Chapter 7

Transmission Media
Computer Networks

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 Transmission Media
Anything that can carry information from a source to a destination.
Two main categories:
 Guided ― wires, cables
 Unguided ― wireless transmission, e.g. radio, microwave, infrared,
sound etc.

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Guided media
 That provide a conduit from one device to another,
include twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic
cable.
 A signal traveling along guided media is directed and
contained by the physical limits of the medium
 Twisted-pair and coaxial cable use metallic (copper)
conductors that accept transport signals in the form of an
electric current
 Optical fiber is a glass cable that accepts and transports
signals in the form of light

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Twisted-Pair Cables
If the pair of wires are not twisted, electromagnetic noises
from, e.g., motors, will affect the closer wire more than the
further one, thereby causing errors
Two basic types, STP and unshielded twisted-pair (UTP).

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Twisted Pair (TP) Characteristics
 Analog transmission
 Amplifiers every 5km to 6km

 Digital transmission
 Use either analog or digital signals
 repeater every 2km or 3km

 TP is Limited
 Distance
 Bandwidth
 Data rate
 Susceptible to interference and noise
 Easy coupling of electromagnetic fields
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Twisted Pair - Applications
 Most common medium
 Telephone network
 Individual residential telephone sets are connected to the local telephone
exchange (or “end office”) by twisted-pair wire. These are referred to as
subscriber loop.
 Within an office building
 Each telephone is connected to a twisted pair, which goes to the in-house
private branch exchange (PBX) system.
 These twisted-pair installations were designed to support voice traffic
using analog signaling. However, by means of a modem, these facilities
can handle digital data traffic at modest data rates.
 For digital signaling: connections to a digital data switch or a digital
PBX
 For local area networks (LAN)
 Data rates can be around 10Mbps, 100Mbps, or even 1Gbps.
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Twisted Pair - Pros and Cons
 Pros
 Twisted pair is much less expensive than other
commonly used guided transmission media.
 Twisted pair is easier to work with.
 Cons: limited in distance, bandwidth, and data rate
 Short range: not good for long-distance
 E.g., the data rate of ADSL depends on the distance
 1.5Mbps for 18,000ft
 2.0Mbps for 16,000ft
 6.0Mbps for 12,000ft
 9.0Mbps for 9000ft
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Shielded Twisted-Pair (STP)
 STP cables are similar to UTP cables, except there is a metal foil
or braided-metal-mesh cover that encases each pair of insulated
wires
 An extra metallic sheath on each pair
 Relatively more expensive
 Provide better performance than UTP
 Increased Data rate
 Increased Bandwidth

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Unshielded Twisted-Pair (UTP)
 Typically wrapped inside a plastic cover (for mechanical protection)
 Consists of 5 pairs (10 wires) of insulated copper wires typically about
1 mm thick.
 The wires are twisted together in a helical form.
 Twisting reduces the interference between pairs of wires.
 Flexible and cheap cable.
 Ordinary telephone wire
 Easiest to install
 Suffers from external electromagnetic interference
 Category rating based on number of twists per inch and the material
used
 CAT 3, CAT 4, CAT 5, Enhanced CAT 5 and now CAT 6.
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Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
A sample UTP cable with 5 unshielded twisted
pairs of wires.

Insulator Metal

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Categories of UTP
UTP comes in several categories that are based on the
number of twists in the wires,
the diameter of the wires and the
material used in the wires.
Category 3 is the wiring used primarily for telephone
connections.
Category 5e and Category 6 are currently the most common
Ethernet cables used.

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Categories of UTP : CAT 3
The transmission characteristics are specified up to 16MHz
(Bandwidth 16 Mhz)
 E.g., the attenuation at 16MHz is about 13db per 100m
11.5 dB Attenuation
100 ohms Impedance
Used in voice applications and 10baseT (10Mbps) Ethernet
Twist length: 7.5 cm to 10 cm

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Categories of UTP : CAT 4
20 MHz Bandwidth
7.5 dB Attenuation
100 ohms Impedance
Used in 10baseT (10Mbps) Ethernet

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Categories of UTP : CAT 5
 The transmission characteristics are specified up to 100MHz
(100 MHz Bandwidth)
 E.g., the attenuation at 16MHz is about 8db per 100m, the
attenuation at 100MHz is about 22db per 100m
 24.0 dB Attenuation
 100 ohms Impedance
 Used for high-speed data transmission
 Used in 10BaseT (10 Mbps) Ethernet & Fast Ethernet (100
Mbps)
 Twist length: 0.6 cm to 0.85 cm

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Categories of UTP : CAT 5e
150 MHz Bandwidth
24.0 dB Attenuation
100 ohms Impedance
Transmits high-speed data
Used in Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps), Gigabit Ethernet (1000
Mbps) & 155 Mbps ATM

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Categories of UTP : CAT 6
250 MHz Bandwidth
19.8 dB Attenuation
100 ohms Impedance
Transmits high-speed data
Used in Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps) & 10 Gig Ethernet
(10000 Mbps)

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Categories of UTP Cables
EIA classifies UTP cables according to the quality:
 Category 1 ― the lowest quality, only good for voice, mainly found
in very old buildings, not recommended now
 Category 2 ― good for voice and low data rates (up to 4Mbps for
low-speed token ring networks)
 Category 3 ― at least 3 twists per foot, for up to 10 Mbps (common
in phone networks in residential buildings)
 Category 4 ― up to 16 Mbps (mainly for token rings)
 Category 5― up to 100 Mbps (common for networks targeted for
high-speed data communications)
 Category 6 ― more twists than Cat 5, up to 1
Gbps
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Connectors
Most common UTP connector is RJ45
 R J stands for Registered Jack

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Coaxial Cables
 In general, coaxial cables, or coax, carry signals of
higher freq (100KHz–500MHz) than UTP cables
 Outer metallic wrapping serves both as a shield
against noise and as the second conductor that
completes the circuit

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Coaxial Cable Applications
 Television (TV) signals 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 (LAN)
 Metropolitan area network (MAN)
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Coaxial Cable Characteristics
 Analog
 Amplifiers every few km
 Closer if higher frequency
 Up to 500MHz

 Digital
 Repeater every 1km
 Closer for higher data rates

 Problem
 Inter-modulation noise
 Thermal noise
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Categories of coaxial cables
 Coaxial cables are categorized by their radio government (RG)
ratings
 Each RG number denotes a unique set of physical specifications
 Wire gauge of the inner conductor
 Thickness and type of the inner insulator
 Construction of the shield
 Size and type of the outer casing
 Each RG ratings is adapted for a specialized function

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Coaxial Cable Connectors
 Coaxial cable connector is BNC (Bayone-Neill-
Concelman)
 Figure shows the BNC connector, the BNC T
connector, and the BNC terminator

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Fiber Optic Cable
 Use light to send information through the optical medium.
 Uses the principal of total internal reflection.
 Modulated light transmissions are used to transmit the signal.
 FO Cable may have 1 to over 1000 fibers

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The Nature of Light
 Light travels at 3108 ms-1 in free space and
is the fastest possible speed in the Universe
 The speed of light
 300,000 Km/sec in a vacuum
 Depends on the density of the medium through
which it is traveling
 The higher the density, the slower the speed
 Light slows down in denser media, e.g. glass

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Fiber-Optic Cables
 An optical fiber consists of a core (denser material) and a
cladding (less dense material)
 Contains one or several glass fibers at its core
 Surrounding the fibers is a layer called cladding
 62.5/125 µm multimode fiber
 50/125 µm multimode fiber

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Propagation Modes

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Fiber-Optic Cables Types
 Two types of Fiber Optic media :
 Multimode
 Single mode
 Single mode OF:
 10 µm single-mode fiber
 Carries light pulses along single path
 Uses Laser Light Source
 Single mode Fiber has a very small core and carry only one beam of
light. It can support Gbps data rates over > 100 Km without using
repeaters.

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Optical Fiber - Applications
 Long-haul trunks
 thousands of km
 Metropolitan trunks
 hundreds of km
 Rural exchange trunks
 tens of km
 Subscriber loops
 To replace twisted pair and coaxial cable
 LANs: very high data rate, 100Mbps to 10Gbps

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Fiber Sizes
 By the ratio of the diameter of their core to the diameter
of their cladding [micrometers]

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Fiber-Optic Connections
 Fiber-optic use three different type of connectors
1. Subscriber Channel (SC) connector
 Used in cable TV and it uses a push/pull locking system
2. The Straight-Tip (ST) connector
 Used for connecting cable to networking devices
3. MT-RJ in new connector with the same size as RJ45
 Applications
 It used in backbone networks
 For cable TV with coaxial cable (a hybrid network)

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Fiber-Optic Advantages and Disadvantages
 Noise resistance ― external light is blocked by outer jacket
 Less signal attenuation ― a signal can run for miles without regeneration
(currently, the lowest measured loss is about ~4% or 0.16dB per km)
 Higher bandwidth ― currently, limits on data rates come from the signal
generation/reception technology, not the fiber itself
 Light weight
 Less Immunity to electromagnetic interference:
 Electromagnetic noise cannot affect fiber-optic cables
 Disadvantages:
 Cost ― Optical fibers are expensive
 Installation/maintenance ― any crack in the core will degrade the signal, and all
connections must be perfectly aligned
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Guided Media Comparison
 Point-to-Point Characteristics

Transmission Rate Bandwidth Repeaters

Medium Mbps MHz km
Twisted Pair 100 3.5 2-6

Coaxial 500 500 1-10

Optical Fiber 200000 200000 10-50

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 Transmission Characteristics of
Guided Media
Frequency Typical Typical Repeater
Range Attenuation Delay Spacing
Twisted pair 0 to 3.5 kHz 0.2 dB/km 50 µs/km 2 To 3 Km
(with @ 1 kHz
loading)
Twisted 0 to 1 MHz 0.7 dB/km 5 µs/km 2 To 3 Km
pairs (multi- @ 1 kHz
pair cables)
Coaxial 0 to 500 7 dB/km @ 4 µs/km 1 to 9 km
cable MHz 10 MHz
Optical fiber 186 to 370 0.2 to 0.5 5 µs/km 40 km
THz dB/km

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Wireless Media
 Very useful in difficult terrain where cable laying is not
possible.
 Provides mobility to communication nodes.
 Right of way and cable laying costs can be reduced.
 Susceptible to rain, atmospheric variations and Objects in
transmission path.

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Wireless Media Applications
Indoor : 10 – 50m : Bluetooth, WLAN
Short range Outdoor : 50 – 200m: WLAN
Mid Range Outdoor : 200m – 5 Km : GSM, CDMA,
WLAN Point-to-Point, Wi-Max
 Long Range Outdoor : 5 Km – 100 Km : Microwave
Point-to-Point
Long Distance Communication : Across Continents :
Satellite Communication

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 UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS
 Wireless transmission can be divided into:
 Radio waves
 Microwaves
 Infrared waves

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 UNGUIDED MEDIA: Radio waves
 Radio waves: waves range in frequencies between 3 KHz and 1 GHz
 Microwaves: waves ranging in frequencies between 1 and 300 GHz
 Radio waves are omnidirectional (propagated in all directions)
 The sending and receiving antennas do not have to be aligned
 Disadvantage
 One antenna interferences another antenna when they using same
frequency
 Radio waves that propagate in the sky mode, can travel long distance [AM radio]
 Radio waves [low and medium frequencies] can penetrate walls inside a building
 Advantage: an AM radio can be received inside a building
 Disadvantage: we cannot isolate a communication to just inside or outside a
building
Applications
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 Useful for multicasting: Radio, television. Cordless phones and paging system
Unguided Media – Radio Waves
Omni directional Antenna
 Frequencies between 3 KHz and
1 GHz.
 are used for multicasts
communications, such as radio
and television, and paging system.

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UNGUIDED MEDIA: Microwaves
 Microwaves: waves ranging in frequencies between 1 and 300 GHz
 Microwaves are unidirectional
 Antenna need to be aligned
 Advantage: pair of antenna can be aligned without interfering
with another pair
 Microwave propagation is line-of-sight
 For long distance communication
 Very tall towers
 Repeater
 Very high-frequency microwaves cannot penetrate walls
 Disadvantage if receiver inside a building

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UNGUIDED MEDIA: Microwaves
Applications
 Due to unidirectional properties, microwaves useful when unicast
(one-to-one) communication
 Cellular phones
 Satellite networks
 Wireless LANs

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UNGUIDED MEDIA: Infrared
 From 300 GHz to 400 THz (wavelengths from 1 mm to 770
nm)
 Use for short-range communication
 It has high frequency, cannot penetrate walls
 Prevents interference between one system and another
 Remote control not interfere with our neighbours
 Can not be used outside because sun’s rays contain infrared
waves (interference)
 (IrDA) Infrared Data Association established standards for
communicating between devices:
 Keyboards, mice, PCs and printers
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Antennas
 electrical conductor used to radiate or collect electromagnetic
energy
 Transmission antenna
 radio frequency energy from transmitter
 converted to electromagnetic energy by antenna
 radiated into surrounding environment
 Reception antenna
 electromagnetic energy impinging on antenna
 converted to radio frequency electrical energy
 fed to receiver
 same antenna is often used for both purposes
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Radiation Pattern
 power radiated in all directions
 not same performance in all directions
 as seen in a radiation pattern diagram
 an isotropic antenna is a (theoretical) point in space
 radiates in all directions equally
 with a spherical radiation pattern

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Antenna Gain
 measure of directionality of antenna
 power output in particular direction verses that
produced by an isotropic antenna
 measured in decibels (dB)
 results in loss in power in another direction
 effective area relates to size and shape
 related to gain

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Satellite Point to Point Link

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Satellite Broadcast Link

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 Wireless Propagation
 Signal travels along three routes
1. Ground wave
 Follows contour of earth
 Up to 2MHz
 AM radio
2. Sky wave
 Signal reflected from ionize layer of upper atmosphere
 2-30 MHz
 BBC world service, Voice of America
3. Line of sight
 Above 30Mhz
 Antennas must be physically aligned
 Atmosphere can reflect the microwave signal
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Sky Wave Propagation

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Ground Wave Propagation

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Line of Sight Propagation

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 UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS
 Electromagnetic spectrum defined as radio waves and
microwaves is divided into eight ranges, called bands:

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Line of Sight Transmission
 Free space loss
 loss of signal with distance
 Atmospheric Absorption
 from water vapour and oxygen absorption
 Multipath
 multiple interfering signals from reflections
 Refraction
 bending signal away from receiver

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Multipath Interference

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 Comparison of Media
 Medium Cost Speed Attenuation Interfere Security
 UTP Low 1-100M High High Low
 STP Medium 1-150M High Medium Low
 Coax Medium 1M–1G Medium Medium Low
 Fiber High 10M–2G Low Low High
 Radio Medium 1-10M Varies High Low
 Microwave High 1M–10G Varies High Medium
 Satellite High 1 M–10G Varies High Medium
 Cellular High 9.6–19.2K Low Medium Low

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