SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK

B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1
Unit - 1
Introduction & Transmission Media And Optical Fiber Communication &
Satellite Communication

 Communication System
What is communication?
 Communication, in the layman language means to convey a message, an idea, a picture
or speech that is received and understood clearly and correctly by the person for whom it
is conveyed.
 Variety of methods can be adopted for the same. Including speaking loudly, in written or
by post. These methods have problem with speed.
 Among all, telephonic communication is popular generally because it is cheap and
instantaneous.
 Large amount if data can’t be remembered if conveyed on telephone.
 In this context, data communication containing messages, pictures and voice has taken
the importance.

Data Communication
 "The exchange of data or information between two devices using transmission medium
is called data communication"
 For data communication to occur , the communicating devices must be part of
communication system made up of a combination of hardware and software.

Basic factors affecting data communications are:

 The cost of conveying message should be small.
 The transmission should take place without any doubt / confusion in the mind of
receiver.
 The message should reach within a reasonable time before it becomes obsolete
 The message should be safe and secured.
Electronics Methods of Communications
 With the invention of telephone instruments and the communication satellites, the
means of electronic communication has become very popular, though cost of
installation and maintenance is still very high and beyond the means of common man.
 Telephonic communication method has following limitations:
a) Both sender and receiver should be available at the same time and should
speak same language
b) Telephonic communication is not secured means of communication.
c) It offers voice communication only.
d) It is affected by environment including natural and artificial.

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1
Computerized Communication
 Because of prices of PCs have fallen down, they have started playing an important role
in the communication field.
 Basic reason behind is, they can send data with extreme speed and accuracy.
 Medium of communication is not stuck to voice communication.

Computer based communication system has the following advantages:

 Telephone calls can be made to any part of world.
 Pictures, sounds and written data can be sent within minutes with confirmation of
successful delivery.
 Messages can be coded so that it is not understood by any body else except the
Person who is sending and who is receiving.
 Any language can be used for communication.
 Special training is not required for achieving computer communication.

 There are basic 5 components in data communication system

1. Sender
2. Receiver
3. Transmission Medium
4. Message
5. Protocol

Sender Receiver
Message
Transmission Media

[Communication System]

Sender : The device that sends the data message is called sender.. It can be computer,
telephone handset, video camera etc..

Receiver : The device that receives the data message is called receiver. It can be computer,
telephone handset, mobile etc...

Transmission Medium : It is a path by which a message travel from sender to receiver. Example
of transmission media are fiber optic, coaxial cable, radio waves etc...

Message : The message is data (information) to be communicated. The popular form of data is
text, image, audio, video etc...

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1
Protocol : Protocol is set of rules that handles the data communication in network. without
protocol, two devices may be connected but not communicated.

Explain Communication System

Block diagram of communication is shown :

 The communication system has sole purpose of passing data or information in the most
effective manner.
 Communication system is the combination of hardware, software and data transfer
links, making up a communication facility for transferring data in a cost effective
manner.
 A communication system itself can be either u or combination of both.
 The digital data are to be sent over analog telephone lines, the digital signals must be
covered to analog form. The technique by which a digital signal is converted to its
analog form is known as modulation. The reverse process is known as demodulation.
This process is carried out by Modem.
 Analog messages are sent through telephone lines.
 In a data communication network, the task of network designers is to select and co-
ordinate the network components so that the necessary data are moved to the right
place, at right time with minimum errors, and at the lowest possible cost

How data will flow in data communication system ?OR Types of data communication.
OR Explain Transmission Mode
Data Flow: Communication between two devices can be simples, half-duplex, or full-duplex
Simplex: In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way. Only one
of the two devices on a link can transmit; the other can only receive. Keyboard s and traditional
monitors are examples of simplex device. The keyboard can only introducing input; the monitor
can only accept output.

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1

Half-duplex: In half duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not
at the same time. When one device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa.
Walkie-talkies and CB(citizen band) radios are both half duplex systems.

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1
Full-duplex: In full duplex mode (also called duplex), both stations can transmit and
receive simultaneously. One common example of full-duplex communication is the telephone
network. When two people are communicating by a telephone line, both can talk and listen at
the same time. The full-duplex mode is used when c communication in both directions is
required all the time. The capacity of the channel must be divided between the two directions.

Differentiate between simplex, half, full-duplex

Simplex Half-duplex Full-duplex
Data flows in one direction Data flows in both directions, Communication in both
only but only one direction at a directions simultaneously
time
No acknowledgement Delayed confirmation of Immediate confirmation of
possible message message receipt
Two wire transmission Two wire transmission Four wire transmission
Low cost Medium cost High cost
Used for TV, radio and Used for telephonic Used for data
broadcasting applications communication communication in PC’s

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1
Analog Data & Digital Data
Explain Analog and Digital Data.
Analog Data
 The term analog data refers to information that is continuous.
 An example of Analog data is human voice. When somebody speaks, a continuous wave
is created in the air. This can be captured by the microphone and converted to an analog
signal.
 example : voice, speech, audio, heart beat etc...
 An Analog signal is a continuous wave form that changes smoothly over time. As the
wave moves from value A to value B, it passes through and includes an infinite numbers
of values along its path.

Digital Data
Digital data refers to the information that is discrete values.
example : digital device, digital clock
On the other hand, an example of Digital data is data stored in the memory of a computer in
the form of 1s and 0s. it is usually converted to a digital signal when it is transferred from one
position to another inside or outside the computer.
 A Digital signal is discrete. It can have only a limited number of defined values, often as
simple as 1 and 0.

 Signals are usually represented by plotting them on a pair of perpendicular axes. The
vertical axis represents the value or strength of a signal. The horizontal axis represents
the passage of time. The under shown picture represents the same.

Bit rate= Number of sent in one second, usually expressed in bits per second (bps).
Bit interval= Time required to sent one single bit
Baud Rate:-Baud rate equals the bit rate divide by the number of bits represented in each
signal. Or in otherwords we can also say that baud rate is number of signal units per second

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1

Communication channel / Transmission Media

 A communication channel also known as communication media or transmission media is a path
that connect the sender and receiver for the transmission of information over a network.
 Media is the general term used to describe the data path that forms the physical channel
between sender and the receiver.

 Wired network are generally known as bounded media for communication, where as wireless
media are sometimes referred to as unbounded media
 Media differs in the capability to support high data rates and long distance. The reasons for this
are noise absorption, radiation, attenuation and bandwidth.
 Noise absorption is the susceptibility of the media to external electrical noise that can cause
distortion of the data signal and thus data errors.
 Radiation is the leakage of signal from the media caused by undesirable electrical
characteristics of the media. Radiation and the physical characteristics of the media contribute
to attenuation, or in other words reduce signal strength as signals travel down the wire.
Attenuation limits the usable distance that data can travel on the media.
 Bandwidth is similar to the concept of frequency response in the stereo amplifier – the greater
the frequency response, the higher the bandwidth. According to theory, higher bandwidth
cables support higher data rates.
.

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1
Explain Guided Transmission Media or Bounded transmission media.
Twin Wire,
Co-axial Cable
Fiber Optics

Twisted Pair Cable

 In its simplest composition, twisted-pair cable consists of two insulated stands of copper
wire twisted around each other.
 The twisting reduces the sensitivity of the cable to EMI
 There are two types of twisted-pair cable, UTP and STP.

UTP Cables (Unshielded Twisted Pair)

· UTP cables consist of a number of twisted pairs with a simple plastic casing.
· It is commonly used in telephone systems.
· It is the least costly cable type.
· Common UTP data rates range from 4Mbps to 10Mbps, a 100Mbps data rate using UTP is now
becoming common into the market.
· UTPs are light, flexible and are connected to network using RJ-45 connectors.
· UTPs lack a shield and is, therefore, much less resistant to EMI than coax cable.

UTP cable is available in the following three grades, or categories:

·

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1
· Category 3. As the lowest data-grade cable, this type of cable generally is suited for data rates
up to 10Mbps. Some innovative schemes utilizing new standards and technologies, however,
enable the cable to support data rates up to 100Mbps. Category 3, which uses four twisted
pairs with three twists per foot, is now the standard cable used for most telephone
installations.

· Category 5 This data-grade cable, which consists of four twisted-pairs, is suitable for data
rates up to 16Mbps.

· Category 7. This data-grade cable, which also consists of four twisted-pairs, is suitable for data
rates up to 100Mbps. Most new cabling systems for 100Mbps data rates are designed around
Category 5 cable.

Applications
 Twisted pair cables are used in telephone lines to provid voice abd data channels.
 The DSL lines that are used by the telephone companies to provide high data rate
connections also use the high-bandwidth capability of unshielded twisted pair cables

STP Cables (Shielded Twisted Pair)

 It is similar i n construction of UTP except that the

twisted pairs are enclosed in a woven copper and
foil wrap shield.
 The shield is used here for the same purpose to
reduce EMI (Electromagnetic Interference).
 STPs are most costly than the UTPs.
 STP is capable of transmission speed upto
500Mbps
 STP is commonly used with Token Ring Networks,
which have a useful upper limit of 260 nodes.
 It uses RJ-45 as well as older connectors types like Apple LocalTalk connector and IBM
Type 1 connector.
 100-meter limit is most common for all Twisted Pair.

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1
Coaxial Cable
 It is commonly called coax, has two conductors that share the same axis.
 A solid copper wire runs down the center of the cable which is surrounded by a plastic
foam insulation, which is surrounded by a second conductor, a wire mesh tube, metallic
foil.

The wire mesh protects the wire from EMI (electromagnetic interference).

· It is often called a shield.

· There are two types of coax cable:
1) Base Band Coaxial cable
o Thin coax (Thinnet)
o Thick coax (Thicknet)
2) Broad Band Coaxial cable

Thinnet (Coaxial Cable)

 It is a flexible Coaxial cable about 0.25 inches thick.
 This type of Coaxial cable is flexible and easy to work with; it can be used in almost any
type of network installation commonly used in BUS topology.
 Thin net coaxial cable can carry a signal up to approximately 185 meters before the
signal starts to suffer from attenuation.
 Thin net is included in a group that referred to as the RG-58 (radio grade) family and has
50-ohm impendence
 Commonly used for digital transmission

Thicknet (Coaxial Cable)

 Thick net is relatively rigid coaxial cable about 0.5 inches in diameter.
 Thick net co-axial cable can carry a signal up to 500meters before the signal starts to
suffer from Attenuation.
 Therefore, because of thicket’s ability to support data transfer over longer distance it is
sometimes used as a backbone to connect several smaller thin net based network.

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1
 RG-8, RG-9 and RG-11 used for thick net coaxial cable.
 75 ohm commonly used for analog transmission

Characteristics

Cost:
Coax is relatively in expensive.The cost of thin cost is less than STP or UTP. Thick coax is more
expensive than STP or UTP but less than fiber- optics.
Bandwidth:
A typical data rate for today’s coax networks is 2.5 Mbps to ARCnet (Attached Resource
Computer NETwork)) to 10 Mbps(megabytes per second)) for Ethernet, although the potential
is higher.
Node Capacity:
The specified max. number of nodes on a thinnet segment is 30 nodes; on a thicknet segment it
is 100 nodes.
Transmission:
Thinnet cable can reliably transmit a signal for 185 meters (about 610 feet).Where as Thicknet
can transmit a signal approximately 500 meters (1,650 feet).

Which are Advantages of Coaxial Cable?

 Coaxial cable is the most widely used network cable
 Coaxial cable is relatively inexpensive, light, flexible and easy to work with
 It can be easily installed.
 Coaxial cable is a good choice for longer distance and for reliably supporting higher data
rates.

Co-axial cable connectors:

Basically there are 4-type of connectors are used for coaxial cable.
1. Barrel connectors
2. BNC (bayonet network connector)
3. T-connectors
4. Terminator

Broad Band Coaxial cable

 The broad band refers to analog transmission over coaxial cable.
 This cable offer bandwidths of 300 to 400 mhz facilitating high- speed data
communication with low-bit error rate.
 It operates as distances up to 100 km(metropolitan area.)
 Technology used in cable television for broadband TV application coaxial cable of ½
diameter, so it applied for universities that may have TV classes.

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1
 It requires amplifies to boost signal strength because amplifies are one way, data
flows in only one direction .

There are two types of Broad band systems is emerged.

1. Dual Cable systems.

 Dual cable system use two cables, one for transmission in each direction .
 One cable is used for receiving data.
 Second cable is used to communicate with head end.
 When a node wishes to transmit data, it sends the data to a special node
called the head end. The headend the resends the data on the first cable.

2. Midsplit System
 It allocates different frequency bands for inbound and outbound
communication on a single cable.

Explain Fiber Optics cable in details

 FO cable transmits light signals rather than electrical signals.

 Not only does this type of cable accommodate extremely high bandwidths, but it also presents no
problems with EMI(electromagnetic interference) and supports durable cables and cable runs as
long as several kilometers.

 The two disadvantages of fiber-optic cable, however, are cost and installation difficulty.
 The center conductor of a fiber-optic cable is a fiber that consists of highly refined glass or plastic
designed to transmit light signals with little loss. A glass core supports a longer cabling distance,
but a plastic core is typically easier to work with. The fiber is coated with a cladding or a gel that
reflects signals back into the fiber to reduce signal loss.

 A fiber-optic network cable consists of two strands separately enclosed in plastic jacket. One
strand sends and the other receives.
 This cable is most expensive in all. Because it uses light, which has a much higher frequency
than electricity, fiber- optic cabling can provide extremely high bandwidth.
 It allows rate from 100Mbps to 2Gbps.

Fiber-optic cables are capable of carrying signals for several kilometers

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1

Radio Wave , VHF , Microwaves

Explain Unguided transmission Media. OR unbounded transmission media.

 Unguided Media transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical
conductor. This type of communication is often referred as wireless communication.

FIG: Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless communication

WIRELESS TRANSMISSION TECHNIQUES/WAVES

• RADIO WAVES
• MICROWAVES

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1
 RADIO WAVES:

- Electromagnetic waves ranging in frequencies between 3 KHz and 1 GHz are normally called
radio waves.
- Radio waves are easy to generate.
- Radio waves are omni directional, means when an antenna transmits radio waves, they are
propagated in all directions. So the sending and receiving antenna should not be aligned.
- They are widely used for the communication between both indoor and outdoor because they
have the property that they can penetrate through the walls very easily.
- Signals can penetrate walls. So it can reach inside the room and you can place antenna in
room.
- These waves are usually used for FM radio, television, cellular phones and wireless LAN.
- Signals can travel long distance.
- Omni directional property has disadvantage too. The radio waves transmitted by one antenna
using same frequency will create interference to another antenna’s signals.
- Signals will be received by many receiving stations so there is no privacy.

 OMNI DIRECTIONAL ANTENNA:

o Radio waves use omni directional antennas that send out signals in all directions.
(as shown in fig)

APPLICATIONS:
o FM Radio
o Television
o Cordless phones

 MICROWAVES:

- Electromagnetic waves ranging in frequencies between 1 and 300 GHz are normally called
microwaves.

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1
- Microwaves are unidirectional. When an antenna transmits microwaves, they can be narrowly
focused. This means that the sending and receiving antennas need to be aligned.

 CHARACTERISTICS:

o Microwave propagation is line-of-sight. The towers with the mounted antennas need to
be in direct sight of each other, towers that are far apart need to be very tall. Repeaters
are often needed for long distance communication.
o Very high frequency microwaves can not penetrate walls. This characteristic has
disadvantage if receivers are inside building.
o Microwave band is wide. So wider sub-bands can be assigned and a high data rate is
possible.

 UNIDIRECTIONAL ANTENNA:

o Microwaves need unidirectional antennas that send out signals in one direction.
o Two types of antennas are:

 Parabolic dish antenna

 Is based on the geometry of a parabola: every line parallel to the line of sight reflects off
the curve at angles such that all the lines intersect in a common point called the focus.

 Horn antenna
 Looks like gigantic scoop. Outgoing transmissions are broadcast up a steam and
deflected outward in a series of narrow parallel beams by the curved head.

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1

 APPLICATIONS:

o Used in unicast communication. Like cellular phones, satellite networks and wireless LANs

Satellite in space

HUB

o Characteristics:
 Frequency Range: Generally 4-6 GHz and 11-14 GHz.
 Cost: the cost of building and launching satellite is extremely expensive.
 Installation: satellite microwave installation for orbiting satellites is extremely technical
and difficult.
 Bandwidth capacity: capacity depends on the frequency used. Typical data rates are 1
to 10 Mbps.

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 SHREE SWAMINARAYAN COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
CC- 405. COMPUTER NETWORK
B.SC.IT SEMESTER - 4
UNIT - 1
 Attenuation: attenuation depends on frequency, power, antenna size and atmospheric
conditions.

o Applications:
 Television distribution.
 Private business network. (VSAT)
 LAN interconnection.
 Video conferencing.
 NICNET (National Informatics Center) (VSAT).
 ERNET (Education Research)
 DD Direct

o Advantages:
 Wide geographic coverage, only three satellites can cover entire earth.
 High availability.
 Flexible network configuration, easy to extend network.
 Rapid network deployment.
 Centralized control and monitoring.

o Dis-advantages:
 Long propagation delay.
 Inherently broadcast facility.
 Requires error and flow control.

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