Two types of coordination functions are used to ensure collision-free access to the wireless medium: the Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) and the Point Coordination Function (PCF). These two methods will be described in the following sections.
The Distributed Coordination Function (DCF)
The Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) is a MAC sublayer technique that employs CSMA/CA and an exponential random backoff algorithm to avoid collisions in IEEE 802.11-based standards. The DCF is used in IEEE 802.11 networks to manage access to the RF medium. The DCF is composed of the following two main components:
- Interframe . . .
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