ECP 2056 :

DATACOMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTER

NETWORKING

CHAPTER 3 : Characteristics of Data Communication

Networks
3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided
3.2 Bandwidth utilization: multiplexing –
FDM, TDM & WDM, SPREAD SPECTRUM

Saiful Jumaat Osman, SUPELEC France

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING,
CYBERJAYA
YEAR 2008
 ECP 2056 :
DATACOMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTER NETWORKING

3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Figure 1 Transmission medium and physical

Signals travel along the media, directed and contained by the

physical limits of the medium

3
3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Figure 2 Classes of transmission

4
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

GUIDED MEDIA

Guided media, which are those that provide a

conduit from one device to another, include twisted-
pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable.

Topics discussed in this section:

3 main types of transmission medium used for
wired LANs:
- Twisted pair
- Coaxial cable [coax]
5
- Optical Fiber
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Figure 3 Twisted-pair

●Two type: shielded and unshielded

●Used primarily in star and tree/hub network
●Unshielded twisted pair [UTP]:
- does not include any extra shielding around the wire pair
- ordinary telephone line and commonly used for LAN
- least expensive, easy to work [less rigid], simple to install
- subject to external electromagnetic interference
- limited length 6
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Figure 4 UTP and STP cables

Shielded twisted pair [STP]:

- Covered with foil shield [polyester covered with aluminum
on both sides] to reduced interference and crosstalk
- Better performance, but more expensive and difficult to
work then UTP [heavy and bulky] 7
3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Table 1 Categories of unshielded twisted-pair cables

8
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Figure 5 UTP connector

9
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Figure 6 Coaxial

10
3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

●Coaxial Cable
●Used primarily in bus networks
●Operating with either baseband or broadband
Baseband:
- all available bandwidth is used to derive a single
transmission channel
Broadband:
- available bandwidth is divided to derived a number of
lower bandwidth subchannels on one cable

Table 2 Categories of coaxial cables

11
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Figure 7 BNC

12
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

OPTICAL FIBER : Provides a medium for signals using light

instead of electricity

Figure 8 Bending of light

13
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Figure 9 Optical

14
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Figure 10 Propagation

Basically two modes of transmission in fiber:

(a) Single mode fiber - a light ray in one direction only
(b) Multi-mode fiber - a number of path in which light ray
may travel
15
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Figure 11 Modes

●Further classified by
reflective index profile of
their core
●They can be either step
index or graded index
●Three main types of fiber
are:
(a) Single mode fiber
(b)Multimode stepped index
(c)Multimode graded index

16
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Figure 12 Fiber

17
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Figure 13 Fiber-optic cable

18
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS

Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves

without using a physical conductor. This type of
communication is often referred to as wireless
communication.

Topics discussed in this section:

Radio Waves
Microwaves
Infrared

19
3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

20
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Signals travel from source to destination in several

ways:
i. Ground propagation
ii. Sky propagation
iii. line-of-sight propagation
Figure 14 Propagation

21
3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Table 3 Bands

22
3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Figure 15 Wireless transmission

23
3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

24
3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Note

Radio waves are used for multicast

communications, such as radio and
television, and paging systems.

25
 3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Figure 16 Unidirectional

26
3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

27
3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Note

Microwaves are used for unicast

communication such as cellular telephones,
satellite networks,
and wireless LANs.

28
3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

29
3.1 Transmission media – guided & unguided

Note

Infrared signals can be used for short-range

communication in a closed area using line-
of-sight propagation.

30
 ECP 2056 :
DATACOMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTER NETWORKING

3.2 Bandwidth utilization: multiplexing – FDM, TDM &

WDM
 3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Multiplexing allows several transmission sources to share

a larger transmission capacity – to make efficient use of high
speed telecommunications lines
MUX combines (multiplexes) data from the n input lines and
transmits over a higher-capacity data link
DEMUX accepts the multiplexed data stream, separates
(demultiplexes) the data according to channel, and delivers
them to the appropriate output lines

32
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Whenever the bandwidth of a medium linking two

devices is greater than the bandwidth needs of the
devices, the link can be shared. Multiplexing is the
set of techniques that allows the simultaneous
transmission of multiple signals across a single
data link. As data and telecommunications use
increases, so does traffic.

Topics discussed in this section:

Frequency-Division Multiplexing
Wavelength-Division Multiplexing
Synchronous Time-Division Multiplexing
Statistical Time-Division Multiplexing
33
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Figure 1 Dividing a link into

34
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Figure 2 Categories of

35
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Figure 3 Frequency-division

• Possible when useful bandwidth of medium exceeds

required bandwidth(BW) of channel
• Each signal is modulated to a different carrier
frequency
• Carrier frequencies separated so signals do not overlap
(guard bands)
• e.g. broadcast radio
• Channel allocated even if no data
36
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

FDM is an analog multiplexing technique

that combines analog signals.

• 6 signal sources are fed into a

MUX- modulates each signal
onto different frequencies
(f1,f2,..f6)
• Each modulated signal requires
a channel: a certain BW
centered on its carrier
frequency

37
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Figure 4 FDM

38
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Figure 5 FDM demultiplexing

39
 3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

FDM System

In Figure b, the
spectrum of signal mi is
shifted to centered at fi.
fi must be chosen so
that the BWs of various
signals do not
significantly overlap.
Example
1
Assume that a voice channel occupies a bandwidth of
4 kHz. We need to combine three voice channels into a
link with a bandwidth of 12 kHz, from 20 to 32 kHz.
Show the configuration, using the frequency domain.
Assume there are no guard bands.

Solution
We shift (modulate) each of the three voice channels to a
different bandwidth, as shown in Figure 6.6. We use the 20- to
24-kHz bandwidth for the first channel, the 24- to 28-kHz
bandwidth for the second channel, and the 28- to 32-kHz
bandwidth for the third one. Then we combine them as shown
in Figure 6.6.

41
Example

42
Example
2
Example 2
Five channels, each with a 100-KHz bandwidth, are to be
multiplexed together. What is the minimum bandwidth of
the link if there is a need for a guard band of 10 KHz
between the channels to prevent interference?
Solution
For five channels, we need at least four guard bands. This
means that the required bandwidth is at least
5 x 100 + 4 x 10
= 540 KHz,
as shown in Figure
43
Figure 6 Analog

44
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Wavelength Division Multiplexing

– Wave-Division multiplexing(WDM) is designed to use the high data

rate capability of fiber-optic cable.
– The optical fiber data rate is higher than the data rate of metallic
transmission cable. Using fiber-optic cable for one single line
wastes the available bandwidth.
– WDM is conceptually the same as FDM, except that the
multiplexing and demultiplexing involve multiple beams of light at
different frequency

45
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

• Same general architecture as other FDM

• Number of sources generating laser beams at different frequencies
• MUX consolidates sources for transmission over single fiber. DEMUX
separates channels at the destination
• Optical amplifiers amplify all wavelengths simultaneously -typically
tens of km apart
• Mostly operate in the 1550nm wavelength range
• Was 200MHz per channel but Now 50GHz

46
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Synchronous Time Division Multiplexing

• In a TDM, the data rate of the link is n times faster, and
the unit duration is n times shorter.
• Multiple digital signals can be carried on a single
transmission path interleaved in time
• Interleaving- may be at bit level of blocks. Time slots pre-
assigned to sources and fixed. Time slots are allocated
even if no data. And time slots do not have to be evenly
distributed amongst sources

47
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

– Multiple digital signals (or analog

signals carrying digital data) are
carried out on a signal
transmission path by interleaving
portions of each in time

48
 3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Figure a) – Each buffer is TDM System

typically one bit or one
character in length

Figure b)- Format of

transmitted data: frames
Channel: the sequence
of slots dedicated to one
source, from frame to
frame

Figure c)- The interleaved

data are demultiplexed and
routed to the appropriate
destination buffer.
Example
3
In Figure 7, the data rate for each input connection is 3
kbps. If 1 bit at a time is multiplexed (a unit is 1 bit),
what is the duration of (a) each input slot, (b) each
output slot, and (c) each frame?

Figure 7 Synchronous time-division multiplexing

Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
a. The data rate of each input connection is 1 kbps. This means
that the bit duration is 1/1000 s or 1 ms. The duration of the
input time slot is 1 ms (same as bit duration). 50
Example 3
(continued)

b. The duration of each output time slot is one-third of the

input time slot. This means that the duration of the output
time slot is 1/3 ms.

c. Each frame carries three output time slots. So the duration of

a frame is 3 × 1/3 ms, or 1 ms. The duration of a frame is the
same as the duration of an input unit.

51
Example
4
Figure 8 shows synchronous TDM with a data stream
for each input and one data stream for the output. The
unit of data is 1 bit. Find (a) the input bit duration, (b)
the output bit duration, (c) the output bit rate, and (d)
the output frame rate.

Figure 8 Example 6
Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
a. The input bit duration is the inverse of the bit rate:
1/1 Mbps = 1 μs.
b. The output bit duration is one-fourth of the input bit
52
duration, or ¼ μs.
Example 4
(continued)
c. The output bit rate is the inverse of the output bit duration or
1/(4μs) or 4 Mbps. This can also be deduced from the fact
that the output rate is 4 times as fast as any input rate; so the
output rate = 4 × 1 Mbps = 4 Mbps.
d. The frame rate is always the same as any input rate. So the
frame rate is 1,000,000 frames per second. Because we are
sending 4 bits in each frame, we can verify the result of the
previous question by multiplying the frame rate by the
number of bits per frame.

53
Example
5
Four 1-kbps connections are multiplexed together. A
unit is 1 bit. Find (a) the duration of 1 bit before
multiplexing, (b) the transmission rate of the link, (c)
the duration of a time slot, and (d) the duration of a
frame.

Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
a. The duration of 1 bit before multiplexing is 1 / 1 kbps, or
0.001 s (1 ms).

b. The rate of the link is 4 times the rate of a connection, or 4

kbps.

54
Example 5
(continued)

c. The duration of each time slot is one-fourth of the duration

of each bit before multiplexing, or 1/4 ms or 250 μs. Note
that we can also calculate this from the data rate of the link,
4 kbps. The bit duration is the inverse of the data rate, or 1/4
kbps or 250 μs.

d. The duration of a frame is always the same as the duration

of a unit before multiplexing, or 1 ms. We can also calculate
this in another way. Each frame in this case has four time
slots. So the duration of a frame is 4 times 250 μs, or 1 ms.

55
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Figure 9

56
 Example
6
Four channels are multiplexed using TDM. If each channel
sends 100 bytes /s and we multiplex 1 byte per channel, show
the frame traveling on the link, the size of the frame, the
duration of a frame, the frame rate, and the bit rate for the link.

Figure
10
Example
8

Solution
The multiplexer is shown in Figure 6.16. Each frame carries 1
byte from each channel; the size of each frame, therefore, is 4
bytes, or 32 bits. Because each channel is sending 100 bytes/s
and a frame carries 1 byte from each channel, the frame rate
must be 100 frames per second. The bit rate is 100 × 32, or
3200 bps. 57
Example
7
A multiplexer combines four 100-kbps channels using a time
slot of 2 bits. Show the output with four arbitrary inputs. What is
the frame rate? What is the frame duration? What is the bit
rate? What is the bit duration?

Figure 11 Example 9
Solution
Figure 6.17 shows the output for four arbitrary inputs. The link
carries 50,000 frames per second. The frame duration is therefore
1/50,000 s or 20 μs. The frame rate is 50,000 frames per second, and
each frame carries 8 bits; the bit rate is 50,000 × 8 = 400,000 bits or
400 kbps. The bit duration is 1/400,000 s, or 2.5 μs. 58
 Pulse Stuffing

– Problem - Synchronizing data sources

– If each source has a separate clock, any variation among clock could
cause loss of synchronization
– Data rates from different sources not related by simple rational
number
– Solution - Pulse Stuffing
• Outgoing data rate (excluding framing bits) higher than sum of incoming rates
• Stuff extra dummy bits or pulses into each incoming signal until it matches local
clock
• Stuffed pulses inserted at fixed locations in frame and removed at demultiplexer

Figure 12 Pulse stuffing

59
 Framing

– No flag or SYNC characters bracketing TDM frames

– Must provide synchronizing mechanism
– Added digit framing
• One control bit added to each TDM frame
– Looks like another channel - “control channel”
• Identifiable bit pattern used on control channel
• e.g. alternating 01010101…unlikely on a data channel
• Can compare incoming bit patterns on each channel with
sync pattern

Figure 13 Framing

60
Example
8
We have four sources, each creating 250 characters
per second. If the interleaved unit is a character and 1
synchronizing bit is added to each frame, find (a) the
data rate of each source, (b) the duration of each
character in each source, (c) the frame rate, (d) the
duration of each frame, (e) the number of bits in each
frame, and (f) the data rate of the link.

Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
a. The data rate of each source is 250 × 8 = 2000 bps = 2 kbps.

61
Example 8
(continued)
b. Each source sends 250 characters per second; therefore, the
duration of a character is 1/250 s, or
4 ms.
c. Each frame has one character from each source, which
means the link needs to send 250 frames per second to keep
the transmission rate of each source.
d. The duration of each frame is 1/250 s, or 4 ms. Note that the
duration of each frame is the same as the duration of each
character coming from each source.
e. Each frame carries 4 characters and 1 extra synchronizing
bit. This means that each frame is
4 × 8 + 1 = 33 bits.

62
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Example
9
Two channels, one with a bit rate of 100 kbps and
another with a bit rate of 200 kbps, are to be
multiplexed. How this can be achieved? What is the
frame rate? What is the frame duration? What is the bit
rate of the link?
Solution
We can allocate one slot to the first channel and two slots
to the second channel. Each frame carries 3 bits. The
frame rate is 100,000 frames per second because it carries
1 bit from the first channel. The bit rate is 100,000
frames/s × 3 bits per frame, or 300 kbps.

63
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Figure 14 Digital

64
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Table 1 DS and T line rates

65
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Figure 15 T-1 line for multiplexing telephone lines

66
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Figure 16 T-1 frame structure

67
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Table 2 E line rates

68
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Figure 17 TDM slot

69
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – FDM, TDM & WDM

Statistical TDM
• In Synchronous TDM many slots are wasted
• Statistical TDM allocates time slots dynamically
based on demand
• Multiplexer scans input lines and collects data until
frame full
• Data rate on the multiplexed line is less than the
sum of the data rates of the attached devices
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – SPREAD SPECTRUM

SPREAD
SPECTRUM
In spread spectrum (SS), we combine signals from
different sources to fit into a larger bandwidth, but
our goals are to prevent eavesdropping and
jamming. To achieve these goals, spread spectrum
techniques add redundancy.

Topics discussed in this section:

Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)
Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum Synchronous (DSSS)

71
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – SPREAD SPECTRUM

Figure 18 Spread

72
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – SPREAD SPECTRUM

●Signals are sent on

different carrier frequencies Figure 19 Frequency hopping spread
spectrum (FHSS)
using a
pseudorandom sequence
known to both sender and
receiver

●Unauthorized person who

tunes his/her receiver to one
carrier frequency (subband)
may only receive part of the
transmitted signal

73
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – SPREAD SPECTRUM

Figure 20 Frequency selection in

74
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – SPREAD SPECTRUM

Figure 21 FHSS

75
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – SPREAD SPECTRUM

Figure 22 Bandwidth

76
 3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – SPREAD SPECTRUM

Figure 32 DSSS
77
3.2 Bandwidth utilization:
multiplexing – SPREAD SPECTRUM

Figure 23 DSSS

78
ECP 2056 :
DATACOMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTER
NETWORKING

CHAPTER 3 : Characteristics of Data Communication

Networks

3.3 Circuit switched data networks

3.4 Packet-switched data networks

Saiful Jumaat Osman, SUPELEC France

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING,
CYBERJAYA
YEAR 2008
 ECP 2056 :
DATACOMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTER NETWORKING

3.3) Packet-switched data

networks
3.4) Circuit switched data
networks
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

What is WAN?
− Covers large geographical areas (towns, cities, states,
countries,..) or usually across an area of multiple km radius.
− LAN depends on their own hardware or equipment but WANs may
use public, leased, or private communication equipments
(combined).
− Usually consists of several interconnected switching nodes
● The nodes provide a switching facility that will move the data from one
node to another until they reach their destination
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

Switching Networks
− Long distance transmission is typically done
over a network of switching devices called
nodes
− Nodes do not concern with the content of data
− Data routed by being switched from node to
node
− End devices are called stations
●e.g. Computer, terminal, phone, etc
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

Figure 1 Switched
network

83
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

Nodes
− Nodes may connect to other nodes only (e.g. node 5), or
to stations and other nodes (e.g. node 6)
− Node-to-node links usually multiplexed (FDM or TDM)
− Some redundant connections (alternative paths) are
desirable for reliability
− Two general types of switching technologies
●Circuit switching
●Packet switching
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

Figure 2 Taxonomy of switched

networks
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

CIRCUIT-SWITCHED NETWORKS
A circuit-switched network consists of a set of switches
connected by physical links. A connection between two
stations is a dedicated path made of one or more links.
However, each connection uses only one dedicated channel
on each link. Each link is normally divided into n channels by
using FDM or TDM.
Topics discussed in this section:
Three Phases
Efficiency
Delay
Circuit-Switched Technology in Telephone
Networks
86
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

− Dedicated communication path between two

stations
●The path is a connected sequence of links between
network nodes
●On each physical link, a logical channel is
dedicated to the connection
− The nodes must have switching capacity and
channel capacity to establish connection
− The nodes must have intelligence to work out
routing
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

A circuit-switched network is made of a set of

switches connected by physical links, in which each
link is divided into n channels.

Figure 3 A trivial circuit-switched network

CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

In circuit switching, the resources need to be reserved during

the setup phase;
the resources remain dedicated for the entire duration of data
transfer until the teardown phase.

– Circuit switching involves 3 phases:

» I) Circuit Establishment
 Before any signal can be transmitted, an end
to end (station-to-station) circuit must be
established
» II) Data Transfer
 Information is transferred
 Generally full duplex and digital nowadays
» III) Circuit Disconnect
 The connection can be terminated by either
one of the two stations
 If requested by node A, signal for deallocating
dedicated resources is propagated to nodes
4,5 and 6
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

Disadvantages
− Inefficient
●Channel capacity dedicated for duration of connection
hence if no data, capacity wasted especially for terminal-
to-computer connection.
− Delay
●Set up connection takes time

Applications
− Public telephone network
− Private branch exchange
− Data switch
 Example
1
As a trivial example, let us use a circuit-switched network to connect eight
telephones in a small area. Communication is through 4-kHz voice channels.
We assume that each link uses FDM to connect a maximum of two voice
channels. The bandwidth of each link is then 8 kHz. Figure 4 shows the
situation. Telephone 1 is connected to telephone 7; 2 to 5; 3 to 8; and 4 to 6.
Of course the situation may change when new connections are made. The
switch controls the connections.

Figure 4 Circuit-switched network used in Example 8.1

91
 Example
2
As another example, consider a circuit-switched network that connects
computers in two remote offices of a private company. The offices are
connected using a T-1 line leased from a communication service provider.
There are two 4 × 8 (4 inputs and 8 outputs) switches in this network. For
each switch, four output ports are folded into the input ports to allow
communication between computers in the same office. Four other output
ports allow communication between the two offices. Figure 5 shows the
situation.

Figure 5 Circuit-switched network used in Example 8.2

92
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

Figure 6 Delay in a circuit-switched

network

93
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

Limitations of Circuit Switching

− Circuit switching is originally designed to handle voice
traffic
●Dedicated resources (e.g. channel/connection) is allocated to
a particular call
− As the networks began to handle more and more data-
type traffic, two shortcomings became apparent:
●Resources are wasted
− In a typical user/host data connection, much of the time the line is
idle.
●Data rate is fixed
− This limits the utility of the network in interconnecting a variety of
host computers and terminals

94
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

DATAGRAM NETWORKS
In data communications, we need to send messages
from one end system to another. If the message is
going to pass through a packet-switched network, it
needs to be divided into packets of fixed or variable
size. The size of the packet is determined by the
network and the governing protocol.
Topics discussed in this section:
Routing Table
Efficiency
Delay
Datagram Networks in the Internet
96
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

Packet-switching Principles
− Data are transmitted in small packets
●Typically 1000 octets
●Longer messages are split into a series of packets
●Each packet contains a portion of user data plus some control info
for routing purpose

− Packets are received, stored briefly (buffered) and past on to the

next node and finally to the destination
 Store and forward
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

Advantages over Circuit Switch

● Greater line efficiency
– Single node to node link can be shared by many packets over time
– Packets queued and transmitted as fast as possible
● Data rate conversion
– Different stations connect to the local node at their own data rates
– Nodes buffer data if required to equalize rates
● No blocking
– Packets are accepted even when network is busy but need to tolerate
delay
●
Prioritization can be applied
– Packets with high priority will experience less delay than lower-priority
packets. Can have different queues with different priorities

98
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

Packet Switching Techniques

● Station breaks long message into packets
●
Packets sent one at a time to the network
●
Packets handled in two ways
− Datagram
− Virtual circuit

99
CHAPTER 3 Characteristics of Data Communication Networks:
Packet-switched data networks & Circuit switched data
networks

Datagram Approach
● Each packet treated independently
●
Packets can take any practical route
● Packets may arrive out of order
●
Packets may go missing
●
Up to receiver to re-order packets and to
detect and recover missing packets
In a packet-switched network, there
is no resource reservation;
resources are allocated on demand.
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Figure 7 A datagram network with four switches

(routers)

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Figure 8 Routing table in a datagram

network

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A switch in a datagram network uses a routing

table that is based on the destination address.

The destination address in the header of a packet

in a datagram network
remains the same during the entire journey of the
packet.

Switching in the Internet is done by using the

datagram approach
to packet switching at the network layer.
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Figure 9 Delay in a datagram

network

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VIRTUAL-CIRCUIT NETWORKS

A virtual-circuit network is a cross between a

circuit-switched network and a datagram network. It
has some characteristics of both.
Topics discussed in this section:
Addressing
Three Phases
Efficiency
Delay
Circuit-Switched Technology in WANs
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Figure 10 Virtual-circuit
network

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− In virtual circuit Figure 11 Virtual-circuit identifier

networks, a virtual
circuit identifier (VCI)
is used as the
identifier for data
transfer.
− It is used by a frame
between two
switches.
− When a frame arrives
at a switch, it has one
VCI; when it leaves, it
has another.

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Virtual Circuit Approach (cont.)

● To communicate, a source and destination
need to go through three phases:
− Setup
− Data transfer
− Teardown

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Setup Phase
●
Preplanned route established before any packets
sent.
●
All switches need to have a table entry for this
virtual circuit.
●
These switching tables contain information such as
incoming port/VCI and outgoing port/VCI.
● This phase is implemented in two approaches:
− Permanent virtual circuit (PVC)
− Switched virtual circuit (SVC)
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Permanent Virtual Circuit

● The corresponding table entry is recorded
for all switches by the administrator.

●
An outgoing VCI is given to the source, and
an incoming VCI is given to the destination.

●
The source always uses this VCI to send
frames to that particular destination.

●
The PVC is like a leased telephone line.
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Switched Virtual Circuit

● The SVC creates a temporary, short
connection that exists only when data are
being transferred between source and
destination.

● Two steps are required to create the

virtual circuit:
− Setup request
− Acknowledgment
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Figure 12 Switch and tables in a virtual-circuit network

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Figure 13 Source-to-destination data transfer in a virtual-circuit network

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− Setup request
●A setup request frame is sent from the source to
the destination.

Figure 14 Setup request in a virtual-circuit

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− Acknowledgment
●An acknowledgment frame can complete the
entries in the switching tables.

Figure 15 Setup acknowledgment in a virtual-circuit

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Data Transfer Phase

●
Once established, all the packets will follow the
same route.
●
Fixed for the duration of the logical connection.

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Teardown Phase
● Source A, after sending all frames to B,
sends a special frame called a teardown
request.
●
Destination B responds with a teardown
confirmation frame.
●
All switches erase the corresponding entry
from their tables.

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Virtual Circuits v Datagram

●
Virtual Circuits
− Network can provide sequencing and error control
− Packets are forwarded more quickly
● No routing decisions to make
− Less reliable as loss of that node affect all the circuits
over that node
● Datagram
− No need call setup phase
●
Better if few packets
− More flexible
● Routing can be used to avoid congested parts of the network
− More reliable
● If a node fails, subsequent packets may find an alternative
route that bypasses that node. 118
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In virtual-circuit switching, all packets

belonging to the same source and
destination travel the same path;
but the packets may arrive at the
destination with different delays
if resource allocation is on demand.

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Figure 16 Delay in a virtual-circuit

network

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Circuit Switching Concept

●
Circuit switching
elements

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Elements of a Circuit-Switch Node

●
Digital Switch
– Provide transparent signal path between devices
– Full duplex transmission
●
Network Interface
– Functions and hardware needed to connect digital devices
to the network
– e.g. data processing devices and digital telephones to the
network.
● Control Unit
– Carry out three general tasks
1. Establish connections
2. Maintain connection
3. Disconnect or tear down connection 122
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Characteristics of a Circuit Switching Device

●
Blocking
− Blocking can happen when a network is unable to
connect stations because all paths are in use
− Acceptable for voice systems since short duration
calls, only a fraction of the telephone will be engaged
at any time

● Non-blocking
− Permits all stations to connect (in pairs) at once
− Suited for data connections as a terminal can be
connected for long hours at a time

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Space Division Switching

●
The signal paths are physically separated from one
another (divided in space)
● Crossbar switch
● Limitations:
– Number of crosspoints grows as square of number of
stations  costly
– Loss of crosspoint prevents connection
– Inefficient use of crosspoints as even when all stations
connected, only a few crosspoints are engaged
● To overcome these limitations  Multiple-Stage
switches
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Crossbar Switch
Input lines

Output 125

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Multistage Switch
● Example: Three-Stage Division Switch

●
Reduced number of crosspoints compared to
the cross-bar cross-points number.
● More than one path through network 
Increased reliability
●
Downside:
− More complex control
− May be blocking. 126
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Three-Stage Division Switch

3x3 127
5x2 2x5
switches switches switches
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Comparison: Crosspoints Required

− The multistage requires only 35 percent as

many crosspoints as the single-stage switch 128
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Time Division Switching

13 24 31 41 129

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Time-Slot Interchange (TSI)

● A TSI consists of random access memory
(RAM) with several memory location

●
The RAM fills up with incoming data from
time slots in the order received

●
Slots are then sent out in an order based
on the decision of a control unit
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TSI (cont.)

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TDM Bus
● The input and output lines are connected
to a high-speed bus through input and
output gates (microswitches)

● Only one pair of input/output gates is

closed for each time slot

●
This pair of gates allows data to be
transferred using the bus
132
●
The control unit opens and closes the gates
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TDM Bus (cont.)

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Space- and Time-Division Switch Combinations

●
Space-division
 Fast
The number of crosspoint required
● Time-division
 Needs no crosspoint
Processing delays
●
Combining the two results in switches that are
optimized both physically and temporally
●
Multistage switches of this sort can be designed as
time-space-time (TST), time-space-space-time
(TSST), space-time-time-space (STTS), or other
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TST Switch

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Performance Analysis
● Propagation delay
− The time it takes a signal to propagate from
one node to the next.
− It is generally negligible.

● Transmission time
− The time it takes for a transmitter to send out
a block of data.

● Node delay
136
− The time it takes for a node to perform the
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Performance Analysis (cont.)

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Performance Analysis – Circuit Switching

●The delay is mainly caused by Call
Request.

●A processing delay is incurred at each node

during the call request for setting the
route.

●There is no delay for Call Accept signal as

the connection is already set up.
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Performance Analysis – VC Packet Switching

●The delay is similar to circuit switching
− Call Request incurs a delay at each node

●Call Accept experiences node delays

because this packet is queued at each
node and must wait its turn for
transmission.

●Data packets also queued and delayed.

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Performance Analysis – Datagram

Packet Switching
●Does not require a call setup hence faster
for short messages.

●Because each individual datagram is routed

independently, the processing for each
datagram at each node may be longer than
for VC.

●For long messages VC is better.

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142