Bandwidth

maximum amount of data that can be transmitted from one point to another.
Theoretical Limit: It is a theoretical measure and does not account for real-world factors
like network congestion.
Doesn’t Re ect Real Performance: High bandwidth doesn’t always translate to high actual
data transfer rates due to various inef ciencies.
Throughput
Throughput is the actual rate at which data is successfully transmitted over a network or
channel within a speci c period. Also known as the effective data rate or payload rate, it
re ects the real-world performance of the network.
Realistic Measurement: Provides a practical measure of how much data is being
transmitted, taking into account network conditions and overheads.
Performance Evaluation: Useful for assessing the actual performance and ef ciency of the
network.
Data Rate
Data Rate is de ned as the amount of data transmitted during a speci ed period over a
network. It is the speed at which data is transferred from one device to another or between
a peripheral device and the computer. It is generally measured in mbps.

Analog Signals
The data is transferred with the help of analog signal in between transmitter and receiver.
Any type of data is transferred in analog signal.
Advantages
It is Easier in processing.
Analog Signals are best tted to audio and video transmission.
It has a coffee cost and is portable.
Disadvantages
Analog tends to possess a lower quality signal than digital.
The cables are sensitive to external in uences.
Analog wire is expensive and not easily portable.

Digital Signals
Digital signal is used rather than analog signal for communication in between the source
and destination. The digital signal consists of discrete values rather than continuous
values. In digital communication physical transfer of data occurs in the form of digital bit
stream i.e 0 or 1 over a point-to-point or point-to-multipoint transmission medium. In digital
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 communication the digital transmission data can be broken into packets as discrete
messages which is not allowed in analog communication.
Advantages
The speed of data transmission is quite high therefore, message transfer occurs almost
instantly.
The process of digital communication is quite ef cient because speed and accuracy are
always maintained in this system.
The wireless nature of digital communication can be used to establish connections globally
without major geographical constraints.
Disadvantages
Digital Communication lacks a personal touch due to a lack of proper interaction between
users at both the ends of channel.
With an increase in network coverage, the complexity of digital communication systems
increases and therefore, implementation of such circuit is dif cult.

Transmission Impairment in Data Communication

In communication system, analog signals travel through transmission media, which tends
to deteriorate the quality of analog signal, which means that the signal at the beginning of
the medium is not the same as the signal at the end of the medium. The imperfection
causes signal impairment.
Causes are :
Attenuation – It means loss of energy. The strength of signal decreases with increasing
distance which causes loss of energy in overcoming resistance of medium. This is also
known as attenuated signal. Ampli ers are used to amplify the attenuated signal which
gives the original signal back and compensate for this loss.
Distortion – It means changes in the form or shape of the signal. This is generally seen in
composite signals made up with different frequencies. Each frequency component has its
own propagation speed travelling through a medium. And thats why it delay in arriving at
the nal destination Every component arrive at different time which leads to distortion.
Therefore, they have different phases at receiver end from what they had at senders end.
Noise – The random or unwanted signal that mixes up with the original signal is called
noise. There are several types of noise such as induced noise, crosstalk noise, thermal
noise and impulse noise which may corrupt the signal.
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Line of sight
When there are no obstacles between receiving and transmitting stations, and when the
receiving and transmitting stations are in sight of each other, then this type of transmitting
and receiving data is known as line of sight communication.

Capacity of a channel in Computer Network

By capacity of a channel, it means the capacity of the transmission medium (wire or link).
Capacity is the number of bits the transmission medium can hold. So basically there are 2
types of channels – Full duplex and half duplex.
Half duplex – the transmission can happen in one direction at a time.
Full duplex – the transmission can happen in both the direction simultaneously.
The capacity of the channel depends on two things:
Bandwidth
Propagation delay
Capacity = bandwidth * propagation delay (in case of half duplex)
Capacity =2* bandwidth * propagation delay (in case of full duplex)

Maximum Data Rate (channel capacity) for Noiseless and Noisy channels
Data rate governs the speed of data transmission. A very important consideration in data
communication is how fast we can send data, in bits per second, over a channel. Data rate
depends upon 3 factors:
The bandwidth available
Number of levels in digital signal
The quality of the channel – level of noise
To calculate data ate we use,
Noiseless Channel: Nyquist Bit Rate
Noisy Channel Shannon Capacity

What is Synchronous Transmission?

In Synchronous Transmission, data is sent in the form of blocks or frames. This
transmission is the full-duplex type. In Synchronous transmission, There is no time gap
present between data. It is more ef cient and more reliable than asynchronous
transmission to transfer a large amount of data.
Both the sender and receiver are synchronized with a common clock signal. This means
they operate at the same speed and know exactly when to send and receive data. Data is
sent in a continuous stream, with each byte or chunk of data following the previous one
without any gaps. Eg chat room, telephonic conversation, video conferencing.
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 What is Asynchronous Transmission?
In Asynchronous Transmission, data is sent in form of byte or character. This transmission
is the half-duplex type transmission. In this transmission start bits and stop bits are added
with data. It does not require synchronization. Asynchronous transmission is like sending
individual text messages without knowing exactly when the other person will read them.
The sender and receiver do not share a common clock signal. Instead, data is sent one
byte or character at a time, with start and stop bits indicating the beginning and end of
each byte. Each piece of data is sent independently, with gaps in between, allowing the
receiver to process each byte as it arrives. It’s exible and simpler to implement, especially
useful for communications where data is sent intermittently. Example: Email, Forums,
Letters

Difference between Circuit switching and Message switching

Circuit switching is a technique of communication where a particular path is pre-
designated exclusively for the particular parties intending to exchange information. This
path continues to be available and exclusive during the course of the session. The circuit
switching is mostly applied in the conventional telecommunication networks and is well
suited for voice transmission.
Advantages
Dedicated Connection: Gives a guaranteed availability of the bandwidth and diminishing
the probability of proactive failures in connection.
Real-time Communication: The communication latency is low and, therefore, makes it
good for real-time applications such as voice call.
Reliable Data Transmission: Once the circuit is set, there is little or no intrusion hence a
minimal risk of loss of data.
Disadvantages
Inef cient for Data Traf c: The dedicated path is always available even during the periods
of no transmission making the utilization of the available resources quite inef cient.
Setup Delay: Creating the connection involves some form of con guration during which
some amount of time may be taken.
Fixed Bandwidth: The bandwidth is beforehand subscribed and cannot be changed
dynamically as per its needs.

Message switching is also a form of communication whereby message is communicated

as a single entity each being handled separately in the network. There is not a dedicated
end to end path; every message can follow any path that is available and free at that time.
Originally message switching was applied to telegraphy and at present it is used in store-
and-forward networks only.
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 Advantages
Ef cient Use of Resources: No need to have separate paths so that several messages can
be processed at a certain time.
No Setup Time: Like in the connected mode, signals are sent and received without the
setting up of a call.
Flexibility in Routing: Information can be re-routed also depending on current conditions in
the network: this approach is more exible.
Disadvantages
Higher Latency: Because messages are stored and forwarded at each intermediate node,
such delays are possible.
Complexity in Message Reassembly: It could be expected that a message will be sent as
one package, but will arrive as several packages, and then needs to be reconstructed at
the arrival location.
Potential for Congestion: If there are a number of messages to the intended receiver in the
network, network congestion may make the messages to be delayed or even dropped at
the intermediate nodes.

Packet Switching
Packet Switching in computer networks is a method of transferring data to a network in the
form of packets. In order to transfer the le fast and ef ciently over the network and
minimize the transmission latency, the data is broken into small pieces of variable length,
called Packet. At the destination, all these small parts (packets) have to be reassembled,
belonging to the same le. Packet Switching uses the Store and Forward technique while
switching the packets; while forwarding the packet each hop rst stores that packet then
forwards. This technique is very bene cial because packets may get discarded at any hop
for some reason. Packets belonging to the same le may or may not travel through the
same path. If there is congestion at some path, packets are allowed to choose different
paths possible over an existing network.

Types of Delays in Packet Switching

Transmission Delay: Time required by the spent station to transmit data to the link.
Propagation Delay: Time of data propagation through the link.
Queueing Delay: Time spent by the packet at the destination’s queue.
Processing Delay: Processing time for data at the destination.

Advantages of Packet Switching over Circuit Switching

More ef cient in terms of bandwidth, since the concept of reserving a circuit is not there.
Minimal transmission latency.
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 More reliable as a destination can detect the missing packet.
More fault tolerant because packets may follow a different path in case any link is down,
Unlike Circuit Switching.
Cost-effective and comparatively cheaper to implement.

Disadvantage of Packet Switching over Circuit Switching

Packet Switching doesn’t give packets in order, whereas Circuit Switching provides
ordered delivery of packets because all the packets follow the same path.
Since the packets are unordered, we need to provide sequence numbers for each packet.
Complexity is more at each node because of the facility to follow multiple paths.
Transmission delay is more because of rerouting.
Packet Switching is bene cial only for small messages, but for large messages Circuit
Switching is better.

1. Optical Fiber Structure

An optical ber is a thin, durable and exible strand of glass or plastic, used to
communicate as light pulses over much longer distances than electrical based line.
Core: This is the particle that transmits light through it. It is usually made from a glass of
high purity and has the index of refraction higher the cladding.
Cladding: It is densest at the core and its refractive index there is slightly lower. Its goal is
achieved due to a total refraction that prevents light from spreading outward.
Protective Coating: The last layer, which is also the closest to the core, protects the ber
from various environmental in uences and adds the necessary mechanical strength.
2. Multimode Propagation
In multimode propagation, several light beams ful ll the role of the core and follow their
respective paths. This could results in modal dispersion; when these rays come at the end
of the receiving place at times depending on their different path lengths. Mode dispersion
is the limiting factor in multimode ber transmission because signal interferences from
different modes of the ber lead to signal distortions reduce the bandwidth and
transmission distance.
A phenomenon called modal dispersion takes place in multimode bers as different rays
try out different paths and arrive at the end with different timing. This scattering leads to a
narrower bandwidth and less distance of transmission for multimode bers, decreasing the
data transmission quality and speed.
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 3. Single-Mode Propagation
A single waveguide construction implies that the light travels through the interior of the
ber along one central axis, and as a result, when it is transmitted across long distances
the light experiences very little dispersion to ensure the accuracy of signal transmission.
Single-mode propagation resulting in a ray of light traveling the core’s primary axis is the
purpose here. In this situation, the ratio of core diameter to multimode ber diameter is
smaller. One of the most distinctive features of single-mode bers is their minimal
dispersion, which in turn leads to intense bandwidth and the capability to transmit signals
over a long distance without relatively noticeable signal degradation. They are designed in
such a way as to they mainly focus on the transmission over great distances while
ensuring that there will be no quality loss of signals.
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