Data link control deals with the design and procedures for communication between two adjacent nodes: node-to-node communication.
Framing in the data link layer separates a message from one source to a destination, or from other messages going from other sources to other destinations,
Frames can be of fixed or variable size. In fixed-size framing, there is no need for defining the boundaries of frames; in variable-size framing, we need a delimiter (flag) to define the boundary of two frames.
Variable-size framing uses two categories of protocols: byte-oriented (or characteroriented) and bit-oriented. In a byte-oriented protocol, the data section of a frame is a sequence of bytes; in a bit-oriented protocol, the data section of a frame is a sequence of bits.
In byte-oriented (or character-oriented) protocols, we use byte stuffing; a special byte added to the data section of the frame when there is a character with the same pattern as the flag.
In bit-oriented protocols, we use bit stuffing; an extra 0 is added to the data section of the frame when there is a sequence of bits with the same pattern as the flag.
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 refers to methods of error detection and correction.
For the noiseless channel, we discussed two protocols: the Simplest Protocol and the Stop-and-Wait Protocol. The first protocol has neither flow nor error control; the second has no error control. In the Simplest Protocol, the sender sends its frames one after another with no regards to the receiver. In the Stop-and-Wait Protocol, the sender sends one frame, stops until it receives confirmation from the receiver, and then sends the next frame.
For the noisy channel, we discussed three protocols: Stop-and-Wait ARQ, 00-
Back-N, and Selective Repeat ARQ. The Stop-and-Wait ARQ Protocol, adds a simple error control mechanism to the Stop-and-Wait Protocol. In the Oo-Back-N ARQ Protocol, we can send several frames before receiving acknowledgments, improving the efficiency of transmission. In the Selective Repeat ARQ protocol we avoid unnecessary transmission by sending only frames that are corrupted.
Both Oo-Back-N and Selective-Repeat Protocols use a sliding window. In 00-
Back-N ARQ, if m is the number of bits for the sequence number, then the size of the send window must be less than 2^m; the size of the receiver window is always 1. In Selective Repeat ARQ, the size of the sender and receiver window must be at most one-half of 2^m.
A technique called piggybacking is used to improve the efficiency of the bidirectional protocols. When a frame is carrying data from A to B, it can also carry control information about frames from B; when a frame is carrying data from B to A, it can also carry control information about frames from A.
High-level Data Link Control (HDLC) is a bit-oriented protocol for communication over point-to-point and multipoint links. However, the most common protocols for point-to-point access is the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), which is a byte-oriented protocol.
