CHAPTER 5

5.1 Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless

Technology
• Data Communication
Basic Elements of a Communication System
The following are the basic requirements for working of a communication
system.
• A sender (source) which creates the message to be transmitted.
• A medium that carries the message.
• A receiver (sink) which receives the message.
In data communication four basic terms are frequently used. They are
• Data: A collection of facts in raw forms that become information after
processing.
• Signals: Electric or electromagnetic encoding of data.
• Signaling: Propagation of signals across a communication medium.
• Transmission: Communication of data achieved by the processing of
signals. 1

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 5.2 Communications Networks
Communication Protocols
• The procedure of data transformation in the form of software
is commonly called protocol.
Functions of Protocols
• Data sequencing: A long message to be transmitted is broken
into smaller packets of fixed size for error free data
transmission.
• Data Routing: It is the process of finding the most efficient
route between source and destination before sending the data.
• Flow control: All machines are not equally efficient in terms
of speed. Hence the flow control regulates the process of
sending data between fast sender and slow receiver.
• Error Control: Error detecting and recovering is the one of
the main function of communication software. It ensures that
data are transmitted without any error.
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Data sequencing

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•
Data Transmission Modes
There are three ways for transmitting data from one point to another
1. Simplex: In simplex mode the communication can take place in one
direction. The receiver receives the signal from the transmitting
device. In this mode the flow of information is Uni.-directional.
Hence it is rarely used for data communication.
2. Half-duplex: In half-duplex mode the communication channel is used
in both directions, but only in one direction at a time. Thus a half-
duplex line can alternately send and receive data.
3. Full-duplex: In full duplex the communication channel is used in both
directions at the same time. Use of full-duplex line improves the
efficiency as the line turn-around time required in half-duplex
arrangement is eliminated. Example of this mode of transmission is
the telephone line. 3:31-4:00

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 Digital and Analog Transmission

• Data is transmitted from one point to another point by means of

electrical signals that may be in digital and analog form.
• In analog signal the transmission power varies over a continuous
range with respect to sound, light and radio waves. Analog signal is
measured in Volts and its frequency in Hertz (Hz).
• On the other hand a digital signal may assume only discrete set of
values within a given range. Examples are computer and computer
related equipment.
• A digital signal is a sequence of voltage represented in binary form.
• The technique by which a digital signal is converted to analog form
is known as modulation. And the reverse process, that is the
conversion of analog signal to its digital form, is known as.
demodulation .
• The device, which converts digital signal into analog, and the
reverse, is known as modem. 7

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 Figure.3.8: Analog Signal & Digital Signal
1:29

FIGURE 5-2 FUNCTIONS OF THE MODEM

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 major communication devices/media used to
establish network today:
1. Wire Pairs: Wire pairs are commonly used in local telephone
communication and for short distance digital data
communication. They are usually made up of copper and the
pair of wires is twisted together. Data transmission speed is
normally 9600 bits per second in a distance of 100 meter.

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 Insulator Metal

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2. Coaxial Cables: Coaxial cable is groups of
specially wrapped and insulted wires that are
able to transfer data at higher rate. They consist
of a central copper wire surrounded by an
insulation over which copper mesh is placed.
They are used for long distance telephone lines
and local area network for their noise immunity
and faster data transfer.

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3. Fiber optics: A strand of fiber-optic cable reflects
the light that passes through it back into the fiber,
so light cannot escape the strand.
• Fiber-optic cables carry more information, suffer
less interference, and require fewer signal repeaters
over long distances than wires.

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4. Microwave: Microwave system uses very high
frequency radio signals to transmit data through
space.
The transmitter and receiver of a microwave system
should be in line-of-sight because the radio signal
cannot bend.
With microwave very long distance transmission is
not possible.
In order to overcome the problem of line of sight
and power amplification of weak signal, repeaters
are used at intervals of 25 to 30 kilometers
between the transmitting and receiving end.
• Line-of-sight devices which must be placed in relatively high
locations
• Microwave usage
– Information is converted to a microwave signal, sent through the 15
air to a receiver, and recovered
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• 5. Communication Satellite: The problem of
line-sight and repeaters are overcome by using
satellites which are the most widely used data
transmission media in modern days. A
communication satellite is a microwave relay
station placed in outer space.
• Satellite transmission
• Communications satellites are relay stations that receive
signals from one earth station and rebroadcast them to
another
• They use microwave signals

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Figure. 3.9 : Wire Pairs, Coaxial Cables, & Fiber Optics

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 Computer Network
• A computer network is an interconnection of
various computer systems located at different
places.
• In computer network two or more computers are
linked together with a medium and data
communication devices for the purpose of
communicating data and sharing resources.
• The computer that provides resources to other
computers on a network is known as server.
• In the network the individual computers, which
access shared network resources, are known as
workstations or nodes. 21

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Some of the advantages of networks are:
• Resource Sharing- it is to make programs, files, equipment,
and data available to anyone on the network without
regard to physical location of the source and the user.
• Provide High Reliability- by having alternative sources of
supply, it supports the critical function of backup. In the
event a computer fails, its counterpart can assume its
functions and workload.
• Cost Minimizing- by using small personal computers and
file servers, we replace early expensive mainframes. In
addition, we can share many software programs rather than
buying individual copies, and also we can update the
software through the network.
• Flexible Working Environment- employees can work at
home by networking computers to their office, on trips
through their portable computers, travel to remote offices and
use telephones and networks to perform their duties. 22

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• Computer Networks may be classified on the basis of
geographical area in three broad categories.
1. Local Area Network (LAN): Networks used to interconnect
computers in a single room, rooms within a building or
buildings on one site are called Local Area Network (LAN).
LAN transmits data with a speed of several megabits per
second (106 bits per second). The transmission medium is
normally coaxial cables.
• LAN links computers, i.e., software and hardware, in the
same area for the purpose of sharing information. Usually
LAN links computers within a limited geographical area
because they must be connected by a cable, which is quite
expensive. People working in LAN get more capabilities in
data processing, work processing and other information
exchange compared to stand-alone computers. Because of
this information exchange most of the business and
government organizations are using LAN. 23

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2. Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs): are bigger
versions of a LAN and normally uses similar technology.
It might cover a group of nearby corporate offices or a
city and might be either private or public. Cable
television network is a good example of MAN. The key
aspect of MAN is that there is broadcast medium (two
cables) to which all the computers are attached, which
simplifies its design compared to other kinds of networks
3. Wide Area Network (WAN): The term Wide Area
Network (WAN) is used to describe a computer network
spanning a regional, national or global area.
• A network that connects two or more local-area networks over
a potentially large geographic distance
Often one particular node on a LAN is set up to serve as a gateway to
handle all communication going between that LAN and other networks
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 Gateway

Figure Local-area networks connected across a distance to create a

wide-area network

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• Broadband A connection in which transfer
speeds are faster than 128 bits per second.
• The speed for downloads (getting data from the Internet to
your home computer) may not be the same as uploads
(sending data from your home computer to the Internet)

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 Firewalls
• Firewall A machine and its software that
serve as a special gateway to a network,
protecting it from inappropriate access
– Filters the network traffic that comes in, checking
the validity of the messages as much as possible
and perhaps denying some messages altogether
– Enforces an organization’s access control policy

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 Firewalls

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Figure A firewall protecting a LAN Woldetsadik Kagnew(Assist.prof.)
 Network Topology
• The term topology in the context of communication network refers to
the way the computers or workstations in the network are linked
together. According to the physical arrangements of workstations and
nature of work, there are three major types of network topology.
• 1. Star topology: In star topology a number of workstations (or nodes)
are directly linked to a central node (see, Figure. 3.10). Any
communication between stations on a star LAN must pass through the
central node. There is bi-directional communication between various
nodes. The central node controls all the activities of the nodes. The
advantages of the star topology are:
• It offers flexibility of adding or deleting of workstations from the
network.
• Breakdown of one station does not affect any other device on the
network.
• The major disadvantage of star topology is that failure of the central
node disables communication throughout the whole network.
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Star topology

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• 2. Bus Topology: In bus topology all workstations are connected to a single
communication line called bus. In this type of network topology there is no
central node as in star topology. Transmission from any station travels the
length of the bus in both directions and can be received by all workstations. The
advantage of the bus topology is that
• It is quite easy to set up.
• If one station of the topology fails it does not affect the entire system.
• The disadvantage of bus topology is that any break in the bus is difficult to
identify.

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• 3. Ring Topology: In ring topology each station is
attached nearby stations on a point to point basis so that
the entire system is in the form of a ring. In this
topology data is transmitted in one direction only.
• Thus the data packets circulate along the ring in either
clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. The advantage of
this topology is that any signal transmitted on the
network passes through all the LAN stations.
• The disadvantage of ring network is that the breakdown
of any one station on the ring can disable the entire
system.

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• 4. Mesh Topology: A mesh topology network offers superior
redundancy and reliability. In a mesh topology, each computer is
connected to every other computer by separate cabling.
• This configuration provides redundant paths throughout the network so
that if one cable fails, another will take over the traffic. While ease of
troubleshooting and increased reliability are definite pluses, these
networks are expensive to install because they use a lot of cabling.
• Often, a mesh topology will be used in conjunction with other
topologies to form a hybrid topology.

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 5.3 The Global Internet
• The Internet is a network of networks. Millions of
computers all over the world are connected through the
Internet. Computer users on the Internet can contact one
another anywhere in the world. If your computer is connected
to the Internet, you can connect to millions of computers. You
can gather information and distribute your data. It is very
much similar to the telephone connection where you can talk
with any person anywhere in the world.
• In Internet a huge resource of information is accessible to
people across the world. Information in every field starting
from education, science, health, medicine, history, and
geography to business, news, etc. can be retrieved through
Internet. You can also download programs and software
packages from anywhere in the world. Due to the tremendous
information resources the Internet can provide, it is now
indispensable to every organization.

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 Network Hardware
• Network interface cards
– Network adapter
– Connects node to the media

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 Network Hardware
• Network linking devices
– Connect nodes in the network
– Cable runs from node to device
– Crossover cable connects two computers

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 Network Hardware
• Hubs
– Center of a star network
– All nodes receive transmitted packets
– Slow and insecure

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 Network Hardware
• Switches
– Replacement for hubs
– Only intended node receives transmission
– Fast and secure

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 Network Hardware
• Bridge
– Connects two or more LANs together
– Packets sent to remote LAN cross
• Other packets do not cross
– Segments the network on MAC addresses

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 Network Hardware
• Router
– Connects two or more LANs together
– Packets sent to remote LAN cross
– Network is segmented by IP address
– Connect internal networks to the Internet
– Need configured before installation

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 Network Hardware
• Gateway
– Connects two dissimilar networks
– Connects coax to twisted pair
– Most gateways contained in other devices

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 Network Cabling
• Cabling specifications
– Bandwidth measures cable speed
• Typically measured in Mbps
– Maximum cable length
– Connector describes the type of plug

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 Network Cabling
• Ethernet
– Very popular cabling technology
– 10 Base T, 10Base2, 10Base5
– Maximum bandwidth 10 Mbps
– Maximum distances100 to 500 meters

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 Network Cabling
• Fast Ethernet
– Newer version of Ethernet
– Bandwidth is 100 Mbps
– Uses Cat5 or greater cable
• Sometimes called 100Base T
– Requires a switch

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 Network Cabling
• Gigabit Ethernet
– High bandwidth version of Ethernet
– 1 to 10 Gbps
– Cat 5 or fiber optic cable
– Video applications

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• IP Address/Port
– IP address is the unique identification on a computer that is connecting
to the Internet.
– Ports are the input/output locations of a computer where messages
should send in or out.

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 Network Addresses
• An IP address can be split into
– network address, which specifies a specific network
– host number, which specifies a particular machine in that
network

Figure
An IP address is stored in four bytes

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 Domain Name System
• A hostname consists of the computer name followed
by the domain name
• csc.villanova.edu is the domain name
– A domain name is separated into two or more sections that
specify the organization, and possibly a subset of an
organization, of which the computer is a part
– Two organizations can have a computer named the same
thing because the domain name makes it clear which one is
being referred to

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 Domain Name System
• The very last section of the domain is called its top-
level domain (TLD) name

15-52 Top-level domains, including some

Figure Woldetsadik Kagnew(Assist.prof.)
relatively new ones
 THE WIRELESS REVOLUTION
• If you have a cell phone, do you use it for taking and
sending photos, sending text messages, or downloading
music clips? Do you take your laptop to class or to the
library to link up to the Internet? If so, you’re part of
the wireless revolution!
• Cell phones, laptops, and small handheld devices have
morphed into portable computing platforms that let you
perform some of the computing tasks you used to do at
your desk.
• Wireless communication helps businesses more easily
stay in touch with customers, suppliers, and employees
and provides more flexible arrangements for organizing
work. Wireless technology has also created new
products, services, and sales channels,
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• If you require mobile communication and
computing power or remote access to corporate
systems, you can work with an array of wireless
devices, including cell phones, smart phones,
and wireless-enabled personal computers.
• In addition to voice transmission, they feature
capabilities for e-mail, messaging, wireless
Internet access, digital photography, and personal
information management.

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 WIRELESS COMPUTER NETWORKS AND INTERNET ACCESS

• WIRELESS COMPUTER NETWORKS AND INTERNET ACCESS

• If you have a laptop computer, you might be able to use it to access
the Internet as you move from room to room in your dorm, or table
to table in your university library. An array of technologies provide
high-speed wireless access to the Internet for PCs and other wireless
handheld devices as well as for cell phones. These new high-speed
services have extended Internet access to numerous locations that
could not be covered by traditional wired Internet services.
• Bluetooth
Bluetooth is the popular name for the 802.15 wireless networking
standard, which is useful for creating small personal area
networks (PANs). It links up to eight devices within a 10-meter
area using low-power, radio-based communication and can transmit
up to 722 Kbps in the 2.4-GHz band.

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• Wireless phones, pagers, computers, printers, and
computing devices using Bluetooth communicate
with each other and even operate each other
without direct user intervention
• Bluetooth connects wireless keyboards and mice
to PCs or cell phones to earpieces without wires.
Bluetooth has low-power requirements, making it
appropriate for battery-powered handheld
computers, cell phones, or PDAs.

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 FIGURE AN 802.11 WIRELESS LAN

Mobile laptop computers equipped with network interface cards link to the wired LAN
by communicating with the access point. The access point uses radio waves to transmit
network signals from the wired network to the client adapters, which convert them into
data that the mobile device can understand. The client adapter then transmits the data
from the mobile device back to the access point, which forwards the data to the wired
network.
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 RFID AND WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS

• Mobile technologies are creating new efficiencies

and ways of working throughout the enterprise. In
addition to the wireless systems we have just
described, radio frequency identification systems
and wireless sensor networks are having a major
impact.

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 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

• Radio frequency identification (RFID) systems

provide a powerful technology for tracking the
movement of goods throughout the supply chain.
RFID systems use tiny tags with embedded
microchips containing data about an item and its
location to transmit radio signals over a short
distance to RFID readers.
• The RFID readers then pass the data over a network
to a computer for processing.
• Unlike bar codes, RFID tags do not need line-of-sight
contact to be read.

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 FIGURE: HOW RFID WORKS

RFID uses low-powered radio transmitters to read data stored in a tag at distances ranging
from 1 inch to 100 feet.
The reader captures the data from the tag and sends them over a network to a host
computer for processing.

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The End!

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