In an Ethernet local area network, which one of the following statements is…
2016
In an Ethernet local area network, which one of the following statements is TRUE?
- A.
A station stops to sense the channel once it starts transmitting a frame.
- B.
The purpose of the jamming signal is to pad the frames that are smaller than the minimum frame size.
- C.
A station continues to transmit the packet even after the collision is detected.
- D.
The exponential backoff mechanism reduces the probability of collision on retransmissions.
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Correct answer: D
Key idea: Ethernet uses collision detection and a randomized retransmission strategy to reduce repeated collisions.
Why the exponential backoff statement is correct:
After a collision is detected, stations send a short jamming signal and stop transmitting.
Each station waits a random backoff time before retransmitting. The range of possible wait times doubles (binary exponential backoff) after each successive collision, up to a limit.
By widening the window of possible retry times, the mechanism lowers the chance that two stations choose the same delay, so collisions on retransmission become less likely.
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