[Stryker06]

Is this an access method than can be used in an Ethernet network? The definition that I read is - "A network access method used on 802.11 wireless networks". Pardon me for mis-interpreting but my assumption is that CSMA/CA is not an access method in Ethernet networks.

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Is there nobody who can help me answer this query?

[Stryker06]

Is there nobody who can help me answer this query?

[ricci]

This is pretty advanced stuff compared to the "I need help with my router" questions I've seen in this forum, but from what I remember of my college courses on ethernet protocols and what I've been able to read in the last few minutes about CSMA/CA, it doesn't look like CSMA/CA is used with ethernet to me.

CSMA/CA is a solution to a problem in wireless networks that doesn't exist in ethernet. With ethernet, it is easy for one node that attempts to transmit to detect if another node tries to transmit at the same time. With wireless, since the reception antena is right next to the transmission antena, when a node tries to transmit, it cannot detect any other simultaneously attempted transmissions because the only signal it can see is its own. CSMA/CA somehow overcomes this problem - I'm not familiar with it, so I don't know how. As I mentioned earlier, ethernet doesn't have this problem. A node can easily detect a collision, and from there, a different set of protocols exist to overcome it.

Long story short, it looks like CSMA/CA is only for wireless networks.

-ricci

[Stryker06]

Ok, thanks for the helpful explanation. The reason I asked was because I a buddy of mine sat a Network + practice test. In this test the question went "Which to protocls are used on an Ethernet Network". There were 2 correct answers. They happened to be CSMA/CD and CSMA/CA. But when I did some research in my Networking books, I couldn't get my head round it.

[kd1966]

the CA is collision avoidance and CD is collision detection, a much better performance for wired ethernet than CA; get the book[s], read about it, understand it if that's the path you're headed