Introduction to Data Communications:

In Data Communications, data generally are defined as information that is stored in digital form.
Data communications is the process of transferring digital information between two or more points.
Information is defined as the knowledge or intelligence. Data communications can be summarized as
the transmission, reception, and processing of digital information. For data communications to
occur, the communicating devices must be part of a communication system made up of a
combination of hardware (physical equipment) and software (programs). The effectiveness of a data
communications system depends on four fundamental characteristics: delivery, accuracy, timeliness,
and jitter.

A data communications system has five components:

1. Message: The message is the information (data) to be communicated. Popular forms of

information include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and video.

2. Sender: The sender is the device that sends the data message. It can be a computer, workstation,
telephone handset, video camera, and so on.

3. Receiver: The receiver is the device that receives the message. It can be a computer, workstation,
telephone handset, television, and so on.

4. Transmission medium: The transmission medium is the physical path by which a message travels
from sender to receiver. Some examples of transmission media include twisted-pair wire, coaxial
cable, fiber-optic cable, and radio waves.

5. Protocol: A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. It represents an

agreement between the communicating devices.
Communication System

A communication system can be defined as the collection of hardware and

software that facilitates intersystem exchange of information between
different devices. When we communicate, we are sharing information.
This sharing can be local (face to face communication) or it may be
remote (communication over distance).

D ATA T RANSMISSION M ODE

Data transmission mode refers to the direction of signal flow between two
linked devices. There are three types of transmission modes: simplex,
half-duplex, and full-duplex.
Figure 12.2 Data Transmission Modes

Simplex
Simplex transmission is unidirectional. The information flows in one
direction across the circuit, with no capability to support response in the
other direction. Only one of the communicating devices transmits
information, the other can only receive it. Television transmission can be
considered as an example of simplex mode of transmission where the
satellite only transmits the data to the television, vice versa is not
possible.

Half-duplex
In half-duplex mode, each communicating device can receive and transmit
information, but not at the same time. When one device is sending, the
other can only receive at that point of time. In half-duplex transmission
mode, the entire capacity of the transmission medium is taken over by
the device, which is transmitting at that moment. For example, two-way
radio was the first to use half-duplex where one party spoke and the other
party listened.

Full-duplex
Full-duplex transmission mode, also known as the duplex mode, allows
both communicating devices to transmit and receive data simultaneously.
A full-duplex mode can be compared to a two-way road with traffic flowing
in both directions. A standard voice telephone call is a full-duplex call
because both parties can talk at the same time and be heard.

A NALOG AND D IGITAL D ATA T RANSMISSION

The major role of the physical medium is to move information from one
communicating device to another. However, information to be transmitted
should be first transformed into electromagnetic signals. For example, you
cannot just write a letter on the piece of paper, insert it into a wire, and
transmit it across town. Information over any medium is transmitted by
two main methods: analog and digital.
 Analog Signals
An analog signal is a continuous waveform that changes smoothly over
time. The sine wave is the most fundamental form of an analog signal.
Sine waves can be described by three characteristics.

 Amplitude: It is the value of the signal at any point on the wave. The maximum
amplitude of a sine wave is the highest value it reaches on the vertical axis. The
unit for amplitude depends on the type of the signal. For electrical signals, the
unit is normally volts and amperes.

 Frequency: It refers to the number of cycles a signal completes in one second.

In other words, frequency means the number of times a signal wave goes up
and down in a second and it is measured in Hertz (Hz). For example, if a signal
wave completes one cycle in one second, its frequency is one Hz.

 Wavelength: It refers to the distance between successive similar points of a

given wave, that is, one cycle of the waveform.

Analog signals are perfect for carrying data such as voice or sound.
However, these signals are prone to errors or noise, which are caused
from an outside source. Attenuation is another problem with analog
signals because the amplitude of the wave naturally changes over
distance.

Figure 12.3 Analog Signal

Digital Signals
Digital signal is the data stored in the form of 0s and 1s. When the signal
is at a high point, its value is 1 and when it is low, its value is 0. A signal in
digital format has precise voltages that are not affected by noise or
 attenuation as compared to analog signals, which are very prone to noise.
Digital signals can be represented by a graph similar to a bar graph. In
Figure 12.4, 1 can be encoded as a positive voltage and 0 as zero voltage.
To transmit data over analog phone lines, a modem is required to convert
the digital data signals to analog signals. When transmitted over long
distances, analog signals require to be amplified, which can possibly
distort the value of the data transmitted. When analog data is converted
to digital data, it can be transmitted over digital signals faster and without
distortion. Digital data is precise, but can never transmit the range of
information available, which is possible in case of analog data
transmission.

Figure 12.4 Digital Signal

D ATA C OMMUNICATION M EASUREMENT

The measurement of the quantity of data that can be passed down a
communication link in a given time is done in terms of bandwidth.
Fundamentally, bandwidth refers to the maximum volume of information
that can be transferred over any communication medium. The more the
information needed to transmit in a given period, the more the bandwidth
required. On digital circuits, bandwidth is measured in bits per second
(bps), which refers to the number of binary data bits transmitted per
second. A thousand bps is one kilobit per second or Kbps.
In the popular digital context, the level of bandwidth falls into three
categories.

 Narrowband: In narrowband, there is a single transmission channel of 64 Kbps

or less. With advances in network technology, narrowband has come to be
associated with any channel operating at less than 1.544 Mbps.
 Wideband: It is a medium capacity communication channel, which carries data
at speeds between 1.544 Mbps to 45 Mbps.

 Broadband: It is a transmission medium, capable of supporting a wide range of

frequencies. It can carry multiple signals by dividing the total capacity of the
medium into multiple, independent bandwidth channels, where each channel
operates only on a specific range of frequencies. The bandwidth capacity in
broadband is equal to 45 Mbps. Broadcast television, cable television,
microwave, and satellite are examples of broadband technologies. These
technologies are capable of carrying a great deal of information in a short
amount of time, but are more expensive to use than technologies like the
telephone, which require less bandwidth.