study in this chapter have evolved from a very interesting protocol known as ALOHA, which used a very simple procedure called Multiple Access (MA). The method was improved with the addition of a procedure that forces the station to sense the medium before transmitting. This was called carrier sense multiple access (CSMA). This method later evolved into two parallel methods: carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD), which tells the station what to do when a collision is detected, and carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA), which tries to avoid the collision. ALOHA ALOHA, the earliest random access method, was developed at the University of Hawaii in early 1970. It was designed for a radio (wireless) LAN, but it can be used on any shared medium. It is obvious that there are potential collisions in this arrangement. The medium is shared between the stations. When a station sen...