Collision avoidance (networking)

Imagine you're in a playground with your friends, and you all want to play on the slide at the same time. But there's only one slide, and if you all try to go down it at the same time, you will bump into each other and get hurt.

A similar thing can happen when computer devices on a network try to send data at the same time. This is called a collision. If two devices try to send data at the exact same time, the data can get scrambled and not make sense.

To avoid collisions on a network, devices use a system called collision avoidance. This is like the playground game of calling out "one, two, three, go!" before everyone races to the slide.

In computer networking, each device on the network listens to make sure that no other devices are sending data before it tries to send its own data. This is called sensing the network. If the network is clear, the device can go ahead and send its data. If the network is busy, the device will wait and try again later.

This way, all the devices on the network take turns sending data without crashing into each other like you and your friends on the playground slide.