Which characteristic describes the CSMA/CD process?

The CSMA/CD process, which stands for Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection, is designed to manage how devices on a shared network segment access and transmit data. The characteristic that accurately describes this process is that a device first listens to the network (the carrier sense part) to check if the communication medium is free before sending any data. This prevents the device from transmitting data when another device is already using the network, thereby reducing the likelihood of collisions.

Once a device determines that the media is not busy, it can transmit its data. If two devices happen to transmit data at the same time, a collision can occur, and that's where the collision detection aspect comes into play. After detecting a collision, the devices will stop transmitting and wait for a random period before attempting to transmit again, ensuring that they do not continuously collide.

The process emphasizes the importance of monitoring network use, listening to the medium before transmitting, and handling collisions when they occur, making the characteristic of waiting until the media is not busy prior to transmission essential to understanding CSMA/CD.