Wireless and Wired MAC Layers - Essay Example

Access points are base stations found in wireless networks and connected using guided media. Grouping together of the nodes forms an ad hoc network that exposes the system to errors. The allowance of each node to interfere with each other's transmission causes hidden and revealed problems within a wireless network station. The solution for this problem is available using the IEE standard and Point Coordination. The wireless networks have more chances of undetected frame collisions at the MAC sub-layer.

Detecting the collision and retransmitting the lost frame is an imperative practice in preventing the loss of data integrity. However, the wired (Ethernet) local data networks rarely experience data integrity issues. Therefore, collision control is unnecessary for the Ethernet and wired LANs. The wireless network faces transmission issues when signal problems occur due to signal-bounce. Consequently, this necessitates the need for the MAC layer to solve these challenges. The MAC sub-layer for wired segments does not need collision avoidance protocol despite not having much transmission capabilities as those in wireless LANs.

The wireless LANs are prevalent than the wired ones as they have various benefits found at the MAC sub-layer of the network standardization.