By

Dr. Jagadamba G
Dept. of ISE, SIT, Tumakuru
Data Communication and Networking
Forouzan, 5th Edition

Chapter 3 : Introduction to
physical layer

 Data and Signals

 Analog and digital data
 Aperiodic and periodic signals
 Transmission impairment
 Objective

• Introduce the readers to fundamentals of data & signal

• Types of data & signal
• Characteristics and nature of analog & digital signal
• Representation of signal
• Transmission of digital signals
 Introduction
• Computer networks are designed to transfer data from one point
to another.
• During transit, data is in the form of electromagnetic signals.
• Hence it is important to study data and signals before we move
to further concepts in data communication.
• Data is the information that conveys some meaning based on
some mutually agreed up rules/conventions between sender and
receiver.
• Data can be Analog Data or Digital Data
• Signals can be Analog Signal and Digital Signal
• Signal can be periodic and non-periodic/aperiodic
• Media can change the data to signals or vice versa.
 Physical layer

To be transmitted,
data must be transformed to electromagnetic signals.
The Transmitter at Initiator side and Receiver at the Destination
side will receive signals through the transmission media.
 Analog and Digital
• Analog data refers to information that is continuous and take on
continuous values.
• Digital data refers to information that has discrete states and take on
discrete values.
• Analog signals refer to infinitely many levels of intensity over a period
of time and can have an infinite number of values in a range.
• Digital signals can have only a limited number of values. But it can be as
simple as 0 and 1
Applications of Data and Signal changeover

Analog Data Analog Signal

Telephone

Digital Data Analog Signal

Modem

Analog Data Digital Signal

Codec

Digital Data Digital Signal

Digital
transmitter
 Periodic and Nonperiodic/aperiodic
• Periodic signal completes a pattern within the measurable
time frame called a period, and repeats that pattern over
subsequent identical periods.
• The completion of one full pattern is called a cycle.
• A nonperiodic signal changes without exhibiting a patter or
cycle the repeats over time.

period
peak
amplitude
time

In data communications, we commonly use

periodic analog signals and nonperiodic digital signals.
 Periodic Signals

• Periodic analog signals can be classified as simple or composite.

• A simple periodic analog signal, a sine wave, cannot be decomposed into
simpler signals.
• A composite periodic analog signal is composed of multiple sine waves.
• Data communication uses periodic signals due to the requirement of lesser
bandwidth.
 Periodic analog signal
signal strength
period
T = 1/f
peak
amplitude

time

• The sign wave can be represented by three parameters:

Peak Amplitude, Frequency and Phase.
• General form: x(t) = A×sin(2ft + )

10
 Peak Amplitude

• Peak amplitude is the absolute

value of its highest intensity,
proportional to the energy it
caries.

• Ex: Electric signals measured

in volts
 Time/Period and Frequency

• Frequency refers to the number of cycles completed by the

wave in one second.
• Frequency is formally expressed in Hertz (Hz), which is cycle
per second.

• Period refers to the time taken by the wave to complete one

second.
• Period is formally expressed in seconds.

Frequency and period are the inverse of each other.

Two signals with the same amplitude, but different frequencies
 Frequency and Period
Units of period and frequency

• Frequency is the rate of change with respect to time. Change in a

short span of time means high frequency. Change over a long
span of time means low frequency.
• If a signal does not change at all, its frequency is zero.
• If a signal changes instantaneously, its frequency is infinite.
Examples
 Time and frequency domain plots of a
sine wave
A complete sine wave in the time domain can be
represented by a single spike in the frequency domain.
Examples: period and frequency

The frequency domain is more compact and useful when we are dealing with
more than one sine wave.
For example, above figure shows three sine waves, each with different amplitude
and frequency. All can be represented by spikes in the frequency domain.
 Phases
• Phase describes the position of the waveform relative to time zero.
• It also describes the amount of shift and status of the first cycle.
• It is measured in radians(360º is 2π rad, 1º is 2π/360 and 1 rad is 360/2π)
 Example

A sine wave is offset 1/6 cycle and ¼ cycle with respect to time 0. What
is its phase in degrees and radians?

Solution
We know that 1 complete cycle is 360°.

Therefore, 1/6 cycle is

We know that 1 complete cycle is 360°.

Therefore, 1/4 cycle is

1/4×360= 90
Phase Change
Wavelength
 Wavelength and period
Wavelength = Propagation speed x Period
= Propagation speed / Frequency

λ=c/f
Example
1. Let us consider the speed of the light, that is 3× 10^8 meters/sec. If a
red light has a frequency of say 2 × 10^14Hz. What is the wavelength of
red light?

Solution:
λ=c/f= (3× 10^8)/(2 × 10^14Hz)

2. Let us consider the speed of the light, that is 3× 10^8 meters/sec. If a

green light has a wavelength of say 2 × 10^14Hz. What is the frequency of
green light?

Solution:
f=c/ λ = (3× 10^8)/(2 × 10^14Hz)
 Composite signals
• For data communication a simple sine wave is not useful, what is used is a
composite signal which is a combination of many simple sine waves.
• A composite signal is made of many simple periodic or nonperiodic sine
waves.
• If we had only one single sine wave to convey a conversation over the
phone, it would make no sense and carry no information. We would just
hear a buzz. Hence, a single frequency sine wave is not useful in data
communications.
• we need to send a composite signal, a signal made of many simple sine
waves.
 Time and frequency domain plots of a
composite sine wave

• The frequency domain is more compact and useful when we are dealing with
more than one sine wave.
• A single-frequency sine wave is not useful in data communication.
• We need to send a composite signal, a signal made of many simple sine waves.
 A composite periodic signal
A composite periodic signal

Decomposition of the composite periodic

signal in the time and frequency domains
 Time and frequency domains of a
nonperiodic signal
A nonperiodic composite signal
• It can be a signal created by a microphone or a telephone set when a
word or two is pronounced.
• In this case, the composite signal cannot be periodic
• because that implies that we are repeating the same word or words with
exactly the same tone.
 Bandwidth
• The range of frequencies contained in a composite signal is its
bandwidth.
• But, we define the bandwidth of a composite signal is the difference between
the highest and the lowest frequencies contained in that signal.
• For example, if a composite signal contains frequencies between 1000 and
5000, its bandwidth is 5000 - 1000, or 4000.
 Example
A nonperiodic composite signal has a bandwidth of 200 kHz,
with a middle frequency of 140 kHz and peak amplitude of 20 V.
The two extreme frequencies have an amplitude of 0.
Approximately, draw the frequency domain of the signal.

Solution
• Total is 200, so two half is 100Hz,
• But middle is 140kHz, hence
 lower frequency=140-100=40kHz
 highest frequency=140+100=240kHz
• The lowest frequency must be at 40 kHz and the highest at
240 kHz.

29
 DIGITAL SIGNALS

• In addition to being represented by an analog signal,

information can also be represented by a digital signal.
• For example, a “1” can be encoded as a positive voltage and a
“0” as zero voltage.
• A digital signal can have more than two levels. In this case, we
can send more than 1 bit for each level.
Two digital signals: one with two signal levels and
the other with four signal levels

I=2Blog2M
M=signal level
I=Information/Data rate
 Examples
1. A digital signal has 8 levels. How many bits are
represented by each level?

We calculate the number of bits from the formula

Each signal level is represented by 3 bits.

2. A digital signal has 9 levels. How many bits are

represented by each level?

Each signal level is represented by 3.17 bits. Not realistic.

The number of bits sent per level needs to be an integer
as well as a power of 2.
Hence, 4 bits can represent one level.
32
 Digital Signal Properties
• Most digital signals are nonperiodic, and thus period and
frequency are not appropriate characteristics.
• Hence, we use bit rate (instead of frequency) to describe digital
signals.
• Bit rate – number of bits per second (bps)
• Bit interval/length – distance one bit occupies on the transmission
medium or it is a time required to send a single bit.
Bit interval/length= propagation speed × bit duration
 Examples
1. Assume we need to download files at a rate of 100 pages
per second. A page is an average of 24 lines with 80
characters in each line where one character requires 8 bits.
What is the required bit rate of the channel?

100*24*80*8=1,536,000bps

2. A digitized voice channel is made by digitizing a 4-kHz

bandwidth analog voice signal. We need to sample the signal
at twice the highest frequency (two samples per hertz).
Assume that each sample requires 8 bits.
What is the required bit rate?

2*4000*8=64,000bps=64kbps
 Example

HDTV uses digital signals to broadcast high quality video

signals. There are 1920 by 1080 pixels per screen, and the
screen is renewed 30 times per second. Also, 24 bits
represents one color pixel.
What is the bit rate for high-definition TV (HDTV)?

The TV stations reduce this rate to 20 to 40 Mbps

through compression.
Harmonics of a Digital Signal
 Bandwidth of a Channel

• A channel is the medium through which the signal carrying

information will be passed.
• In terms of analog signal, bandwidth of the channel is the range of
frequencies that the channel can carry.
• In terms of digital signal, bandwidth of the channel is the maximum
bit rate supported by the channel. i.e. the maximum amount of data
that the channel can carry per second.
 Transmission of Signal
• BW can be represented in Baseband • BW can be represented in Broadband
(ex: ethernet) (ex: radio and television)

• Baseband transmission means • Broadband transmission means

sending a digital signal over a sending a digital signal by converting
channel without changing the digital to analog signal in sender and visa
signal to an analog signal. versa in receiver.

• Baseband allows you to send or • Broadband does both at a time.

receive the data signals once at a
time.

• Baseband transmits the signals with • Broadband transmits the high

low frequency and it is suitable for frequency signals to longer distance.
short distance.
Baseband Transmission
Baseband pulse transmission for digital channels.
Bandpass transmission for analog channels.
 Bandwidths of two low-pass channels
Low-pass channel is one where its bandwidth starts from zero.
1. Narrowband communications use a smaller frequency range
(bandwidth).
2. Wideband communications use a wider band compared to
narrowband.
 Low pass channel with Limited bandwidth:
Rough approximation
• where N is the bitrate.
• If we want to send analog signals to roughly simulate the signal, we consider worst case,
i.e a maximum number of changes in the signal.
• Ex: 0101010101……. Or 101010101…..
• To simulate we need analog signal of frequency f=N/2.
• 1 be the +ve peak, 0 be the –ve peak.
 Low pass channel with Limited bandwidth:
Better approximation
• We need to increase the BW to 3N/2, 5N/2, 7N/2, and so on.
• Required BW is proportional to the bit rate.
 TRANSMISSION IMPAIRMENT

• Signals travel through transmission media, which are not

perfect.
• The imperfection causes signal impairment.
• This means that the signal at the beginning of the medium is not
the same as the signal at the end of the medium.
• What is sent is not what is received.
• Three causes of impairment are attenuation, distortion, and
noise.
 Transmission Impairment: Attenuation
• Attenuation is a loss of energy.
• When a signal, simple or composite, travels through a medium, it loses
some of its energy in overcoming the resistance of the medium.
• For ex: when a wire carries electric signals, it gets warm or hot, after a
while. This is due to the electrical energy in the signal converted to heat.
• To compensate the lost energy, amplifiers are used to amplify the signal.

• To verify the signal strength, a unit of decibel (dB) is used. Where decibel
is a measure of relative strengths of two signals. P1 and P2 are signal
strength at two points 1 and 2 respectively.

dB= 10 log 10 (p2Ip1) Where power=Square of voltage, dB= 20 log 10 (V2IV1).

 Example

Suppose a signal travels through a transmission medium

and its power is reduced to one-half.
This means that P2 is (1/2)P1.
In this case, the attenuation (loss of power) can be
calculated as

A loss of 3 dB (–3 dB) is equivalent to losing one-half

the power.
 Example

A signal travels through an amplifier, and its power is

increased 10 times.
This means that P2 = 10P1 .
What is the amplification (gain of power)?
 Example
One reason that engineers use the decibel to measure the
changes in the strength of a signal is that decibel numbers
can be added (or subtracted) when we are measuring
several points (cascading) instead of just two.
A signal travels from point 1 to point 4.

In this case, the decibel value can be calculated as

 Example
The loss in a cable is usually defined in decibels per
kilometer (dB/km). If the signal at beginning of a cable
with −0.3 dB/km has a power of 2 mW, what is the power
of the signal at 5 km?
Solution
The loss in the cable in decibels is 5 × (−0.3) = −1.5 dB.
We can calculate the power as
 Transmission Impairment: Distortion
• Distortion occurs in composite signals and it is the change in its form or
shape.
• Due to composite signals , each signal component has its own propagation
speed in the medium and have its own delay in arriving at the receiver.
• Signal components at the receiver have phase difference from what they
had at the sender.
 Transmission Impairment: Noise
• Noise is caused due to impairment.
• Addition of external factors in signals.
• Noise can disturb data.
• Two wires can generate voltage noise which affects data.
Transmission Impairment: Noise
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR): high vs. low
 Example

The power of a signal is 10 mW and the power of the

noise is 1 μW;
what are the values of SNR and SNRdB ?

Solution
The values of SNR and SNRdB can be calculated as follows:
 Example

The values of SNR and SNRdB for a noiseless channel are

We can never achieve this ratio in real life;

it is an ideal
 DATA RATE LIMITS
A very important consideration in data communications is how
fast we can send data, in bits per second, over a channel.

Data rate depends on three factors:

1. The bandwidth available
2. The level of the signals we use
3. The quality of the channel (the level of noise)
Two theoretical formulas are defined to calculate data rate:
 Nyquist criteria for a noiseless channel
 Shannon for a noisy channel
 Noiseless Channel: Nyquist Bit Rate
BitRate = 2 x Bandwidth x log2L
• Where L is the number of signal levels used to represent data, and BitRate is the
bit rate in bits per second.
• According to the formula, we might think that, given a specific bandwidth, we
can have any bit rate we want by increasing the number of signa11eve1s.
• Although the idea is theoretically correct, practically there is a limit.
• When we increase the number of signal 1eve1s, we impose a burden on the
receiver.
• If the number of levels in a signal is just 2, the receiver can easily distinguish
between “0” and “1”.
• If the level of a signal is 64, the receiver must be very sophisticated to
distinguish between 64 different levels.

Increasing the levels of a signal may reduce

the reliability of the system.
 Nyquist Theorem
• In baseband transmission, we said the bit rate is 2 times the bandwidth if
we use only the first harmonic in the worst case.
• However, the Nyquist formula is more general than what we derived
intuitively;
1. It can be applied to baseband transmission and modulation.
2. Also, it can be applied when we have two or more levels of signals.
 Examples

1. What is the maximum bit rate if we consider a noiseless

channel with a bandwidth of 3000 Hz transmitting a signal
with two signal levels?

2. What is the maximum bit rate if we consider the same

noiseless channel transmitting a signal with four signal
levels (for each level, we send 2 bits)?
 Example

We need to send 265 Kbps over a noiseless channel with a

bandwidth of 20 kHz. How many signal levels do we need?

Solution
We can use the Nyquist formula as

Since this result is not a power of 2, we need to either

increase the number of levels or reduce the bit rate.
If we have 128 levels, the bit rate is 280 Kbps.
If we have 64 levels, the bit rate is 240 Kbps.
 Noisy Channel: Shannon Capacity
In reality, we can not have a noiseless channel
For noisy channel,
Capacity = Bandwith x log2(1+SNR)

The Shannon capacity gives us the upper limit;

the Nyquist formula tells us how many signal levels we need.

• SNR is the signal-to-noise ratio, and capacity is the capacity of

the channel in bits per second.
• In the Shannon formula there is no indication of the signal level,
which means that no matter how many levels we have, we cannot
achieve a data rate higher than the capacity of the channel.
• In other words, the formula defines a characteristic of the
channel, not the method of transmission.
 Example
What is the channel capacity if an extremely noisy
channel is considered, in which the value of the signal-
to-noise ratio is almost zero.
Solution

This means that the capacity of this channel is zero

regardless of the bandwidth.
We cannot receive any data through this channel.
 Example
Calculate the theoretical highest bit rate and channel
capacity of a regular telephone line assuming the telephone
line normally has a bandwidth of 3000 Hz and signal-to-
noise ratio as 3162.
Solution

This means that the highest bit rate for a telephone line
is 34.860 Kbps.
If we want to send data faster than this, we can either
increase the bandwidth of the line or improve the signal-
to-noise ratio.
 Example

Assume that SNRdB = 36 and the channel bandwidth is

2 MHz. What is the theoretical channel capacity?

Solution
 Example

For practical purposes, when the SNR is very high, we can

assume that SNR + 1 is almost the same as SNR.
In these cases, the theoretical channel capacity can be
simplified to

Calculate the theoretical capacity if the SNRdB = 36 and

the channel bandwidth is 2 MHz.
 Example: (practical situation)
We have a channel with a 1-MHz bandwidth. The SNR for
this channel is 63. What are the appropriate bit rate and
signal level?
Solution
First, we use the Shannon formula to find the upper limit.

The Shannon formula gives us 6 Mbps, the upper limit.

For better performance we choose something lower,
4 Mbps, for example.
Then we use the Nyquist formula to find the number of
signal levels.

64
 PERFORMANCE

One important issue in networking is the performance of the network

— how good is it?
• Bandwidth
• Throughput
• Latency
• Jitter
 Bandwidth

In networking, we use the term bandwidth in two contexts

1. Bandwidth in hertz:- refers to the range of frequencies in a

composite signal or the range of frequencies that a channel
can pass.
For example, we can say the bandwidth of a subscriber telephone line is 4 kHz.

2. Bandwidth in bits per second:- refers to the speed of bit

transmission in a channel or link.
For example, one can say the bandwidth of a Fast Ethernet network (or the links in this
network) is a maximum of 100 Mbps. This means that this network can send 100 Mbps.
 Throughput
Throughput: The throughput is a measure of how fast we can actually send
data through a network. i.e., it is potential measure of link (channel).

• For example, we may have a link with a bandwidth of 1 Mbps, but the
devices connected to the end of the link may handle only 200 kbps. This
means that we cannot send more than 200 kbps through this link.
• Imagine a highway designed to transmit 1000 cars per minute from one
point to another. However, if there is congestion on the road, this figure
may be reduced to 100 cars per minute.
• The bandwidth is 1000 cars per minute; the throughput is 100 cars per
minute.
 Latency
Latency (delay) : defines how long it takes for an entire message to
completely arrive at the destination from the time the first bit is sent out from
the source.
• We can say that latency is made of four components: propagation time,
transmission time, queuing time and processing delay.
Latency =propagation time +transmission time +queuing time + processing delay
• Propagation time is the time required for a bit to travel from the source to
the destination.
Propagation time = Distance/Propagation speed
Transmission time = Message size/Bandwidth
• Queuing time is the time needed for each intermediate or end device to
hold the message before it can be processed. The queuing time is not a
fixed factor; it changes with the load imposed on the network.
 Example

What is the propagation time if the distance between two

points is 12,000 km?
Assume the propagation speed to be 2.4 × 108 m/s in cable.
Solution
We can calculate the propagation time as
Propagation time = Distance/Propagation speed
 Example
What are the propagation time and the transmission time
for a 2.5-kbyte message if the bandwidth of the network
is 1 Gbps?
Assume that the distance is 12,000 km and that light
travels at 2.4 × 108 m/s.
Solution
Propagation time = Distance/Propagation speed
Transmission time = Message size/Bandwidth

Note that in this case, the dominant factor is the propagation time,
not the transmission time, because the message is short and the
bandwidth is high. The transmission time can be ignored.
 Example
What are the propagation time and the transmission time
for a 5-Mbyte message if the bandwidth of the network is
1 Mbps?
Assume that the distance is 12,000 km and that light
travels at 2.4 × 108 m/s.

Solution

Note that in this case, the dominant factor is the

transmission time, not the propagation time, because the
message is very long and the bandwidth is not very high
The propagation time can be ignored.
 Example

What is the propagation time if the distance between two

points is 12,000 km?
Assume the propagation speed to be 2.4 × 108 m/s in cable.

Solution
We can calculate the propagation time as

The example shows that a bit can go over the Atlantic

Ocean in only 50 ms if there is a direct cable between the
source and the destination.
 Example
What are the propagation time and the transmission time
for a 2.5-kbyte message if the bandwidth of the network is
1 Gbps?
Assume that the distance is 12,000 km and that light
travels at 2.4 × 108 m/s.

Solution

Note that in this case, the dominant factor is the

propagation time, not the transmission time.
because the message is short and the bandwidth is high
The transmission time can be ignored.
Example
What is the total delay (latency) for a frame of size 5 million bits
that is being sent on a link with 10 routers each having a queuing
time of 2 µs and a processing time of 1 µs. The length of the link is
2000 Km. The speed of light inside the link is 2 x108 m/s. The link
has a bandwidth of 5 Mbps. Which component of the total delay
is dominant? Which one is negligible?

We have Latency = Delaypr + Delayqu + Delaytr + Delaypg

Delaypr = 10 × 1 μs = 10 μs // Processing time delay

Delayqu = 10 × 2 μs = 20 μs // Queuing delay
Delaytr = 5,000,000 / (5 Mbps) = 1 s // Transmission time delay
Delaypg = (2000 Km) / (2 × 108) = 0.01 s // Propagation time delay

Latency = 10 μs + 20 μs + 1s + 0.01 s ≈ 1.01 s

This means: The transmission time is dominant here because the
packet size is huge.
 Concept of bandwidth-delay product

The bandwidth-delay product defines the number of bits

that can fill the link.

We can think about the link between two points as a pipe.

The cross section of the pipe represents the bandwidth,
and the length of the pipe represents the delay.
We can say the volume of the pipe defines the
bandwidth-delay product.
Filling the link with bits in case 1
Filling the link with bits in case 2
 Jitter
Jitter: is a problem if different packets of data encounter different delays and
the application using the data at the receiver site is time-sensitive

• Variation in the signals or data packets at destination with variation of

time. E.g. application at destination is time sensitive like audio or video
stream.
• Jitter can be of two types
Amplitude jitter
Small constant change in amplitude, can be caused by power noise
Phase jitter
Small constant change in phase of signal,

• If the delay for the first packet is 20 ms, for the second is 45 ms, and for
the third is 40 ms, then the real-time application that uses the packets
endures jitter
Data Communication and Networking
Forouzan, 5th Edition


Chapter 4:
Digital to digital conversion

 Digital to digital conversion

 Analog to digital conversion
 Transmission
 Why Digital to digital conversion?
We found many advantages of digital transmission over analog transmission
Advantages :
• Noise immunity: The primary advantage of digital transmission over analog
transmission is noise immunity.
• Multiplexing: Digital signals are better suited than analog signals for processing
and combining using a technique multiplexing.
• Easy to Store: It is simple to store digital signals than analog signals.
• Used for Long Distance: Digital regenerators sample noisy signals and then
reproduce an entirely new digital signal with same S/N ratio as the original
transmitted signals. So digital transmitted signals can be transported longer
distance than analog signals.
• Transmission errors can be detected easily: The transmission errors can be
detected and corrected more easily and accurately than analog signals.
• More secure: Easier to encrypt
• Digital signals are inherently less susceptible than analog signals to interference
caused by noise because it is not necessary to evaluate the precise amplitude,
frequency, or phase to ascertain its logic condition.
 Why Digital to digital conversion?

Disadvantage:
• More bandwidth: The transmission of digitally encoded analog signals
requires significantly more bandwidth than simply transmitting the
original analog signal.
• Extra Circuitry for encoding and Decoding: Analog signals must be
converted to digital pulses prior to transmissions and converted back to
their original analog form at receiver, thus require additional circuitry for
encoding and decoding.
• Require Synchronization: Digital transmissions require precise time
synchronization between the clocks in transmitter and receiver.
 Digital to digital conversion
• The signals can be represented in digital or analog data.
• Now we can see how we can represent digital data by using digital signals.
• Digital to digital conversion includes three types of conversion techniques
1. Block coding: Block coding refers to the technique of adding extra bits to a
digital word in order to improve the reliability of transmission.
2. Scrambling: Scrambling is a technique that does not increase the number of
bits and does provide synchronization.
3. Line coding: converts a sequence of bits to a digital signal.

Digital Data Digital Signal

Digital
transmitter
 Line coding and decoding

• Line coding is the process of converting digital data to digital signals. We

assume that data, in the form of text, numbers, graphical images, audio, or
video, are stored in computer memory as sequences of bits.
• Line coding converts a sequence of bits to a digital signal.
• At the sender, digital data are encoded into a digital signal
• At the receiver, the digital data are recreated by decoding the digital signal.
• Line coding has various common characteristics to be known, such as
Signal element versus data element Baseline wandering
Data Rate Versus Signal Rate Self-synchronization
Bandwidth Built-in Error Detection
Immunity to Noise and Interference Complexity
 Signal element versus data element

• A data element is the smallest entity • A signal element is the shortest unit
that can represent a piece of (timewise) of a digital signal.
information i.e., is a bit (0,01,101,…)
• Data elements are what we need to • Signal elements are what we can
send. send.
• Number of data levels: Number of • Number of signal levels: Number
voltage levels that actually represent of different voltage levels allowed
data values. in a signal.
• In digital data communications, a
signal element carries data
elements.
• Data elements are being carried. • Signal elements are the carriers.

Ratio r is defined which is the number of data elements

carried by each signal element.
Signal element versus data element
 Data Rate Versus Signal Rate
• The data rate defines the number of data elements (bits) sent in Is. The
unit is bits per second (bps).
• The signal rate/baud rate is the number of signal elements sent in 1s.
The unit is the baud.
• One goal in data communications is to increase the data rate while
decreasing the signal rate.
• Increasing the data rate increases the speed of transmission; decreasing
the signal rate decreases the band width requirement.
• Relationship between data rate(N) and signal rate(S) is define using a
ratio r.
• S = N /r baud
Savg =c x N x (1/r ) baud
where N is the data rate (bps); c is the case factor, which varies for each
case(maximum, minimum, average); S is the number of signal elements; and
r is the previously defined factor.
 Bandwidth
• Usually BW of a nonperiodic signals is continuous with an infinite range.
• Bandwidth (range of frequencies) is proportional to the signal rate (baud
rate).
• Theoretically, we have infinite bandwidth, but many signals have a small
amplitude, hence from now onwards, we consider BW as effective BW.
• For the moment, we can say that the BW is proportional to data rate,
hence the minimum bandwidth can be given as:
Bmin =c x N x 1/ r
c is the case, minimum, medium or high. For ex: if the range is 0 to 1,
minimum is 0, max is 1 and medium is 0.5
• We can solve for the maximum data rate if the bandwidth of the channel is
given:
Nmax = (1/c) x B x r
 Example 4.1
A signal is carrying data in which one data element is encoded as one signal
element. If the bit rate is 100 kbps, what is the average value of the baud rate if c is
between 0 and 1?

Solution
We assume that the average value of c is 1/2 . The baud rate is then

Save =c x N x (1/r ) baud

 Example 4.2
The maximum data rate of a channel (see Chapter 3) is Nmax = 2 × B × log2 L
(defined by the Nyquist formula). Does this agree with the previous formula for
Nmax?

Solution
A signal with L levels actually can carry log2L bits per level. If each level
corresponds to one signal element and we assume the average case (c = 1/2), then
we have
 Baseline wandering

• In decoding a digital signal, the receiver calculates a running average of the

received signal power. This average is called the baseline.
• The incoming signal power is evaluated against this baseline to determine
the value of the data element.
• A long string of Os or 1s can cause a drift in the baseline (termed as
baseline wandering) and make it difficult for the receiver to decode
correctly.

• A good line coding scheme needs to prevent baseline wandering.

 Direct Current (DC) Components
• When the voltage in a digital signal is constant fro a while, the spectrum
creates very low frequencies. These frequencies around zero, called DC
components, present problems that cannot pass low frequencies.
• DC components in signals are not desirable
– Cannot pass thru. certain devices
– Leave extra (useless) energy on the line

0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1
Signal with
t DC component

0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1
Signal without
t DC component
 Self-synchronization
• A self-synchronizing digital signal includes timing information in the data
being transmitted.
 Providing Synchronization

• Separate clock wire

Sender data Receiver

clock

• Self-synchronization
0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1

t
 Example 4.3
In a digital transmission, the receiver clock is 0.1 percent faster than the sender
clock. How many extra bits per second does the receiver receive if the data rate is
1 kbps? How many if the data rate is 1 Mbps?

Solution
At 1 kbps, the receiver receives 1001 bps instead of 1000 bps.

At 1 Mbps, the receiver receives 1,001,000 bps instead of 1,000,000 bps.

 Line Coding Methods
Unipolar
• Uses only one voltage level (one side of time axis)
• Eg: NRZ

Polar
• Uses two voltage levels (negative and positive)
• Eg: NRZ, RZ, Manchester, Differential Manchester

Bipolar
• Uses three voltage levels (+, 0, and –) for data bits
• Eg: AMI and Pseudoternary

Multilevel
• 2B/1Q, 8B/6T and 4D-PAM5

Multitransition
• MLT-3
 Unipolar NRZ

0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0

t
 Unipolar Signalling
Unipolar Non-Return to Zero (NRZ):

Advantages:
– Simplicity in implementation.
– Doesn’t require a lot of bandwidth for transmission.

Disadvantages:
– Presence of DC level (indicated by spectral line at 0 Hz).
– Contains low frequency components. Causes “Signal Droop” (explained
later).
– Does not have any error correction capability.
– Does not posses any clocking component for ease of synchronisation.
– Is not Transparent. Long string of zeros causes loss of synchronisation.
 Polar Encoding
• Two voltage levels (+,-) represent data bits
• Most popular four
– Nonreturn-to-Zero (NRZ)
– Return-to-Zero (RZ)
– Manchester
– Differential Manchester
 NRZ Encoding
• Non Return to Zero
– NRZ-L (NRZ-Level): the level of the voltage determines the value of
the bit
0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0

• NRZ-I (NRZ-Invert): Signal is inverted if 1 is encountered, i.e., the change

or lack of change in the level of the voltage determines the value of the
bit. If there is no change, the bit is 0; if there is a change, the bit is 1.

0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
N = Bit rate
Save = Average signal rate
t
 NRZ Encoding
NRZ-L (NRZ-Level)
0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0

NRZ-I (NRZ-Invert)
0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0

t
• In NRZ-L the level of the voltage determines the value
of the bit.
• In NRZ-I the inversion or the lack of inversion
determines the value of the bit.

• NRZ-L and NRZ-I both have an average signal rate of

N/2 Bd.

• The main problem with NRZ encoding occurs when

the sender and receiver clocks are not synchronized.
• NRZ-L and NRZ-I both have a DC component
problem.
Example 4.4
A system is using NRZ-I to transfer 10-Mbps data. What are the average signal rate
and minimum bandwidth?

Solution
The average signal rate is S = N/2 = 500 kbaud. The minimum bandwidth for this
average baud rate is Bmin = S = 500 kHz.
 Return to Zero (RZ) Encoding
Return to Zero
• Uses three voltage levels: +, -
and 0, but only + and -
represent data bits
• Bit rate is double than that of
data rate
• No dc component
• Good synchronization
• Main limitation is the ?
increase in bandwidth
 Manchester Encoding
• In Manchester encoding , the duration of the bit is divided
into two halves.
• The voltage remains at one level during the first half and
moves to the other level during the second half.
‘One’ is +ve in 1st half and -ve in 2nd half.
‘Zero’ is -ve in 1st half and +ve in 2nd half.

0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1
=0

t
=1

Note: Some books use different conventions. Please follow this

convention
 Differential Manchester Encoding
• The inversion on the middle of each bit is only for
synchronization
• Transition at the beginning of each bit tells the value
• Inversion when next bit is zero
• The very first bit of the transmission would not be specified,
you may choose to encode it as normal Manchester.
0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1

t
Polar biphase: Manchester and differential
Manchester schemes
Polar biphase: Manchester and differential
Manchester schemes

Inversion when next bit is zero

 In Manchester and differential
Manchester encoding, the transition
at the middle of the bit is used for
synchronization.
The minimum bandwidth of Manchester
and differential Manchester is 2 times
that of NRZ.
 Bipolar Encoding (multilevel binary)

In bipolar encoding, we use three levels:

positive, zero, and negative.
• Each of all three levels represents a bit
• E.g., Bipolar AMI (Alternate Mark Inversion)
– 0 V always represents binary 0
– Binary 1s are represented by alternating + and -

0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1

t
Bipolar AMI Encoding
Bipolar schemes: AMI and pseudoternary
 Multilevel scheme

The first 2 letters define the data pattern and last two defines signal pattern
 Multilevel: 2B1Q (two binary, one quaternary)
scheme
2m ≤ Ln , then m=2, n=1 and L=4 (quaternary)
Rules
+3
00 11 01 10 01 10 11 00 Bit sequence Voltage level
+1 00 -3
t 01 -1
-1
10 +3
-3
11 +1

• Average signal rate is S=N/4

• There is no redundant signal pattern in this scheme as 22 =41

• Used in DSL to improve high speed Internet
Multilevel: 8B6T (8 binary 6 ternary)scheme

Each signal pattern ha a weight of 0 or +1 DC values. I.e., no

pattern with the weight -1 to make the whole stream DC-balanced.
Multilevel: 4D-PAM5 (4-dimension 5 level pulse
amplitude modulation)scheme
• Represented in 4 levels. 0 level for forward error detection.
• It uses +2, -2, +1-1 voltage levels.
• Zero for forward error detection.
• This technique is used to send data over 4 channels.
• Gigabit LANs uses this.
Multitransition: MLT-3 (Multi line transmission,
three-level) scheme
• Just like NRZ-I and differential Manchester using transition rule, MLT-3 uses
more than 3 transition rules.
• It uses 3 levels: +V, 0 and –V
 If the next bit is 0, there is no transition
 If the next bit 1, and the current level is not 0, the next level is 0
 If the next bit is 1, and current level is 0, the next level is the opposite of the last
nonzero level

The signal rate of this as

of NRZ, but it is defined
to reduce the required
BW trough the shape of
the signal.
Summary of line coding scheme
 Block Coding
• Improves the performance of line coding
• Provides: Synchronization and Error detection
• Block coding is normally referred to as mB/nB coding; it
replaces each m-bit group with an n-bit group.
• Normally block coding includes: division, substitution and
combination

Division Substitution Line

Coding t
…01011010001… : :
0010 10110
1101 01011
0001 01010
: :
Block coding concept
 Using block coding 4B/5B with NRZ-I line
coding scheme

• It improves the NRZ-I by avoiding the synchronization problem.

• For 4 bits data pattern we replace with 5 bits.
• So we can have 32 different combination.
• In this 16 are used for data, another 16 as control sequence and as
unused for others.
• But 5 bits code has
no more than one leading zero
 no more than two trailing zeros
• So that more than three consecutive zeros do not occur
Table 4.2 4B/5B mapping codes
Substitution in 4B/5B block coding
 Example

We need to send data at a 1-Mbps rate. What is the minimum required bandwidth,
using a combination of 4B/5B and NRZ-I or Manchester coding?

Solution
First 4B/5B block coding increases the bit rate to 1.25 Mbps.
The minimum bandwidth using NRZ-I is N/2 = 1.25/2=625 kHz.
The Manchester scheme needs a minimum bandwidth of 1 MHz.
The first choice needs a lower bandwidth, but has a DC component problem; the
second choice needs a higher bandwidth, but does not have a DC component
problem.
 8B/10B block encoding

• Provides more error detection

• Leads to increase in bandwidth
• Bandwidth can be reduced by using suitable line coding.
 Scrambling
• Biphase schemes that are suitable for dedicated links between
stations in a LAN are not suitable for long-distance
communication because of their wide bandwidth requirement.
• The combination of block coding and NRZ line coding is not
suitable for long-distance encoding either, because of the DC
component problem.
• Bipolar AMI encoding, on the other hand, has a narrow
bandwidth and does not create a DC component.
• However, a long sequence of 0s upsets the synchronization.
• If we can find a way to avoid a long sequence of 0s in the
original stream, we can use bipolar AMI for long distances.
• One solution is called scrambling.
 AMI used with scrambling
Use scrambling to replace sequences that would produce constant
voltage
Main idea:
Sequences that would result in a constant voltage are replaced by filling
sequences that will provide sufficient transitions for the receiver’s clock to
maintain synchronization.
Filling sequences must be recognized by receiver and replaced with original
data sequence.
Filling sequence is the same length as original sequence.

Design goals:
No DC component
No long sequences of zero-level line signals
No reduction in data rate
Error detection capability
Two cases of Bipolar with 8-Zero Substitution
(B8ZS) scrambling technique
• Used in North America
• B8ZS substitutes eight consecutive zeros with
000VB0VB.
 HDB3
High-density bipolar 3-zero (HDB3)
– Used outside of North America
– Based on bipolar-AMI, Four consecutive zero-level voltages
are replaced with a sequence of 000V or B00V.
1. If the number of nonzero pulses after the last substitution is odd, the
substitution pattern will be 000V, which makes the total number of nonzero
pulses even.
2. If the number of nonzero pulses after the last substitution is even, the
substitution pattern will be B00V, which means makes the total number of
nonzero pulses even. Number of Bipolar Pulses
since last substitution
Polarity of Odd Even
Preceding
Pulse
- 000- +00+
+ 000+ -00-
Different situations in High-Density Bipolar 3-
zero (HDB3) scrambling technique

HDB3 substitutes four consecutive zeros with 000V or B00V

depending on the number of nonzero pulses after the last
substitution.
B8ZS and HDB3
 REFERENCES

• Behrouz A. Forouzan, Data Communications and Networking.

Ed 5. Tata McGraw-Hill.
• William Stallings, Data and Computer Communication. Ed5.
Prentice Hall India.