Which protocol is least likely to introduce overhead in communication?

The choice of CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access) protocols as the least likely to introduce overhead in communication is grounded in their design principles. CSMA protocols enable nodes in a network to listen to the medium before transmitting, which helps avoid collisions when multiple devices attempt to send data simultaneously. This approach minimizes unnecessary delays and overhead associated with managing access to the transmission medium.

In CSMA, once a device senses that the channel is clear, it can communicate without needing to wait for a predefined time slot or the completion of polling by a central device. This dynamic access method allows for a more efficient use of available bandwidth, especially in scenarios with sporadic data transmission, as the protocol adapts to the current network status.

In contrast, other protocols such as contention-based MAC, TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), and polling each introduce their own forms of overhead. Contention-based protocols may lead to collisions and require additional management mechanisms to resolve these events. TDMA imposes strict time slots for communication which can cause delays if devices are not ready to send data during their assigned time. Polling protocols necessitate a central controller to check in with each device, which adds communication overhead and can slow down the response time for devices waiting for the poll.

Thus