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What Is Multiplexing

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19 views11 pages

What Is Multiplexing

Uploaded by

hemantha dalugama
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Multiplexing

Multiplexing,
or muxing, is a way of
sending
multiple signals or
streams of information
over a communications
link at the same time in
the form of a single,
complex signal. When
the signal reaches its
destination, a process
called demultiplexing,
or demuxing, recovers
the separate signals and
outputs them to
individual lines.
Multiplexing is a
method used by
networks to consolidate
multiple signals
-- digital or analog --
into a single composite
signal that is
transported over a
common medium, such
as a fiber optic cable or
radio wave. When the
composite signal
reaches its destination,
it is demultiplexed, and
the individual signals
are restored and made
available for
processing.
Networks use a variety
of multiplexing
techniques, but at a
conceptual level, they
all operate in a similar
manner. The individual
network signals are
input into a multiplexer
(mux) that combines
them into a composite
signal, which is then
transmitted through a
shared medium. When
the composite signal
reaches its destination,
a demultiplexer
(demux) splits the
signal back into the
original component
signals and outputs
them into separate lines
for use by other
operations.
What is multiplexing used for?
Multiplexing is used in a wide range of industries to facilitate both analog and digital
communications. It was first introduced in the 1870s to support telegraphy but has since
become a mainstay in telecommunications, such as radio, television and telephone. It is
also used in computer networks, often to transmit multiple signals across a wide area
network (WAN).
Organizations implement multiplexing on their networks for two reasons:

1. to enable network devices to communicate with each other without needing a


dedicated connection between each device pair, although multiplexing still
requires shared media; and

2. to better utilize scarce or expensive network resources. For example,


multiplexing can be used to transmit multiple signals across
a satellite uplink or on a cable or fiber strand running between major
metropolitan areas.

What are the types of multiplexing?


Organizations can select from multiple forms of multiplexing. Their choices will depend
in large part on the types of signals being transmitted -- analog vs. digital -- and the
media used to carry those transmissions, such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable or
microwave link.

The following is an overview of several common multiplexing techniques.

Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM). Bandwidth on a communications link is


divided into subchannels of different frequency widths, each carrying a signal in parallel
with the other signals. Analog radio transmissions commonly use FDM to multiplex
signals across radio waves. Analog cable TV also uses FDM, sending multiple channels
down the same strands of coaxial cable. An offshoot of FDM is orthogonal frequency-
division multiplexing (OFDM), which transmits subchannel frequencies closer together,
while enabling them to overlap and still remain separate.
Frequenc
y-division multiplexing vs. orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing vs. single channel
wireless transmissions.

Wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM). Multiple communications channels are


consolidated and then transmitted on lightwaves with different wavelengths.
Conceptually, this is similar to FDM, except that FDM is described in terms of
frequencies -- radio or television broadcasting, for example -- whereas WDM is specific
to wavelengths. The WDM approach is more common in telecommunication systems and
computer networks that use laser systems to send light signals over fiber optic cables.
WDM variations include coarse WDM and dense WDM (DWDM), which put fewer or
more channels of information, respectively, on the medium at the same time.

Time-division multiplexing (TDM). Multiple digital signals are transmitted over the
same channel in alternating time slots. TDM operates at the temporal level, unlike FDM
and WDM, which operate at the frequency or wavelength level. Although TDM has its
roots in telegraphy, it is now commonly used in digital telephony to transmit multiple
conversations across a common medium. TDM is also used on Synchronous Optical
Network links, which were once the mainstay of enterprise WAN and internet
connectivity. TDM can be either synchronous or asynchronous.
How
bidirectional DWDM works

Code-division multiplexing (CDM). A sequence of bits called the spreading code is


assigned to each signal to distinguish one signal from another. The spreading code is
combined with the original signal to produce a new stream of encoded data, which is then
transmitted on a shared medium. A demux that knows the code can then retrieve the
original signals by subtracting out the spreading code, a process called dispreading. CDM
is widely used in digital television and radio broadcasting and in 3G mobile cellular
networks -- 4G and 5G primarily use OFDM. CDM can also support multiple signals
from multiple sources, a technique known as code-division multiple access.

Space-division multiplexing (SDM). Signal paths are spatially separated through the use
of multiple conductors, such as optical fibers or electrical wires. The conductors are
bundled into a single transport medium but are physically separated, with each conductor
handling a transmitted channel. Individual conductors can be further multiplexed through
the use of FDM, TDM or other techniques. SDM is often used in submarine cable
systems to help increase capacity, but it can also be used for wireless communications.

Polarization-division multiplexing (PDM). Incoming electromagnetic signals are


polarized into orthogonal channels that are transmitted through a common medium. PDM
is frequently used in fiber optics communications, as well as radio and microwave
transmissions. For example, satellite TV providers often use PDM to deliver TV signals
to satellite dishes.

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