UNIT 2

TRANSMISSION MEDIA AND

SWITCHING
TRANSMISSION MEDIA
? Transmission medium is the way in which data is
transmitted from one place to another.

? It provide a pathway over which the message can

travel from sender-to-receiver.

? Each of the message can be sent in the form of

data by converting them into binary digits.

? These binary digits are then encoded into a signal

that can be transmitted over the appropriate
medium.
CATEGORIES / TYPES OF TRANSMISSION
MEDIA
WIRED/GUIDED TRANSMISSION
MEDIA

Wired/Guided
Media

Twisted Pair Fibre Optic

Coaxial Cable
Cable Cable
WIRED/GUIDED TRANSMISSION
MEDIA

? Guided transmission media are the cables

that are tangible or have physical existence.

? Bounded transmission means having

connectivity between a source and
destination using cables or wires.

? The signals have to travel through this

channel i.e. physical media
TWISTED PAIR CABLE
 TWISTED PAIR CABLE
? A twisted pair cable is a pair of copper wires. That are used
for transmitting signals because of good performance at
low costs.

? A twisted pair consists of two conductors (normally

copper), each with its own plastic insulation, twisted
together to form a single media.

? Out of these two wires, only one carries actual signal and
another is used for ground reference.

? To identify every cable, these cables are colour coated and

are helpful in reducing noise (electro-magnetic
interference) and crosstalk.

? This type of cable is used in telephone lines to provide

TYPES OF TWISTED PAIR

? The two types of twisted pairs are:

? 1. Unshielded twisted pair (UTP)

? 2. Shielded twisted pair (STP)
1) UNSHIELDED TWISTED PAIR (UTP):-

? UTP is more common.

? Due to its low cost, UTP cabling is used extensively
for local-area networks (LANs) and telephone
connections.
? UTP cables consist of 2 or 4 pairs of twisted cable.
1) UNSHIELDED TWISTED PAIR
(UTP):-
? Advantages of UTP:
? Easy installation and setup.
? Capable of high speed for LAN.
? Low cost.
? UTP is very flexible.

? Disadvantages of UTP:
? Used for Short distance due to attenuation.
? Limited bandwidth.

? Application
? Commonly used in telephone lines.
 2) SHIELDED TWISTED PAIR
(STP):-
? STP is similar to UTP but with each pair covered by an
additional copper braid jacket or foil wrapping.
? This shielding helps to protect the signals on the
cables from external interference.
? Electromagnetic noise is prevented by metal casing.
? It allow higher transmission rate.
 2) SHIELDED TWISTED PAIR
(STP):-
? Advantages of STP:
? STP reduces noise
? Faster than UTP .
? Better performance at higher data rates.

? Disadvantages of STP:
? More expensive than UTP
? More difficult installation and setup.
 COAXIAL CABLE
? Coaxial cables are copper cables with better
shielding than twisted pair cables, so that transmitted
signals may travel longer distances at higher speeds.
? The shield minimizes electrical and radio frequency
interference.
? Coaxial cabling is the primary type of cabling used by
the cable television industry and is also widely used
for computer networks, such as Ethernet.
COAXIAL CABLE
COAXIAL CABLE
? Advantages of Co-axial Cable:
? Lower attenuation than twisted pair.
? Supports high bandwidths.
? Can support high data rates.

? Disadvantages of Co-axial Cable:

? Limited in size of network.
? expensive types of wire cables

? Applications of Co-axial Cable:

? Cable TV.
? Ethernet LAN’s Digital transmission.
? Long distance telephone transmission– can carry
10,000 voice calls.
FIBRE OPTICS CABLE
FIBRE OPTICS CABLE
FIBRE OPTICS CABLE
 FIBRE OPTICS CABLE
? A fibre optic cable is made of high quality of thin glass
or plastic and is used to transfer digital data signals in
the form of light up to distance of thousands of miles.

? Fibre optic cables are not affected by electromagnetic

interference, so noise and distortion is very less.

? The cable consists of one or more strands of glass, each

only slightly thicker than a human hair. The centre of
each strand is called the core, which provides the
pathway for light to travel.

? The core is surrounded by a layer called cladding that

reflects light inward to avoid loss of signal and allow the
light to pass through bends in the cable.
FIBRE OPTICS CABLE
? Advantages of Optical Fibre:-
? Fibre optic cables have a much
High bandwidth than metal cables. This means
that they can carry more data.
? Smaller Size and Lighter weight.
? low attenuation
? Disadvantages of Optical Fibre:-
? Optical fibre cables are expensive
? Difficult to install
? Maintenance is expensive and difficult
 WIRELESS / UNGUIDED TRANSMISSION MEDIA

? Unguided media transports data without using

physical conductor or cable.

? The media used in wireless communications are air,

vaccum and water.

? Unguided media is further divided into three main

categories Radio waves, Microwave and Infrared
communication
WIRELESS / UNGUIDED
TRANSMISSION MEDIA
 RADIO WAVES TRANSMISSION
? Radio waves are EM (Electromagnetic) waves that
have wavelengths between 1 millimetre and 100
kilometres

? it has large wavelength and can travel long distance.

? Radio waves are generated by radio transmitters and

received by radio receivers.

? Radio stations transmit radio waves

using transmitters, which are received by the receiver
installed in our devices. Both transmitters and
receivers use antennas to radiate or capture radio
signals
RADIO WAVES TRANSMISSION
? Radio waves are omnidirectional means they travel
in all the directions from the source.
? When an antenna transmits radio waves, they are
propagated in all directions.
? A sending antenna send waves that can be received
by any receiving antenna.
 MICRO WAVES TRANSMISSION
? Microwaves are a type of radio waves with high
frequencies. It can be classified as a subclass of radio
waves.

? The frequency of microwaves lies in the 300 MHz to 300

GHz.

? Unlike radio waves, microwaves are unidirectional, in which

the sending and receiving antennas need to be aligned.

? Microwaves are widely used for point-to-

point communications

? Additionally, each antenna must be within line of sight of

the next antenna.
MICRO WAVES TRANSMISSION
MICRO WAVES TRANSMISSION
 INFRARED WAVES TRANSMISSION
? Infrared waves are used for very short distance
communication like TV remote, wireless speakers,
automatic doors, hand held devices etc.
? Infrared waves having high frequencies prevents
interference b/w one system to another.
? Infrared signals have high frequencies and cannot
cross walls. Due to its short-range communication
system, the use of an infrared communication
system in one room will not be affected by the use
of another system in the next room.
 SATELLITE COMMUNICATION
? An artificial satellite orbits or revolves around the earth
in exactly the same manner as electrons revolve
around the nucleus of an atom.
? The path in which satellites move are called are called
as Orbits.
? An earth station transmits information
signal to the satellite using a highly
directional dish antenna.
? The satellite receives this signal, processes
it and transmits it back at a reduced
frequency.
? The receiving earth stations will receive this
signal using parabolic dish antennas
pointed towards the satellite.
DIFFERECE
LINE OF SIGHT TRANSMISSION
? Line of sight propagation is a characteristic of
electromagnetic radiation propagation which
means waves travel in a direct path from the
source to the receiver.

? Electromagnetic transmission includes light

emissions traveling in a straight line.

? Computer networks can be broadly

categorized into two types on transmission
technology basis namely broadcast networks
and point-to-point networks.
? Multiplexing and De-multiplexing
 MULTIPLEXING AND DE-MULTIPLEXING
? To combine multiple signals (analog or digital) for
transmission over a single line or
media.

? A common type of multiplexing combines several low-speed

signals for transmission
over a single high-speed connection.

? Multiplexing is done by using a device called Multiplexer

(MUX) that combines n
input lines to generate one output line i.e. (many to one).
Therefore multiplexer
(MUX) has several inputs and one output.

? At the receiving end, a device called De-multiplexer (DEMUX)

is used that separates
signal into its component signals. So DEMUX has one input
and several outputs.
? The 'n' input lines are transmitted through a
multiplexer and multiplexer combines the signals to
form a composite signal.

? The composite signal is passed through a

Demultiplexer and demultiplexer separates a signal
to component signals and transfers them to their
respective destinations.
ADVANTAGES OF MULTIPLEXING

? If no multiplexing is used between the users at two different sites

that are distance apart, then separate communication lines would
be required.

? This is not only costly but also become difficult to manage. If

multiplexing is used then, only one line is required. This leads to
the reduction in the line cost and also it would be easier to keep
track of one line than several lines.

? More than one signal can be sent over a single medium. The
bandwidth of a medium can be utilized effectively
MULTIPLEXING TECHNIQUES / TYPES
 FREQUENCY DIVISION
MULTIPLEXING
? Frequency Division Multiplexing is a technique in
which the available bandwidth of a single
transmission medium is subdivided into several
channels.

? In the above diagram, a single transmission medium

is subdivided into several frequency channels, and
each frequency channel is given to different devices.
Device 1 has a frequency channel of range from 1 to
5.
Advantages Of FDM:
1. FDM is used for analog signals.
2. FDM process is very simple and easy
modulation.
3. A Large number of signals can be sent through
an FDM simultaneously.
4. It does not require any synchronization
between sender and receiver.
Disadvantages Of FDM:
5. FDM technique is used only when low-speed
channels are required.
6. It suffers the problem of crosstalk.
7. A Large number of modulators are required.
8. It requires a high bandwidth channel.
FREQUENCY DIVISION
MULTIPLEXING
APPLICATIONS OF FDM:

? FDM is commonly used in TV networks.

? It is used in FM broadcasting. Each FM radio

station has different frequencies, and they
are multiplexed to form a composite signal.
The multiplexed signal is transmitted in the
air.
WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING (WDM)
? Wavelength Division Multiplexing is same as FDM
except that the optical signals are transmitted
through the fibre optic cable.

? WDM is used on fibre optics to increase the capacity

of a single fibre.

? It is used to utilize the high data rate capability of

fibre optic cable.

? It is an analog multiplexing technique.

WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING (WDM)

? Multiplexing and Demultiplexing can be achieved

by using a prism.
? Prism can perform a role of multiplexer by
combining the various optical signals to form a
composite signal, and the composite signal is
transmitted through a fibre optical cable.
? Prism also performs a reverse operation, i.e.,
demultiplexing the signal.
 TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
? It is a digital technique.

? In Frequency Division Multiplexing Technique, all

signals operate at the same time with different
frequency, but in case of Time Division Multiplexing
technique, all signals operate at the same frequency
with different time.

? In Time Division Multiplexing technique, the

total time available in the channel is distributed
among different users. Therefore, each user is
allocated with different time interval known as a
Time slot at which data is to be transmitted by the
sender.
? There are two types of TDM:
? Synchronous TDM
? Asynchronous TDM
 SYNCHRONOUS TDM
? A Synchronous TDM is a technique in which time slot is
preassigned to every device.

? In Synchronous TDM, each device is given some time

slot irrespective of the fact that the device contains the
data or not.

? If the device does not have any data, then the slot will
remain empty.

? In Synchronous TDM, signals are sent in the form of

frames. Time slots are organized in the form of frames.
If a device does not have data for a particular time slot,
then the empty slot will be transmitted.
SYNCHRONOUS TDM
? If there are n devices, then there are n slots.
SYNCHRONOUS TDM
DISADVANTAGES OF
SYNCHRONOUS TDM:
? The capacity of the channel is not fully
utilized as the empty slots are also
transmitted which is having no data.

? Therefore, we can say that the capacity of

the channel is not utilized efficiently.
ASYNCHRONOUS TDM

? An asynchronous TDM is a technique in

which time slots are not fixed as in the case
of Synchronous TDM. Time slots are
allocated to only those devices which have
the data to send.

? An asynchronous TDM technique

dynamically allocates the time slots to the
devices.

? In Asynchronous TDM, each slot contains an

address part that identifies the source of
the data.
ASYNCHRONOUS TDM
? The difference between Asynchronous TDM and
Synchronous TDM is that many slots in Synchronous
TDM are unutilized, but in Asynchronous TDM, slots
are fully utilized. This leads to the smaller
transmission time and efficient utilization of the
capacity of the channel.
Switching techniques
SWITCHING
? In computer networking, Switching is the
process of transferring data packets from one
device to another in a network, or from one
network to another, using specific devices
called switches.
TYPES OF SWITCHING
 CIRCUIT SWITCHING
? Circuit switching is a switching technique that
establishes a dedicated path between sender and
receiver.

? In the Circuit Switching Technique, once the connection

is established then the dedicated path will remain to
exist until the connection is terminated.

? Circuit switching in a network operates in a similar way

as the telephone works.

? In case of circuit switching technique, when any user

wants to send the data, voice, video, a request signal is
sent to the receiver then the receiver sends back the
acknowledgment to ensure the availability of the
dedicated path. After receiving the acknowledgment,
CIRCUIT SWITCHING
CIRCUIT SWITCHING
? Advantages Of Circuit Switching:
1. In the case of Circuit Switching technique, the
communication channel is dedicated.
2. It has fixed bandwidth.

? Disadvantages Of Circuit Switching:

1. It is more expensive than other switching
techniques.
2. It is inefficient to use because once the path
is established and no data is transferred, then
the capacity of the path is wasted.
MESSAGE SWITCHING
? Message Switching is a switching technique in which a
message is transferred as a complete unit and routed
through intermediate nodes at which it is stored and
forwarded.

? In Message Switching technique, there is no

establishment of a dedicated path between the sender
and receiver.

? The destination address is appended to the message.

Message Switching provides a dynamic routing

? Each and every node stores the entire message and

then forward it to the next node. This type of network is
known as store and forward network.
MESSAGE SWITCHING
MESSAGE SWITCHING
? Advantages Of Message Switching
1. Data channels are shared among the
communicating devices that improve the efficiency
of using available bandwidth.
2. Traffic congestion can be reduced because the
message is temporarily stored in the nodes.

? Disadvantages Of Message Switching

? The message switches must be equipped with
sufficient storage to enable them to store the
messages until the message is forwarded.
? The Long delay can occur due to the storing and
forwarding facility provided by the message
switching technique.
 PACKET SWITCHING
? The packet switching is a switching technique in which the
message is sent in one go, but it is divided into smaller
pieces, and they are sent individually.
? The message splits into smaller pieces known as packets
and packets are given a unique number to identify their
order at the receiving end.
? Every packet contains some information in its headers such
as source address, destination address and sequence
number.
? Packets will travel across the network, taking the shortest
path as possible.
? All the packets are reassembled at the receiving end in
correct order.
? If any packet is missing or corrupted, then the message will
be sent to resend the message.
? If the correct order of the packets is reached, then the
PACKET SWITCHING
 PACKET SWITCHING : DATAGRAM PACKET SWITCHING:
? It is a packet switching technology in which packet is
known as a datagram, is considered as an independent
entity. Each packet contains the information about the
destination and switch uses this information to forward
the packet to the correct destination.
? The packets are reassembled at the receiving end in
correct order.
? In Datagram Packet Switching technique, the path is
not fixed.
? Intermediate nodes take the routing decisions to
forward the packets.
? Datagram Packet Switching is also known as
connectionless switching.
PACKET SWITCHING : DATAGRAM PACKET SWITCHING:
PACKET SWITCHING : VIRTUAL CIRCUIT SWITCHING
? Virtual Circuit Switching is also known as
connection-oriented switching.
? In the case of Virtual circuit switching, a
preplanned route is established before the
messages are sent.
? Call request and call accept packets are used to
establish the connection between sender and
receiver.
? In this case, the path is fixed for the duration of a
logical connection.
PACKET SWITCHING : VIRTUAL CIRCUIT
SWITCHING
PACKET SWITCHING
Advantages Of Packet Switching:
? Cost-effective: In packet switching technique, switching
devices do not require massive secondary storage to store
the packets, so cost is minimized to some extent.
Therefore, we can say that the packet switching technique
is a cost-effective technique.
? Reliable: If any node is busy, then the packets can be
rerouted. This ensures that the Packet Switching technique
provides reliable communication.
? Efficient: Packet Switching is an efficient technique. It does
not require any established path prior to the transmission,
and many users can use the same communication channel
simultaneously, hence makes use of available bandwidth
very efficiently.
PACKET SWITCHING
? Disadvantages Of Packet Switching:

1. Packet Switching technique cannot be

implemented in those applications that
require low delay and high-quality services.
2. The protocols used in a packet switching
technique are very complex and requires
high implementation cost.
3. If the network is overloaded or corrupted,
then it requires retransmission of lost
packets. It can also lead to the loss of
critical information if errors are nor
recovered.