Chapter 2

Physical Layer

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 Outline:
• 2.3 Multiplexing, Circuit switching, Packet switching, VC Switching,
Telecommunication switching system (Networking of Telephone exchanges)
• 2.4 ISDN: Architecture, Interface, and Signaling

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 Multiplexing
 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.
 The aim is to share an expensive resource. For example, in
telecommunications, several telephone calls may be carried using one wire.
Multiplexing originated in telegraphy, and is now widely applied in
communications.
 The multiplexing divides the capacity of the high-level communication
channel into several low-level logical channels, one for each message signal
or data stream to be transferred.

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 Multiplexing
 The lines on the left direct their transmission streams to a multiplexer (MUX), which
combines them into a single stream (many-to-one).
 At the receiving end, that stream is fed into a demultiplexer (DEMUX), which
separates the stream back into its component transmissions (one-to-many) and
directs them to their corresponding lines.

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 Multiplexing: Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM)
 FDM is an analog technique that can be applied when the bandwidth of a link is
greater than the combined bandwidths of the signals to be transmitted.
 In FDM, signals generated by each sending device modulate different carrier
frequencies. These modulated signals are then combined into a single composite
signal that can be transported by the link.
 Carrier frequencies are separated by sufficient bandwidth to accommodate the
modulated signal.
 In addition, carrier frequencies must not interfere with the original data frequencies.

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 FDM multiplexing

FDM demultiplexing

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 Multiplexing: Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM)
 TDM is a digital process that allows several connections to share the high
bandwidth of a link.
 Instead of sharing a portion of the bandwidth as in FDM, time is shared. Each
connection occupies a portion of time in the link.
 TDM is a digital multiplexing technique for combining several low-rate
channels into one high-rate one.

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 Multiplexing: Time-Division Multiplexing
 TDM divide into two different schemes: synchronous and statistical.
 In synchronous TDM, the data flow of each input connection is divided
into units, where each input occupies one input time slot.
 A unit can be 1 bit, one character, or one block of data. Each input unit
becomes one output unit and occupies one output time slot.
 If an input time slot is T s, the output time slot is T/n s, where n is the
number of connections.
 In synchronous TDM, the data rate of the link is n times faster, and the unit
duration is n times shorter.

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Synchronous time-division multiplexing

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 Switching
 Whenever we have multiple devices, we have the problem of how to connect
them to make one-to-one communication possible.
 One solution is to make a point-to-point connection between each pair of
devices (a mesh topology) or between a central device and every other device (a
star topology).
 These methods, however, are impractical and wasteful when applied to very
large networks. The number and length of the links require too much
infrastructure to be cost-efficient, and the majority of those links would be idle
most of the time.
 A better solution is switching.
 A switched network consists of a series of interlinked nodes, called switches.
 Switches are devices capable of creating temporary connections between two
or more devices linked to the switch.
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 Switching
 In a switched network, some of these nodes are connected to the end systems
(computers or telephones, for example). Others are used only for routing.
 The end systems (communicating devices) are labeled A, B, C, D, and so on,
and the switches are labeled I, II, III, IV, and V. Each switch is connected to
multiple links.

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 Switching
 Three methods of switching have been important: circuit switching, packet
switching, and message switching.
 The first two are commonly used today. The third has been phased out in
general communications but still has networking applications.

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 Switching: Circuit - Switched Network
 A circuit-switched network is made of a set of switches connected by physical links,
in which each link is divided into n channels. However, each connection uses
only one dedicated channel on each link.
 Each link is normally divided into n channels by using FDM or TDM.
 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.
 The actual communication in a circuit-switched network requires three phases:
connection setup, data transfer, and connection teardown.
• Setup Phase: Before the two parties (or multiple parties in a conference call) can
communicate, a dedicated circuit (combination of channels in links) needs to be
established. The end systems are normally connected through dedicated lines to
the switches, so connection setup means creating dedicated channels between
the switches. 13
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 Switching: Circuit - Switched Network
• Data Transfer Phase: After the establishment of the dedicated circuit (channels),
the two parties can transfer data.
• Teardown Phase: When one of the parties needs to disconnect, a signal is sent to
each switch to release the resources.

 Switches are set up at the beginning of the connection and maintained throughout the
connection
 Expensive (Charging Based per minute)
 Need actual connection
 Each Packet follows same path.
 Bandwidth available is fixed.
 Not a very efficient strategy. A connection “holds” a physical line even during “silence”
periods (when there is nothing to transmit)
 Developed for voice traffic (phone) 15
 Switching: Packet - Switched Network
 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.
 In a packet-switched network, there is no resource reservation; resources
are allocated on demand.
 The allocation is done on a first come, first-served basis. When a switch
receives a packet, no matter what is the source or destination, the packet must
wait if there are other packets being processed.
 In a datagram network, each packet is treated independently of all others.
Even if a packet is part of a multipacket transmission, the network treats it as
though it existed alone. Packets in this approach are referred to as datagrams.
 Datagram switching is normally done at the network layer.
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 Datagram Network
 In this example, all four packets (or datagrams) belong to the same message, but may travel
different paths to reach their destination.
 This approach can cause the datagrams of a transmission to arrive at their destination out
of order with different delays between the packets. Packets may also be lost or dropped
because of a lack of resources.
 In most protocols, it is the responsibility of an upper-layer protocol to reorder the
datagrams or ask for lost datagrams before passing them on to the application.

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 Datagram Network
 The datagram networks are sometimes referred to as connectionless networks.
 The term connectionless here means that the switch (packet switch) does not
keep information about the connection state. There are no setup or teardown
phases.
 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.
 The efficiency of a datagram network is better than that of a circuit-switched
network; resources are allocated only when there are packets to be
transferred. If a source sends a packet and there is a delay of a few minutes
before another packet can be sent, the resources can be reallocated during these
minutes for other packets from other sources.
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 Virtual-circuit Network
 A virtual-circuit network is a cross between a circuit-switched network and a
datagram network. It has some characteristics of both.
1) As in a circuit-switched network, there are setup and teardown phases in
addition to the data transfer phase.
2) Resources can be allocated during the setup phase, as in a circuit-switched
network, or on demand, as in a datagram network.
3) As in a datagram network, data are packetized and each packet carries an
address in the header. It defines what should be the next switch and the channel
on which the packet is being carried.
4) As in a circuit-switched network, all packets follow the same path established
during the connection.
5) A virtual-circuit network is normally implemented in the data link layer, while
a circuit-switched network is implemented in the physical layer and a datagram
network in the network layer. 19
 Virtual-circuit Network
 A virtual-circuit network goes through three phases : setup, data transfer, and teardown.
 In the setup phase: the source and destination use their global addresses to help switches
make table entries for the connection.
 In the teardown phase: the source and destination inform the switches to delete the
corresponding entry.
 Data Transfer Phase :To transfer a frame from a source to its destination, all switches need
to have a table entry for this virtual circuit. This means that the switch holds four pieces of
information for each virtual circuit that is already set up.

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 Virtual-circuit Network
 In a virtual-circuit network, two types of addressing are involved: global and virtual-circuit
identifier (VCI) .
 Global address: an address that can be unique in the scope of the network or internationally
if the network is part of an international network.
 VCI is a small number that has only switch scope; it is used by a frame between two
switches. When a frame arrives at a switch, it has a VCI; when it leaves, it has a different
VCl.

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 Virtual Circuits vs. Datagram
 Virtual circuits
• Network can provide sequencing and error control
• Packets are forwarded more quickly
• No routing decisions to make
• Less reliable
• Loss of a node looses all circuits through that node
 Datagram
• No call setup phase
• Better if few packets
• More flexible
• Routing can be used to avoid congested parts of the network
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 ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network
 The traditional PSTN was based on an analog connection between the customer
premises and the local exchange, also called the local loop. The analog circuits
introduce limitations on the bandwidth that can be obtained on the local loop.
Circuit restrictions do not permit analog bandwidths greater than approximately
3000 Hz.
 ISDN was developed by ITU-T in 1976.
 ISDN is a set of protocols that combines digital telephone and data transport
services.
 The whole idea is to digitize the telephone network to permit the transmission of
audio, video, and text over exiting telephone lines.
 The goal of ISDN is to form a wide area network that provides universal end-
to-end connectivity over digital media. This can be done by integrating all of the
separate transmission services into one without adding new links or subscriber
lines. 24
 ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network
 The ISDN integrate customer services with IDN.
 ISDN incorporates all communication connections in a home or building into a single
interface.
 In the figure below, each user is linked to the central office through a digital pipe. These
pipes can be of different capacities to allow different rates of transmission and support
different subscriber needs.

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ISDN Architecture

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 ISDN Channels
 The Digital pipe is made up of channels - one of three types: Bearer (B) channel, Data (D)
channel, and Hybrid (H) channel.
 B - Channels
• Data rate of 64kbps
• Basic user channel and can carry any type of digital information in full-duplex mode.
• For example, digital data or PCM-encoded voice or low data-rate information.
 D - Channels
• Data rate cab be either 16 or 64 kbps.
• Primary function is to carry control signalling for the B channels.
• Less use for low data rate telemetry and alarm transmission.
 H - Channels
• Data rates 384kbps or 1536kbps or 1920kbps
• Suit for high data rate applications such as video, high-quality audio, teleconferencing
etc. 27
 ISDN Channels
 Basic Rate Interface (BRI)
• The ISDN Basic Rate Interface (BRI) service offers two B channels and one D channel
(2B+D).
• Each BRI B channel operates at 64 kbps and is meant to carry user data.
• ISDN BRI can provide access at 128 kbps when using both B channels.
• The BRI D channel operates at 16 kbps and is meant to carry control and signaling
information, although it can support user data transmission under certain circumstances.
• The D-channel signaling protocol comprises Layers 1 through 3 of the OSI reference
model.
 Primary Rate Interface (PRI)
• In North America and Japan, ISDN PRI service offers 23 B channels and 1 D channel,
known ad T1.
• The PRI D channel runs at 64 kbps.
• ISDN PRI in Europe, Australia, and other parts of the world provides 30 B channels plus
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1 64-kbps D channel, known as E1.
 ISDN Functional Groups
 Function group: A set of functions implemented by a device and software
 Network Termination1 (NT1): Physical Layer device. It controls the physical and
electrical termination of the ISDN at the user’s premises and connects the user’s
internal system to the digital subscriber loop.
 A network termination 2 (NT2): it performs functions at the physical, data link,
and network layer. NT2s provide multiplexing (layer 1), flow control (layer 2), and
packetizing (layer 3). E.g. Private Branch Exchange (PBX)
 Terminal equipment1 (TE1) is any device that supports the ISDN standards.
Examples: digital telephones, integrated voice/data terminals.
 TE2 devices are not immediately compatible with an ISDN network but can be
used with the help of another device called a terminal adapter (TA).
 A terminal adapter (TA) converts information received in non-ISDN format from a
TE2 into a format capable of being carried by the ISDN
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 ISDN Reference Points
 R: References the connection between a non-ISDN compatible device TE2
and a Terminal Adapter (TA), for example an RS-232 serial interface.

 S: References the points that connect into the customer switching device NT2
and enables calls between the various types of customer premises equipment.

 T: Electrically identical to the S interface, it references the outbound

 U: References the connection between the NT1 and the ISDN network owned
by the telephone company.

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 Thank You
???

References:
 Data Communications and Networking “ Behrouz A. Forouzan”
 Computer Networks “A. S. Tanenbaum” Fifth Edition
 Data and Computer Communications “William Stallings” Tenth Edition.

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