DEPARMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE & INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
DEPARMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE & INFORMATION
Computer Network
TECHNOLOGY
MCS-243
Lecture [12] : Error Detection and Correction
Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad
(Lecturer)
DATA COMMUNICATIONS
Topics discussed in this Lectures:-
Data link Layer functions
Error Detection and Correction
Refer To
Chapter 10
Data Communication and Networking (4th Edition)
by Behrouz A. Forouzan
Error Detection and Correction
Any time data are transmitted from one node
to the next, they can become corrupted in
passage.
Many factors can alter one or more bits of a
message. Some applications require a
mechanism for detecting and correcting
errors.
Some applications can tolerate a small level
of error. For example, random errors in audio
or video transmissions may be tolerable, but
when we transfer text, we expect a very high
level of accuracy. 3
Types of errors
Single bit error
The term single-bit error means that only 1
bit of a given data unit (such as a byte,
character, or packet) is changed from 1 to 0 or
from 0 to 1.
4
Type of errors
Burst error
The term burst error means that 2 or more
bits in the data unit have changed from 1 to 0
or from 0 to 1.
5
Type of errors
A burst error is more likely to occur than a
single-bit error.
The duration of noise is normally longer than
the duration of 1 bit, which means that when
noise affects data, it affects a set of bits.
The number of bits affected depends on the
data rate and duration of noise.
For example, if we are sending data at 1
kbps, a noise of 1/100 s can affect 10 bits; if
we are sending data at 1 Mbps, the same
noise can affect 10,000 bits.
6
Redundancy
The central concept in detecting or
correcting errors is redundancy.
To be able to detect or correct errors, we
need to send some extra bits with our data.
These redundant bits are added by the
sender and removed by the receiver.
Their presence allows the receiver to detect
or correct corrupted bits.
7
Detection Versus Correction
The correction of errors is more difficult than
the detection.
In error detection, we are looking only to
see if any error has occurred.
The answer is a simple yes or no.
We are not even interested in the number of
errors.
A single-bit error is the same for us as a burst
error.
8
Detection Versus Correction
In error correction, we need to know the
exact number of bits that are corrupted and
more importantly, their location in the
message.
The number of the errors and the size of the
message are important factors. If we need to
correct one single error in an 8-bit data unit,
we need to consider eight possible error
locations; if we need to correct two errors in
a data unit of the same size, we need to
consider 28 possibilities. You can imagine the
receiver’s difficulty in finding 10 errors in a 9
