TOPIC: DATA COMMUNICATION IN COMPUTERS

i. Communication is the process of sharing a message. A conversation

between two people is an example of communication.

ii. Data communication is the transmission of electronic data over some

media.

iii. Communications between computers can be as simple as cabling two

computers to the same printer.

Five (5)Elements of Data Communication

i. Sender. The computer or device that is used for sending data is called sender, source or
transmitter. In modern digital communication system, the source is usually a computer.
ii. Medium. The means through which data is sent from one location to another is called
transmission medium. If the receiver and transmitter are within a building, a wire
connects them. If they are located at different locations, they may be connected by
telephone lines, fiber optics or microwaves.
iii. Receiver. The device or computer that receives the data is called receiver. The receiver
can be a computer, printer or a fax machine.
iv. Protocols. There are rules under which data transmission takes place between sender
and receiver. The data communication s/w are used to transfer data from one computer
to another. The s/w follows same communication protocols can communicate and
exchange data.
v. Message: this is the subject of communication. It the reason communication is initiated
in the first place.

Data Communication Tools

• Computers

• Mobile Phones

• Internet

Definition of terminologies

Data Encryption

• This is Process of converting data into coded form (cypher text) to prevent it from being read
or understood by unauthorized people.

• Encrypted data is difficult to decode without a secret key

Communications Software

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• This refers to a set of instructions (software) needed by a computer before it starts sending
and receiving data from other computers.

Encoding

• This is the process through which Information (e.g. data, text, voice or video) from the
sending device is converted into signals which the communication medium can carry.

Decoding

• This is the process through which the signals are converted back into the information in its
original form in the receiving device.

Downloading: To download is to transfer a file to your computer from another.

Uploading means to transfer a file from your computer to another.

Throughput

• Throughput refers to the rate of how much data is moved during a certain amount of time.

• The amount of signals that can travel over a communications channel sometimes is called
the Bandwidth. The higher the bandwidth, the more data and information the channel can
transmit.

Data Encryption

• This is Process of converting data into coded form (cypher text) to prevent it from being read
or understood by unauthorized people.

• Encrypted data is difficult to decode without a secret key

Data Transmission Media

• Data transmission media are channels/media through which data (messages) are relayed
from sender to the receiver.

• Transmission media refers to the physical materials that are used to transmit data between
computers.

Examples of such channels/Materials

• Cables

• Wireless means

Physical transmission medium

• For communications between computers that are linked by cable, there are three choices:

– Twisted wire,
– Coaxial cable,
– Fiber optic line.

Twisted Pair cable

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 • Twisted pair cable comes in two varieties:

• Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) and Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP).

• UTP is the most popular

Advantages:

• It is of low cost

• small in size

• easy to install

• It is the most popular and generally the best for schools.

Disadvantages:

– Subject to interference

– Limited distance, usually less than 100 meters

Coaxial cable

• Coaxial cable consists of a single copper wire surrounded by at least three layers:

• An insulating material

• A woven or braided metal

• A plastic outer coating.

• Cable TV wiring often uses coaxial cable because it can be cabled over longer distances
than twisted-pair cable.

Advantages

• Coaxial cable is insulated more heavily than twisted-pair cable. So it is highly resistant
to signal interference.

• Used for longer distances (300 – 600 meters)

• Transmits faster than UTP

Disadvantages

– Heavy & bulky

– Needs booster over longer distances

Fiber Optic Cable

• Consists of dozens or hundreds of thin strands of glass or

plastic that use light to transmit signals.

• Each strand, called an optical fiber, is as thin as a human hair.

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Advantages:

• Carry significantly more signals than other cables.

• Faster data transmission.

• Less vulnerable to electrical noise from other devices

• Better security for signals during transmission.

• Smaller size, and much thinner and lighter than other cables.

Disadvantages:

• Cost more than wire cables

• Difficult to install and modify.

Wireless Transmission Media

• Wireless transmission media transport digital communications without cables between

communications devices.

• Wireless transmission media used in communications include

– Broadcast radio,
– Cellular radio
– Microwaves
– Communications satellites,
– Infrared & Bluetooth.

• Wireless transmission is more convenient than installing cables but it has Slower data
transfer than hard-wired methods and it is also Subject to interference

• Wireless transmission media are used when it is inconvenient, impractical, or impossible to

install wires and cables.

Microwave

• Microwaves are high-frequency radio waves that are sent through the
atmosphere and space to deliver telecommunications services, including TV
distribution.

• It is dependent on line of sight.

Advantage:

• Speed of light

• Microwave signals can carry thousands of channels at the same time

Disadvantage:

• Line-of-sight only- (there is need for radio transmitters in networks using air interface
(radio waves) to be positioned free of obstacles)

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Satellite

• A satellite is basically a microwave station placed in outer space. The

satellite receives a signal from the earth, amplifies it, and then
rebroadcasts it at a different frequency to any number of earth-
basedstations.

• Advantage:Always in sight

• Disadvantage:Expensive uplink and downlink facilities

Infrared

• Infrared (IR) is a wireless transmission media that sends signals using infrared light waves.

• IR transmission also requires a line-of-sight transmission as that required by microwaves.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a kind of short-range (about 10 meters) broadcast radio communications, which

can transmit data at a rate of 1 Mbps among Bluetooth-enabled devices.

Many computers, peripherals, smart phones, PDAs, cars, and other consumer electronics are
Bluetooth-enabled, which means they contain a small chip that allow them to communicate with
other Bluetooth-enabled computers and devices.

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Data Transmission
There is a maximum limit to the amount of data that can be transmitted using any transmission medium
(Shannon’s Law). Each medium has its own maximum.
Data is transmitted as signals. The number of signals per second is the frequency of the signal. This is
measured in Hertz (Hz). One cycle per second is 1 Hz. One million cycles per second is 1 MHz.

Bandwidth
The maximum range of frequencies that can be transmitted is the bandwidth of the medium. This
determines the maximum amount of data that can be transmitted. A coaxial cable might have a
bandwidth of 10 to 100 MHz. An optic fibre has a bandwidth of up to 108 MHz.

Data Communications services

Data communicationshas an ancient history, as people have always had an interest in communicating
with each other. Different methods have been used and associated with each method are various
advantages and disadvantages. A major problem with communications is ensuring that the receiver gets
the message sent by the transmitter.

Convergence of Computing and Communications

Communication facilities have an ancient history, but we tend to think of the advent of the telegraph and
later the telephone as the beginning of modern communications. Extensive telegraph and telephone
networks were established all over the world, decades before the emergence of computers.

Data communication tools:

Data communication involves transferring a digital message from one device to another, and there are
many tools that are used today to enable this communication. These include the following:
Email:
Email (electronic mail) messages distributed by electronic means from one computer user to one or
more recipients via a network. Free email providers include Gmail and Yahoo. Using email, one can
send plain text, pictures, music and even video.
Skype:
To Skype means having a conversation with someone over the Internet using the software application
called Skype. The good thing is that with Skype, both conversing people will be able to see (virtually)
and hear each other. Today, skyping is very popular means of communication, especially amongst the
youth.
Newsgroups:
A newsgroup is a repository, for messages posted from many users in different locations. When you
subscribe to a newsgroup, you post and get messages to and from anyone else in the group.

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Newsgroups are mostly formed by people who have similar interests example Windows experts, Head
teachers group, Ubuntu experts, Tourism, etc.
Instant Messaging:
Instant messaging (IM) is a type of online chat which offers real-time text transmission over the Internet.

Electronic Vs Manual Data Communication

Manual communication where mostly used before the advent of computers, but even up to now, some
people still use manual communication methods: Manual data communication involved drums, bells and
messengers:
Electronic data communication methods have taken over manual communication methods. Today,
computers and mobile phones are the most famous communication media.

Introduction to Computer Networks

A computer network can be defined as an interconnected collection of autonomous computers.
The goals of a computer network include:
• Resource sharing: programs (O.S., applications), data, equipment (printers, disks) are available to all
users of the network regardless of location.
• High reliability: By replicating files on different machines and having spare cpus, users are more
immune from hardware/software failure.
• Less cost: Small machines have about 1/10 the power of a mainframe but 1/1000 the cost. By using
such machines with file server machine(s), a local area network LAN can be cheaply installed. It is easy
to increase the capacity by adding new machines.
• Communications medium: Users have access to email and the Internet.

Requirements for Setting up a Computer Network

Setting up a computer network has become easier over the years as operating systems and networking
technologies have improved, and storage and networking peripherals have evolved to incorporate plug
and play features. Setting up a network is a good way to get more use out of your computers and
peripherals, particularly for small and home business users.
There are many devices and equipment that one should have when your want to set up a network. But it
must be noted that in most cases, you use only what is necessary for your circumstances, or type of
network you want. Some of these include:

Routers
A router is a device that forwards data packets between computer networks. It creates an overlay
internetwork, as a router is connected to two or more data lines from different networks.

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Transmission Media
A transmission medium is a material substance (solid, liquid, gas, or plasma) that can propagatedata
packets from one point to another. Here, you need media such as coaxial cables, copper wires (UTP
and STP), Optical fibre and many others.

Modems
MODEM means Modulator Demodulation. Today, modems are used to connect computers and
networks to the internet and come from different manufacturers and ISPs.
Modems are generally classified by the amount of data they can send in a given unit of time, usually
expressed in bits per second (bit/s or bps), or bytes per second (B/s).

Network Software
Computers on a network can use their individual operating systems or they can use network operating
system. We have network operating systems like Windows Multipoint Server, LAN School etc.

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