UNIT 1 – DATA COMMUNICATIONS

Data Communication: The process of transmitting information from

one place to another place using computers. This communication is
Example: Telephone network.
carried through wired or wireless. Advantage: Enables two way communications.
The following characteristics of data communication, Disadvantage: It allows traffic problem.
 Delivery --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Accuracy Network: It is a set of devices connected by communication medium
 Timeliness Network Criteria,
Components of Data Communication: 1. Performance: It is defined as the rate of transferring error free
data. It is measured by response time. Factors that affect the
performance are
 Number of users
 Transmission speed
Message - The message is the actual information.  Type of transmission medium
Sender - The sender is the device that sends the data message.  Hardware used
Receiver - The receiver is the device that receives the message.  Software used
Medium - The medium is the physical path from sender to receiver. 2. Consistency: It represents the response time and accuracy of data.
Protocol - A protocol is a set of rules for communication. 3. Reliability: Network reliability is measured by the following
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Frequency of failure
Data Flow: It is used to define the direction of signal flow between two  Recovering Time
linked devices.  Natural disasters
Simplex: In simplex mode the communication is unidirectional i.e., 4. Recovery: It is the networks ability to return to a level of operation
one way communication. after network failure.
5. Security: It is the protection of hardware, software and data from
the following factors.
Example: Keyboard, monitor, television.  Unauthorized access
Advantage: Cost is less.  Viruses
Disadvantage: Communication allows only in one direction. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Half Duplex: In half duplex mode it can send and receive but not at the Types of Connection
same time.  Connection is a physical link between devices in the network.
1. Point-to-Point: A Point-to-Point connection provides a dedicated
link between two devices.
Example: Walkie-talkie
Advantage: Enables for two way communication.
Disadvantage: Only one device can transmit at a time.
Full duplex: In this mode the data flow is bidirectional. The transmitter
and receiver at both ends exchange the data simultaneously. 2. Multipoint: Multipoint network has a single communication
channel that is shared by all the devices in the network.

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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advantages: Disadvantages:
Network Topology: - Bus Topology  Easy to install.  If a node fails the entire
 All the nodes are connected to a single cable called trunk through a  Length of the cable required network fails.
connector. The Data travels in both the direction to all the devices. is less.  It is difficult to add new device.
 It is referred to as ‘multipoint’ connection. Network Topology: - Mesh Topology
 Each node is interconnected with all the other nodes in the network.
 The Data travels in both the direction to all the devices.
 Each device has dedicated point-to-point connection.

Advantages: Disadvantages:
 Easy to install.  Hard to detect fault.
 Less cabling  Bus cable is too important
Network Topology: - Star Topology
 All the nodes are connected to the central device called as “HUB”. Advantages: Disadvantages:
 Data travels through the hub to other devices.  It is easy to identify the fault.  More Expensive
 Each node has a dedicated point-to-point connection  Failure in single link will not  It requires more cable.
affect the network.  It is difficult to install.
Network Topology: - Hybrid Topology
 The combination of two or more network topology connected is
called hybrid topology. Eg. Star-Ring, Star-Bus etc.

Advantages: Disadvantage:
 Easy to install.  Hub is too important.
 Easy to add or remove the  Length of the cable
device. required is more.
 It is easy to identify the fault.
Advantages: Disadvantages:
Network Topology: - Ring Topology
 Different network topology  Maintenance is difficult.
 The first and last node is connected to each other. work together.  Cost is high.
 Data travels in one direction. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Each node/device has dedicated point-to-point connection.

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Need for computer networks
 Files can be shared among different users.
 It allows sharing of mass central storage and printers.
 It allows file/record locking.
 It provides data security.
 It has good data backup facility.
 It allows remote access. Uses of MAN:
 It allows data communication between users.  It allows data sharing between LAN’s
Types of Network  More number of users can be added than LAN.
LAN (Local Area Network) CAN (Campus Area Network)
 A network connection is implemented within the building is called  Campus Area Network is a special network standard.
LAN.  Each node in a network needs the following.
 The connections between computers are by means of LAN cables.  Host processor CAN controller

Uses of LAN:
 All nodes can share the files between the devices through the
server. Uses of CAN:
 Data transmission cost is low.  It allows sending and receiving message among devices.
WAN (Wide Area Network)  Highly reliable communication.
 A network connection implemented within a large geographical HAN (Home Area Network)
distance between countries is called WAN.  A home network or home area network (HAN) is used within the
home.
 It is used for communication between the digital devices in the
home.

Uses of WAN:
 It is a network larger than MAN.
 Data transfer rate is slower and data communication cost is low.
MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) Uses of HAN:
 MAN is an interconnected collection of computers within a city.  Using HAN home appliances such as security system, micro-oven
 It may be a single network such as cable television network. etc.

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Internet: It is defined as a network of networks around the world. Uses,
The structure of network is  Exchange large volume of data
USER  Share common news
MODEM ISP  To training programs with other companies
A
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INTERNET Client - Server: Client - Server describes the relationship between two
USER computer programs one is Client and another one is Server.
MODEM ISP
B  Server: More number of users can access the server at a time and
ISP (Internet Service Provider): It is a company which offers share the data on the networks.
internet service to their customers.  Client: The clients can access the data to the server.
Uses,
 E-mail
 Video conference
 File transfer
 Remote login  Advantages:
 News  Reduced operating costs.
 Chatting  Platform independence
Intranet: It is an internal private network built within an organization  Improved performance.
using Internet and World Wide Web standards.  Easier data access and processing.
Peer-to-Peer Network: A peer-to-peer computer network is one in
which each computer in the network can act as a client or server for the
other computers.

Uses,
 Faster communication between different departments
 Organization Development --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Cost effective Wi-Fi (Wireless - Fidelity).
Extranet: It is the type of network that allows users from outside to  It is used to connect wireless enabled electronic devices such as
access the Intranet of an organization. computers, tablets, smart phones etc to the internet.
 In Wi-Fi data are transmitted using radio frequency waves.
 It was invented in 1991 by AT & T Laboratory.
 Wi-Fi uses two frequency bands such as 2.4 GHz or 5GHz
 2.4 GHz provides more Wi-Fi area coverage with slower speed
 5GHz provides less Wi-Fi area coverage with higher speed.
 The coverage area is between 20m to 150m.
 The coverage area can be increased using Wi-Fi extenders.

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 Data Center Networks: It is the process to interconnect the various
data center devices to ensure high level performance. Normally tree
topology is used in data center networks.

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Bluetooth:
 Bluetooth is a wireless LAN technology that connects devices in a
small area.
 Compared to infrared, Bluetooth devices can work together i.e., The important features of data center networks are,
Omni-directional.  Stable
The important feature of Bluetooth is,  Secure
 It operates on the globally radio frequency band from 2.4GHz to  Reliable
2.48 GHz. Service Provider Networks (SPN) or Network Service Provider
 The coverage distance is up to 10m or 100m. (NSP): It is a company that builds and maintain fiber optic cable and
 The data transmission rate is 721 Kbps. routers for internet services.
 It uses forward error correction to avoid retransmission of data. The following are some world's top NSP companies.
 It uses Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) to support full duplex  AT&T
communication.  Tata
 There are two types of Bluetooth architecture. They are  Orange
Piconet Scatternet  Verizon
It is a network of devices It is a network of piconet that --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
connected without cables using supports communication between Transmission medium: The Transmission medium is the physical path
Bluetooth technology. more than eight devices. from sender to receiver.
This network is formed with Wired medium or Guided medium: Twisted Pair cable
minimum of two devices and a Twisted Pair cable: Twisted pair cable consists of two insulated
maximum of many devices. copper wire twisted around with each other. It can be two categories,

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP): Unshielded twisted pair comes

without any type of shielding at all.
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 Advantages, Disadvantages,
Core  Easy to install.  Single cable failure can stop the entire network.
 Easy to expand.  More expensive than UTP
Wired medium or Guided medium: Fiber optics
Plastic cover  Optical fiber consists of thin silicon glass cylinder known as Core
UTP categories surrounded by a concentric layer of glass called Cladding.
Category 1 Voice only (Telephone)  The cable has an additional coating around the cladding called
Category 2 Data to 4 Mbps (Local talk) Jacket.
Category 3 Data to 10Mbps (Ethernet)  The light source can be either Light Emitting Diode (LED) or an
Category 4 Data to 20Mbps (Token ring) Injection Laser Diode (ILD).
Category 5 Data to 100Mbps (Fast Ethernet)
Category 6 Data to 2500Mbps (Gigabit Ethernet)
Advantages, Disadvantages,
 Easy to install  It is mainly used for short
 More flexible. distance.
Shielded Twisted Pair (STP): Shielded twisted pair cable has an Types of fiber optic cable:
additional shielding that protects from electrical interference. Single mode - The diameter of the cable is 8.3 to 10 micron.
Multi mode step - The diameter of the cable is 50 to 200 micron.
Metallic shield
Plastic mode graded - The diameter of the cable is 50 to 69.5 micron.

Core

Advantages, Disadvantages,
 To eliminate crosstalk  More expensive
 Protects noise.  Difficult to install.
Wired medium or Guided medium: Coaxial Cable
 Coaxial cable consists of two conductor inner conductor and outer
conductor that are parallel to each other.
 The inner conductor is made up of copper and outside this
conductor is a non conductive material. Advantages, Disadvantages,
 Transmission rate is 100 Mbps.  It is more expensive.
 It is not affected by electrical  Installation and maintenance are
interference difficult.
 It supports voice, video and data
and it is more secured
Wireless medium or unguided medium: Radio waves
Types of Coaxial Cable  It is used for multicast communication.
Thin coaxial cable Thick Coaxial cable  They range from 3 KHZ to 1 GHZ.
 Size is about 0.25 inch  Size is about 0.5 inch  It’s transmitted through Omni-directional (all direction).
 It can carry signal up to 185 mts  It can carry signal up to 500 mts  It can travel long distance and penetrates walls.

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 3 KHz 300 GHz
Radio Communication

VLF LF MF HF VHF UHF SHF EXF

VLF - Very Low Frequency LF - Low Frequency
MF - Medium Frequency HF- High Frequency
VHF - Very High Frequency UHF - Ultra High Frequency --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHF - Super High Frequency EXF- Extremely High Frequency Wireless medium or un-guided medium:
Radio propagation category: Micro Waves Infrared
 Free space propagation: It is a direct path signal between the It is used for uni-cast communication. It can be used for short range
transmitter and the receiver with no atmosphere attenuation. Such as satellite networks. communication.
The range from 1GHZ to 3000 They range from 300 GHZ to 430
GHZ. THZ.
It can't penetrate walls. It does not penetrate walls.
High data rate. Very high data rate.
Wireless medium or un-guided medium: Low Orbit Satellite (LOS)
 Ground wave propagation: In this method that uses the area  Satellites are big microwave repeaters in the sky.
between the surface of the earth and the ionosphere.  It contains several transponders. A transponder is a device that gathers
signals over a range of uplink frequency.
Satellite Characteristics:
1. Components transponder:
 Accepts signals from earth.
 Shift signals to another frequency.
 Re-broadcast signals to earth.
2. Distances:
 Significant power.
 Ionospheric propagation: Its exists between about 90 and 1000  Amount of delay is measurable.
km above the earth surface. 3. Uplink always higher frequency than down link.
Classes of satellites:
GEO MEO LEO
Geosynchronous earth
Middle earth orbit. Low earth orbits.
orbit.
22,300 miles above 6200 - 9400 miles 400 - 1000 miles above
earth. above earth. earth.
Its most power. It’s less power. It’s very less power.

 Tropospheric propagation: Radio wave can propagate over the 0.25 sec/leg delay. 0.05 sec/leg delay. 0.025 sec/leg delay.
horizon when the lower atmosphere of the earth bends, scatters and It provides largest It provides smaller foot It provides smallest foot
on reflects the electromagnetic fields. footprint. prints. print.
 In VHF up to 30-300 MHz Application: - TV. Application: - GPS.
Application: - Mobile
 In UHF up to 300 MHz-3GHz. voice.

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VSAT :( Very Small Aperture Terminals) bridge.
 VSAT is a small satellite earth station that transmits and receives data,
via satellites.
 It refers to the size of the VSAT dish antenna - typically about 60cm-
3.8m.
 Its antennas range from 75cm to 1.2m.
 Data rates ranges from 4Kbits/s to 16mbits/s.
 An antenna diameter of only 1 to 2 meter and transmitting power of 1 to
2 watts.
VSAT Implementation:-
 Several ways VSAT services
 One-way (Eg. TV broadcasting)
 Split-two-way (Eg. DirecTV)
 Two-way(up and down link)
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Network Devices:- 3. Switch:
1. HUB:  It is a device used to connect multiple devices to from a network
 It is used to connect multiple computers as a single LAN like hub, because can't it forward the data to all only forward to
networks. specified destination devices with the help of MAC address.
 Generally hubs are available with 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 ports.
 It is also referred to as multi point repeaters.
 Passive hub - Forwards signals to all ports accepts the port
on which data signals arrived.
 Active hub - It is same as like passive nub but in addition
before forwarding it will improve the quality of signals by
amplifying it. 4. Router:
 To router data from one network to another based on their IP
address.
 The router is the gateway of a network.
 Hub and switch are used to create networks.
 Router is used to connect network.

2. Bridge:
 It is a device used to connect to different computing devices and
also used to divide large networks in to smaller segments. 5. Gateway:
 It is used to inter connect two separate LAN is known as a  Any devices that translate one data format to another is called

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 gateway.
 It performs overall performances of bridges and routers.

Step 3 – Arrange wires Step 4 – Trim wires to size

Step 5 – Attach connector Step 6 – Check

Step 7 – Crimp
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Cabling and standards

Straight Cable Crossover Cable

To connect different type of devices. To connect same type of devices. Synchronization in networks: It is an important task to get excellent
A Straight Cable can be used to: A crossover cable can be used to: performance and quality of service for the subscribers.
 Connect a computer to a switch or  Connect 2 computers directly. Clock synchronization is a major component and it deals with the
Routers.  Connect Routers to LAN port. synchronization of time between the sender and the receiver.
 Connect a computer to a LAN port.  Connect Routers to a switch / hubs
 Connect Routers to LAN port. The following are the commonly used clock sources.
 Connect Routers to a switch / hubs  Global navigation satellite system (GNSS)
 Coordinated universal time (UTC)
 Global partitioning system (GPS)
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Making connections – Tools

 Cat5e cable  RJ45  Cable stripper
 Scissors  Crimping tool  RJ45 connector
Making connections – Steps
Step 1 – Strip cable end Step 2 – Untwist wire ends

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