IT2203

Network Fundamentals
Communication is the act of transmitting and exchanging information between people, people and objects, and objects
and objects through various media and actions. The ultimate purpose of communication technology is to help people
communicate more efficiently and create better lives from it.
• The Internet is the largest computer network in the world. Its predecessor, Advanced Research Projects Agency
Network (ARPAnet), was born in 1969.
• Network communication refers to communication between terminal devices through a computer network.

What is a signal? Examples of signals

• Means of communication: This refers to a sign or • Electrical signals (voltages and currents in a circuit)
indication that conveys information about something • Acoustic signals (audio or speech signals)
or that tells someone to do something. • Video signals (intensity variations in an image)
• Communicated information: This refers to an event • Biological signals (sequence of bases in a gene)
or act, which shows that something exists or that • Noise (interference – unwanted and undesired
gives information about something. form of signal)
• Electronics transmitted information: This refers to a The main purpose of the signal is to ensure that the
detectable physical quantity or impulse (as a voltage, synchronization between the sender and receiver over a
current, or magnetic field strength) by which physical medium is maintained, as well as support
messages or information can be transmitted via transmission of the data signal in a form that can be
telegraphy, telephony, radio, radar, or television. interpreted by both the sender and receiver.
• Waves refer to disturbances in that energy to travel
through a medium from one location to another.
• Wavelength refers to the horizontal distance of a wave
from a point to the corresponding point on the next wave.
This is measured in meters (m) in SI.
• Amplitude – It refers to a vertical distance from a given
point on the wave from the horizontal axis. In layman’s
terms, it is the height above and below the x-axis. This is
measured in volts, amperes, or watts, depending on the
Figure 4.1 Attributes of a Wave type of signal.
• Phase – It describes the position of the waveform relative to time zero; it is a measurement of the delay of the wave
relative to some fixed reference point or another sine wave.
• Frequency – It refers to the number of waves made per second or as cycles per second. It is the reciprocal of the
period to complete one (1) wave cycle. The unit for frequency is in Hertz (Hz); 1 Hz means 1 cycle per second (cps).
• Period – This refers to the amount of time (expressed in seconds) required to complete one (1) full cycle.

General Categories of Waves

Analog (short for “analogous”) wave – It is a wave in which both the
amplitude and time continuously vary over their respective intervals
that results in a wavy characteristic. Examples of this wave include
the human voice and music.

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Digital wave – It is a wave with several discrete (jumpy) states, such

as high or low, and on or off. It has fixed amplitude, but its pulse width
and frequency can be changed. An example of this signal is the data
stored in the memory of a computer in the form of 0s and 1s.

Networking Media
Computers facilitate information exchange and resource sharing from one location to another through some sort of
wiring/cabling or waves that act as a physical path, which carries electrical or electromagnetic signals between a
transmitter and a receiver.
• Wired or Bounded Media: These networking media use cables and are limited by physical geography.
• Wireless or Unbounded Media: In contrast to wired or bounded media, these networking media do not use any
cables in transmitting data and is not bounded by physical geography.

Transmission Modes: Transmission Types:

• Simplex Mode is a connection wherein data flows in • Serial transmission is a transmission in which
one (1) direction only (unidirectional). This type is data with each bit lining up in a series as the bits
either transmit-only or receive-only are sent over a single wire at a time.
• Half-duplex Mode is a connection wherein data can • Parallel transmission is a transmission wherein a
flow in both directions, but not simultaneously (both at group of bits is sent simultaneously, but each
the same time) over a shared physical medium. uses a different channel.
• Full-duplex Mode is a connection wherein data
simultaneously flows in both directions

Wired or Bounded Media

• Serial Cable - The most widely used standard for serial data communications is which is intended to operate
over distances of up to 50 feet and has a communication speed that is equal to or less than 20Kbps.
• Coaxial Cable refers to two (2) conductors enclosed by an insulating protective coating.
o Types of Coaxial Cable
▪ Thin (Thinnet) Cable - It is a flexible coaxial cable about 0.25 inches thick. It uses British
Naval Connector (BNC)-T cable connector attached to LAN Card (NIC).
▪ Thick (Thicknet) Cable - It is a relatively rigid coaxial cable about 0.5 inches in diameter. It
uses vampire tap or piercing tap as connectors.
• Twisted Pair Cable consists of two insulated strands of copper wire that are arranged in a regular spiral pattern.
o Unshielded Twisted-Pair (UTP) Cable - As the name implies, a UTP cable refers to a twisted pair cable
that contains no shielding.
▪ It has eight (8) individual copper wires, in which pairs of them are twisted around each other
to form a four-pair color-coded wire medium that is encased in a flexible plastic sheath.
▪ Attenuation refers to signal loss due to impedance. Crosstalk refers to the twisted-wire pairs
producing a magnetic field cancellation effect, which limits signal degradation caused by
interference from nearby twisted pairs.
o Shielded Twisted-Pair (STP) Cable - As the name implies, an STP cable refers to a twisted pair cable
that combines the techniques of twisting wires, cancellation, and shielding.
▪ Each pair of eight (8) individual copper wires is twisted and then wrapped in a metallic foil.
• Fiber Optic Cable refers to a bundle of extremely thin and cylindrically shaped glass fibers surrounded by a
concentric layer of glass coating that can conduct modulated light transmissions.
o Parts of the fiber optics cable
▪ Core refers to the innermost section that consists of one (1) or more very thin strands or fibers
made of glass or plastic.
▪ Cladding refers to an outer optical glass or plastic coating that surrounds and traps the light in
the core by the principle of total internal reflection.

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▪ Coating is made from plastic that helps to shield the core and cladding from damage.
▪ Strengthening Fibers stand as protection for the core against compressive forces or crushing
and tension or excessive pulling.
▪ Cable Jacket (Sheath) refers to an outermost layer that protects a buffer or a bundle of buffer-
coated fibers against moisture, abrasion, crushing, and other environmental dangers.
o Fiber Optic Modes:
▪ Single-mode fiber optic cable - This fiber optic cable type allows light waves to travel along a
single path or in only one mode. It is used for high-speed transmission over long distances.
▪ Multimode fiber optic cable: This fiber optic cable type allows light waves to travel into
numerous paths through the core of the fiber at various angles. It is often applied to local area
networks which encompass a much smaller transmission range.

Wireless or Unbounded Media

Computers also facilitate information exchange and resource sharing from one location to another through waves which
act as physical paths that carry current or series of electromagnetic energy pulses at various frequencies.
• Radio Wave refers to a wireless medium that is used for multicast communications (e. g. radio and TV
broadcasting, wireless local loop, mobile communications, and amateur radio) and paging systems over long
distances.
• An antenna, which is also known as aerial, refers to a metallic structure that acts as a transducer that converts
electrical energy to electromagnetic energy (upon transmission of signal) and vice-versa.

Types of Wave Propagation

• Line of Sight Propagation Method – It is a method by which radio waves travel from the transmitting antenna
to the receiving antenna.
o The receiving antenna must be located within the radio horizon of the transmitting antenna. In other
words, the two (2) antennas mentioned above must "see" each other.
• Ground Wave (Surface) Propagation Method – It is a method by which radio waves are radiated directly
towards the earth’s surface. It is used for:
o Worldwide communications with a frequency that ranges from 3 to 30 kHz and 30 to 300 kHz
o Broadcasting with a frequency that ranges from 300 kHz to 3 MHz
• SkyWave (Ionospheric) Propagation Method – It is a method by which radio waves radiate upwards from the
transmitting antenna of the earth into a direction towards the ionosphere.
o It is used for long-distance radiotelephony and sound broadcasting with a frequency that ranges from
3 MHz to 30 MHz.
• Space Wave (Tropospheric) Propagation Method – It is a method by which radio waves radiation exceeds 30
MHz up to 300 GHz.
o It is used for sound/television broadcasting for radio-relay systems and for various mobile systems that
operate at a frequency that ranges from 30 to 300 MHz, 300 MHz to 3 GHz, and 3 to 30 GHz.

Electromagnetic Spectrum
Band Name Frequency Range Propagation characteristics Uses
Extremely Low It involves AC power line frequencies and
30 Hz - 300 Hz Ground Wave (GW) propagation
Frequency (ELF) low-frequency telemetry signals.
Telephone system for analog subscriber
Voice Frequency (VF) 300 Hz - 3 kHz GW propagation
lines
Very Low Frequency Military systems and submarine
3 KHz - 30 KHz GW propagation
(VLF) communication
Long-range navigation and marine
Low Frequency (LF) 30 KHz - 300 KHz GW propagation
communication
Medium Frequency Sky-Wave (SW) ionospheric
300 KHz - 3 MHz Commercial AM radio broadcasting
(MF) propagation

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International broadcasting, military

High Frequency (HF) 3 MHz - 30 MHz SW ionospheric propagation communication, long-distance aircraft,
ship communication
SW ionospheric and tropospheric
VHF television ,commercial FM broadcast
Very High Frequency propagation;
30 MHz - 300 MHz
(VHF) AM aircraft communication, Aircraft
Line-Of-Sight (LOS) Propagation
navigational aids
UHF television, cellular telephone, radar,
Ultra-High Frequency
300 MHz - 3 GHz LOS Propagation microwave links, personal communication
(UHF)
systems
Super High Frequency Satellite communication, radar, terrestrial
3 GHz - 30 GHz LOS Propagation
(SHF) microwave links, wireless local loops
Extremely High
30 GHz - 300 GHz LOS Propagation Experimental, wireless local loop
Frequency (EHF)
Heating and drying, night vision cameras,
Infrared (IR) 0.3 THz - 300 THz LOS Propagation TV and garage door remotes, satellite,
remote sensing
Visible light 0.3 PHz - 3 PHz LOS Propagation Optical communication

Other Wireless Medium Technologies

• Infrared refers to a wireless medium that is used for short-range communication (e. g. remote control devices,
intruder alarms, infra-red photography, and radiant heaters) in a closed area using line-of-sight propagation.
o It is achieved using transmitters/receivers (transceivers) that modulate non-coherent infrared light.
• Microwave refers to a wireless medium that is used for unicast communication such as wireless PAN
(Bluetooth), broadband wireless access or wireless MAN (WiMAX), wireless WAN (2G/3G cellular networks),
satellite networks and radar, and wireless LANs (Wi-Fi).
• Bluetooth is a short-range wireless communication technology that allows devices such as mobile phones,
computers, and peripherals to transmit data or voice wirelessly over a short distance.
o It uses the same 2.4GHz frequency as some other wireless technologies in the home or office.

References:
Comer, D. (2019). The Internet book: Everything you need to know about computer networking and how the Internet
works. CRC Press.
Huawei. (2020). HCIA-Datacom V1.0 Training Material.
Kurose, T & Ross, K. (2021). Computer networking: A top-down approach. Pearson.
Karumanchi, N., Damodaram, A., & Rao, S. (2020). Elements of computer networking: An integrated approach. Career
Monk.
Robertazzi, T. (2017). Introduction to computer networking. Springer International.

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