The values of parameters for the Stop-and-Wait ARQ protocol are as given…

2017

The values of parameters for the Stop-and-Wait ARQ protocol are as given below:

  • Bit rate of the transmission channel =1 Mbps.

  • Propagation delay from sender to receiver =0.75 ms.

  • Time to process a frame =0.25 ms.

  • Number of bytes in the information frame =1980.

  • Number of bytes in the acknowledge frame =20.

  • Number of overhead bytes in the information frame =20.


Assume there are no transmission errors. Then, the transmission efficiency (expressed in percentage) of the Stop-and-Wait ARQ protocol for the above parameters is _____________ (correct to 2 decimal places).

Attempted by 79 students.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: 86.5 to 89.5

Key assumptions: propagation delay is one-way (0.75 ms), the processing time (0.25 ms) is at the receiver before sending the ACK, the information frame size includes payload + overhead (1980 + 20 = 2000 bytes), and bitrate = 1 Mbps.

  • Transmit time for information frame = 2000 bytes × 8 bits/byte ÷ 1e6 b/s = 16 ms (0.016 s).

  • Transmit time for ACK = 20 bytes × 8 ÷ 1e6 = 0.16 ms (0.00016 s).

  • One-way propagation delay = 0.75 ms (0.00075 s); receiver processing time = 0.25 ms (0.00025 s).

  • Cycle time for one successful frame (Stop-and-Wait) = transmit data + propagation + processing + transmit ACK + propagation = 0.016 + 0.00075 + 0.00025 + 0.00016 + 0.00075 = 0.01791 s.

  • Useful time per cycle (time carrying payload bits) = payload bits ÷ bitrate = (1980 bytes × 8) ÷ 1e6 = 0.01584 s.

  • Efficiency = (useful time / cycle time) × 100 = (0.01584 / 0.01791) × 100 ≈ 88.45% (rounded to 2 decimals).

Answer: 88.45%.

Note: Different interpretations (for example, applying the 0.25 ms processing time at both sender and receiver or using other timing conventions) change the numeric result. The provided official value (86.50%) does not match the standard calculation above under the stated assumptions.

A video solution is available for this question — log in and enroll to watch it.

Explore the full course: Gate Guidance By Sanchit Sir