What is the primary purpose of Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA)?

The primary purpose of Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) is to minimize the occurrence of collisions in a shared communication channel, ensuring that multiple stations can effectively communicate without interfering with each other. CSMA/CA achieves this by requiring devices to listen to the channel before transmitting (the "Carrier Sense" part) and using techniques to avoid potential collisions (the "Collision Avoidance" part).

In a network using CSMA/CA, when a device wants to send data, it first checks if the channel is in use. If the channel is clear, the device can proceed to send its data. If it detects that another station is also trying to send data, it will intentionally wait for a random period before attempting to transmit again. This protocol is particularly important in wireless networks, where the physical medium is shared, and collisions can be more difficult to detect due to the broadcast nature of wireless communication.

The focus on preventing multiple stations from transmitting simultaneously helps maintain data integrity and efficient use of the network. Thus, the correct understanding of CSMA/CA revolves around its function of collision avoidance, making option B the accurate representation of its primary purpose.