DATA TRANSMISSION

lecture Three
DATA TRANSMISSION

Data transmission occurs between

transmitter and receiver over some
transmission medium.
Transmission media may be classified as
guided or unguided.
 In both cases, communication is in the
form of electromagnetic waves
 ANALOGUE SIGNAL
Analogue-An analog signal is one in which the signal
intensity varies in a smooth, or continuous, fashion over
time.

In other words, there are no breaks or discontinuities in

the signal. Takes a Continuous form eg human voice

The analog signal might represent speech.

 DIGITAL SIGNAL
Digital – A digital signal is one in which the signal
intensity maintains a constant level for some period of
time and then abruptly changes to another constant level,
in a discrete fashion

Takes on Discrete forms eg file on a disk file or a

picture, text

 Digital signal might represent binary 1s and 0s.

 DATA AND SIGNAL
In data Communications the terms are used in
three contexts

• Analogue and Digital Data

• Analogue and Digital Signals

• Analogue and Digital Transmission

 ELECTROMAGNETIC SIGNALS
an electromagnetic signal can be either analog or digital.
• An analog signal is one in which the signal intensity varies in a smooth, or
continuous , fashion over time. In other words, there are no breaks or
discontinuities in the signal. (mathematically speaking it takes on real number
values)
It is represented by a waveform that can take up infinite number of points between
minimum and maximum values which are presented as voltages.
A digital signal is one in which the signal intensity maintains a constant level for
some period of time and then abruptly changes to another constant level, in a
discrete fashion. (mathematically speaking it takes on natural number values)
 ANALOGUE WAVE FORMS
An Analogue Waveform
 DIGITAL WAVE FORMS

A digital square wave form

 PERIODIC AND NON
PERIODIC SIGNALS
Both analog and digital signals can be periodic
or non-periodic
A periodic signal is one in which the signal
pattern is repeated over time
The completion of one full pattern is called a
cycle.
A non-periodic signal changes without
exhibiting a pattern
PERIODIC WAVES
PERIODIC WAVES
 SINE WAVE
Sine wave - Is the fundamental periodic signal
Can be represented by three parameters
Peak amplitude (A)
Maximum value or strength of the signal over time
Typically measured in volts
Frequency (f)
Rate at which the signal repeats or Number of cycles per second
It is measured in Hertz (Hz) or cycles per second
Period (T) is the amount of time for one cycle, measured in seconds
T = 1/f
SINE WAVE
Phase (φ)
Relative position in time within a single
period of signal
SINE WAVE PLOTS
SINE WAVE PLOTS
Calculate frequency and period
Example 1
Find the frequency of a signal whose period is 500ms.
Solution
T = 0.5s
F = 1/T = 1/0.5 = 2 Hz
Example 2
ECG supplies power at 50Hz to Ghanaian homes. What is the period of power
supplied?
Solution
F= 50 Hz
T = 1/F = 1/50 = 0.02s
SINE WAVE PLOTS
Phase
Phase is the position of a wave relative to
time 0
Unit of measurement is degrees or radians.

example
 WAVELENGTH (Λ)
The wavelength of a
signal is the distance
occupied by a single
cycle

Can also be stated as the Especially when v=c

distance between two points of
corresponding phase of two c = 3*10 8 m/s (speed of
consecutive cycles light in free space)

Assuming signal velocity v,

then the wavelength is Or equivalently
related to the period as λ = λf = v
vT
 WAVELENGTH (CONT.)
Wavelength is the distance occupied by a single cycle of wave.
•The frequency of a signal is independent of the medium, but the wavelength
depends on the medium of propagation.
wavelength
λ=v/f
where:
λ = wavelength
v = velocity
f = frequency
 WAVELENGTH (CONT.)
1. Calculate the wavelength of a sound wave that has a
frequency of 110 Hz and a wave speed of 160,000 m/s.
2. What is the wavelength of an unidentified wave that has
a wave speed of 50 m/s and a frequency of 15 kHz?
3. The wavelength of a specific note in a song played on
the radio was 190 m. The frequency was determined to be
1500 Hz. What is the wave speed of this note?
4. Determine the wavelength of a wave based on the
parameters provided. The wave has a frequency of 190
kHz and a wave speed of 5,000,000 m/s.
WAVELENGTH (CONT.)
WAVELENGTH (CONT.)
 FREQUENCY DOMAIN CONCEPTS
 Signals can be presented as a function of time (as
we have seen) , but can also be presented as a
function of frequency.
A time domain function s(t) specifies the
amplitude of the signal at each instant in time.
A frequency domain function S(f) specifies the
peak amplitude of the constituent frequencies of
the signal.
Frequency plot gives more information about data
transmission than time domain plots
 SPECTRUM
cThe spectrum of a signal is the range of frequencies that it
contains. In the above example the spectrum extends from f to
3f.
The absolute bandwidth of a signal is the width of the
spectrum. In the case of our example , the bandwidth is 3f – f =
2f.
Many signals, have an infinite bandwidth. However, most of the
energy in the signal is contained in a relatively narrow band of
frequencies. This band is referred to as the effective
bandwidth, or just bandwidth.
Human voice has infinite number of continuous frequencies
but with a bandwidth of 4KHz (0 KHz to 4 KHz)
 BANDWIDTH
bile phone call
 QUESTION
If a periodic signal is decomposed into five
sine waves with frequencies of 100, 300,
500, 700, and 900 Hz, what is its bandwidth?
Draw the spectrum, assuming all
components have a maximum amplitude of
10 V.
A periodic signal has a bandwidth of 20 Hz.
The highest frequency is 60 Hz. What is the
lowest frequency? Draw the spectrum if the
signal contains all frequencies of the same
amplitude
 ANALOG AND DIGITAL
DATA TRANSMISSION
Data Signals Signaling Transmission

Physical Communication
Electric or
Entities that propagation of of data by the
electromagnetic
convey the signal along propagation
representations
information a suitable and processing
of data
medium of signals
 ANALOGUE AND DIGITAL
DATA
Analogue Data take on continuous values
Example audio, and video; temperature and pressure
Represented as a continuous waveform
Digital Data take on discrete states
Examples : Data stored in the computer (binary digits)
 ANALOGUE SIGNAL
To propagate data across a medium, the data must
be represented by electromagnetic signal which can
be analogue or digital
Analogue signals are continuously varying
electromagnetic wave that may be propagated over
a variety of media.
Human voice is analogue data. It has frequencies
whose amplitudes are measured in decibels . Before
they are transmitted, sound waves are converted
into electromagnetic analogue signal whose
amplitudes are measured in volts.
The converted signal occupies the same spectrum
 DIGITAL SIGNAL
A digital signal is a sequence of voltage pulses that
may be transmitted over a wire medium .
In a digital signal, the signal intensity maintains a
constant level for some period of time and then
abruptly changes to another constant level, in a
discrete fashion. (mathematically speaking it takes on
natural number values)
A high voltage level may represent binary 1 and a low
voltage level may represent binary 0.
Compared to analogue signals, digital signals suffer
less from noise but suffer more from attenuation.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OF DIGITAL SIGNALS
 ATTENUATION OF DIGITAL
SIGNALS
Voltage at
transmitting end

Voltage at
receiving end

Figure 3.10 Attenuation of Digital Signals

ATTENUATION OF DIGITAL
SIGNALS
In the above slide, attenuation or
reduction of signal strength at
higher frequencies reduces the size
of the pulses.
Attenuation may result in loss of
information
 DATA AND SIGNALS
Analogue Data may be represented by
analogue signals (telephone)
Digital signals (CODEC) – example transmit
voice/video over digital media
Digital Data may be represented by
Digital signals
Analogue Signals (Modem)
DATA AND SIGNALS
 ANALOGUE AND DIGITAL
TRANSMISSION
Analog transmission is a means of transmitting analogue signals without regard
to their content. Analog transmission is a method of conveying voice,
data, image, signal, or video information.

The signal weakens with distance

Amplifiers are used to boost the signal
Disadvantage: Noise is amplified too, and may be cumulative over a number of
amplifiers
Digital transmission: Assumes that data is binary
Signal is attenuated at short distances
Repeaters recover the patterns of bits and retransmits them (repeat)
Noise is not repeated.
 WHY MOVING TO DIGITAL

Data integrity
The use of repeaters has made it possible to
transmit data longer distances over lower quality
lines while maintaining the integrity of the data
Capacity utilization
It has become economical to build transmission
links of very high bandwidth, including satellite
channels and optical fiber, and a high degree of
multiplexing is needed to utilize such capacity
effectively. Digital multiplexing is cheaper
 MOVE TO DIGITAL
Security and privacy
Encryption techniques can be readily
applied to digital data and to analog
data that have been digitized
Economies of scale and convenience
can be achieved by integrating voice,
video, and digital data
 TRANSMISSION
IMPAIRMENTS
Signal received may differ from signal transmitted due to
transmission impairment
Impairment affects transmitted signals in the following ways
Analogue signal: Degradation of signal quality as it travels from
source to receiver
Digital signals: Introduces bit errors. The bits may change in
transit due to impairment conditions.
Most significant impairments are
Attenuation and Attenuation distortion
Delay distortion
Noise
 ATTENUATION
The strength of a signal falls off with distance over any
transmission medium.
The Signals lose energy as they try to overcome resistance
from the medium.
Effects: heating up of wires carrying electric signals
The signals are amplified (or repeated if signal is digital) to
compensate for attenuation
The unit of measurement is decibel (dB): the relative strength
of a signal at two different points
 ATTENUATION

dB = 10 log, P2 is signal power at point 2,

and P1 is signal power at point 1
•dB < 0 – signal is attenuated; dB> 0 –
Signal is amplified
•NB: decibel milliwatts (dBm) is the unit of
signal power = dB = 10 log
Pm is signal power in milliwatts
ATTENUATED SIGNAL
 ATTENUATION CONSIDERATIONS
1. A received signal must have sufficient strength so that the
electronic circuitry in the receiver can detect and interpret
the signal.
2.The signal must maintain a level sufficiently higher than
noise to be received without error.
Solution
Pay attention to the signal strength of transmitter (strong
enough to be received but not too strong to cause
distortions
Use Amplifiers and Repeaters
 3.Attenuation is greater at higher frequencies, and this causes distortion
AT T E N UAT I O N C O N S I D E R AT I O N ( C O N T. ) for
composite signals. This is refereed to as attenuation distortion.
Particularly noticeable for analogue signals
The received signal is not only reduced, but also distorted
• Solution:
Equalize attenuation across a band of frequencies
Use amplifiers that amplify high frequencies more than lower frequencies
Attenuation distortion can present less of a problem with digital signals.
The strength of a digital signal falls off rapidly with frequency most of the content is
concentrated near the fundamental frequency or bit rate of the signal
 Distorted signals lose their shape when they get to the receiver.
D E L AY D I S T O R T I O N

Occurs in transmission cables such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, and

optical fiber
Does not occur when signals are transmitted through the air by means of
antennas
Occurs because propagation velocity of a signal through a guided medium
is different for different frequencies
For a signal with a given bandwidth, the velocity tends to be highest near
the center frequency of the signal and to fall off toward the two edges of the
band. As a result frequency components of the signal arrive at different
times resulting in phase shifts between the frequencies
 Particularly critical for digital data since parts of one
D E L AY D I S T O R T I O N ( C O N T. )

bit spill over into others causing inter symbol

interference
NB Intersymbol interference is a signal distortion in
telecommunication. One or more symbols can interfere with
other symbols causing noise or a less reliable signal
A symbol is a waveform, a state or a significant condition of
the communication channelthat persists, for a fixed period of
time

Solution: Equalizing techniques used to equalize

attenuation across the frequency band
Delayed Signal
 Delayed Signal

Changing one or more characteristics of single frequency

signal make it a composite signal. It is made up of many

frequencies. A composite signal can be periodic or non-

periodic. The range of frequencies contained in a composite

signal is its bandwidth.

 Noise
Noise is an unwanted signal imposed by the transmission
medium , and delivered together with the original signal.
It imposes limits on the performance of the transmission
system
Noise may be divided into four categories:
Thermal noise
Intermodulation noise
Crosstalk
Impulse noise
Noise Effect
 Thermal Noise
Thermal noise is due to thermal agitation of electrons. It is
present in all electronic devices and transmission media and is a
function of temperature
The agitation of electrons in the medium creates additional
signals to the original signal.
Thermal noise cannot be eliminated and therefore places an
upper bound on communications system performance.
Because of the weakness of the signal received by satellite
earth stations, thermal noise is particularly significant for
satellite communication.
 Intermodulation Noise
Intermodulation Noise produces received signals that are
sums or differences of the component frequencies; or
multiples of the frequencies.
It results from the fact that conditions in the transmission
system do not produce linear output of the inputs.
Excessive nonlinearity can be caused by component
malfunction or overload from excessive signal strength. It
is under these circumstances that the sum and difference
frequency terms occur.
 Crosstalk
Crosstalk is an unwanted coupling between signal paths.
It can occur by electrical coupling between nearby twisted
pairs or, rarely, coax cable lines carrying multiple signals.
It may also occur in microwaves when antennas pick up
unwanted signals
 Impulse Noise
Unlike the other noise types, impulse noise is non-
continuous.
It Pops in and out of systems in the form of irregular
pulses or spikes, and with high amplitudes.
Causes may be external electromagnetic disturbances.
The primary source of errors in digital communication.
It changes the bits resulting in erroneous data
Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)
High SNR indicates less noise corruption of signal,
hence high quality signal
Low SNR indicates high noise corruption of signal,
hence lower quality signal
SNR is usually expressed in decibels
Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)
 Network Performance- Bandwidth
Used in two contexts
Bandwidth (Hz): The range of frequencies in a signal
Bandwidth (bps): The number of bits per second a network can
transmit.
Bandwidth of Ethernet network is 10Mbps
Bandwidth of Fast Ethernet network is 100Mbps
Bandwidth for Gigabit Ethernet network is 1Gbps
The two are related. Increasing bandwidth in Hz of a medium
leads to more bandwidth in bps.
Relation between Bandwidth and Data rate

Read on Bandwidth and Data Rate

 Throughput
Throughput is a measure of the actual speed of a network,
measured in bps.
Bandwidth in bps is the potential of the link, but the
throughput is the actual speed. Therefore throughput cannot
be greater than the bandwidth of the link.
Example: A network with bandwidth of 10 Mbps can pass
only an average of 12,000 frames per minute with each
frame carrying an average of 10,000 bits. What is the
throughput of this network?
Ans: No. of frames passed per second = 200
 No. of bits per second = 200 x 10000 = 2000000
Throughput = 2Mbps
 Latency
The latency , also called delay, is the time lapse between sending and receipt of
data
There are four components
Propagation time: Time it takes a bit to travel from source to .
Destination=
Transmission time: Time to transmit a message=
Queuing time: Time that the message is held by devices in the path of
transmission before processing the message. It is influenced by load on the
network
Jitter is variation in latency