Collisions

The Ethernet medium access control (MAC) system arbitrates access to the Ethernet channel among a set of machines so that each machine gets a fair chance to use the network. One of the components of the MAC system for Ethernet is collision detection and retransmission.

Collisions are a normal part of the functioning of an Ethernet, and are the mechanism with which the Ethernet system resolves simultaneous attempts to access the shared channel. On a busy Ethernet with high powered machines, you can expect to see a lot of collisions.

The set of Usenet postings linked to this page describe some of the issues involved in answering the question "What level of collisions is appropriate for my network?"

Acceptable levels of collisions
Response to above
How about 15 percent?
Collisions vs Late Collisions