Physical Layer

PV169 – Fundamentals of Data Transmission

Václav Oujezský
[email protected]
https://www.fi.muni.cz/~oujezsky/

Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University

September 28, 2024

 Physical Layer

Overview
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Physical Layer -
What is the Physical Layer
Transmission Media of the Physical Layer
Physical Topologies of CS
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Types of Computer Network Connections
Functions for Services Provided by the Physical Layer
Components of the Physical Layer
Topics Studied at the Physical Layer Level
Appendix – Preamble
Review, Exercises

V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 2 / 19

 Physical Layer What is the Physical Layer

What is the Physical Layer

https://osi-model.com/
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Controls the transmission medium, defines the electrical and mechanical characteristics
of the data signal transmission. Examples of transmission media in the physical layer are -
twisted pair cable, fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, . . .
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Transmission medium: Passive entity – it contains no program, no control
, logic.

Information between communicating locations (nodes) is transmitted via changes in

the physical properties of the transmission medium.
The necessary functionality of the communicating device (location) directly
cooperating with the transmission medium is provided by the physical layer of its
communication system.

V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 3 / 19

 Physical Layer Transmission Media of the Physical Layer

Transmission Media of the Physical Layer

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Transmission
media -

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Guided Unguided
(wired) (wireless)

Twisted-pair Coaxial Fiber-optics

Radio wave Microwave Infrared
cable cable cable

In the lecture on Transmission media

V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 4 / 19

 Physical Layer Physical Topologies of CS

Physical Topologies
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Network topology is a geometric representation of the relationship between all links and +
connected devices (usually called nodes). There are four basic possible topologies: mesh,
star, bus, and ring. -
STAR
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MASH

Repeater Repeater

RING
TAP TAP TAP

BUS
Repeater Repeater

V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 5 / 19

 Physical Layer Physical Topologies of CS

Physical Topologies
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MESH – each node n has a dedicated „point-to-point“ link to every other node.
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Using full-duplex requires n(n − 1)/2 physical connections.
STAR (also known as Hub and Spoke) – each node n has a dedicated
„point-to-point“ link to a central element (switch, hub). The most common setup is a ?
double star, creating redundant connections.
RING – each node n is connected to two neighboring nodes via dedicated
„point-to-point“ links. There is only one path between nodes.
BUS – each node n is connected to a shared medium (multipoint connection).
Historically implemented using coaxial cable, T-splitters, and terminators. It is rarely
used today and was the first network topology design.

V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 6 / 19

 Physical Layer Physical Topologies of CS

Network Simulation Tools

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Today’s network simulation tools can simulate network traffic at all layers of the ISO/OSI -
model. Examples of simulation tools:
NS2, NS3 – https://www.nsnam.org/ ?
OPNET – https://opnetprojects.com/
OMNeT++ – https://omnetpp.org/
GNS3 – https://www.gns3.com/
Cisco Packet Tracer – https://www.netacad.com/cisco-packet-tracer
...

V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 7 / 19

 Physical Layer Types of Computer Network Connections

Types of Computer Network Connections – Communication Systems

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Types of CS connections by area:
PAN – Personal Area Network – Wired PAN, Wireless PAN – connecting peripherals
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and devices to a central element (e.g., connecting wireless headphones to a mobile -
device). Firewire IEEE 1394, USB (Universal Serial Bus), ZigBee IEEE 802.15.4,
Bluetooth IEEE 802.15.1, . . .
LAN – Local Area Network – local computer network. (Switched Ethernet, Wi-Fi IEEE ?
802.11, . . . )
MAN – Metropolitan Area Network – connects individual LANs and does not exceed
the boundaries of a city or area, such as linking a company’s branches in a city
(Gigabit Passive Optical Network GPON, SDH).
WAN – Wide Area Network – covers a large area (Packet over SONET/SDH (PoS),
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), ATM, Frame Relay), and nowadays the rise of
SD-WAN – software-defined WAN.
In practice, the most widely used technology is Ethernet (IEEE 802.3 standard) with the
TCP/IP protocol.
V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 8 / 19
 Physical Layer Types of Computer Network Connections

What is the Physical Layer

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The physical layer provides services to the data link layer,

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ensures the transmission/reception of a sequence of bits1 of data.
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Data mostly refers to data in digital form, i.e., data encoded
into a sequence of 1s and 0s.
(Transmission of analog data is only covered briefly.) ?
The data link layer sends to/receives from the physical layer
data represented as sequences of 0s and 1s and grouped into frames.
The physical layer transforms the bit content of frames into analog
or digital signals transmitted over the transmission medium,
or decodes data back from the received signals.
The physical layer ensures the transmission of bits between the transmitter and
receiver,
the services provided by the physical layer offer a logical path (channel)
for the transmission of bits.

1
basic data unit used in computing. It is denoted by the lowercase letter b
V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 9 / 19
 Physical Layer Types of Computer Network Connections

What is the Physical Layer

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Data link layer

Input of the transmitted data

Gives services to
Output of the transmitted data -
sequence (bits) sequence (bits)
Physical layer
Bit-signal Bit-rate
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transformation Circuit control
Bit switching
Multiplexing
synchronization

Transmission control of signals (Tx) Controls Recieve control of signals (Rx)

Transmission media

V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 10 / 19

 Physical Layer Types of Computer Network Connections

What is the Physical Layer

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Example:
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Signál -

Médium ?
On each end, electrical pulses are monitored and arranged in waves. A network card
reads the electrical pulse as a signal of „on“ or „off“, and this system is called binary
transmission – working with two values. The "on" value is recorded as 1, and the
"off" value as 0.
In machine language, these values are called bits (binary digits).
0 or 1 represents a fluctuation in the voltage of electrical pulses measured in very
small time intervals – cycles = frequency f (Hz).
Example: 100 Mb/s (megabits per second) = 100 million cycles (this direct
proportionality applied in the past, but today it depends on the coding scheme used
V. Oujezský · Physical
(PAM, Layer · September
DSQ128, etc.). 28, 2024 11 / 19
 Physical Layer Types of Computer Network Connections

What is the Physical Layer

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The transmission is direct, unmediated by any other entity.
The physical layer controls processes in the transmission medium, deciding, for +
example,
on the direction of the transmitted data flow (signals), data encoding into signals,
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the number of logical channels transmitting data simultaneously in the medium, . . .
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From data link layer To data link layer
Preamble

Physical Layer Physical Layer

110 10101000000010111 110 10101000000010111

Transmission medium
V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 12 / 19
 Physical Layer Functions for Services Provided by the Physical Layer

Functions for Services Provided by the Physical Layer

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Always
Encoding of bits into (electromagnetic) signals and vice versa. -
Determining the bit transmission rate (b/s, bit rate).
Synchronization of time intervals for displaying bits into signals between the ?
transmitter and receiver.
Optionally
Creating any necessary multiple simultaneous logical channels (paths) in the
physical medium for the concurrent transmission of several bit streams –
multiplexing.
Switching logical paths between non-adjacent communicating nodes by the method
of circuit switching.

V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 13 / 19

 Physical Layer Components of the Physical Layer

Components of the Physical Layer – Example

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Higher Layers +
LLC - Logical Link Control
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Application MAC - Media Access Control

RS RS
Presentation ?
Software

Session

GMII

MII
Transport
PCS
PCS
(AutoNeg)
Network
PMA PMA

PHY
PHY
Data Link PMD
Hardware

PMD AutoNeg
Physical MDI MDI

(RJ45)

(RJ45)
8C8P

8C8P
1000BaseT 100BaseT

V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 14 / 19

 Physical Layer Components of the Physical Layer

Components of the Physical Layer – Example

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MDI – Medium Dependent Interface – for connecting the medium (cable). MDI, MDI-X, Auto-MDI.
AutoNeg – Auto-Negotiation – mechanism for negotiating the speed and duplex mode between
connected nodes.
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PMD – Physical Medium Dependent – consists of a „transceiver“ for the physical medium. Defines
the details of bit transmission over the physical medium, such as bit timing, signal encoding in -
interaction with the physical medium, and the properties of the cable, optical fiber, or wire itself.
PMA – Physical Medium Attachment – synchronization and octet detection, scrambling and
descrambling.
PCS – Physical Coding Sublayer – this sublayer handles auto-negotiation and coding.
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MII – Medium Independent Interface – parallel interface similar to a parallel bus. Transmission and
reception are synchronized.
RS – Reconciliation Sublayer – this sublayer processes local and remote PHY message errors.
MAC – Media Access Controller – controller between PHY and the microprocessor, which contains
the firmware for network layers (network stack). It creates and validates frames according to the
protocol.

Physical Layer (PHY)

starting from the cable through the network module (transceiver). Ensures coding and
decoding operations. Includes MDI for connecting the medium and MII for connecting to the
higher layer. Contains components AutoNeg, PMD, PMA, PCS.
After completing bit operations, it sends the bits to the MAC layer through the MII interface.

V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 15 / 19

 Physical Layer Components of the Physical Layer

Components of the Physical Layer

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Simplified Example – Block Diagram of a Switch
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PORT1 -
10/100/1000 PHY1 MAC1

PORT2
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10/100/1000 PHY2 MAC2 Address

Queue Management, QoS, ...

Lookup

Switch Engine
PORT3 MIB
10/100/1000 PHY3 MAC3
Counters

PORT4
10/100/1000 PHY4 MAC4 Frame Buffers

Control Queue
Registers Management

V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 16 / 19

 Physical Layer Topics Studied at the Physical Layer Level

Topics Studied at the Physical Layer Level

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Signals -
Digital Transmission
Analog Transmission ?
Multiplexing
Transmission Media
Circuit Switching
High-Speed Access
[1]

V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 17 / 19

 Physical Layer Appendix – Preamble

Appendix – Preamble
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Preamble – used to inform the target that an Ethernet frame (IEEE 802.3 standard) is -
starting to be transmitted. If no one is „sending“, the voltage on the line is zero. The
preamble is as follows:
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10101010 10101010 10101010 10101010 10101010 10101010 10101010 10101011

It is 64 bits long; the first 62 bits alternate between 1s and 0s. The last two bits are
two 1s, signaling that an Ethernet frame follows.
The last octet is sometimes called SFD (Start of Frame Delimiter), and only the first
7 octets are considered the preamble (bytes).

V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 18 / 19

 Physical Layer Review, Exercises

Answer the following questions:

The transmission medium is:

The ISO RM OSI reference model is defined as:

The Ethernet Physical Layer (Physical Layer 1) consists of:

V. Oujezský · Physical Layer · September 28, 2024 19 / 19