What is CRC?

Explain with an example how CRC is

computed at the sender side and checked at the receiver side.

Ans. CRC the Cyclic redundancy check is based on binary division and is the most powerIul
among the redundancy checking techniques. In CRC a sequence oI redundant bits called
CRC or CRC remainder is added to the end oI data to be transmitted. The CRC is so
calculated that it can be perIectly divided by a predetermined divisor. At the receiver the
arriving data is divided by the same divisor. II the division produces a zero remainder, then
the transmission is considered as error Iree. In such case, the data will be accepted and iI
there is a remainder then the transmission is said to have error and hence rejected.
Sender Side: Three steps are involved to generate the CRC
1. A string oI n` zeros is appended to the data unit. The number n` is one less than number
oI bits in the predetermined divisor, which is n 1` bits.
. The newly elongated data unit is divided by the divisor using the process oI binary
division. The remainder resulting Irom this division is the CRC.
. The CRC oI n` bits derived in the step-2 replaces the appended zeros at the end oI the
data unit.

Data 0000---00

n-bits
Divisor

n1 bits
Remainder (n-bits CRC)

Example: Let the actual data 100100
And the divisor 1101
111101

1101 100100000
1101
1000
1101
1010
1101
1110
1101
0110
0000
1100
1101
001
Since 001 is the remainder the CRC is 001 which has to be appended to the data to be
transmitted.
Receiver Side: A CRC checker Iunctions like a generator, aIter receiving the data it
perIorms the same modulo-2 division, iI the remainder is zero, then the CRC is dropped and
the data is accepted, and iI the remainder is nonzero the received bits are discarded.
Data CRC


Divisor


Remainder

Zero ~ Accept
Non Zero ~ Reject
Continuing with the same example at the receiver side,
111101

1101 100100001
1101
1000
1101
1010
1101
1110
1101
0110
0000
1101
1101
000
Since the remainder is zero the data is accepted aIter dropping the CRC.
!olynomials: The divisor is most oIten represented not as a string oI 1`s and 0`s but as an
algebraic polynomial. The polynomial is useIul Ior two reasons.
1. It is short.
2. It can be used to prove the concept mathematically.
A polynomial representing a divisor is given below.
x
7
x
6
x
4
x
3
x1
The divisor is given by 11011011.
A polynomial should be selected to have at least the Iollowing properties:
1. It should not be divisible by x`
2. It should be divisible by x1`
The Iirst condition guarantees that all burst errors oI a length equal to the degree oI the
polynomial are detected. The second condition guarantees that all burst errors aIIecting an odd
number oI bits are detected.
!erformance: CRC is a very eIIective error detection method. II the divisor is chosen according
to rules,
1. CRC can detect all burst errors that aIIect an odd number oI bits.
2. CRC can detect all burst errors oI length less than or equal to the degree oI the
polynomial.
3. CRC can detect with a very high probability burst errors oI length greater than the degree
oI the polynomial.