Dept.

of EEE CS 65 Computer Networks

What are we looking at ?

• Networks in which there is no routing involved.
• Issues to be addressed
• Encoding digital bits onto links (encoding), Delineating bits into complete
messages(framing),Error detection, Link reliability, Media access control.
Direct Link Networks • There are two possibilities
• Point to Point links
• Multiple-access
• Ethernet, Token Ring
Intermediate
Device. May be
Bridge, Router
or Gateway

The link
between A
and B is a A C B
direct link

A B
Devices A and C
have a direct link
between them
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Direct Links - outline Link Technologies

• Physical Layer • A direct link is called a multipoint link is there are more than
• Link technologies two devices sharing the link.
• Encoding
• A direct link between two devices is called a point to point link
• Link Layer if and only if they are the only two devices sharing the link.
• Framing
• Error Detection Links between A and B,
A and C, A and D, A and
• Reliable Transmission (ARQ protocols) E and A and F are all B
Point to Point Links
• Medium Access Control:
C
G
F G H I

• Existing protocols: Ethernet, Token Rings, Wireless H

A D

A
E
I

B C D E Link between A,
F
G, H and I is a
Multipoint Link

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Dept. of EEE CS 65 Computer Networks

Network Adaptor and Device Driver Connecting your computer to networks

• Network adaptor sits on the Systems I/O and
delivers data from the workstation’s memory to the
network link.
• Device driver is the software module that manages
this adaptor.
• Issues commands such as from what memory location
should outgoing data be transmitted, where should the
incoming data be stored etc.

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Overview of Links (Transmission media)

• Different kinds of links require network adaptors with very • Guided - wire
different link interfaces. From the perspective of the host, • Unguided - wireless
however, bus interfaces tend to be similar to each other. • Characteristics and quality determined by medium and signal
Typically, the adaptor exports a control status register (CSR)
that is readable and writable from the CPU. The CSR is • For guided, the medium is more important
typically located at some address in the memory, thereby • For unguided, the bandwidth produced by the antenna is
making it possible for the CPU to read and write just like any more important
other memory location. Software on the host—a device • Key concerns are data rate and distance
driver—writes to the CSR to instruct it to transmit and/or
receive data and reads from the CSR to learn the current
state of the adaptor. To notify the host of an asynchronous
event such as the reception of a frame, the adaptor interrupts
the host.

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Dept. of EEE CS 65 Computer Networks

Design Factors for links

• Bandwidth
• Higher bandwidth gives higher data rate
• Transmission impairments
• Attenuation
• Interference
• Number of receivers
• In guided media
• More receivers (multi-point) introduce more attenuation

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TWISTED PAIR CABLE

• Consists of two conductors, each with its own plastic
insulation, twisted together.
• One of the wires is used to carry signals to the receiver and
the other is used only as ground reference.
• The number of twist per unit length has some effect on the
quality of the cable.
• Since it is twisted at one twist one wire is closer to noise
• Guided media, which are those that provide a conduit from one device source and in the next the other is closer to noise source.
to another, include twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic Since the receiver normally calculates the signal as the
cable. The signal traveling along any of these media is directed and difference of two wires, the effect of noise level gets nullified.
contained by the physical limits of the medium.
• Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves without using a
physical conductor. This type of communication is often referred to as
wireless communication.

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Dept. of EEE CS 65 Computer Networks

• Application : • Most common twisted pair cable used in communication

• Telephone network is referred to as “Unshielded twisted pair” (UTP).
• Between house and local exchange (subscriber loop)
• Within buildings
• “Shielded twisted pair” (STP) has a metal foil or braided
• To private branch exchange (PBX) mesh covering that encases each pair of insulted
• For local area networks (LAN) conductors. Metal casing improves the quality of cable by
• 10Mbps or 100Mbps preventing the penetration of noise or crosstalk, it is
• Pros and cons : bulkier and more expensive.
• Pros
• Cheap
• Easy to work with
• Cons
• Low data rate
• Short range

• Most common UTP connector is RJ45 (“RJ”-Registered COAXIAL CABLE

Jack). It is a keyed connector, meaning the connector can be • Carries signals of higher frequency ranges from those in
inserted in only one way. twisted pair cable.
• Instead of two twisted wires, coax has a central core conductor
of solid or stranded wire enclosed in an insulating sheath,
which is, in turn, encased in an outer conductor of metal foil,
braid, or a combination of the two.
• Outer metallic wrapping serves both as a shield against noise
and as the second conductor, which completes the circuit. This
is also enclosed in an insulating sheath and the whole cable is
protected by a plastic cover.

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Dept. of EEE CS 65 Computer Networks

• Although coaxial cable has a much higher bandwidth, the • Coaxial cables are categorized by their “Radio Government”
signal weakens rapidly and requires the frequent use of (RG) ratings. Each RG number denotes a unique set of
repeaters. physical specifications, including the wire gauge of the inner
conductor, the thickness and type of the inner insulator, the
construction of the shield, and the size and type of the outer
casing.

• “Bayone-Neill-Concelman (BNC), connector helps in APPLICATIONS :

connecting coaxial cable to device. • Most versatile medium
• Television distribution
• There are 3 popular types of these connectors : the BNC
• Ariel to TV
connector, the BNC T connector, and the BNC terminator
• Cable TV
• Use : • Long distance telephone transmission
• BNC connector - in cable to device eg. TV • Can carry 10,000 voice calls simultaneously
• BNC T connector – in Ethernet networks • Being replaced by fiber optic
• BNC Terminator – to end the cable to prevent reflection • Short distance computer systems links
• Local area networks

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Dept. of EEE CS 65 Computer Networks

FIBER OPTIC CABLE : • If the angle of incidence is equal to the critical angle, the light
• A fiber optic cable is made of glass or bends along the interface.
plastic and transmits signals in the form of • If the angle is greater than the critical angle, the ray reflects and
light. travels again in the denser substance.
• Optical fibers use reflection to guide light through a channel
• Basic Principle :
• Critical angle is the property of the substance, and its value differs
• Light travels in a straight line as long as it is
from one substance to another.
moving through a single uniform substance. If a
ray of light traveling through one substance
suddenly enters another substance (of different
density), the ray changes direction.
• If the “angle of incidence (I) ” ( the angle the ray
makes with the line perpendicular to the
interface between the two substances) is less
than the “critical angle” the ray “refracts” and
moves closer to the surface

• A glass or plastic core is surrounded by a cladding of less dense PROPAGATION MODES :

glass or plastic. The difference in density of the two materials
must be such that a beam of light moving through the core is
reflected off the cladding instead of being refracted into it.

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Dept. of EEE CS 65 Computer Networks

• Multimode graded-index fiber:

• Multimode :
• The density of the core change from highest (at the center of the core)
• multiple beams from a light source move through the core in different
to the lowest (at the edge).
paths.
• Classified into “multimode step-index fiber” and “multimode graded • This decreases distortion of the signal though the cable.
index-fiber”
• Multimode step-index fiber:
• The density of the core remains constant from the center to the edges.
• A beam of light moves through this constant density in a straight line
until it reaches the interface of the core and the cladding.
• At the interface, there is an abrupt change due to a lower density; this • Comparison :
alters the angle of the beam’s motion The term “step index” refers to the
suddenness of this change, which contributes to the distortion of the
signal as it passes through the fiber.

Single Mode : • Optical fibers are defined by the ratio of the diameter of
• Uses step-index fiber and a highly focused source of light that limits
beams to a small range of angles, all close to the horizontal.
their core to the diameter of their cladding, both
• Fiber used in this mode is manufactured with a much smaller expressed in micrometers.
diameter than that of multimode fiber and with lower density (index
of refraction).
• Critical angle is close enough 90° to make the propagation of
beams almost horizontal.
• Propagation of different beams is almost identical and delays are
negligible. All the beams arrive at the destination together and can
be recombined with little distortion to the signal.

• Fiber
construction

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Dept. of EEE CS 65 Computer Networks

• “Subscriber channel (SC) connector” used for TV. Optical fiber performance
• “Straight-tip(ST) connector” used for connecting cable to
the networking device.
• “MT-RJ is a connector that is the same as RJ45 in twisted
pair cable.

• Application
• Long-haul trunks
• Metropolitan trunks
• Rural exchange trunks Frequency Typical Typical Repeater
• Subscriber loops Range Attenuation Delay Spacing
• LANs
• Benefits Twisted pair 0 to 3.5 kHz
0.2 dB/km @
50 s/km 2 km
• Greater capacity 1 kHz
(with loading)
• Data rates of hundreds of Gbps
• Smaller size & weight
Twisted pairs 0.7 dB/km @
• Lower attenuation (multi-pair
0 to 1 MHz 5 s/km 2 km
• Compared to coaxial 10 times less repeaters sufficient 1 kHz
cables)
• Electromagnetic isolation
• Greater repeater spacing 7 dB/km @
0 to 500 MHz 4 s/km 1 to 9 km
• 10s of km at least Coaxial cable 10 MHz
• Disadvantages
• Installation & Maintenance 186 to 370 0.2 to 0.5
5 s/km 40 km
Optical fiber THz dB/km
• Unidirectional light propagation
• Hence two cables required for bidirectional communication
• Cost

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Dept. of EEE CS 65 Computer Networks

Links Shannon’s Theorem

• Common types of cables and links available • Shannon’s theorem
• gives an upper bound to the capacity of a link, in terms of bits per
second(bps), as a function of the signal-to-noise ratio of the link,
measured in decibels(dB).
• can be used to determine the data rate at which a modem can be
expected to transmit binary bit over a voice-grade phone line without
suffering from too high error rate.
• Mathematically given by
• Common services available
C=B log2 (1+S/N)
where C is the achievable channel capacity measured in hertz
B is the bandwidth of the line
S is the average signal power and
N is the average noise power.

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Unguided Media : Wireless

• Can travel to source without any physical conductor
• Can travel in several ways :
• Ground propagation
• Radio waves travel through the lowest portion of the atmosphere, hugging the
earth.
• These low frequency signals emanate in all directions from the transmitting
antenna and follow the curvature of the plant.
• Distance depends on the amount of power in the signal.
• Sky propagation
• Higher frequency radio waves radiate upward into ionosphere where they are
reflected back to the earth.
• It allows greater transmission distance with lower output power.
• Line to sight propagation
• Very high frequency signals are transmitted in straight lines directly from antenna
to antenna.
• Antenna must be directional and facing each other and either tall enough or close
enough together not to be affected by the curvature of the earth. CS1033 Data
communication
Networks

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Dept. of EEE CS 65 Computer Networks

• Section of electromagnetic spectrum used for wireless communication.

• Radio waves and microwaves are divided into 8 ranges called “bands”

CS1033 Data
communication
Networks

• The sequence of frequencies is not truly random, but is instead computed

• Devices that use license-exempt frequencies are still subject
algorithmically by a pseudorandom number generator. The receiver uses
to certain restrictions to make that otherwise unconstrained the same algorithm as the sender— and initializes it with the same
sharing work. seed—and hence is able to hop frequencies in sync with the transmitter
• The first is a limit on transmission power. This limits the range of a to correctly receive the frame. This scheme reduces interference by
signal, making it less likely to interfere with another signal. For making it unlikely that two signals would be using the same frequency for
more than the infrequent isolated bit.
example, a cordless phone might have a range of about 100 feet.
• A second spread spectrum technique, called direct sequence, adds
• The second restriction requires the use of spread spectrum
redundancy for greater tolerance of interference. Each bit of data is
techniques. The idea behind spread spectrum is to spread the signal
represented by multiple bits in the transmitted signal so that, if some of
over a wider frequency band than normal in such a way as to minimize the transmitted bits are damaged by interference, there is usually enough
the impact of interference from other devices. (Spread spectrum was redundancy to recover the original bit. For each bit the sender wants to
originally designed for military use, so these “other devices” were transmit, it actually sends the exclusive-OR of that bit and n random bits.
often attempting to jam the signal.) For example, frequency hopping is As with frequency hopping, the sequence of random bits is generated by
a spread spectrum technique that involves transmitting the signal over a pseudorandom number generator known to both the sender and the
a random sequence of frequencies, that is, first transmitting at one receiver. The transmitted values, known as an n-bit chipping code, spread
frequency, then a second, then a third, and so on. the signal across a frequency band that is n times wider than the frame
would have otherwise required.
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Dept. of EEE CS 65 Computer Networks

Radio Waves: Microwaves (Terrestrial):

• Electromagnetic waves ranging between 3kHz and • Electromagnetic waves having frequency between 1 and
1GHz are called radio waves. 300GHz are called microwaves.
• Adv. : Omnidirectional
• Characteristics :
• Omnidirectional. Hence sending and receiving antenna • Unidirectional. Hence antennas are to be aligned. This avoids
antennas do not have to be aligned interference with another pair of antennas.
• Can travel long distance • Since propagation is line-of-sight tall structures or curvature of
• Low and medium frequency radio waves can penetrate walls. earth are to be considered
• Repeaters are needed for long distance communication
• Disadv. : • Very high frequency microwaves cannot penetrate walls.
– The radio waves transmitted by one antenna are susceptible to interference • Microwave band is very wide (299GHz), hence wider subbands
by another antenna that may send signals using the same frequency or band. can be assigned and high data rate is possible.
– Low data rate for digital communications
• Microwaves are used for unicast communication
• Radio waves are used for multicast communications
Eg. cellular telephones, satellite networks, and wireless
– Eg. radio and television, and paging systems
LANs.

• Two types of unidirectional antennas are used • Horn antenna

for microwave communication. • Outgoing transmissions are
broadcast up a stem and
– Parabolic dish antenna
deflected outward in a series
• Based on the geometry of of narrow parallel beams by
parabola Every line parallel to the curved head.
the line of symmetry reflects off
• Received transmissions are
the curve at angles such that all
collected by the scooped
the lines intersect in a common
shape of the horn, and
point called focus. Hence more
deflected down into the stem.
signal is recovered.
• Outgoing transmissions are
broadcast through a horn aimed
at the dish. The microwaves hit
the dish and are deflected
outward in a reversal of the
receipt path.

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Dept. of EEE CS 65 Computer Networks

Infrared : Satellite Communication :

• Frequencies range from 300GHz to 400THz. • It is much like line-of-sight, with one station at
• Infrared signals can be used for short-range communication earth and the other orbiting the earth.
in a closed area using line-of-sight propagation. • Satellite Microwave
• Because of high frequency, it cannot penetrate walls. • Satellite is relay station
• Satellite receives on one frequency, amplifies or repeats signal
and transmits on another frequency
• Requires geo-stationary orbit
• Height of 35,784km
• Application
• Television
• Long distance telephone
• Private business networks

MICROWAVE TRANSMISSION

UPLINK DOWNLINK

Satellite Frequency Bands

Band Downlink Uplink

C 3.7 to 4.2GHz 5.925 to 6.425 GHz

Ku 11.7 to 12.2 GHz 14 to 14.5GHz

CS1033 Data
communication Ka 17.7 to 21GHz 27.5 to 31GHz
Networks

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