Chapter Three: Data Communication and Transmission Medias

CHAPTER THREE

3.1 Transmission medium

 The transmission medium is the physical path between transmitter and receiver in a data
transmission system.
 Transmission media can be classified as guided or unguided.
 In both cases, communication is in the form of electromagnetic waves.
o With guided media, the waves are guided along a solid medium, such as copper
twisted pair, copper coaxial cable, and optical fiber.
 The atmosphere and outer space are examples of unguided media that provide a means of
transmitting electromagnetic signals but do not guide them; this form of transmission is
usually referred to as wireless transmission.

 In considering the design of data transmission systems, a key concern, generally, is data
rate and distance: the greater the data rate and distance, the better.
 A number of design factors relating to the transmission medium and to the signal
determine the data rate and distance:
 Bandwidth:- All other factors remaining constant, the greater the bandwidth of a signal,
the higher the data rate that can be achieved.
 Transmission impairments:- Impairments, such as attenuation, limit the distance. For
guided media, twisted pair generally suffers more impairment than coaxial cable, which
in turn suffers more than optical fiber.
 Interference:- Interference from competing signals in overlapping frequency bands can
distort or wipe out a signal. Interference is of particular concern for unguided media, but
it is also a problem with guided media. For guided media, interference can be caused by
emanations from nearby cables. For example, twisted pair are often bundled together, and
conduits often carry multiple cables. Interference can also be experienced from unguided
transmissions. Proper shielding of a guided medium can minimize this problem.

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 A Number of receivers:- A guided medium can be used to construct a point-to-point link

or a shared link with multiple attachments. In the latter case, each attachment introduces
some attenuation and distortion on the line, limiting distance and/or data rate.
3.1 Guided Transmission Media
 For guided transmission media, the transmission capacity, in terms of either data rate or
bandwidth, depends critically on the distance and on whether the medium is point-to-
point or multipoint, such as in a local area network (LAN).
 Guided media, which are those that provide a conduit from one device to another, include
twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable.
 A signal traveling along any of these media is directed and contained by the physical
limits of the medium.
 Twisted-pair and coaxial cable use metallic (copper) conductors that accept and transport
signals in the form of electric current.
 Optical fiber is a cable that accepts and transports signals in the form of light.
Twisted-Pair Cable
 A twisted pair consists of two conductors (normally copper), each with its own plastic
insulation, twisted together, as shown in the figure below

 One of the wires is used to carry signals to the receiver, and the other is used only as a
ground reference.
 The receiver uses the difference between the two.
 In addition to the signal sent by the sender on one of the wires, interference (noise) and
crosstalk may affect both wires and create unwanted signals.
 If the two wires are parallel, the effect of these unwanted signals is not the same in both
wires because they are at different locations relative to the noise or crosstalk sources.
 This results in a difference at the receiver. By twisting the pairs, a balance is maintained.
 For example, suppose in one twist, one wire is closer to the noise source and the other is
farther; in the next twist, the reverse is true.

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 Twisting makes it probable that both wires are equally affected by external influences
(noise or crosstalk). This means that the receiver, which calculates the difference between
the two, receives no unwanted signals. The unwanted signals are mostly canceled out.
 From the above discussion, it is clear that the number of twists per unit of length (e.g.,
inch) has some effect on the quality of the cable.
Unshielded Versus Shielded Twisted-Pair Cable
 The most common twisted-pair cable used in communications is referred to as unshielded
twisted-pair (UTP).
 IBM has also produced a version of twisted-pair cable for its use called shielded twisted-
pair (STP).
 STP cable has a metal foil or braided mesh covering that encases each pair of insulated
conductors.
 Although metal casing improves the quality of cable by preventing the penetration of
noise or crosstalk, it is bulkier and more expensive.
 Our discussion focuses primarily on UTP because STP is seldom used outside of IBM.

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UTP

Connectors

 The most common UTP connector is RJ45 (RJ stands for registered jack). The RJ45 is a keyed
connector, meaning the connector can be inserted in only one way.

UTP Cabling: Types of UTP Cable

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UTP Cabling: Testing

Twisted-Pair Cable Applications

 Within buildings
 Most common medium
 Twisted-pair cables are used in telephones lines to provide voice and data channels.
 The DSL lines that are used by the telephone companies to provide high data rate
connections also use the high-bandwidth capability of unshielded twisted-pair cables.
 Local area networks, such as 10Base-T and 100Base-T, also used UTP cables.
Coaxial Cable
 Coaxial cable (or coax) carries signals of higher frequency ranges than those in twisted
pair cable, in part because the two media are constructed quite differently.
 Instead of having two wires, coax has a central core conductor of solid or stranded wire
(usually copper) enclosed in an insulating sheath, which is, in turn, encased in an outer
conductor of metal foil, braid, or a combination of the two.
 The outer metallic wrapping serves both as a shield against noise and as the second
conductor, which completes the circuit.
 This outer conductor is also enclosed in an insulating sheath, and the whole cable is
protected by a plastic cover

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 At one time, coaxial cable was the most widely used network cabling. There were
a couple of reasons for coaxial cable's wide usage: it was relatively inexpensive, and it
was light, flexible, and easy to work with.
 The term shielding refers to the woven or stranded metal mesh (or other material) that
surrounds some types of cabling.
 Shielding protects transmitted data by absorbing stray electronic signals, called noise, so
that they do not get onto the cable and distort the data.
 Cable that contains one layer of foil insulation and one layer of braided metal shielding is
referred to as dual shielded.
 For environments that are subject to higher interference, quad shielding is available.
 Quad shielding consists of two layers of foil insulation and two layers of braided metal
shielding.
Types of Coaxial Cable

1. Thin (thinnet) cable

2. Thick (thicknet) cable
1. Thinnet(10Base2):- is a flexible coaxial cable about 0.64 centimeters (0.25 inches)
thick.
 Because this type of coaxial cable is flexible and easy to work with, it can be used
in almost any type of network installation.
2. Thicknet(10Base5):- is a relatively rigid coaxial cable about 1.27 centimeters (0.5
inches) in diameter.
 Thicknet cable is sometimes referred to as Standard Ethernet because it was the
first type of cable used with the popular network architecture Ethernet.
 Thicknet cable's copper core is thicker than a thinnet cable core.
 The thicker the copper core, the farther the cable can carry signals.
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 This means that thicknet can carry signals farther than thinnet cable. Thicknet
cable can carry a signal for 500 meters (about 1640 feet).
 Therefore, because of thicknet's ability to support data transfer over longer
distances, it is sometimes used as a backbone to connect several smaller thinnet-
based networks
Connector

 The BNC connector is used to connect the end of the cable to a device, such as a TV set.
 The BNC T connector is used in Ethernet networks to branch out to a connection to a computer or
other device.
 The BNC terminator is used at the end of the cable to prevent the reflection of the signal
 BNC barrel connector is used to join two lengths of thinnet cable to make one longer length.
Coaxial Cable Applications

 Most versatile medium

 Television distribution
 Ariel to TV
 Cable TV
 Long distance telephone transmission
 Can carry 10,000 voice calls simultaneously
 Being replaced by fiber optic
 Short distance computer systems links
Local area networks

Fiber-Optic Cable
 A fiber-optic cable is made of glass or plastic and transmits signals in the form of light.
 Fiber-optic cabling consists of a signal-carrying glass core of 5 to 100 microns in
diameter (a sheet of paper is about 25 microns thick and a human hair about 75 microns
thick), surrounded by a layer of pure silica called cladding, which prevents light from
escaping.

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 Surrounding the cladding are protective layers of acrylic plastic coating, Kevlar fibers for
additional strength, and a PVC (polyvinyl chloride) jacket (usually colored a distinctive
orange).
 Network components use LED or laser diodes to convert electrical signals into light
pulses for transmission on fiber-optic cables.
 An optical detector is used to convert the light pulses back into electrical signals.

 Optical fibers use reflection to guide light through a channel.

 A glass or plastic core is surrounded by a cladding of less dense 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 (cladding)

Cable Composition
 The outer jacket is made of either PVC (polymer of vinyl chloride) or Teflon.
 Inside the jacket are Kevlar strands to strengthen the cable.
o Kevlar is a strong material used in the fabrication of bulletproof vests.
 Below the Kevlar is another plastic coating to cushion the fiber.
 The fiber is at the center of the cable, and it consists of cladding and core.

Fiber-Optic Cable Connectors

 There are three types of connectors for fiber-optic cables.
1. Subscriber channel (SC) connector:- is used for cable TV. It uses a push/pull locking
system.
2. Straight-tip (ST) connector:- is used for connecting cable to networking devices. It uses a
bayonet locking system and is more reliable than SC.
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3. MT-RJ is a connector:- that is the same size as RJ45.

Optical Fiber – Applications

 Long-haul trunks
 Metropolitan trunks
 Rural exchange trunks
 Subscriber loops
 LANs
Advantages of Optical Fiber
The major advantages offered by fiber-optic cable over twisted-pair and coaxial cable are noise
resistance, less signal attenuation, and higher bandwidth.
1. Noise Resistance: Because fiber-optic transmission uses light rather than electricity, noise
is not a factor. External light, the only possible interference, is blocked from the channel
by the outer jacket.
2. Less signal attenuation:- Fiber-optic transmission distance is significantly greater than
that of other guided media. A signal can run for miles without requiring regeneration.
3. Higher bandwidth:- Currently, data rates and bandwidth utilization over fiber-optic cable
are limited not by the medium but by the signal generation and reception technology
available.
Disadvantages of Optical Fiber
The main disadvantages of fiber optics are cost, installation/maintenance, and fragility.
1. Cost:- Fiber-optic cable is expensive. Also, a laser light source can cost thousands of
dollars, compared to hundreds of dollars for electrical signal generators.
2. Installation/maintenance
3. Fragility:- Glass fiber is more easily broken than wire, making it less useful for
applications where hardware portability is required.
Fiber versus Copper

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Implementation issues Copper media Fibre-optic

Bandwidth supported 10 Mbps – 10 Gbps 10 Mbps – 100 Gbps

Relatively short Relatively High
Distance
(1 – 100 meters) (1 – 100,000 meters)
High
Immunity to EMI and RFI Low
(Completely immune)
High
Immunity to electrical hazards Low
(Completely immune)
Media and connector costs Lowest Highest
Installation skills required Lowest Highest
Safety precautions Lowest Highest

Unguided (Wireless) Media

 Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves without using any physical conductor.
 This type of communication is often referred to as wireless communication.
 Signals are normally broadcast through free space and thus are available to anyone who
has a device capable of receiving them.
 Unguided signals can travel from the source to destination in several ways: ground
propagation, sky propagation, and line-of-sight propagation.

1. In 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 planet.

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 Distance depends on the amount of power in the signal: The greater the power,
the greater the distance.
2. In sky propagation, higher-frequency radio waves radiate upward into the ionosphere (the
layer of atmosphere where particles exist as ions) where they are reflected back to earth.
 This type of transmission allows for greater distances with lower output power.
3. In line-of-sight propagation, very high-frequency signals are transmitted in straight lines
directly from antenna to antenna.
 Antennas must be directional, facing each other and either tall enough or close
enough together not to be affected by the curvature of the earth.
 Line-of-sight propagation is tricky because radio transmissions cannot be
completely focused.
 The section of the electromagnetic spectrum defined as radio waves and microwaves is
divided into eight ranges, called bands, each regulated by government authorities.
 These bands are rated from very low frequency (VLF) to extremely high frequency
(EHF).

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Wireless Transmission Types

 We can divide wireless transmission into three broad groups: radio waves, microwaves, and
infrared waves.

Radio Waves
 Although there is no clear-cut demarcation between radio waves and microwaves,
electromagnetic waves ranging in frequencies between 3 kHz and 1 GHz are normally
called radio waves; waves ranging in frequencies between 1 and 300 GHz are called
microwaves.
 However, the behavior of the waves, rather than the frequencies, is a better criterion
for classification.
 Radio waves, for the most part, are Omni-directional that is, when an antenna
transmits radio waves, they are propagated in all directions.
 This means that the sending and receiving antennas do not have to be aligned. A
sending antenna sends waves that can be received by any receiving antenna.
 Radio waves, particularly those waves that propagate in the sky mode, can travel long
distances.
 This makes radio waves a good candidate for long-distance broadcasting such as AM
radio.
 Radio waves, particularly those of low and medium frequencies, can penetrate walls.
 This characteristic can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.
 It is an advantage because, for example, an AM radio can receive signals inside a
building.
 It is a disadvantage because we cannot isolate a communication to just inside or
outside a building.

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 The radio wave band is relatively narrow, just under 1 GHz, compared to the
microwave band. When this band is divided into sub bands, the sub bands are also
narrow, leading to a low data rate for digital communications.
 Almost the entire band is regulated by authorities (e.g., the FCC in the United States).
Using any part of the band requires permission from the authorities.
Omni directional Antenna
 Radio waves use omnidirectional antennas that send out signals in all
directions.
 Based on the wavelength, strength, and the purpose of transmission, we
can have several types of antennas.
Applications
 The unidirectional characteristics of radio waves make them useful for
multicasting, in which there is one sender but many receivers.
 AM and FM radio, television, maritime radio, cordless phones, etc are
examples of multicasting.

Microwaves
 Electromagnetic waves having frequencies between 1 and 300 GHz are called
microwaves.
 Microwaves are unidirectional. When an antenna transmits microwave waves, they can
be narrowly focused. This means that the sending and receiving antennas need to be
aligned (see each other). The unidirectional property has an obvious advantage. A pair of
antennas can be aligned without interfering with another pair of aligned antennas.

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 The following describes some characteristics of microwave propagation:

o Microwave propagation is line-of-sight. Since the towers with the mounted
antennas need to be in direct sight of each other, towers that are far apart need to
be very tall.
o The curvatures of the earth as well as other blocking obstacles do not allow two
short towers to communicate by using microwaves.
o Repeaters are often needed for long distance communication.
o Very high-frequency microwaves cannot penetrate walls.
 This characteristic can be a disadvantage if receivers are inside buildings.
o The microwave band is relatively wide, almost 299 GHz.
 Therefore wider sub bands can be assigned, and a high data rate is possible
Use of certain portions of the band requires permission from authorities
Unidirectional Antenna
 Microwaves need unidirectional antennas that send out signals in one direction.
Applications
 Microwaves, due to their unidirectional properties, are very useful when unicast (one-to-
one) communication is needed between the sender and the receiver.
 They are used in cellular phones, satellite networks , and wireless LANs.
Infrared
 Infrared waves, with frequencies from 300 GHz to 400 THz (wavelengths from 1 mm to
770 nm), can be used for short-range communication.
 Infrared waves, having high frequencies, cannot penetrate walls.
 This advantageous characteristic prevents interference between one system and another; a
short-range communication system in one room cannot be affected by another system in
the next room.
 When we use our infrared remote control, we do not interfere with the use of the remote
by our neighbors!!!
 However, this same characteristic makes infrared signals useless for long-range
communication.
In addition, we cannot use infrared waves outside a building because the sun's rays contain
infrared waves that can interfere with the communication.
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Applications
 The infrared band, almost 400 THz, has an excellent potential for data transmission.
 Such a wide bandwidth can be used to transmit digital data with a very
high data rate.
 The Infrared Data Association (IrDA), an association for sponsoring the use of infrared
waves, has established standards for using these signals for communication between
devices such as keyboards, mice, PCs, and printers.
 For example, some manufacturers provide a special port called the IrDA
port that allows a wireless keyboard to communicate with a PC.
 The standard originally defined a data rate of 75 kbps for a distance up to 8 m. The recent
standard defines a data rate of 4 Mbps.
 Infrared signals defined by IrDA transmit through line of sight; the IrDA port on the
keyboard needs to point to the PC for transmission to occur.
 Infrared signals can be used for short-range communication in a closed area using line-of-
sight propagation!!!
Wireless Channels
 Are subject to a lot more errors than guided media channels.
 Interference is one cause for errors, can be circumvented with high Signal -to noise-
ratio(SNR).
 The higher the SNR the less capacity is available for transmission due to the broadcast
nature of the channel.
 Channel also subject to fading and no coverage holes
Introduction to Wireless Networks
 A wireless network enables people to communicate and access applications and
information without wires.
o This provides freedom of movement and the ability to extend applications to different
parts of a building, city, or nearly anywhere in the world.
 Wireless technologies use electromagnetic waves to carry information between devices.
o The electromagnetic spectrum includes such things as radio and television broadcast
bands, visible light, x-rays and gamma-rays.

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o Certain areas of the spectrum have been set aside to allow public use without the
restriction of having to apply for special permits.
o The most common wavelengths used for public wireless communications include the
Infrared and part of the Radio Frequency (RF) band
Advantage and Disadvantages of Wireless Technologies Advantages
Ability to provide anytime, anywhere connectivity.
Easy and inexpensive to install
Enables networks to be easily expanded, without the limitations of cabled connections
New and visiting users can join the network quickly and easily Disadvantage/risk
Signal interference with other devices such as microwave ovens and cordless phones that
use same frequency ranges
Security
Encryption and authentication may be used as a precaution
Wireless Technologies
Wireless networks can be classified broadly as:
Wireless personal-area network (WPAN):- Operates in the range of a few feet
(Bluetooth).
Wireless LAN (WLAN):- Operates in the range of a few hundred feet.
Wireless wide-area network (WWAN):- Operates in the range of miles.
Bluetooth:- An IEEE 802.15 WPAN standard; uses a device-pairing process to
communicate over distances up to .05 mile (100m).
Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity):- An IEEE 802.11 WLAN standard; provides network access to
home and corporate users, to include data, voice and video traffic, to distances up to 0.18
mile (300m).
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) :- An IEEE 802.16
WWAN standard that provides wireless broadband access of up to 30 mi (50 km).
Cellular broadband:- Consists of various corporate, national, and international
organizations using service provider cellular access to provide mobile broadband network
connectivity.
Satellite Broadband:- Provides network access to remote sites through the use of a
directional satellite dish.
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 Despite these distinct categories, it is difficult to place boundary limitations on a wireless

implementation.
 This is because, unlike a wired network, wireless networks do not have precisely defined
boundaries WPAN
 The smallest wireless network used to connect various peripheral devices such as mice,
keyboards and PDAs to a computer.
 All of these devices are dedicated to a single host with usually use IR or Bluetooth
technology
 WLAN
 Typically used to extend the boundaries of the local wired network (LAN).
 Use RF technology and conform to the IEEE 802.11 standards.
 They allow many users to connect to a wired network through a device known as an
Access Point (AP).
 An Access Point provides a connection between wireless hosts and hosts on an Ethernet
wired network WWAN
 Provide coverage over extremely large areas.
 A good example of a WWAN is the cell phone network.
 Often regulated by government agencies

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