The Physical Layer

Topics

1. Bandwidth-Limited signals
2. Guided Transmission Media
3. Wireless Transmission
 The Physical Layer: Intro
Has two primary aspects:
Transmission medium and Connection strategy.
Transmission medium defines how signals are
sent. Options are twisted-pair, coaxial cable,
optical fiber, radio waves (satellites, microwave
towers)
 Each has its electrical or electromagnetic
properties
 Network topologies
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 Equipment

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 Signal Transmission

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 Signal Transmission..(2)

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 Signal Transmission…(3)

• Analog signals - continuous fluctuations

over time between high and low voltage
• Digital signals – a discrete voltage state
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 Analog Signals
• Examples are human voice and radio and
television broadcast
• The intensity varies in smooth or continuous
fashion over time
• It is represented as a sinusoidal wave

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 Digital Signals
• Digital – intensity maintains a constant level
for a period of time and then changes to
another constant level
• The intensity is discrete i.e. it takes only
specific values – one of two values (0, 1)
• This is known as binary – the basic unit to
represent digital information – BInary digiT
(BIT)

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 Bandwidth
To the computer scientist, bandwidth is the
maximum data rate of a channel – a quantity
measured in bits/sec

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 Guided Transmission Media

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 Transmission Medium

• Definition: The physical path between the transmitter and

the receiver

There are three types of transmission media:

• conductive metal such as copper or iron

• transparent glass

• electromagnetic waves that require no physical

connection between the sender and receiver
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 Conductive Metal: Twisted Pair
• Copper wire is the commonest – electrical
conducting properties. Electricity flows through
copper with less resistance.
• The twisted pair is so called because there are
two insulated copper wires twisted around each
other.
• The insulation prevents contact and short-
circuiting.

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 Twisted Pair: Ethernet Cables
UTP – unshielded twisted pair comes in categories that
define the maximum speed at which data can be
transferred
CAT 1 standard phone line
CAT 2 data speed up to 4Mbps
CAT 3 data speed up to 16Mbps
CAT 4 up to 20Mbps
CAT 5 up to 100Mbps
CAT 5e up to 1Gbps
CAT 6 up to 10Gbps
CAT 7 up to 100Gbps
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UTP Cables..Pin colors
Implementing the Cables

Crimping Tools
 Twisted Pair…(2)

• Bundled together and wrapped in a protective

coating.. This allows the cable to be buried.

• Attenuation. Though copper is a good conductor,

electrical resistance still occurs, and a signal
transmitted over a copper wire will eventually
distort and lose strength.

• Repeaters are used to regenerate and retransmit

signals.
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 UTP vs STP
• UTP - unshielded twisted pair, 100m long

• STP – shielded twisted pair

cabling includes metal shielding over each
individual pair of copper wires. This type of
shielding protects cable from external EMI.

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 Coaxial Cable
Consists of four components:
1. the innermost conductor, a copper or aluminum
wire core. As with the twisted pair, the core carries
the signal.
2. An insulation layer surrounds the core and prevents
the conductor from making contact with the third
layer
3. The wire mesh acts as a shield, protecting the core
from electromagnetic interference.
4. The last layer is what you see on the cables
connecting your VCR to your television set
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 Coaxial Cable…(2)

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 Coaxial Cable…(3)
• Typically transmits information in baseband
mode or broadband mode.

• In baseband mode, the cable’s bandwidth is

devoted to a single stream of data.

• With broadband, the bandwidth is divided

into ranges – each range carries separate
coded information.
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 Problems with Conducting Cables

1. Interference – electric motors, lightening

strikes. This limits amount of data
transmitted

2. Bulky wires and cables – 4-5kgs spool of

optical fiber can carry the same amount of
data as copper wire s weighing about 2tons

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 Attenuation

• As a signal propagates along a transmission

line its amplitude decreases. This is known as
signal attenuation.
• Signal strength falls off with distance
• Depends on medium
• Received signal strength:
– must be enough to be detected
– must be sufficiently higher than noise to be
received without error

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Attenuation of Digital Signals

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 Transparent Glass

Uses light and not electricity, to transmit

information
Advantages:
1. Impervious to electrical noise
2. Capacity to transmit enormous amount of
data
3. Very thin (compared to cable); a lot can be
bundled together
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 Optical Fiber

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 Wireless Transmission
Involves electromagnetic waves, part of physics
course, that are oscillating electromagnetic
radiation caused by inducing a current in a
transmitting antenna.
The waves travel through the air or free space
where they may be sensed by receiving
antenna.
Free radio and TV transmit signals in this way

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 Microwave
• Typically occurs between two ground stations.
Two properties place restrictions on its
deployment:
1. microwaves travel in a straight line and will not
follow the earth’s curvature
2. atmospheric conditions and solid objects
interfere with microwaves, eg it cannot travel
through buildings.
• A typical mechanism for transmitting and
receiving microwave transmission uses the
parabolic dish reflector.
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 Microwaves: Parabolic Dish

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 Microwave Transmission Towers

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 Satellites
• One of the commonest means of
communication today.
• Applications include Telephone, Television,
News Services, Weather Reporting, Military use
• Depending on its distance from the earth, a
satellite may be classified as GEO, LEO, or MEO
• GEO geostationary orbit 35,863km above the
earth
• MEO – 8,000km to 18,000km
• LEO – 500km to 1500km
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 Parameters
• The heart of satellite communications systems
is a satellite-based antenna in a stable orbit
above the earth.

• Two or more stations on or near the earth

communicate via one or more satellites that
serve as relay stations in space.

• The antenna systems on the earth are referred

to as earth stations.
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 Parameters…2

• A transmission from an earth station to the

satellite is known as uplink

• A transmission from the satellite to an earth

station is downlink

• The component in the satellite that takes an

uplink and converts to a downlink signal is
called transponder
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 Parameters…3

There are 3 major ways of categorizing

communication satellites:
1. Coverage Area – global, regional, or national

2. Service Type – Fixed, broadcast, and mobile

(FSS, BSS, MSS)

3. General Usage – commercial, military, amateur,

experimental
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 Satellite Orbits
Orbits may be circular, with the earth being the center of
the circle; or elliptical
Equatorial orbit
Polar orbit
Inclined orbit

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 Orbital Comparison
Orbit LEO MEO GEO

Orbital Period 1,5 to 2hr 5 to 10hr 24hr

Altitude 500 – 1500km 8000 – 18,000km 35,863km

LEO – Low Earth Orbit

MEO – Medium Earth Orbit
GEO – Geostationary Earth Orbit
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 Transmission Impairment
Link performance depends on 3 factors:

• Distance between earth station antenna and

the satellite antenna

• Atmospheric attenuation

• Terrestrial distance between earth station

antenna and the ‘aim point’ of the satellite (in
case of downlink)
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 Attenuation

• Electrical noise generated by the earth’s heat

near its surface

• Buildings, trees, and other terrestrial objects

may block the line of the sight

• The angle of elevation

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 Angle of Elevation

• For downlink current design is to use a

minimum of 5⁰ to 20⁰

• For uplink the minimum is 5⁰

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 Summary

• The physical layer is the basis of all networks

• Transmission media can be guided or
unguided
• The principal guided media are twisted pair,
coaxial cable, and fiber optics
• The unguided media include terrestrial radio,
microwaves, infrared, and satellites

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 The End

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