csma/cd - what is it? 1

[y2k1981]

can anybody explain to me what csma/cd is and what it stands for? I don't need anything too detailed, just a basic explanation.

thanks!!

 

[Grenage]

Short for Carrier Sense Multiple Access / Collision Detection, a set of rules determining how network devices respond when two devices attempt to use a data channel simultaneously (called a collision). Standard Ethernet networks use CSMA/CD. This standard enables devices to detect a collision. After detecting a collision, a device waits a random delay time and then attempts to re-transmit the message. If the device detects a collision again, it waits twice as long to try to re-transmit the message. This is known as exponential back off.
CSMA/CD is a type of contention protocol.