Data Communication& Computer

Network

Chapter one
 Data communication
• When we communicate, we are sharing
information.
• This sharing can be local (usually Face to face)or
remote( take place over distance).

• The word data refers to information presented in

what ever form is agreed up on by the parties
creating and using the data.
 Cont’d…
Communication is the process of sending and
reviewing messages to share meanings.

Data Communications are the exchange of data

between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as a wire cable.

1 3
 Cont’d…
• For Data Communications to occur, the
communicating devices must be part of a
communication system made up of combining
hardware and software.
• The effectiveness of data communication system
depends on four fundamental characteristics:
-Delivery,
-Accuracy,
-Timeliness, and
- Jitter.
Delivery :
 The system must deliver data to the correct
destination.
 Data must be received by the intended device
or user and only by that device or user.
Accuracy
 The system must deliver data accurately.
 Data that have been altered in transmission and
left uncorrected are unusable.
Timeliness : Is information delivered in timely fashion?
 The system must deliver data in timely manner .
 Data that delivered late/delayed are useless.
i.e. The real time data transmission is better.
Jitter: Is information delivered in sufficiently smooth
fashion?
 Refers to the variation in the packet arrival time.
 It is uneven delay in the delivery audio or video
packets.
For example: Let us assume that video packets sent
every 30ms. If some of packets arrive with 30ms
delay and others 40ms delay, uneven quality in the
video is the result.
 Communication Types
• Unicasting (one-to-one)

• Multicasting (one-to-many)

• Broadcasting (one-to-all)
To Human Being
 A Communications Model
• Source:
– generates data to be transmitted/ where the data is
originated.
• Transmitter/sender:
– Converts data into transmittable signals
• Transmission System:
– Carries data/ medium through which data is sent
• Receiver:
– Converts received signal into data
• Destination:
– Takes incoming data/where data is sent
• Other
Protocol: is set of rules that govern data communications
Simplified Communications Model -
Diagram
 Common Communication Tasks
•Data encoding: the process of transforming input data into
signals that can be transmitted

•Signal generation: generating appropriate electro-magnetic

signals to be transmitted over a transmission medium

•Synchronization: timing of signals between the transmitter

and receiver ; when a signal begins and when it ends; duration
of each signal.
The receiver must be able to determine when a signal begins
to arrive and when it ends.
It must also know the duration of each signal element.
12
•Error detection and correction: ensuring that
transmission errors are detected and corrected

•Flow control: ensuring that the source does not

overwhelm the destination by sending data faster
than the receiver can handle

•Multiplexing: a technique used to make more

efficient use of a transmission facility. This
technique is used at different levels of
communication
13
•Addressing: indicating the identity of the intended
destination
•Routing: selecting appropriate paths for data being
transmitted

•Message formatting: conforming to the appropriate

format of the message to be exchanged

•Security: ensuring secure message transmission

•Systems management: configuring the system,

monitoring its status, reacting to failures and overloads, and
planning for future growth 14
 Data representation
Information today comes in different forms such as text,
numbers,Images,audio and video.
Text:
-In data communication, text is represented as bit pattern, a
sequence of bits (0s and 1s).
-Different sets of bit pattern have been designed to represent
text symbols. Ex. Unicode, ASCII code

Numbers :
-Are also represented by bit patterns.
-However, codes such as ASCII is not used to represent numbers.
-The number is directly converted to binary numbers to simplify
mathematical operations.
Images:
-Are also represented by bit patterns.
-In its simplest form, an image is composed of a matrix of
pixels (picture elements ), where each pixel small dot.
For example: an image can be divided into 1000pixels or
10000 pixels. In the second case there is better
representation of image(better resolution), but more
memory is needed to store the image.
-After an image is divided into pixels, each pixel is
assigned to bit pattern. 1 bit is enough to represent a
pixel.
Audio
• Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting
of sound or music.
• Audio is by nature different from text,
numbers, or images.
• It is continuous , no discrete.
• Even when use a microphone to change a
voice or music to an electric signal, we create
a continuous signal
Video:
-Refers to the recording or broadcasting of a picture
or movie.
-Video ca either be produced as a continuous
entity(ex.By TV screens, or it can be combination
of images, each a discrete entity arranged to
convey the idea of motion.
Modes of data transmission(data flow)
Example
 a) Simplex mode:
-In simplex mode, communication is unidirectional, as on one
way-street.
-Only one of the devices on a link can transmit, the other can only
receive.
Example: keyboard, monitor, radio, TV and door bell.

b) Half-duplex mode:
• In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and
receive, but not at the same time.
• When one device sending, the other can only receive and vice
versa. Example: walkie-talkies
• It used when no need for communication in both direction at
the same time.
 c) Full-duplex mode:
-In full-duplex mode, both stations can transmit
and receive simultaneously.
Example: telephone network
-When people are communicating by a telephone
line, both can talk and listen at the same time.
 Transmission Basics

Transmission could have two meanings:

– Process of issuing data signals on a medium
– Progress of data signals over a medium
On a data network, information can be transmitted
via one of two methods
– Analog: continuous value
In analog signals, voltage varies continuously
– Digital: discrete value
In digital signals, voltage turns off and on
repeatedly
• The two terms “analog” and “digital” are used
frequently in the following three contexts:
– Data
• Entities that convey meaning or information
– Signals
• electromagnetic representations of data
– Transmission
• The communication of data by the propagation and
processing of signals

26
 Analog signals
• Human Voice
• Ear recognizes sounds 20KHz or less
• AM Radio – 535KHz to 1605KHz
• FM Radio – 88MHz to 108MHz
Analog advantages
• Best suited for audio and video
• Available worldwide
• Less susceptible to noise
 Digital signals
• Suitable for electronic devices
• Not available everywhere
• More susceptible to noise
 Digital advantages
• Best for computer data
• Can be easily compressed
• Can be encrypted
• Equipment is more common and less expensive
• Can provide better clarity
 Digital data transmission fundamentals
Questions of Interest
• How long will it take to transmit a message?
– How many bits are in the message (text, image)?
– How fast does the network/system transfer information?
• Can a network/system handle a voice (video) call?
– How many bits/second does voice/video require? At what
quality?
• How long will it take to transmit a message without
errors?
– How are errors introduced?
– How are errors detected and corrected?
• What transmission speed is possible over radio, copper
cables, fiber, infrared, …?
Modulation/Demodulation
A
Digital data transmission
 Parallel Transmission
– Multiple signals are sent in parallel
– Cannot travel long distances
– Example: printer connections
 Serial transmission
– Signals are sent one bit at a time
– Travels long distances
– Example: telephone wires
Asynchronies transmission
• In asynchronous transmission, we send 1
start bit (0) at the beginning and 1 or more
stop bits (1s) at the end of each byte.
• There may be a gap between
each byte.
• Asynchronous: here means
“asynchronous at the byte level, ”but the
bits are still synchronized;
their durations are the same.
In Asynchronous – sender sends message into
buffer, message picked up later at receivers
convenience (e.g. mailbox).

Sender process returns whether or not a

message is received. Receiver blocks until the
message is available
Synchronous transmission
 Synchronous transmission
-Does not use stop/start bits – instead devices
agree on timing
– Faster than asynchronous (no overhead of bits)
NOTE:
• In synchronous transmission, we send bits one
after another without start or stop bits or gaps.
It is the responsibility of the receiver to group
the bits.
• In Synchronous – receiver waits ready for
sender message and responds in real time (e.g.
phone call).
• Both sender and receiver return when transfer
is complete. No buffer is required.
 Multiplexing

• Allows multiple signals to travel simultaneously

over one medium
• To accommodate multiple signals, single medium
is logically separated into sub channels
For each type of multiplexing:
– Multiplexer (mux) ) is a device that combines
several signals into a single signal.
– Demultiplexer (demux) separates the combined
signals and regenerates them in original form
Multiplexing/Demultiplexing: Used when many
sources communicate with many destinations
through one communication line.
Transmission impairments
 Transmission Impairments and their
solutions
• Signal received may differ from signal transmitted causing:
– analog - degradation of signal quality

– digital - bit errors( bit 1 may be changed to bit 0 and vice versal)
• Data gets degraded for a number of reasons
– Attenuation
– Distortion
– Noise
example:
• Electromagnetic Interference
• Radio frequency interference
Transmission Flaws - Analog
Transmission Flaws - Digital
 Attenuation
• Means loss of energy -> weaker signal
• When a signal travels through a medium it loses
energy overcoming the resistance of the medium
• Amplifiers are used to compensate for this loss of
energy by amplifying the signal.
 Measurement of Attenuation
• To show the loss or gain of energy the unit
“decibel” is used.

dB = 10log10P2/P1
P1 - input signal
P2 - output signal
Attenuation introduces three considerations for the transmission
engineer.
 First, a received signal must have sufficient strength so that the
electronic circuitry in the receiver can detect the signal.
 Second, the signal must maintain a level sufficiently higher than
noise to be received without error.
 Third, attenuation varies with frequency.
 The first and second problems are dealt with by attention to
signal strength and the use of amplifiers or repeaters.
 The third problem is particularly noticeable for analog signals.
-To overcome this problem, techniques are available for
equalizing attenuation across a band of frequencies. the result is
to smooth out attenuation effects.
-Another approach is to use amplifiers that amplify high
frequencies more than lower frequencies.
 Summary to Attenuation - solutions
Signals pass through an amplifier, which increases not
only voltage of a signal but also noise accumulated
• Regeneration
– Process of retransmitting a digital signal
• Repeater
– Device used to regenerate a signal
 Noise
• Additional signals inserted between
transmitter and receiver
• Noise is any electrical energy on the
transmission cable that makes it difficult for a
receiver to interpret the data sent from the
transmitter.
• Noise is a major limiting factor in
communications system performance.
 Electromagnetic interference(noise)
– Interference that may be caused by motors,
power lines, television, copiers, fluorescent lights,
or other sources of electrical activity
 Radiofrequency interference (RFI)
(noise)
– Interference that may be generated by motors,
power lines, televisions, copiers, fluorescent
lights, or broadcast signals from radio or TV
towers
 Noise - solutions
• Twisting cables – effect of one signal cancels the
other
• Shielding – reduce interference from outside
source
 Distortion
• Means that the signal changes its form or shape
• Distortion occurs in composite signals
• Each frequency component has its own
propagation speed traveling through a medium.
• The different components therefore arrive with
different delays at the receiver.
• That means that the signals have different
phases at the receiver than they did at the
source.
 distortion cont’d…
• various frequency components of a signal arrive
at the receiver at different times.
• Critical in particular for digital data, because
signal components of bit positions spill into
other bit positions, and so limiting the allowed
rate of transmission.
Assignment : what is the solution to distortion??
 Assignment
1. What is data Encoding and Decoding?
1.1. Explain the following types of data Encoding
techniques? And Describe them.
a) Digital Data, Digital Signals
b) Digital Data, Analog Signals
c) Analog Data, Digital Signals
d) Analog Data, Analog Signals
2) Explain the following different types of
multiplexing? And Describe them.
a) Frequency-Division Multiplexing
b) Synchronous Time-Division Multiplexing
c) Statistical Time-Division Multiplexing

Submission date: 21/07/2006 E.C.

Important note:
There is no excuse for Late submission of an
assignment!!
Thank you !!!