Ambo University

Woliso Campus ,Technology and Informatics

School
Department of Computer Science
Data Communication and Computer Networks

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 CHAPTER THREE

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Data Transmission Media
 Transmission media refers to the physical media through which
communication signals (data and information are transmitted).
 Transmission media can be divided into two broad categories:
guided/wired media and unguided/wireless media.
 Guided/wired media uses a cabling system that guides the
data signals along a specific path.

 Unguided/wireless media: transmits the signals through the air

by electromagnetic waves.

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Guided Media
 A signal travelling along the guided media is directed and
contained by the physical limits of the medium.
 The data signals are bound by the cabling system.
 Cabling refers to transmission medium that consists of
cables.
 There are three major groups of cables:
1. Twisted-pair cable
2. Coaxial cable
3. Fiber-optic cable
• Twisted-pair and Coaxial cable accepts and transports
signal in the form of electric current.
• Fiber-optic cable as a light
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Transmission Impairments
 With a communication system, the signal that is
received may differ from the signal that is transmitted
due to various transmission impairments.
 For analog signals, these impairments can degrade the
signal quality.
 For digital signals, bit errors may be introduced, such
that a binary 1 is transformed into a binary 0 or vice
versa.
 The most significant impairments are
 Noise
 Attenuation

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Noise
 Noise: is any undesirable influence that may degrade or
distort a signal.
 Many different types of noise may affect transmission.
 A common source of noise is EMI (electromagnetic
interference), or waves that are generated from electrical
devices or cables carrying electricity.
 Motors, power lines, televisions, copiers, fluorescent
lights, manufacturing machinery, and other sources of
electrical activity (including a severe thunderstorm) can
cause EMI.

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Noise
 Another form of noise that hinders data transmission is
cross talk.
 Cross talk occurs when a signal travelling on one wire or
cable infringes on the signal travelling over an adjacent
wire or cable.
 When cross talk occurs between two cables, it’s called
alien cross talk.

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Attenuation
 Attenuation is the loss of a signal’s strength as it travels
away from its source.
 To compensate for attenuation, both analog and digital
signals are boosted.
 However, the technology used to boost an analog signal is
different from that used to boost a digital signal.
 Analog signals pass through an amplifier, an electronic
device that increases the voltage, or strength, of the
signals.

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Attenuation
 When an analog signal is amplified, the noise that it has
accumulated is also amplified.
 After multiple amplifications, an analog signal may
become difficult to interpret.
 When digital signals are repeated, they are actually
retransmitted in their original form, without the noise they
might have accumulated previously.
 This process is known as regeneration.
 A device that regenerates a digital signal is called a
repeater.

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Twisted-Pair Cable
 A twisted pair cable consists of two conductors (copper),
each with its own plastic insulation, twisted together.
 There are two types of twisted pair cables:-
 Unshielded twisted-pair cables (UTP cables)
 Shielded twisted-pair cables (STP cables)
 The total number of pairs in a cable varies.
 Twisting of the cables cancels out electrical noise from
adjacent pairs.

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 Unshielded Twisted-Pair (UTP) Cable
 UTP is the most popular type of twisted-pair cable.
 It is the most popular LAN cabling.
 The maximum cable length segment is 100 meters.
 UTP specifications govern how many twists are
permitted per foot of cable.
 The number of twists allowed depends on the purpose
to which the cable will be put.

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 There are 7 standard categories of UTP:-
• Category 1 - refers to traditional UTP telephone cable that carry voice but not data
transmissions.
• Category 2 - certifies UTP cable for data transmissions up to 4 megabits per second
(Mbps). It consists of four twisted pairs.
• Category 3 - certifies UTP cable for data transmissions up to 16 Mbps. It consists of
four twisted pairs of copper wire with three twists per foot.
• Category 4 - certifies UTP cable for data transmissions up to 20 Mbps. It consists of
four twisted pairs of copper wire.
• Category 5 - certifies UTP cable for data transmissions up to 100 Mbps. It consists of
four twisted pairs of copper wire.
• Category 5e - Improved version of cat 5 category. The bandwidth is 1000MBPS.
• Category 6 Similar to CAT5 wire, but contains a physical separator between the 4
pairs to further reduce electromagnetic interference.
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 UTP Cable
 UTP is particularly susceptible to crosstalk.
 Greater number of twists per foot of cable, the more effective the
protection against crosstalk.

• Crosstalk occurs when signals from one line bleed into

another line.
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 UTP advantages
 It is familiar technology.
 It is relatively inexpensive and easy to install.
 Most LAN systems are readily capable of running over
UTP.
 UTP disadvantages
 UTP is potentially more sensitive to external
electromagnetic interference, crosstalk, and
attenuation than other media.

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 Shielded Twisted-Pair (STP) Cable
 STP cable uses a wounded copper-braid jacket that is more protective and of a higher
quality.

STP advantage
• Provides better performance than UTP in environments with:-
- high noise levels
- high levels of unwanted electrical signals.
STP disadvantage
• It is more labor-intensive than UTP to install.
• Not all LAN systems work readily over STP.
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Twisted-Pair Cable Components
• Connection hardware -Twisted-pair cable uses RJ-45
(Registered Jack 45) telephone connectors to connect to a
computer or Network Interface Card (NIC).

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NIC (Network Interface Card)
 NIC (network interface card)—The device (pronounced nick)
inside a computer that connects a computer to the network
media.
 NIC-Network Adapters

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 Coaxial Cable
 It consists of a core of copper wire surrounded by
insulation, a braided metal shielding, and an outer cover.

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Coaxial Cable
 The core of a coaxial cable carries the electronic signals that
make up the data.
 Surrounding the core is a dielectric insulating layer that
separates it from the braided shielding .
 The braided shielding acts as a ground and protects the core
from electrical noise and crosstalk.
 A non-conducting outer shield—usually made of rubber or
plastic—surrounds the entire cable.
 Coaxial cable is more resistant to interference and
attenuation than twisted-pair cabling.
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 Types of Coaxial Cable
 There are two types of coaxial cable:
 Thin (thinnet) cable
 Thick (thicknet) cable
 Thinnet Cable: is a flexible coaxial cable about 0.64 centimeters thick.
 Thinnet coaxial cable can carry a signal for a distance of up to
approximately 185 meters before the signal starts to suffer from
attenuation.
 Thicknet Cable: is a relatively rigid coaxial cable about 1.27
centimeters in diameter.
 Thicknet cable can carry a signal for 500 meters.

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 Coaxial-Cable Connection Hardware
 The BNC cable connector: is used to connect the end of the
cable to a device, such as a TV set. .

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Coaxial Cable

 The BNC T connector: This connector joins the

network interface card (NIC) in the computer to the
network cable.

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 The BNC barrel connector: This connector is used to
join two lengths of thinnet cable to make one longer length.

The BNC terminator: it closes each end of the bus

cable to absorb stray signals. Otherwise, the signal will
bounce and all network activity will stop.

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 Coaxial Cable Advantages
 It is less susceptible to interference than twisted-pair cable.
 It can transmit data for greater distances .
 It can transmit voice, video, and data.
 Offer a familiar technology with reasonable data security.
 Coaxial Cable Disadvantages
 Due to its high metallic content, coaxial cable is usually
more expensive than twisted pair cables.

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 Fiber-Optic Cable
 It contains glass (or in some cases, plastic) fibers rather than
copper wire.
 Signals are transmitted across these fibers in the form of light
pulses rather than electrical pulses.
 Optical fiber strands are thin filaments of glass consisting of an
inner core and an outer cladding.
 The diameter of the core varies with the type of optical fiber.
 Single-mode optical fiber has a core diameter of approximately
8.5 µm.
 Multimode optical fiber has a core diameter of 62.5 µm.
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Fibber optic (outdoor)
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 Optical Fiber Advantages
 The bandwidth of optical fiber is greater than that of twisted-pair or
coaxial cable.
 Optical signals through glass encounter less loss than electrical
signals through copper.
 It has lower attenuation and higher bandwidth than copper.
 Resist to electromagnetic interference since signal is sent as light and
not as electricity.
 Optical fiber disadvantage
 Conversions of light to electricity, more expensive electronics are
required .
 Requires specialized installation procedures.
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