What is carrier sense multiple access collision detect (CSMA/CD)?
CSMA/CD describes the Ethernet access method. In CSMA/CD, many stations can transmit on the same cable, and no station has priority over any other. Before a station transmits, it listens on the wire to make sure no other station is transmitting. If no other station is transmitting, the station transmits across the wire. CSMA/CD is all about devices taking turns using the wire. What are MAC addresses? For computers to identify each other on the data link layer, they need a MAC address (hardware address). All devices on a LAN must have a unique MAC address. A MAC address is a 48-bit (six octet) address burned into a network interface card. The first three octets (24 bits) of the MAC address indicate the vendor that manufactured the card. This is called the Organization Unique Identifier (OUI). The last three octets of the MAC address are the unique host address. An example of a MAC address is 00-80-C6-E7-9C-EF. What are the three types of LAN traffic? The three types of LAN traffic are:
