Error detection

Knowledge Videos

Short animated explainers, organised by subject.

Error detection

Why errors happen, and checksums, echo checks and ARQ.

Transcript

When data is transmitted, it can be corrupted, lost, or even gained.

Causes include interference, problems during packet switching, and skewing of data.

A checksum is calculated from a block of data, and sent at the end. The receiver recalculates it, and compares.

With an echo check, the data is sent back to the sender, who compares the two copies.

With A R Q, the receiver sends an acknowledgement when the data arrives correctly, and then the sender sends the next block.

If no acknowledgement arrives before the timeout, or a negative acknowledgement arrives, the block is sent again.

Checksums, echo checks, and A R Q. Different ways to catch errors, and fix them.

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