Unit-1

DCCN
DATA COMMUNICATIONS
• When we communicate, we are sharing information. This sharing can
be local or remote. Between individuals, local communication
usually occurs face to face, while remote communication takes place
over distance. The term telecommunication, which includes telephony,
telegraphy, and television, means communication at a distance.

• The word data refers to information presented in whatever form is

agreed upon by the parties creating and using the data.
• Data communications are the exchange of data between two devices
via some form of transmission medium such as a wire cable.
• For data communications to occur, the communicating devices must
be part of a communication system made up of a combination of
hardware (physical equipment) and software (programs).
Computer networks
A collection of computers linked together using transmission media for the
purpose of communication and resource sharing
The effectiveness of a data communications system depends on four
fundamental characteristics

I. Delivery. The system must deliver data to the correct destination.

Data must be received by the intended device or user and only by
that device or user.
II. Accuracy. The system must deliver the data accurately. Data that
have been altered in transmission and left uncorrected are unusable

III. Timeliness. The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data
delivered late are useless.
iv. Jitter. Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. It is the
uneven delay in the delivery of audio or video packets.

A data communications system has five components

1. Message. The message is the information (data) to be communicated.
Popular forms of information include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and
video.
2 Sender. The sender is the device that sends the data message. It can be
a computer, workstation, telephone handset, video camera, and so on.
3. Receiver. The receiver is the device that receives the message. It can
be a computer, workstation, telephone handset, television, and so on.
4. Transmission medium. The transmission medium is the physical path
by which a message travels from sender to receiver. Some examples of
transmission media include twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, fiber-optic
cable.
5. Protocol. A protocol is a set of rules that govern data
communications. It represents an agreement between the
communicating devices. Without a protocol, two devices may be
connected but not communicating, just as a person speaking French
cannot be understood by a person who speaks only Japanese.
 Data Representation

• Information today comes in different forms such as text, numbers,

images, audio, and video.
• Text
In data communications, text is represented as a bit pattern, a sequence of bits (0s or
• 1s). Different sets of bit patterns have been designed to represent text symbols.
Each set is called a code, and the process of representing symbols is called
coding.
• Numbers
• Numbers are also represented by bit patterns. However, a code such as ASCII is
not used to represent numbers; the number is directly converted to a binary
number to simplify mathematical operations
Images
Images are also represented by bit patterns. In its simplest form, an image is
composed of a matrix of pixels (picture elements), where each pixel is a small dot.
The size of the pixel depends on the resolution.
Audio
• Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting of sound or music. Audio is by
nature different from text, numbers, or images
Video
• Video refers to the recording or broadcasting of a picture or movie. Video can
either be produced as a continuous entity (e.g., by a TV camera), or it can be a
combination of images, each a discrete entity, arranged to convey the idea of
motion.
Data Flow

• Communication between two devices can be simplex, half-

duplex, or full-duplex as shown in
i.Simplex
• In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way street. Only
one of the two devices on a link can transmit; the other can only receive (see
Figure ).
• Keyboards and traditional monitors are examples of simplex devices.
• The keyboard can only introduce input; the monitor can only accept output.
• The simplex mode can use the entire capacity of the channel to send data in one
direction.
ii.Half-Duplex
• In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same
time. When one device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa (see
Figure 1.2b).
• The half-duplex mode is like a one-lane road with traffic allowed in both directions.
When cars are traveling in one direction, cars going the other way must wait.
• EX:walkie talkie
iii.Full-Duplex
In full-duplex mode (also called duplex), both stations can transmit and receive
simultaneously (see Figure ). The full-duplex mode is like a two-way street with
traffic flowing in both directions at the same time. In full-duplex mode, signals
going in one direction share the capacity of the link with signals going in the other
direction.
EX:Telephone

NETWORKS
A network is the interconnection of a set of devices capable of communication. In
this definition, a device can be a host (or an end system as it is sometimes called)
such as a large computer, desktop, laptop, workstation, cellular phone, or security
system. A device in this definition can also be a connecting device such as a router,
which connects the network to other networks, a switch, which connects devices
together, a modem (modulator-demodulator), which changes the form of data, and
so on.
Network Criteria
• A network must be able to meet a certain number of criteria.
The most important of these are performance, reliability, and security.
i. Performance can be measured in many ways, including transit time and
response time.
Transit time is the amount of time required for a message to travel from one device
to another.
Response time is the elapsed time between an inquiry and a response
Performance is often evaluated by two networking metrics: throughput and delay
ii.Reliability
In addition to accuracy of delivery, network reliability is measured by the
frequency of failure, the time it takes a link to recover from a failure, and the
network’s robustness in a catastrophe.
iii.Security
• Network security issues include protecting data from unauthorized access,
protecting data from damage and development, and implementing policies and
procedures for recovery from breaches and data losses.
 Physical Structures

• Type of Connection
• A network is two or more devices connected through links. A link is a communications pathway
that transfers data from one device to another. For visualization purposes, it is simplest to imagine
any link as a line drawn between two points.
• For communication to occur, two devices must be connected in some way to the same link at the
same time. There are two possible types of connections: point-to-point and multipoint.
• Point-to-Point
• A point-to-point connection provides a dedicated link between two devices. The entire capacity
of the link is reserved for transmission between those two devices. Most point-to-point
connections use an actual length of wire or cable to connect the two ends,
• Multipoint
• A multipoint (also called multidrop) connection is one in which more than two
specific
• devices share a single link

In a multipoint environment, the capacity of the channel is shared,

either spatially or temporally. If several devices can use the link
simultaneously, it is a spatially shared connection. If users must take
turns, it is a timeshared connection.
Physical Topology
• Physical Topology
The term physical topology refers to the way in which a network is laid out physically.
Two or more devices connect to a link; two or more links form a topology.
There are four basic topologies possible: mesh, star, bus, and ring.

• Mesh Topology

• In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-point link to every other device. The term
dedicated means that the link carries traffic only between the two devices it connects. To find the
number of physical links in a fully connected mesh network with n nodes, we first consider that each
node must be connected to every other node. Node 1 must be connected to n – 1 nodes, node 2 must
be connected to n – 1 nodes, and finally node n must be connected to n – 1 nodes.

• total link will be: n(n-1)/2(bi-directional)

• Advantages:
• the use of dedicated links guarantees that each connection can carry its own data load, thus
eliminating the traffic problems that can occur when links must be shared by multiple
devices.
• In this topology fault identification and fault isolation easy.
• It is robust.
• It gives privacy or security.
• Disadvantages:
• More cabling and more no. of ports are
required.
• Expensive h/w required
• Bulk of cabling requires more space.
Star Topology
• In a star topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point link only to a
central controller, usually called a hub. The devices are not directly linked to
one another. Unlike a mesh topology, a star topology does not allow direct
traffic between devices. The controller acts as an exchange: If one device
wants to send data to another, it sends the data to the controller, which then
relays the data to the other connected device.

A star topology is less expensive than a mesh topology. In a star,

each device needs
only one link and one I/O port to connect it to any number of
others.
Advantages:
• It is less expensive than a mesh topology.
• it easy to install and reconfigure when compared to mesh topology.
• Far less cabling needs to be housed, and additions, moves, and deletions
involve only one connection: between that device and the hub.
• robustness. If one link fails, only that link is affected.
Disadvantages:
• The dependency of the whole topology on one single point, the hub. If the hub
goes down, the whole system is dead.
• Each node must be linked to a central hub. For this reason, often more cabling
is required in a star than in some other topologies (such as ring or bus ).
Bus Topology
The preceding examples all describe point-to-point connections. A bus
topology, on the
other hand, is multipoint. One long cable acts as a backbone to link all the
devices in a
Network

Nodes are connected to the bus cable by drop lines and taps. A
drop line is a connection running between the device and the main
cable. A tap is a connector that either splices into the main cable.
• Advantages:
• It include ease of installation.
• It uses less cabling than mesh or star topologies.
• Disadvantages:
• difficult reconnection and fault isolation
• Signal reflection at the taps can cause degradation in quality.
• a fault or break in the bus cable stops all transmission
Ring Topology
• In a ring topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point connection with only the two
devices on either side of it. A signal is passed along the ring in one direction, from device to
device, until it reaches its destination. Each device in the ring incorporates a repeater.
• When a device receives a signal intended for another device, its repeater regenerates the bits and
passes them along.
• A ring is relatively easy to install and reconfigure. Each device is linked to only
its immediate neighbours (either physically or logically).

Advantages:
Easy to install and reconfigure.
Fault isolation is simplified.
• Disadvantages:
unidirectional traffic
In a simple ring, a break in the ring (such as a disabled station)
can disable the entire network. This weakness can be solved
by using a dual ring or a switch capable of closing off the
break.
• Data that have been altered in transmission and left uncorrected are
unusable