ACK Piggybacking

ACK, or acknowledge piggybacking makes the most out of data transmission. It takes the data frames sent from an emitter to a receiver and sends a confirmation indicating that the frames have arrived successfully. In simpler terms, instead of sending ACK through individual frames, this information rides or piggybacks on the data frame. There are many advantages of ACK piggybacking, one being the fact that it improves the efficiency of data transmission. There are a few disadvantages to this method as well. For instance, ACK piggybacking may cause a receiver to clog the service if they have no data to transmit. This problem can be solved if the receiver implements a counter known as a receiver timeout. This counter may be activated whenever a data frame is received. The emitter can also add their own counter known as an emitter timeout. If the counter happens to end without receiving confirmation, the emitter can then transmit the data frame again without complication.