Data Communication and Computer Networks

INSY3071

Instructor: Tsegaye Berhanu

 Chapter 2
Data Communication
and
Network Components
 Outline
❖Describe communication

❖The platform for communication

❖Data Communication

❖Components of the network Devices

❖Network Media

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 What is Communication?
 Communication is simply the act of transferring
information from one place, person or group to
another.
 Based on what these two entities are, there are three
basic types of communication:
Human-to-Human
Computer-to-computer
Human-to-Computer

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 Data Communication
 Data communication (also data transmission or digital
communications) is the transfer of data (a digital bitstream or
a digitized analog signal) over a point-to-point or point-to-
multipoint communication channel.
 Data communication involves transporting data from one
point to another.
 In data communication, five basic elements can be identified.
 The source (the sender)
 The medium (the channel)
 The destination (receiver)
 The Information(message)
 The Protocol (rule)

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 Data Communication
There are five components in data communication system.
 Message: the information to be communicated
 Sender: the device that sends the message
 Receiver: the device that receives the message
 Medium: the transmission medium is the physical path
that communicates the message from sender to receiver.
 Protocol: refers to a set of rules that coordinates the
exchange of information. Both the sender and the
receiver should follow the same protocol to
communicate data.
Data Communication Model
 Messages
 The messages or units of information that travel from
one device to another
 In the first step of its journey from the computer to its
destination, message gets converted into a format that
can be transmitted on the network.
 All types of messages must be converted to bits, binary
coded digital signals, before being sent to their
destinations.
 This is true no matter what the original message format
was: text, video, voice, or computer data. Once our
instant message is converted to bits, it is ready to be sent
onto the network for delivery.
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 Network Devices
 Devices on the network that exchange messages with each other.
 Sender and Receiver are network devices.
 Switch - the most common device for interconnecting local area
networks
 Firewall -provides security to networks
 Router - helps direct messages as they travel across a network
 Wireless Router - a specific type of router often found in home
networks
 Cloud - used to summarize a group of networking devices, the
details of which may be unimportant to the discussion at hand
 Serial Link - one form of WAN interconnection, represented by the
lightning bolt-shaped line
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 Network Devices

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 Rules/Protocols

 Rules or agreements to govern how the

messages are sent, directed, received and
interpreted.

 Rules are the standards and protocols that

specify how the messages are sent, how they
are directed through the network, and how
they are interpreted at the destination devices
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 Data Communication
 A message should first be encoded in such a
way that it can be transmitted through a channel
(medium), it is then transmitted over the
media, and finally, it is decoded into a form that
can be understood by the destination at the
other end. This holds true for voice
communication, or data communication. The
entire data communication is governed by the
protocol.
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 Modes of Communication

When data are transmitted from one point to

another, three modes of transmission can be
identified:
Simplex
Half Duplex
Full Duplex

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 Simplex Data Communication Mode
 In simplex mode, data is transmitted in
only one direction.
 A terminal can only send data and
cannot receive it or it can only receive
data but cannot send it.
 Simplex mode is usually used for a
remote device that is meant only to
receive data.
 It is not possible to confirm successful
transmission of data in simplex mode.
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 Simplex Data Communication Mode
 This mode is not widely used.
 Examples
 Speaker, radio and television broadcasting
are examples of simplex transmission, on
which the signal is send from the
transmission to your TV antenna.
 There is no return signal.

SENDER UNIDIRECTIONAL RECEIVER

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 Half-Duplex Data Communication
Mode
 In half duplex mode, data can be
transmitted in both directions but only
in one direction at a time.
 During any transmission, one is the
transmitter and the other is receiver.
 So each time for sending or receiving
data, direction of data communication is
reversed, this slows down data
transmission rate.
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 Half-Duplex Data Communication
Mode

 In half duplex modes, transmission of

data can be confirmed

BIDIRECTIONAL
SENDER/ RECEIVER/
RECEIVER SENDER
BIDIRECTIONAL

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 Full Duplex Data Communication
Mode
 In full mode, data can be transmitted in
both directions simultaneously.
 It is a faster mode for transmitting data
because no time wastes in switching
directions.
 Example of full duplex is a computer
network in which both the users can
send and receive data at the same time.
 Telephone conversation, Internet
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 Full Duplex Mode

SENDER/ RECEIVER BIDIRECTIONAL RECEIVER/ SENDER

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 Simplex, Half Duplex & Full Duplex
Simplex Half Duplex Full Duplex
Cost Cheapest Expensive Most
communication Expensive
Data One way Two way one Simultaneous
transmission at a time transmission
Bandwidth Low Medium High

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 Communication Signals
 There are two types of Communication Signals. These are
 Digital Signal
 Analog Signal
Digital signal:
 A signal which is discrete with respect to time is called
digital signal.
 Such signal can be modeled using binary number system as
shown in the figure below.
 Communication Signals
Analog signal
 is any continuous signal for which the time varying
feature of the signal is a representation of some
other time varying quantity.
 Components Network Devices

 End Devices

 Intermediary Devices

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 End Devices and Their Roles on the
Network
End Devices
 The network devices that people are most familiar
with are called end devices.
 These devices form the interface between the human
network and the underlying communication
network.
 A source or destination device in an end networked
system
 end devices are referred to as hosts.

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 End Devices
Some examples of end devices are:
 Computers (work stations, laptops, file servers,
web servers)
 Network printers
 VoIP phones
 Mobile handheld devices ( PDAs)

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 End Devices
 A host device (end devices) is either the source or
destination of a message transmitted over the
network.
 In order to distinguish one host from another, each
host on a network is identified by an address.
 When a host initiates communication, it uses the
address of the destination host to specify where the
message should be sent.

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 Intermediary Devices
 In addition to the end devices that people are familiar
with, networks rely on intermediary devices to
provide connectivity and to work behind the scenes
to ensure that data flows across the network.
 These devices connect the individual hosts (end
devises) to the network and can connect multiple
individual networks to form an internetwork.
 Internetworking is the process or technique of
connecting different networks by using intermediary
devices such as routers or gateway devices
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 Intermediary Devices

Examples of intermediary network devices are:

 Network Access Devices (Hubs, switches, and
wireless access points)
 Internetworking Devices (routers)
 Communication Servers and Modems
 Security Devices (firewalls)

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 Intermediary Devices

 The management of data as it flows through the

network is also a role of the intermediary devices.

 These devices use the destination host address, in

conjunction with information about the network
interconnections, to determine the path that
messages should take through the network.

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 Intermediary Devices
Processes running on the intermediary network devices
perform these functions:

 Regenerate and retransmit data signals

 Maintain information about what pathways exist through the
network and internetwork
 Direct data along alternate pathways when there is a link failure
 Notify other devices of errors and communication failures
 Classify and direct messages according to QoS (quality of
services) priorities
 Permit or deny the flow of data, based on security settings

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 Network Medias
 A means of interconnecting these devices - a medium that
can transport the messages from one device to another
 For a network to function, the devices must be inter-
connected. Network connections can be wired or
wireless.
 In wired connections, the medium is either copper, which
carries electrical signals, or optical fiber, which carries
light signals.
 In wireless connections, the medium is the Earth's
atmosphere, or space, and the signals are microwaves.
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 Network Medias
 Copper medium includes cables, such as twisted pair
telephone wire, coaxial cable, or most commonly, what
is known as Category 5 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
cable.
 Optical fibers, thin strands of glass or plastic that carry
light signals, are another form of networking media.
 Wireless media may include the home wireless
connection between a wireless router and a computer
with a wireless network card, the terrestrial wireless
connection between two ground stations, or the
communication between devices on earth and satellites.
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 Network Medias
 The vast majority of networks today are
connected by some sort of wiring or cabling
that acts as a network transmission medium
that carries signals between computers.

 Many cable types are available to meet the

varying needs and sizes of networks, from
small to large.

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 Network Transmission Media

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 Network Transmission Media

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 Three major groups:

Generally, three major groups of cabling connect

the majority of networks:
Twisted-pair cable

Coaxial cable

Fiber-optic cable

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 Twisted Pair Cables
 Twisted-pair cable is a type of cabling that is
used for telephone communications and most
modern Ethernet networks
 A number of twisted-pair wires are often
grouped together and enclosed in a protective
sheath to form a cable.
 The total number of pairs in a cable varies.
 The pairs are twisted to provide protection
against crosstalk, the noise generated by
adjacent pairs.
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 Twisted Pair Cables
Two basic types of twisted-pair cable exist:
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) and
Shielded Twisted Pair (STP).

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Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)

 UTP cable is a medium that is composed of

pairs of wires.
 UTP cable is used in a variety of networks.
 Each of the eight individual copper wires in
UTP cable is covered by an insulating material.
In addition, the wires in each pair are twisted
around each other.

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 UTP

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 UTP
 UTP cable relies on the cancellation effect
produced by the twisted wire pairs to limit signal
degradation caused by electromagnetic
interference (EMI) and radio frequency
interference (RFI).

 To further reduce crosstalk between the pairs in

UTP cable, the number of twists in the wire pairs
varies.
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 UTP
 Crosstalk is defined the situation in which,
signals from one line interfering with signals
from another line.
 UTP is particularly susceptible to crosstalk, but
the greater the number of twists per foot of
cable, the more effective the protection against
crosstalk.

Crosstalk occurs when signals from one line bleed into another line
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Twisted-Pair Cabling Components
 Twisted-pair cabling uses RJ-45 connectors to
connect to a computer. These are similar to RJ-
11 telephone connectors.
 Although RJ-11 and RJ-45 connectors look alike
at first glance, there are crucial differences
between them:
 The RJ-45 connector: is slightly larger and will
not fit into the RJ-11 telephone jack.
 The RJ-45 connector houses eight cable
connections, while the RJ-11 houses only four.
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Twisted-Pair Cabling Components

RJ-45 connector and jack

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 Color Codes In UTP/STP

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 UTP advantages
 It has a large installed base and is a familiar
technology.
 It is relatively inexpensive and easy to install.
 Most LAN systems are readily capable of
running over UTP.
 It does not require bonding and grounding.
 Easy to install.

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 UTP disadvantages
 UTP is potentially more sensitive to external
electromagnetic interference, crosstalk, and
attenuation than other media.
 Not suitable for transmitting data over long
distances at high speeds.
 the distance between signal boosts is shorter
for UTP than it is for coaxial and fiber-optic
cables. (100m Max)

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 Shielded Twisted-Pair (STP) Cable
 STP cable uses a woven/wounded copper-braid
jacket that is more protective and of a higher
quality than the jacket used by UTP.
 STP also uses a foil (very thin sheet of metal) wrap
around each of the wire pairs.
 This gives STP excellent shielding to protect the
transmitted data from outside interference.
 STP usually is installed with STP data connector, which is
created especially for the STP cable.
 However, STP cabling also can use the same RJ connectors
that UTP uses.
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 STP

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 UTP versus STP
 The speed of both types of cable is usually
satisfactory for local-area distances.
 These are the least-expensive media for data
communication. UTP is less expensive than STP.
 Because most buildings are already wired with
UTP, many transmission standards are adapted
to use it, to avoid costly rewiring with an
alternative cable type.
 Although STP prevents interference better than
UTP, it is more expensive and difficult to install.
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There are 7 standards categories of UTP:
 Category 1: This refers to traditional UTP telephone cable that can carry voice
but not data transmissions.
 Category 2: This category certifies UTP cable for data transmissions up to
4 megabits per second (4 Mbps). It consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire.
 Category 3: This category certifies UTP cable for data transmissions up to 10
Mbps. It consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire with three twists per foot.
 Category 4: This category certifies UTP cable for data transmissions up to 16
Mbps. It consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire.
 Category 5: This category certifies UTP cable for data transmissions up to
100 Mbps. It consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire.
 Category 5e: Improved version of cat 5 category. The bandwidth is 1000MBPS
 Category 6: Similar to CAT5 wire, but contains a physical separator between the
4 pairs to further reduce electromagnetic interference.
 Category 7or 7e
 Category 8: is currently the fastest standard for UTP.
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 Coaxial Cable
 In its simplest form, coaxial cable consists of a core of
copper wire surrounded by insulation, a braided metal
shielding, and an outer cover.
 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.

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 Coaxial Cable Networks

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 Coaxial Cable

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 Coaxial Cable
 The core of a coaxial cable carries the electric signals that
make up the data. This wire core can be either solid or
stranded. If the core is solid, it is usually copper.
 Surrounding the core is an insulating layer that separates
it from the wire mesh. The braided wire mesh acts as a
ground and protects the core from electrical noise and
crosstalk.
 The conducting core and the wire mesh must always be
kept separate from each other. If they touch, the cable will
experience a short, and noise or stray signals on the mesh
will flow onto the copper wire.
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 Coaxial Cable
 A non-conducting outer shield—usually made of
rubber,Teflon, or plastic surrounds the entire cable.
 Coaxial cable is more resistant to interference and
attenuation than twisted pair cabling.
 Attenuation is the loss of signal strength that begins
to occur as the signal travels farther along a copper
cable.

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 Types of Coaxial Cable
There are two types of coaxial cable:
 Thin (thinnet) cable
 Thick (thicknet) cable

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 Thinnet
 Thinnet cable is a flexible coaxial cable about 0.64
centimeters (0.25 inches) thick.
 This type of coaxial cable is flexible and easy to work
with.
 Thinnet coaxial cable can carry a signal for a distance
of up to approximately 185 meters (about 607 feet)
before the signal starts to suffer from attenuation.

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 Thicknet
 Thick net cable is a relatively rigid coaxial cable
about 1.27 centimeters (0.5 inches) in
diameter.
 Thick net cable's copper core is thicker than a
thin net cable core.
 The thicker the copper core, the farther the
cable can carry signals.
 This means that thicknet can carry signals
farther than thinnet cable.
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 Thicknet
 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.

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 Coaxial-Cable Connection Hardware
 Both thinnet and thicknet cable use a connection
component, known as a BNC connector, to make the
connections between the cable and the computers.
 The BNC T connector: The following figure shows a BNC
T connector. This connector joins the network interface card
(NIC) in the computer to the network cable.

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 Coaxial Cable
Advantage of Coaxial Cable
 It is less susceptible to interference than twisted-
pair cable.
 Transmit data for greater distances than is possible
with less expensive cabling.
Disadvantages of Coaxial Cable
 Due to its high metallic content, coaxial cable is
usually more expensive than other cable types.
 Hard to install
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 Fiber-Optic Cable
 Optical fiber cable contains glass (or in some
cases, plastic) fibers rather than copper wire.
 Signals are transmitted across these fibers in
the form of light pulses rather than electrical
pulses.
 Optical signals through glass encounter less
loss than electrical signals through copper.

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 Fiber Optic Cable

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 Optical fiber advantages
 Lower attenuation and higher bandwidth than
copper,
 Allows transmission to occur over longer
distances and/or at greater speeds.
 High level of immunity to electromagnetic
interference since signal is sent as light and not
as electricity.

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 Optical Fiber Disadvantage
 Due to the required conversions between light and
electricity, more expensive electronics are required
than with copper-based systems.
 Requires specialized installation procedures.
 Expensive

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Type Distance Speed Cost Advantages Disadvantages

Easy to install; widely Susceptible to

100 m
10 Mbps to Least
UTP

available and widely interference; can cover

1000 Mbps expensive
used only a limited distance

More Reduced crosstalk; Difficult to work with;

100 m

10 Mbps to
STP

expensive more resistant to EMI can cover only a

100 Mbps
than UTP than Thinnet or UTP limited distance

Difficult to work with

500 m (Thicknet)
185 m (Thinnet)

Relatively (Thicknet); limited

Less susceptible to
inexpensive bandwidth; limited
Coaxial

10 Mbps to EMI interference than

, but more application (Thinnet);
100 Mbps other types of copper
costly than damage to cable can
media
UTP bring down entire
network

Cannot be tapped, so
10 km and above

2 km and farther

100 Mb to security is better; can

Fiber-Optic

100 Gb be used over great

single mode distances; is not
Expensive Difficult to terminate
100 Mbps to susceptible to EMI;
9.92 Gb has a higher data rate
single

multi

multi than coaxial and

67 twisted-pair cable
 Wireless Media
 Wireless Transmission Media is a form of
unguided media.
 Wireless communication involves no physical
link established between two or more devices,
communicating wirelessly.
 Wireless signals are spread over in the air and
are received and interpreted by appropriate
antennas.

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