DATA

COMMUNICATION
CONCEPTS
Dr. SHUCHITA UPADHYAYA BHASIN
Professor
Department of Computer Science & Applications
 CONTENTS

 Switching
 Multiplexing
 Spread Spectrum
 SWITCHING
• Whenever we have multiple devices, we have the problem of how to connect
them to make one-to-one communication possible.
• One solution is to install a point-to-point link between each pair of devices (a
complete mesh topology) or between a central device and every other device (a
star topology).
• These methods are impractical for large networks (WAN’s).
• Switched Network is a solution to this problem.
• A switched network consists of a series of interlinked nodes, called switches.
• Switches are hardware and/or software devices capable of creating temporary
connections between two or more devices linked to the switch but not to each
other.
• In a switched network, some of these nodes are connected to the communicating
devices. Others are used only for routing.
 • Data entering the network from a station are routed to the
Switched Networks destination by being switched from node-to-node.
• The switching nodes are not concerned with the content of the
data; rather their purpose is to provide a switching facility that will
move the data from node-to-node until they reach their
destination.
• The end devices (stations) that wish to communicate are attached
to switching devices (nodes), which are in turn connected to each
other in some topology by transmission links.
• This collection of nodes is referred to as a communication network.

Traditionally three methods of switching have been popular:

 Circuit Switching.
 Packet Switching.
 Packet Switching can be further classified into two sub-types, namely, Virtual Circuit (VC) packet switching
and Datagram based packet switching.
 Message Switching.

New switching strategies such as cell relay (ATM) and frame relay are also gaining importance.
 CIRCUIT SWITCHING • Subscriber: The devices that attach to the
• Circuit switching is a switching method which creates a network.
dedicated physical connection/circuit between two • Local loop: The link between the subscriber
devices (source and destination nodes) such as phones and the network subscriber loop.
or computers before any data transmission can take
place. • Exchanges: The switching centers in the
• The dedicated path is established, maintained and network.
terminated for each communication session. • End-office: A switching center/exchange that
• It has basically three phases: circuit establishment, data directly supports subscribers.
transfer and circuit disconnect. • Trunks: The branches between exchanges.
Circuit switching is primarily used in Telephone networks Trunks use FDM or Synchronous TDM for
and not in Computer networks. In circuit switching: higher efficiency.
• An End to end circuit (path) is first reserved using a
separate signaling protocol
• Data transfer proceeds only after the circuit
establishment phase
• All data of that session passes through the same circuit 
• No other user can use this circuit till this session is
completed
• Circuit is released after data transfer Public Circuit switched network
 The communication in a circuit switched network takes
How a circuit is established in a telephone network. place in three phases:

Circuit Switching in a Telephone Network  Circuit establishment or setup phase

 Data transfer phase
 Circuit disconnect or tear down phase.
Circuit establishment or Setup Phase

circuit switch The dedicated circuit or path is established through circuit

switches.
Circuit switched network
Circuit Switch: A circuit switch is a device that creates a
temporary connection between an input link and output link.
A circuit switch usually has n input lines and m output
Crossbar switch
lines i.e. number of input lines and number of output lines
may not be equal.
A crossbar switch connects n input lines (1, 2, 3) to m
output lines(I, II, III, IV) using circuit switches existing at the
crosspoints.
Example: When system A needs to connect to system M, it Data Transfer Phase 
sends a setup request that includes the address of system • Actual data transfer between the source and
M, to switch I. destination takes place after the dedicated
Switch I finds a channel between itself and switch IV that path is set up between them. The data flows
can be dedicated for this purpose. are continuous between sender and receiver.
There may be periods of silence in between.
Switch I then sends the request to switch IV, which finds a Generally all the internal connections are
dedicated channel between itself and switch III. duplex.
Switch III informs system M of system A's intention at this • Circuit Disconnect or Teardown Phase.
time. In the next step to making a connection, an
• When one of the parties needs to
acknowledgment from system M needs to be sent in the
disconnect, a signal is sent to each switch to
opposite direction to system A. release the resources.
Only after system A receives this acknowledgment is the
connection established.
 Disadvantages of Circuit Switching
• Circuit switching designed for voice so
• The dedicated path/circuit
Advantages of Circuit Switching

resources are dedicated to a particular

established between sender and call.
receiver provides a guaranteed • As the connection is dedicated it cannot
data rate. be used to transmit any other data even if
the channel is free.
• Once the circuit is established, data • It is inefficient in terms of utilization of
is transmitted without any delay as system resources. As resources are
there is no waiting time at each allocated for the entire duration of
switch. connection, these are not available to
other connections.
• Since a dedicated continuous • Dedicated channels require more
transmission path is established, bandwidth.
the method is suitable for long • Prior to actual data transfer, the time
continuous transmission. required to establish a physical link
between the two stations is too long.
• Inefficient approach for data traffic.
 PACKET SWITCHING

• Packet Switching overcomes the problem of non-availability of line to

users due to dedicated circuits in circuit switching.
• Packet switching is the process of transmitting data in small units called
as packets.
• The maximum length of the packet is established by the network.
• Each packet contains not only data but also a small header with control
information (source and destination address, sequence number etc.).
• The packets are sent over the network node-to-node using the control
information present in the packet header.
• At each node, the packet is stored briefly then routed according to the
information in its header when the link is available.
 Packet Switching
• Data transmitted in small packets: Basic packet switching between a sender and a
receiver through a packet switched data network.
Longer messages split into series of
packets
• Control information: Each packet
contains a portion of user data plus some
control information; Routing, addressing
information
• Store-and-Forward: Packets are received,
stored briefly(buffered) and passed on to
the next node
There are two popular approaches to
packet switching:
• Virtual circuit Approach.
• Data gram Approach.
 Virtual Circuit Approach

• VC based switching is a method widely used in

computer communication, especially at the
data link layer, to switch packets
inside switched WAN networks.
• Popular protocols using VC based switching
include X.25, Frame-Relay, ATM and MPLS.
• Virtual circuit packet switched network create
a logical path through the subnet and all
packets from one connection follow this path.  Each packet contains a virtual
circuit identifier instead of
• Preplanned route established before any destination address.
packets are sent  No routing decisions required
• Call request and call accept packets establish for each packet.
connection (handshake)  No dedicated path.
Difference between Circuit switching and Virtual circuit

Circuit switching Virtual circuit

A dedicated path is established between No dedicated path is established. Each
two devices for the duration of session switch creates an entry in its routing
table for the duration of virtual circuit

Reserved resources: The link Shared links: The link that makes a route
(multiplexed/not multiplexed) that makes can be shared by other connections
the path are dedicated , and cannot be
used by other connections

Circuit switching can use multiplexing at Multiplexing at the switches

the end-user level; no multiplexing is done
at the switches
 Datagram approach

• In datagram approach each packet is treated

independently with no reference to packets that
have gone before.
• It is also called connectionless packet switching.
• There is no signaling/call establishment phase in
datagram based switching. It has no connection
establishment and termination phases
• Packets are routed based on the destination
address present in the packet header
• Each packet of a flow/session need not follow the
same path between the source and destination
nodes and may take different routes.
• Each packet has  header information and data
• Packets may also arrive out of order at the
receiver
• IP and Ethernet are example protocols using the
principle of Datagram based Packet Switching
 Datagram Approach
Advantages Disadvantages
• Line efficiency: Single node to node
Link can be shared by many packets • Packets may go missing.
over time; Packets queued and • Upto receiver to re-order
transmitted as fast as possible. packets and recover from
• Packets are accepted even when missing packets.
network is busy. • More processing time per packet
• Priorities can be used. per node.
• Robust in the face of link or node
failure.
• Very simple to implement and scales
well, as there are no VC tables
required at intermediate nodes
 Virtual circuit approach vs Datagram approach

Issue Datagram subnet Virtual-circuit subnet

Circuit setup Not needed Required
Addressing Each packet contains the full Each packet contains a short VC number
source and destination address

State information Routers do not hold state Each VC requires router table space per
information about connections connection

Routing Each packet is routed Route chosen when VC is set up; all
independently packets follow it

Effect of router None, except for packets lost All VCs that passed through the failed
failures during the crash router are terminated

Quality of service Difficult Easy if enough resources can be allocated

in advance for each VC

Congestion Difficult Easy if enough resources can be allocated

control in advance for each VC
Comparison of Circuit Switching & Packet Switching

Circuit Switching Packet Switching

Dedicated transmission path. No dedicated path.
Continuous transmission of data. Non continuous/continuous transmission
of packets.

Path established for entire conversation. Route established for each packet.
Main delay is for call set up. Packet transmission delay.
Statically reserves the required bandwidth in advance (fixed bandwidth Acquires and releases as it is needed (dynamic use of bandwidth).
transmission).

Unused bandwidth on an allocated circuit is just wasted. Utilized by other packets from unrelated sources going to unrelated
destination.

Sudden surge of input traffic will not affect much. Sudden surge of input traffic may overwhelm a router; exceeding its
storage capacity and causing it to lose packets.

Routers do not provide speed, code conversion & error correction Routers provide speed, code conversion & error correction to some
(host/user responsible for message loss protection. extent (Network may be responsible for individual packet errors)

Reordering of packets can never happen due to sequential transmission Packets may be delivered in wrong order and hence reordering may be
on a dedicated path. required.

No overhead bits after call set up. Overhead bits in each packet.
Overload may block call set up; no delay for established calls; congestion Overload increases packet delay, congestion may occur on every packet.
occurs at setup time.

Busy signal if called party busy. Sender may be notified if packet not delivered

Messages are not stored. Packets may be stored until delivered.

Charging based on distance and time. Charging based on both the number of packets (or bytes) carried and
 MULTIPLEXING
• Whenever the transmission capacity of a medium
linking two devices is greater than the transmission
needs of the devices, the link can be shared.
• Multiplexing is a technique that combines data
from n number of channels and transmit that data
over a single communication channel for efficient
Bandwidth utilization of that transmission medium.
• Multiplexing in data communication is the set of
techniques that allows the simultaneous
transmission of multiple signals across a single data
link.
• Today’s technology includes high-bandwidth media
such as co-axial cable, optical fiber and terrestrial
and satellite microwaves.
• Each of these has a carrying capacity far in excess
of that needed for the average transmission signal.
If the transmission capacity of a link is greater than
the transmission needs of the devices connected to
it, the excess capacity is wasted.
 FREQUENCY-DIVISION MULTIPLEXING (FDM)
• Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) is an analog
technique that can be applied when the bandwidth of a
link is greater than the combined bandwidths of the
signals to be transmitted.
• In FDM, signals generated by each sending device
modulate different carrier frequencies.
• These modulated signals are than combined into a single
composite signal that can be transported by the link.
• Carrier frequencies are separated by enough bandwidth to
accommodate the modulated signal.
• These bandwidth ranges are the channels through which
the various signals travel.
• Channels must be separated by strips of unused
bandwidth (guard bands) to prevent signals from
overlapping.
• In addition, carrier frequencies must not interfere with the
original data frequencies.
Applications of FDM
• FDM is used for A.M. Radio & Radio broadcasting.
• FDM is used for T.V broadcasting.
• FDM is used in GSM digital cellular radio technology along with TDM
Advantages OF FDM
• Simple 
• Inexpensive
• It allows maximum transmission link usage.
Disadvantages OF FDM
• In FDM there is need of filters, which are very expensive and complicated to
construct and design.
• Analog signals have only limited frequency range. Hence there is a limit on the
number of FDM channels that can be created imposing a restriction on the number
of users/stations that can be accommodated.
• Sometimes, it is necessary to use more complex linear amplifiers in FDM systems.
 WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING (WDM)

• A new and more efficient method to

implement FDM over fiber-optic cable called
Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM).
• It uses essentially the same concepts as FDM
but incorporate the range of frequencies in the
visible length spectrum for fiber optic channels.
• Here two fibers come together at a prism, each
with its energy in a different band.
• The two beams are passed through the prism,
and combined into a signal-shared fiber for Applications:
transmission to a distant destination, where
they are split again.  SONET/SDH networks
• As long as each channel has its own frequency  10GBASE-LX4 (Physical Layer Standard)
range, and all the ranges are disjoint, they can
be multiplexed together on the long-haul fiber.
TIME-DIVISION MULTIPLEXING (TDM)
• Time-Division Multiplexing is a
digital process that can be applied
when the data rate capacity of the
transmission medium is greater
than the data rate required by the
sending and receiving devices.
• In such a case, multiple
transmissions can occupy a single
link by subdividing them and
interleaving the portions.
• TDM can be implemented in two
ways:
Synchronous TDM
Asynchronous TDM
Synchronous TDM
• Synchronous TDM
• Synchronous TDM: Synchronous means that the
multiplexer allocates exactly the same time slot to each
device at all times, whether or not a device has anything
to transmit.
• Time slot A, for example, is assigned to device A alone
and cannot be used by any other device. Each time its
allocated time slot comes up, a device has the
opportunity to send a portion of its data. If device is
unable to transmit or does not have data to send, its Disadvantages of Synchronous TDM
 The channel capacity cannot be fully utilized.
time slot remains empty.
Some of the slots go empty in certain frames.
• Frames: Time slots are grouped into frames. A frame As shown in figure 6.31, only first two frames
consists of one complete cycle of time slots, including are completely filled. The last three frames
one or more slots dedicated to each sending device, have 6 empty slots. It means out of 20 slots in
plus framing bits. all, 6 slots are empty. This wastes the l/4th
• In a system with n input lines, each frame has at least n capacity of links.
 The capacity of single communication line that
slots, with each slot allocated to carry data from a
is used to carry the various transmissions
specific input line.
should be greater than the total speed of
input lines.
Asynchronous TDM
• Synchronous TDM does not guarantee that the full
capacity of a link is used. Because the time slots are
pre-assigned and fixed, whenever a connected device
is not transmitting, the corresponding slot is empty
and that much of the bandwidth is wasted.
• Asynchronous TDM is designed to avoid this type of
waste. It is also known as statistical time division
multiplexing.
• Asynchronous TDM is called so because in this type
of multiplexing, time slots are not fixed i.e. the slots Advantages of TDM:
are flexible.  Full available channel bandwidth can be
• In synchronous TDM, if we have n input lines then utilized for each channel.
there are n slots in one frame. In asynchronous TDM,  lntermodulation distortion is absent.
if we have n input lines then the frame contains not  TDM circuitry is not very complex.
more than m slots, with m less than n (m < n).  The problem of crosstalk is not severe.
• The multiplexer scans the input lines, accept portions Disadvantages of TDM:
of data until a frame is filled, and then sends the  Synchronization is essential for proper
frame across the link. operation.
•
SPREAD SPECTRUM
• Spread Spectrum refers to a system originally developed
for military applications, to provide secure communications
by spreading the signal over a large frequency band.
• Figure represents a narrow band signal in the frequency
domain. These narrowband signals are easily jammed by
any other signal in the same band. Likewise, the signal can
also be intercepted since the frequency band is fixed and
narrow (i.e. easy to detect).
• The idea behind spread spectrum is to use more
bandwidth than the original message while maintaining
the same signal power.
•  A spread spectrum signal does not have a clearly
distinguishable peak in the spectrum.  This makes the
signal more difficult to distinguish from noise and therefore
more difficult to jam or intercept.  
 SPREAD SPECTRUM
• In spread spectrum (SS), we combine
signals from different sources to fit into a
larger bandwidth, but our goals are to
prevent eavesdropping and jamming.
• To achieve these goals, spread spectrum
techniques add redundancy. A signal that
occupies a bandwidth of B, is spread out to
occupy a bandwidth of Bss , such that Bss >> There are two predominant techniques to spread
the spectrum:
B . All signals are spread to occupy the
same bandwidth Bss. Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS),
which makes the narrow band signal jump in
• Signals are spread with different codes so random narrow bands within a larger bandwidth.
that they can be separated at the receivers. Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) which
introduces rapid phase transition to the data to
Signals can be spread in the frequency make it larger in bandwidth.
domain or in the time domain.
Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)

• The frequency hopping spread

spectrum (FHSS) technique
uses M different carrier frequencies
that are modulated by the source
signal.
• At one moment, the signal modulates
one carrier frequency; at the next
Figure shows the general layout for FHSS.
moment, the signal modulates another
 A pseudorandom code generator, called
carrier frequency. pseudorandom noise (PN), creates a k-bit
• Although the modulation is done using pattern for every hopping period Th . 
one carrier frequency at a time, M  The frequency table uses the pattern to find the
frequencies are used in the long run. frequency to be used for this hopping period
The bandwidth occupied by a source and passes it to the frequency synthesizer.
after spreading is BFHSS >> B.  The frequency synthesizer creates a carrier
signal of that frequency, and the source signal
• FHSS is used in GSM and Bluetooth modulates the carrier signal.
 Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)

• Suppose we have decided to have eight

hopping frequencies. In this case, M is 8
and k is 3.
• The pseudorandom code generator will
create eight different 3-bit patterns.
• These are mapped to eight different
frequencies in the frequency table.
• The pattern for this station is 101, 111,
001, 000, 010, 110,011, 100.
• Note that the pattern is pseudorandom it • The second k-bit pattern selected is
is repeated after eight hoppings. 111, which selects the 900-kHz carrier;
• This means that at hopping period 1, the the eighth pattern is 100, the
pattern is 101. The frequency selected is frequency is 600 kHz.
700 kHz; the source signal modulates this • After eight hoppings, the pattern
carrier frequency. repeats, starting from 101 again.
 Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)

• In DSSS, we replace each data bit with n bits

using a spreading code.
• Each bit is assigned a code of n bits, called chips,
where the chip rate is n times that of the data
bit.
• In figure the spreading code is 11 chips having
the pattern 10110111000. If the original signal
rate is N, the rate of the spread signal is 11N.
•  This means that the required bandwidth for the
spread signal is 11 times larger than the
bandwidth of the original signal.
• The spread signal can provide privacy if the
intruder does not know the code. It can also
provide immunity against interference if each
station uses a different code.
• DSSS is used in (CDMA, UMTS, 802.11, GPS).