Network Allocation Vector (NAV) is associated with which of the following MAC…

Concept

In an IEEE 802.11 medium-access system, carrier sensing has physical and virtual components. Physical sensing observes radio energy, while virtual sensing uses timing information carried in frames.

The Network Allocation Vector (NAV) is the virtual-sensing countdown. A station updates it from the Duration/ID field and treats the medium as reserved while the countdown remains positive.

Application

1. Suppose a station overhears an IEEE 802.11 frame whose Duration/ID field reserves the medium for 500 microseconds.

2. The station loads that interval into its NAV and defers a new transmission while the timer counts down.

3. This virtual carrier-sensing procedure is part of the IEEE 802.11 MAC used by Wi-Fi, alongside CSMA/CA.

Cross-check and contrast

• CSMA/CD belongs to the classic shared-Ethernet collision-detection procedure rather than this wireless reservation timer.

• Bluetooth uses its own short-range radio access procedures and is not the IEEE 802.11 MAC family.

• Ethernet names the IEEE 802.3 family; classic shared Ethernet senses and detects collisions instead of maintaining this IEEE 802.11 reservation state.

• Question not attempted describes a response state, not a MAC technology.

Therefore, the MAC technology associated with NAV is Wi-Fi.