Computer Networks

BY :- NEERJA ARORA
Summary of OSI Layers
TCP/IP Protocol Suite
 Unit-1: Physical Layer

 Types of connections
 Network Topology design
 Transmission media
 Signal Transmission and encoding
 Network performance and impairments
 Switching techniques
 Multiplexing
Physical Structures
 Physical Topology

Physical Topology refers to the way in which a network is laid out physically:
 Two or more devices connect to a link;
 two or more links form a topology.

The topology of a network is the geometric representation of the relationship of all the links and linking devices
(usually called nodes) to one another.
There are four basic topologies possible:
1. Mesh
2. Star
3. Bus,
4. Ring
 Mesh topology

 In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-

point link to every other device.
 number of physical links in a fully connected mesh network
with n nodes, is n(n - 1).
 if each physical link allows communication in both directions
(duplex mode), we need n(n -1) /2 duplex-mode links.
 In this topology, every device on the network must have n - 1
input/output (IO) ports to be connected to the other n - 1
stations.

One practical example:- the connection of telephone regional offices in which each regional
office needs to be connected to every other regional office.
 advantages disadvantages
 use of dedicated links guarantees that each connection  Huge amount of cabling and the number of I/O
can carry its own data load, thus eliminating the traffic ports required
problems.
 every device must be connected to every other
 It is robust. If one link becomes unusable, it does not device, installation and reconnection are difficult.
incapacitate the entire system.
 the sheer bulk of the wiring can be greater than the
 there is the advantage of privacy or security. When available space can accommodate.
every message travels along a dedicated line, only the
 Finally, the hardware required to connect each link
intended recipient sees it.

(I/O ports and cable) can be prohibitively
point-to-point links make fault identification and fault
expensive.
isolation easy. Traffic can be re-routed to avoid links
with suspected problems.
 Star Topology

 each device has a dedicated point-to-point link only to a

central controller, usually called a hub.
 The devices are not directly linked to one another.
 Unlike a mesh topology, a star topology does not allow
direct traffic between devices.
 The controller acts as an exchange: If one device wants
to send data to another, it sends the data to the controller,
which then relays the data to the other connected device

The star topology is used in local-area networks (LANs)

 advantages disadvantages
 less expensive than a mesh topology, as each device  One big disadvantage of a star topology is the
needs only one link and one I/O port to connect it to dependency of the whole topology on one single
any number of others. point, the hub. If the hub goes down, the whole
 easy to install and reconfigure as additions, moves, system is dead
and deletions involve only one connection: between 
that device and the hub.
more cabling is required in a star than in some
other topologies (such as ring or bus)as each node
 This is robust topology, If one link fails, only that link must be linked to a central hub.
is affected. All other links remain active.
 This factor also lends itself to easy fault identification
and fault isolation. As long as the hub is working, it
can be used to monitor link problems and bypass
defective link
 Bus Topology

 Bus topology is multipoint unlike Mesh and Star topology. One long cable acts as a backbone to link all the devices
in a network.
 Nodes are connected to the bus cable by drop lines and taps.
 A drop line is a connection running between the device and the main cable.
 A tap is a connector that either splices into the main cable or punctures the sheathing of a cable to create a contact
with the metallic core.
 As a signal travels along the backbone, some of its energy is transformed into heat. Therefore, it becomes weaker and
weaker as it travels farther and farther. For this reason there is a limit on the number of taps a bus can support and on
the distance between those taps.
 advantages
 ease of installation disadvantages

 difficult to add new devices. As adding new
Backbone cable can be laid along the most efficient
path, then connected to the nodes by drop lines of devices may require modification or replacement
various lengths. of the backbone
 uses less cabling than mesh or star topologies.  difficult reconnection and fault isolation
 In a star, for example, four network devices in the same  Signal reflection at the taps can cause
room require four lengths of cable reaching all the way to
the hub.
degradation in quality.
  No robustness: fault or break in the bus cable
In a bus, this redundancy is eliminated. Only the
backbone cable stretches through the entire facility. Each stops all transmission, even between devices on
drop line has to reach only as far as the nearest point on the same side of the problem.
the backbone.
 advantages disadvantages
 easy to install and reconfigure. Each device is
linked to only its immediate neighbors (either  only constraints are media and traffic
physically or logically). To add or delete a device considerations (maximum ring length and number
requires changing only two connections. of devices).
 as a signal is circulating in a ring at all times,  unidirectional traffic can be a disadvantage.
fault isolation is easy  In a simple ring, a break in the ring (such as a
disabled station) can disable the entire network.
This weakness can be solved by using a dual ring or a
switch capable of closing off the break
 Ring Topology

 Here, each device has a dedicated point-to-

point connection with only the two devices
on either side of it.
 A signal is passed along the ring in one
direction, from device to device, until it
reaches its destination.
 Each device in the ring incorporates a
repeater. When a device receives a signal
intended for another device, its repeater
regenerates the bits and passes them along.
Hybrid Topology
 Transmission Media

• Transmission media is a communication channel that carries the information from the
sender to the receiver.
• The information is usually a electromagnetic signal that is the result of a conversion of
data(to be transmitted) from another form(in bits format).
• It provides a physical path between transmitter and receiver in data communication.
• The transmission media is available in the lowest layer of the OSI reference model,
i.e., Physical layer.
• The characteristics and quality of data transmission are determined by the
characteristics of medium and signal.
Transmission media can be divided into two broad categories: guided and unguided.
• Guided − In guided media, transmitted data travels through cabling system that has a
fixed path. A signal traveling along any of these media is directed and contained by the
physical limits of the medium.
For example: copper wires, fibre optic wires, etc.

• Unguided − In unguided media, transmitted data travels through free space in form of
electromagnetic signal.
For example: radio waves, lasers, etc.

Each transmission media has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of
bandwidth, speed, delay, cost per bit, ease of installation and maintenance, etc.
 Twisted-Pair Cable

 Copper wires are the most common wires used for transmitting signals
because of good performance at low costs.
 They are most commonly used in telephone lines.
 However, if two or more wires are lying together, they can interfere with
each other’s signals. To reduce this electromagnetic interference, pair of
copper wires are twisted together in helical shape like a DNA molecule.
Such twisted copper wires are called twisted pair.
 To reduce interference between nearby twisted pairs, the twist rates are
different for each pair.
 Up to 25 twisted pair are put together in a protective covering to form
twisted pair cables that are the backbone of telephone systems and
Ethernet networks.
 Advantages of twisted pair cable Disadvantages of twisted pair cable

Twisted pair cable are the oldest and most popular • Signal cannot travel long distances
cables all over the world. This is due to the many without repeaters
advantages that they offer − • High error rate for distances greater
• Trained personnel easily available due to shallow
than 100m
learning curve
• Very thin and hence breaks easily
• Can be used for both analog and digital transmissions
• Not suitable for broadband connections
• Least expensive for short distances
• Entire network does not go down if a part of network
is damaged
To counter the tendency of twisted pair cables to pick up noise signals, wires are shielded in the following
three ways −
 Each twisted pair is shielded.
 Set of multiple twisted pairs in the cable is shielded.
 Each twisted pair and then all the pairs are shielded.

Such twisted pairs are called shielded twisted pair (STP) cables.
The wires that are not shielded but simply bundled together in a protective sheath are called unshielded
twisted pair (UTP) cables. These cables can have maximum length of 100 metres.

Shielding makes the cable bulky, so UTP are more popular than STP. UTP cables are used as the last mile
network connection in homes and offices.
 Coaxial Cables

Coaxial cables are copper cables with

better shielding than twisted pair cables, so
that transmitted signals may travel longer
distances at higher speeds with minimum
noise.

Coaxial cables are widely used for cable

TV connections and LANs.
A coaxial cable consists of following layers,
starting from the innermost−
 Stiff copper wire as core (center conductor)
 Insulating material surrounding the core
(Dielectric)
 Closely woven braided mesh or metal foil or
a combination of the two woven
of conducting material surrounding
the insulator (second conductor)
 Protective plastic sheath encasing the wire
(outer Jacket)
Advantages of Coaxial Cables Disadvantages of Coaxial Cables
 Excellent noise immunity  Expensive as compared to twisted
 Signals can travel longer distances at higher pair cables
speeds, e.g. 1 to 2 Gbps for 1 Km cable  Not compatible with twisted pair
 Can be used for both analog and digital signals cables
 Inexpensive as compared to fibre optic cables
 Easy to install and maintain
 Optical Fiber

• Thin glass or plastic threads used to transmit data using light waves are
called optical fibre.
• Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) or Laser Diodes (LDs) emit light waves at the source,
which is read by a detector at the other end.
• Optical fibre cable has a bundle of such threads or fibres bundled together in a
protective covering.
 if the angle of incidence I (the angle the ray makes with the line perpendicular to the interface between the
two substances) is less than the critical angle, the ray refracts and moves closer to the surface.
 If the angle of incidence is equal to the critical angle, the light bends along the interface.
 If the angle is greater than the critical angle, the ray reflects (makes a turn) and travels again in the denser
substance.
Each fibre is made up of these three layers,
starting with the innermost layer −

• Core made of high quality silica glass or plastic

• Cladding made of high quality silica
glass or plastic, with a lower refractive index
than the core
• Protective outer covering called buffer
 Note that both core and cladding are made of similar material. However,
as refractive index of the cladding is lower, any stray light wave trying to escape the
core is reflected back due to total internal reflection.

 Optical fibre is rapidly replacing copper wires in telephone lines, internet

communication and even cable TV connections because transmitted data can travel
very long distances without weakening.
 Single mode fibre optic cable can have maximum segment length of 2 kms and bandwidth of up to
100 Mbps.
 Multi-mode fibre optic cable can have maximum segment length of 100 kms and bandwidth up to 2
Gbps.
Advantages of Optical Fibre

Optical fibre is fast replacing copper wires because of these advantages that it
offers −
• High bandwidth
• Immune to electromagnetic interference
• Suitable for industrial and noisy areas
• Signals carrying data can travel long distances without weakening
Disadvantages of Optical Fibre

Despite long segment lengths and high bandwidth, using optical fibre may not be a
viable option for every one due to these disadvantages −
• Optical fibre cables are expensive
• Sophisticated technology required for manufacturing, installing and maintaining
optical fibre cables
• Light waves are unidirectional, so two frequencies are required for full duplex
transmission
 UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS

 Transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical conductor.

 Signals are normally broadcast through free space and thus are available to anyone who has a device capable of
receiving them.
Unguided signals can travel from the source to destination in several ways:
1) Ground propagation
 Radio waves travel through the lowest portion of the atmosphere, hugging the earth.
 These low-frequency signals emanate in all directions from the transmitting antenna and follow the
curvature of the planet.
 Distance depends on the amount of power in the signal: The greater the power, the greater the distance

2) Sky propagation

Higher-frequency radio waves radiate upward into the ionosphere (the layer of atmosphere where particles
exist as ions) where they are reflected back to earth.
This type of transmission allows for greater distances with lower output power.
3) line-or-sight propagation
•very high-frequency signals are transmitted in straight lines directly from antenna to antenna.
• Antennas must be directional, facing each other, and either tall enough or close enough
together not to be affected by the curvature of the earth.
Types of wireless media
1) Radio Waves

 ranging in frequencies between 3 kHz and 1 GHz are normally called radio waves.
 Radio waves, for the most part, are Omni directional.
 Omni directional, propagate in all direction.
 Radio waves propagate in the sky mode, can travel long distances.
 radio wave band is relatively narrow, just under 1 GHz, compared to the microwave band.
Omni directional Antenna
 Omni directional antennas that send
out signals in all directions.
 Based on the wavelength, strength,
and the purpose of transmission.
 we can have several types of
antennas.
Types of radio waves

1) Short waves : AM radio

2) Very high frequency (VHF) : FM radio/ TV
3) Ultra high frequency (UHF) : TV
2) Microwaves
 These are the communication channel in which data is transmitted through air instead of cables.
 Microwave is high frequency waves that can traveled in straight lines.
 These cannot bend or pass through obstacles.
 It is limited to particular city or community.
 The transmitter or receiver are mounted on very high tower should be in line of sight.
 Electromagnetic waves having frequencies between I and 300 GHz are called microwaves.
 Microwaves are unidirectional
 May not be possible for long distance transmission because signals becomes weaker & require power
amplification.
 Repeaters on antennas are mounted at very high towers usually 20 to 30 miles apart to overcomes the
problem of weakening signals & line of sight.
 Microwave propagation is line-of-sight.
 Very high-frequency microwaves cannot penetrate walls. This characteristic can be a disadvantage.
 The microwave band is relatively wide, almost 299 GHz. wider sub bands can be assigned, and a high data
rate is possible.
 Use of certain portions of the band requires permission from authorities.
Applications

 useful when unicast (one-to-one) communication.

 Cellular phones ,
 Satellite networks
 and wireless LANs
Infrared

 frequencies from 300 GHz to 400 THz (wavelengths from 1 mm to 770 nm), can be used
for shortrange communication.
 Infrared signals can be used for short-range communication in a closed area using line-of-
sight propagation.
Example: TV remote, automatic doors, wireless speakers
 Transmit data through airs.
 Propagate throughout rooms.
 Can’t penetrate walls.
 Consider to be secure one
Applications

 Very high data rates can be supported due to very high bandwidth
(approximately 400 THz).
 For communication between keyboard, mouse, PCs, printers
 Signal Transmission and encoding

 Generally, the data usable to a person or application are not in a form that can be transmitted over a network.
For example, a photograph must first be changed to a form that transmission media can accept.

 To be transmitted, data must be transformed to electromagnetic signals.

 Data can be analog or digital.
• analog data refers to information that is continuous;
• digital data refers to information that has discrete states.
 Analog data, such as the sounds made by a human voice, take on continuous values. When
someone speaks, an analog wave is created in the air. This can be captured by a microphone and
converted to an analog signal or sampled and converted to a digital signal.

 Digital data take on discrete values. For example, data are stored in computer memory in the
form of 0s and 1s. They can be converted to a digital signal or modulated into an analog signal
for transmission across a medium
 Analog and Digital Signals

 Like the data they represent, signals can be either analog or digital.
 An analog signal has infinitely many levels of intensity over a period of time. As the wave moves from
value A to value B, it passes through and includes an infinite number of values along its path.
 A digital signal, on the other hand, can have only a limited number of defined values. Although each value
can be any number, it is often as simple as 1 and O.
 The conventional methods of communication used analog signals for long distance communications,
which suffer from many losses such as distortion, interference, and other losses including security
breach.
 In order to overcome these problems, the signals are digitized using different techniques. The
digitized signals allow the communication to be more clear and accurate without losses.
 Advantages of Digital Communication

• The effect of distortion, noise, and interference is much less in digital signals as they are less affected.
• Digital circuits are more reliable.
• Digital circuits are easy to design and cheaper than analog circuits.
• The hardware implementation in digital circuits, is more flexible than analog.
• The occurrence of cross-talk is very rare in digital communication.
• The signal is un-altered as the pulse needs a high disturbance to alter its properties, which is very difficult.
• Signal processing functions such as encryption and compression are employed in digital circuits to maintain
the secrecy of the information
Encoding

 Encoding is the process of converting the data or a given sequence of characters, symbols, alphabets etc.,
into a specified format, for the secured transmission of data.
 Decoding is the reverse process of encoding which is to extract the information from the converted format.
 Encoding Techniques

 Analog data to Analog signals − The modulation techniques such as Amplitude Modulation,
Frequency Modulation and Phase Modulation of analog signals, fall under this category.
 Analog data to Digital signals − This process can be termed as digitization, which is done by
Pulse Code Modulation PCM. Hence, it is nothing but digital modulation. sampling and
quantization are the important factors in this. Delta Modulation gives a better output than PCM .
 Digital data to Analog signals − The modulation techniques such as Amplitude Shift
Keying ASK, Frequency Shift Keying FSK, Phase Shift Keying PSK, etc., fall under this
category.
 Digital data to Digital signals − There are several ways to map digital data to digital signals.
Digital Encoding process uses various patterns of voltage or current levels to
represent 1s and 0s of the digital signals on the transmission link.
1. Analog data-to-Analog signal Conversion

 Analog signals are modified to represent analog data. This conversion is also known as Analog
Modulation.
 Analog modulation is required when bandpass is used. Analog to analog conversion can be done in
three ways:
 (Analog Data)

Amplitude Modulation
 In this modulation, the amplitude of the carrier signal is
modified to reflect the analog data.
 Amplitude modulation is implemented by means of a
multiplier. The amplitude of modulating signal (analog
data) is multiplied by the amplitude of carrier signal,
which then reflects analog data.
 The frequency and phase of carrier signal remain
unchanged.
 (Analog Data)

Frequency Modulation
 In this modulation technique, the frequency of the
carrier signal is modified in accordance with the
frequency of modulating signal to reflect the change
in the voltage levels of the modulating signal
(analog data).
 The amplitude and phase of the carrier signal are not
altered.
 (Analog Data)

Phase Modulation
 In the modulation technique, the phase of carrier
signal is modulated in order to reflect the change
in voltage (amplitude) of analog data signal.
 Phase modulation is practically similar to
Frequency Modulation, but in Phase modulation
frequency of the carrier signal is constant.
 The phase of carrier signal is changed (made dense
and sparse) to reflect voltage change in the
amplitude of modulating signal(analog data).
 2. Analog data-to-Digital signal Conversion

 Microphones create analog voice and camera creates analog videos, which are treated is analog data. To
transmit this analog data over digital signals, we need analog to digital conversion.
 Analog data is a continuous stream of data in the wave form whereas digital data is discrete. To convert
analog wave into digital data, we use Pulse Code Modulation (PCM).
 PCM is one of the most commonly used method to convert analog data into digital form. It involves three
steps:
• Sampling
• Quantization
• Encoding.
 Sampling
The analog signal is sampled at every T interval.
Most important factor in sampling is the rate at
which analog signal is sampled.
According to Nyquist Theorem, the sampling
rate must be at least two times of the highest
frequency of the signal.
 Quantization
Sampling yields discrete form of continuous analog signal. Every discrete pattern shows the amplitude of
the analog signal at that instance. The quantization is done between the maximum amplitude value and the
minimum amplitude value. Quantization is approximation of the instantaneous analog value.
 Encoding
In encoding, each approximated value is then converted into binary format.
3. Digital data-to-Analog signal Conversion

 When digital data from one computer is sent to another via some analog carrier, it is first converted
into analog signals.
 Analog carrier signals are modified to reflect digital data.
 An analog signal is characterized by its amplitude, frequency, and phase. There are three kinds of
digital-to-analog conversions:
a) Amplitude Shift Keying
b) Frequency Shift Keying
c) Phase Shift Keying
a) Amplitude Shift Keying
In this conversion technique, the amplitude of analog
carrier signal is modified to reflect binary data.
 When binary data represents digit 1, the amplitude is
held; otherwise it is set to 0. Both frequency and
phase remain same as in the original carrier signal.
Frequency Shift Keying
 In this conversion technique, the frequency of the 1 0 1 0 1
analog carrier signal is modified to reflect binary
data.
 This technique uses two frequencies, f1 and f2.
 One of them, for example f1, is chosen to
represent binary digit 1 and the other one is used
to represent binary digit 0.
 Both amplitude and phase of the carrier wave are
kept intact.
Phase Shift Keying
 In this conversion scheme, the phase of the
original carrier signal is altered to reflect the
binary data.
 When a new binary symbol is encountered, the
phase of the signal is altered.
 Amplitude and frequency of the original carrier
signal is kept intact.
 4. Digital data-to-Digital signal Conversion

 Digital-to-digital encoding is the representation of digital information by a digital signal.

 When binary 1s and 0s generated by the computer are translated into a sequence of voltage pulses
that can be propagated over a wire, this process is known as digital-to-digital encoding.

 Three techniques used for this conversion are as follows:

• Line Coding
• Block Coding
• Scrambling
Line Coding
 It is the process used to convert digital data to digital signals. Data is in the form of text, numbers,
audio, or video and it is stored in the form of a sequence of bits in the computer. Thus Line coding
process converts the sequence of bits to a digital signal.
 On the sender side, the digital data are encoded into digital signals, and on the receiver side, digital
data is recreated by decoding the digital signal.
Line Coding schemes can be broadly classified into five
categories:
• Unipolar
• Polar
• Bipolar
• Multilevel
• Multi Transition
Unipolar Scheme
 In this line coding scheme, all the signal levels are on one side of the time axis. It can be either Above or Below.
Basically, Unipolar Scheme was designed as a Non-Return-to-Zero(NRZ) scheme where positive voltage
defines bit 1 and zero voltage defined bit 0.
 The unipolar scheme makes use of only one voltage level. It is called NRZ because the signal does not return to
zero in the middle of the bit.
 This coding scheme is inexpensive and is simple to implement.
Polar Scheme
 In this scheme, the voltages are on both sides of the time axis.
For eg: the voltage level for 0 can be positive and the voltage
level for 1 can be negative.
 Thus in Polar NRZ encoding, we make use of two levels of
voltage amplitude.
There are two versions of Polar NRZ:
• NRZ-L(NRZ-level) In this, the level of voltage mainly
determines the value of the bit. Thus the level of the signal
depends upon the value of the bit.
• NRZ-I(NRZ-Invert) In this, the change in the level of the
voltage mainly determines the value of the bit. Suppose if there is
no change then the bit is 0; and in case if there is a change the bit
is 1
• In the above diagram, If the next bit is 0 then there will be no
Bipolar schemes
 In this, there are three voltage levels: positive, zero, and negative. the voltage level for one data element
is at 0 while the voltage level for other elements alternates between positive and negative.
Two variations of Bipolar Encoding:
• AMI(Alternate Mark Inversion) It simply means alternate 1 inversion. In this neutral zero voltage
represents binary 0 while binary 1s are represented by alternating positive and negative voltages.
• Pseudoternary
In this 1 bit is encoded as zero voltage while 0 bit is encoded as alternating positive and negative
voltages
 Block Coding
 The main problem with line coding is Redundancy.
 The Block Codes mainly operates on a block of bits. They make use of the preset algorithm, takes the
group of bits, and then add a coded part to them in order to make them a large block.
 This large block is then checked at the receiver after that receiver makes the decision about the
validity of the received sequence.
 Thus the block coding changes the block of m bits into the block of n bits where n>m.
 This block coding technique is also referred to as mB/nB encoding.
 This technique overcomes the drawback of line coding and gives better performance.
 Different versions of Block Coding are as follows:
• 4B/5B
• 8B/10B
Scrambling

 We can modify the line and block coding by including scrambling.

 scrambling as opposed to block coding is mainly done at the time of encoding.
 Mainly the system needs to insert the required pulses on the basis of the scrambling
rules.
 Given below are the two common techniques used for scrambling:
• B8ZS(Bipolar with 8-zero substitution) With this technique, eight consecutive zero-
level voltages are replaced by the sequence of 000VB0VB. In this sequence V mainly
denotes violation and this is basically a nonzero voltage that breaks the AMI rule of
encoding. The B in the given sequence denotes Bipolar which simply means nonzero
voltage level according to the AMI rule.
000VB0VB
HDB3(High-Density Bipolar 3-zero
 This technique is more conservative than B8ZS and in this four consecutive zero-level
voltages are replaced with a sequence of 000V or B00V.
 The main reason for two different substitutions is just to maintain the even number of nonzero
pulses after each substitution.
 Here are two rule for this purpose and these are as follows:
1. If the number of nonzero pulses after the last substitution is odd, then we will use
the 000V substitution pattern and it then makes the total number of nonzero pulses even.
2. If the number of nonzero pulses after the last substitution is even, then we will use
the B00V substitution pattern and it then makes the total number of nonzero pulses even.
 Transmission of Digital Signals

We can transmit a digital signal by using one of two different

approaches:
 baseband transmission
 broadband transmission (using modulation)

 Baseband Transmission
Baseband transmission means sending a digital signal over a channel
without changing the digital signal to an analog signal.
Transmission Modes

 The transmission mode decides how data is transmitted between two computers.
 The binary data in the form of 1s and 0s can be sent in two different modes:
Parallel and Serial.
 Parallel Transmission
The binary bits are organized in-to groups of fixed length. Both
sender and receiver are connected in parallel with the equal
number of data lines.
Both computers distinguish between high order and low order
data lines.
The sender sends all the bits at once on all lines.
Because the data lines are equal to the number of bits in a group
or data frame, a complete group of bits (data frame) is sent in one
go.
Advantage of Parallel transmission is high speed and
disadvantage is the cost of wires, as it is equal to the number of
bits sent in parallel.
 Serial Transmission
In serial transmission, bits are sent one after another in a queue manner. Serial transmission
requires only one communication channel
Serial transmission can be either asynchronous or synchronous.
 NETWORK PERFORMANCE

Some important metrics used to measure Network Performance are:-

1. Bandwidth
 One characteristic that measures network performance is bandwidth.
 In networking, the term bandwidth is used in two contexts.
 The first, bandwidth in hertz, refers to the range of frequencies in a composite signal or the range of
frequencies that a channel can pass.
 The second, bandwidth in bits per second, refers to the speed of bit transmission in a channel or link.
2. Throughput

The throughput is a measure of how much amount of data we can actually send through a network
successfully.
 bandwidth in bits per second and throughput seem the same, but they are different.
 A link may have a bandwidth of B bps, but we can only send T bps through this link with T always less
than B i.e. (T<B).

For example, we may have a link with a bandwidth of 1 Mbps, but the devices connected to the end of the
link may handle only 200 kbps. This means that we cannot send more than 200 kbps through this link
Example A network with bandwidth of 10 Mbps can pass only an average of 12,000 frames per minute with
each frame carrying an average of 10,000 bits. What is the throughput of this network?

Solution We can calculate the throughput as

Throughput= (12,000 x 10,000)/60=2 Mbps
The throughput is almost one-fifth of the bandwidth in this case.
3. Latency (Delay)
 The latency or delay defines how long it takes for an entire message to completely arrive at the destination
from the time the first bit is sent out from the source.
 We can say that latency is made of four components: propagation time, transmission time, queuing time
and processing delay.

Latency = propagation time + transmission time + queuing time + processing delay

a) Propagation Time
 Propagation time measures the time required for a bit to travel from the source to the destination.
 The propagation time is calculated by dividing the distance by the propagation speed.
Propagation time = Distance/Propagation speed
 The propagation speed of electromagnetic signals depends on the medium and on the frequency of
the signal.
For example, in a vacuum, light is propagated with a speed of 3 x 10 8 m/s. It is lower in air; it is
much lower in cable.
Example What is the propagation time if the distance between the two points is 12,000 km? Assume
the propagation speed to be 2.4 x 108 m/s in cable.

Solution We can calculate the propagation time as ..

Propagation time = (12000 x 1000)/(2.4 x 108) = 50 ms
b) Transmission Time
 In data communications we don't send just 1 bit, we send a message. The first bit may take a time equal
to the propagation time to reach its destination; the last bit also may take the same amount of time.
 However, there is a time between the first bit leaving the sender and the last bit arriving at the receiver.
The first bit leaves earlier and arrives earlier; the last bit leaves later and arrives later.
 The time required for transmission of a message depends on the size of the message and the bandwidth
of the channel.
Transmission time =Message size/ Bandwidth
Example What are the propagation time and the transmission time for a 2.5-kbyte message (an e-mail) if the
bandwidth of the network is 1 Gbps? Assume that the distance between the sender and the receiver is 12,000
km and that light travels at 2.4 x 108 m/s.
Solution
We can calculate the propagation and transmission time as ..
PropagatIon time = (12000 x 1000) /2.4 x 108 =50 ms
Transmission tIme = (2500 x 8)/ 109 = 0.020 ms
Note that in this case, because the message is short and the bandwidth is high, the dominant factor is the
propagation time, not the transmission time. The transmission time can be ignored.
Example: What are the propagation time and the transmission time for a 5-Mbyte message (an image) if the
bandwidth of the network is 1 Mbps? Assume that the distance between the sender and the receiver is 12,000
km and that light travels at 2.4 x 108 m/s.

Solution: We can calculate the propagation and transmission times as

PropagatIon time = (12 000 X 1000)/ 2.4x 108= 50 ms
Transmission time = (5,000,000 x 8)/ 106 =40 s
Note that in this case, because the message is very long and the bandwidth is not very high, the dominant
factor is the transmission time, not the propagation time. The propagation time can be ignored.
c) Queuing Time
The third component in latency is the queuing time, the time needed for each intermediate or end device to hold
the message before it can be processed.
The queuing time is not a fixed factor; it changes with the load imposed on the network. When there is heavy
traffic on the network, the queuing time increases.
An intermediate device, such as a router, queues the arrived messages and processes them one by one. If there
are many messages, each message will have to wait.
4. Jitter
Another performance issue that is related to delay is jitter.
Jitter is a problem if different packets of data encounter different delays and the application using the data at
the receiver site is time-sensitive (audio and video data, for example).
If the delay for the first packet is 20 ms, for the second is 45 ms, and for the third is 40 ms, then the real-time
application that uses the packets endures jitter.
TRANSMISSION IMPAIRMENT

 Signals travel through transmission media, which are not perfect.

 The imperfection causes signal impairment.
 This means that the signal at the beginning of the medium is not the same as the signal at the
end of the medium. What is sent is not what is received.
 Three causes of impairment are: attenuation, distortion, and noise
 1. Attenuation

 Attenuation means a loss of energy.

 When a signal, simple or composite, travels through a medium, it loses some of its energy in overcoming the
resistance of the medium. That is why a wire carrying electric signals gets warm, if not hot, after a while.
 Some of the electrical energy in the signal is converted to heat.
 To compensate for this loss, amplifiers are used to amplify the signal.
 Decibel
The decibel (dB) is the unit that measures the relative strengths of two signals or one signal at two
different points.
The decibel is negative if a signal is attenuated and positive if a signal is amplified.
Variables PI and P2 are the powers of a signal at points 1 and 2, respectively
Example: Suppose a signal travels through a transmission medium and its power is reduced to one-half. This
means that P2 = ½ P1.
Solution: In this case, the attenuation (loss of power) can be calculated as:
= 10loglO P2/P1
= 10logl0 0.5PI/P1 = 10 Ioglo0.5 = 10(-0.3) = -3 dB
A loss of 3 dB (-3 dB) is equivalent to losing one-half the power.

Example: A signal travels through an amplifier, and its power is increased 10 times. This means that P2= 10 P1
In this case, the amplification (gain of power) can be calculated as
 2. Distortion

 Distortion means that the signal changes its form or shape.

 Distortion can occur in a composite signal made of different frequencies.
 Each signal component has its own propagation speed through a medium and, therefore, its own
delay in arriving at the final destination.
 Differences in delay may create a difference in phase if the delay is not exactly the same as the
period duration.

In other words, signal components at the receiver have phases different from what they had at the
sender. The shape of the composite signal is therefore not the same.
 3. Noise

 Noise is another cause of impairment.

 Several types of noise, such as thermal noise, induced noise, crosstalk, and impulse noise, may corrupt the
signal.
 Thermal noise is the random motion of electrons in a wire which creates an extra signal not originally
sent by the transmitter.
 Induced noise comes from sources such as motors and appliances. These devices act as a sending
antenna, and the transmission medium acts as the receiving antenna.
 Crosstalk is the effect of one wire on the other. One wire acts as a sending antenna and the other as the
receiving antenna.
 Impulse noise is a spike (a signal with high energy in a very short time) that comes from power lines,
lightning, and so on.
 Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
It is defined as
SNR =average signal power/average noise power

 SNR is actually the ratio of what is wanted (signal) to what is not wanted (noise).
 A high SNR means the signal is less corrupted by noise;
 a low SNR means the signal is more corrupted by noise.

 Because SNR is the ratio of two powers, it is often described in decibel units,
 SNRdB, defined as
Switching Techniques and Multiplexing
 Switching

 For very large networks, when we have to connect multiple devices, the MESH
topology or STAR topologies are impractical and wasteful to make one-to-one
communication possible.
 The number and length of the links require too much infrastructure to be cost-
efficient, and the majority of those links would be idle most of the time.
 Other topologies employing multipoint connections, such as a bus, are ruled out
because the distances between devices and the total number of devices will
increase beyond the capacities of the media and equipment.

A better solution is Switching.

 Switched network

 A switched network consists of a series of interlinked nodes, called switches.

 Switches are devices capable of creating temporary connections between two or more devices
linked to the switch.
 In a switched network, some of these nodes are connected to the end systems (computers or
telephones, for example). Others are used only for routing.

Each switch is
Switched connected to
Network multiple links.
Types of Switching

Three broad categories of switching :

 1. CIRCUIT-SWITCHING

 Circuit switching takes place at the physical

layer.
 A circuit-switched network is made of a set
of switches connected by physical links in
which each link is divided into n channels by
using FDM or TDM.
 A connection between two stations is a
dedicated path made of one or more links.
 However, each connection uses only one
Circuit-switched networks
dedicated channel on each link.
Three Phases
The actual communication in a circuit-switched network requires three
phases:
1. connection setup : When end system A needs to communicate with
end system M, system A needs to request a connection to M that must
be accepted by all switches as well as by M itself. This is called the
setup phase;
2. data transfer: a circuit (channel) is reserved on each link, and the
combination of circuits or channels defines the dedicated path. After
the dedicated path made of connected circuits (channels) is
established, data transfer can take place.
3. connection teardown: After all data have been transferred, the circuits
are tear down.
Key points of Circuit Switching

 Before starting communication, the stations must make a reservation for the resources to be
used during the communication.
 These resources, such as channels (bandwidth in FDM and time slots in TDM), switch buffers,
switch processing time, and switch input/output ports, must remain dedicated during the entire
duration of data transfer until the teardown phase.
 Data transferred between the two stations are not packetized. The data are a continuous flow
sent by the source station and received by the destination station, although there may be periods
of silence.
 There is no addressing involved during data transfer. The switches route the data based on their
occupied band (FDM) or time slot (TDM).
• More expensive than any other switching techniques,
 2. Packet-switched network

 In packet-switched network, the message needs to be divided into packets of fixed/variable

size. The size of the packet is determined by the network and the governing protocol.
 In this switching, there is no resource allocation for a packet i.e no reserved bandwidth on
the links, and there is no scheduled processing time for each packet.
 Resources are allocated on demand. The allocation is done on a first- come, first-served basis.
 When a switch receives a packet, no matter what is the source or destination, the packet must
wait if there are other packets being processed.
 As with other systems in our daily life, this lack of reservation may create delay.
 a) Datagram Switching

 Datagram switching is normally done at the network layer.

 In a datagram network, each packet is treated independently of all others. Even
if a packet is part of a multipacket transmission, the network treats it as though it
existed alone.
 Packets in this approach are referred to as datagrams.
 The datagram networks are sometimes referred to as connectionless networks.
 The switches in a datagram network are traditionally referred to as routers.
 Example: Sending message from station A to station X.

 The message is first divided into four packets (or

datagrams).
 There are no setup or teardown phases.
 the packets, each with the same destination
address, do not follow the same route, and they
may arrive out of sequence at the exit point node
(or the destination).
 Reordering is done at the destination point based
on the sequence number of the packets.
 It is possible for a packet to be destroyed if one of
the nodes on its way is crashed momentarily. Thus
all its queued packets may be lost.
Routing Table

As there are no setup or teardown phases, how are the

packets routed to their destinations in a datagram network?
 In this type of network, each switch (or packet switch) has a
routing table which is based on the destination address.
 The routing tables are dynamic and are updated periodically.
 The destination addresses and the corresponding forwarding
output ports are recorded in the tables
 b) VIRTUAL-CIRCUIT Switching

A virtual-circuit network is a cross between a circuit-switched

network and a datagram network. It has some characteristics of
both.
1. As in a circuit-switched network, there are setup and teardown
phases in addition to the data transfer phase.
2. Resources can be allocated during the setup phase, as in a circuit-
switched network, or on demand, as in a datagram network.
3. As in a datagram network, data are packetized and each packet
carries an address of the next immediate connected switch, not end-
to-end (destination) address.
4. As in a circuit-switched network, all packets follow the same path
established during the connection.
5. A virtual-circuit network is normally implemented in the data link
 Addressing In a virtual-circuit network,

Two types of addressing are involved:

1. Global Addressing: A source or a destination needs to have a (global address)-an address that can
be unique in the scope of the network or internationally if the network is part of an international
network.
2. Local Addressing (Virtual-Circuit Identifier): The identifier that is actually used for data transfer
is called the virtual-circuit identifier (Vel).
A vel, unlike a global address, is a small number that has only switch scope; it is used by a frame
between two switches. When a frame arrives at a switch, it has a VCI; when it leaves, it has a different
VCl.
Switch and tables in a virtual-circuit network
 Three Phases

As in a circuit-switched network, a source and destination need to go through three

phases in a virtual-circuit network: setup, data transfer, and teardown.

1. In the setup phase, the source and destination use their global addresses to help
switches make table entries for the connection.
2. In the teardown phase, the source and destination inform the switches to delete
the corresponding entry.
3. Data transfer occurs between these two phases.
1. Setup phase:

In the setup phase, a switch creates an entry for a virtual circuit. For example, suppose source A needs to
create a virtual circuit to B.
Two steps are required:
a) the setup request
b) the acknowledgment
a) Setup Request
Setup Request
A setup request frame is sent from the source to the destination.
a. Source A sends a setup frame to switch 1.
b. Switch 1 receives the setup request frame. The switch, has a routing table and knows that a frame going from A to B goes
out through port 3. The switch creates an entry in its table for this virtual circuit, but it is only able to fill three of the four
columns i.e. (the incoming port (1) and chooses an available incoming VCI (14) and the outgoing port (3)). It does not yet
know the outgoing VCI, which will be found during the acknowledgment step. The switch then forwards the frame
through port 3 to switch 2.
c. Switch 2 receives the setup request frame. The same events happen here as at switch 1; three columns of the table are
completed: in this case, incoming port (l), incoming VCI (66), and outgoing port (2).
d. Switch 3 receives the setup request frame. Again, three columns are completed: incoming port (2), incoming VCI (22),
and outgoing port (3).
e. Destination B receives the setup frame, and if it is ready to receive frames from A, it assigns a VCI to the incoming
frames that come from A, in this case 77. This VCI lets the destination know that the frames come from A, and not other
b) the acknowledgment
Acknowledgment
A special frame, called the acknowledgment frame, completes the entries in the switching tables.
a. The destination sends an acknowledgment to switch 3. The acknowledgment carries the global source and destination
addresses so the switch knows which entry in the table is to be completed. The frame also carries VCI 77, chosen by
the destination as the incoming VCI for frames from A. Switch 3 uses this VCI to complete the outgoing VCI column
for this entry. Note that 77 is the incoming VCI for destination B, but the outgoing VCI for switch 3.
b. Switch 3 sends an acknowledgment to switch 2 that contains its incoming VCI in the table, chosen in the previous
step. Switch 2 uses this as the outgoing VCI in the table.
c. Switch 2 sends an acknowledgment to switch 1 that contains its incoming VCI in the table, chosen in the previous
step. Switch 1 uses this as the outgoing VCI in the table.
d. Finally switch 1 sends an acknowledgment to source A that contains its incoming VCI in the table, chosen in the
previous step.
e. The source uses this as the outgoing VCI for the data frames to be sent to destination B
Data Transfer Phase
To transfer a frame from a source to its destination,
all switches need to have a table entry for this
virtual circuit.
For eg. a frame arriving at port 1
with a VCI of 14. When the frame arrives, the
switch looks in its table to find port 1 and a VCI of
14. When it is found, the switch knows to change
the VCI to 22 and send out the frame from port 3.
Given fig. shows how a frame from source A
reaches destination B and how its VCI changes
during the trip. Each switch changes the VCI and
routes the frame.
 Teardown Phase:
In this phase, source A, after sending all frames to B, sends a special frame called a teardown
request.
Destination B responds with a teardown confirmation frame. All switches delete the
corresponding entry from their tables.
 Efficiency
The efficiency of a datagram network is better than that of a circuit-switched network;
resources are allocated only when there are packets to be transferred.
If a source sends a packet and there is a delay of a few minutes before another packet can be
sent, the resources can be reallocated during these minutes for other packets from other sources.

 Delay
There may be greater delay in a datagram network than in a virtual-circuit network. Although
there are no setup and teardown phases, each packet may experience a wait at a switch before it
is forwarded. the delay is not uniform for the packets of a message.
Disadvantages
• They are unsuitable for applications that cannot afford delays in communication like high
quality voice calls.
• Packet switching high installation costs.
• They require complex protocols for delivery.
• Network problems may introduce errors in packets, delay in delivery of packets or loss of
packets. ...
 Message Switching

 With message switching there is no need to establish a dedicated path between two stations.

 When a station sends a message, the destination address is appended to the message.

 The message is then transmitted through the network, in its entirety, from node to node.

 Each node receives the entire message, stores it in its entirety on disk, and then transmits the
message to the next node.

 This type of network is called a store-and-forward network.

 A message-switching node is typically
a general-purpose computer.
 The device needs sufficient secondary-
storage capacity to store the incoming
messages, which could be long.
 A time delay is introduced using this
type of scheme due to store- and-
forward time, plus the time required to
find the next node in the transmission
path.
 Advantages:

 Channel efficiency can be greater compared to circuit-switched systems, because

more devices are sharing the channel.

 Traffic congestion can be reduced, because messages may be temporarily stored in

route.

 Message priorities can be established due to store-and-forward technique.

 Message broadcasting can be achieved with the use of broadcast address appended
in the message.
 Disadvantages:
 Message switching is not compatible with interactive
applications.
 Store-and-forward devices are expensive, because they must have
large disks to hold potentially long messages.
 Bandwidth Utilization: Multiplexing

 Whenever the bandwidth of a medium linking two devices is greater than the
bandwidth needs of the devices, the link can be shared with multiple devices so
that the available bandwidth (a precious resource) is not wasted or utilized
efficiently.

 Multiplexing is the set of techniques that allows the simultaneous transmission

of multiple signals across a single data link for efficient Bandwidth utilization.
 In a multiplexed system, n lines share the bandwidth of one link. i.e one link can have many
(n) channels/lines.
 The lines on the left direct their transmission streams to a multiplexer (MUX), which
combines them into a single stream (many-to-one). At the receiving end, that stream is fed into
a demultiplexer (DEMUX), which separates the stream back into its component transmissions
(one-to-many) and directs them to their corresponding lines

Dividing a link into channels

Types of Multiplexing

 There are three basic multiplexing techniques:

Digital
Analog Analog

FDM and WDM are techniques designed for analog signals, the third, for digital signals
 1. Frequency-Division Multiplexing

 Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) is an analog technique that can be applied when the
bandwidth of a link (in hertz) 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 then combined into a single composite signal that can be transported by the
link.
 Channels can 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.
Multiplexing Process
Each source generates a signal of a
similar frequency range. Inside the
multiplexer, these similar signals
modulates different carrier
frequencies (f1,f2, and f3).
The resulting modulated signals are
then combined into a single
composite signal that is sent out over
a media link that has enough
bandwidth to accommodate it.
De-Multiplexing Process

The demultiplexer uses a series

of filters to decompose the
multiplexed signal into its
constituent component signals.
The individual signals are then
passed to a demodulator that
separates them from their carriers
and passes them to the output
lines.
 2. Wavelength Division Multiplexing

 WDM is conceptually the same as FDM, except that the multiplexing and
demultiplexing involve optical signals transmitted through fiber-optic channels.
 The optical fiber data rate is higher than the data rate of metallic transmission
cable.
 The idea is the same: We are combining different signals of different frequencies.
The difference is that the frequencies are very high.
 Wavelength Division Multiplexing

MUX DEMUX
 3. Time-division multiplexing (TDM)

 Time-division multiplexing (TDM) is a digital process that allows several connections/devices to

share the high bandwidth of a link
 Instead of sharing a portion of the bandwidth as in FDM, time is shared. Each connection
occupies a portion of time in the link .

Portions of signals 1,2,3, and 4 occupy the link sequentially.

 TDM is a digital multiplexing technique.
 Digital data from different sources are combined into one timeshared link.
However, this does not mean that the sources cannot produce analog data;
analog data can be sampled, changed to digital data, and then multiplexed by
using TDM.
 We can divide TDM into two different schemes:
a) Synchronous TDM
b) Statistical TDM
 a) Synchronous time-division multiplexing

 In synchronous TDM, the data flow of each input connection/source is divided into units, where each
input unit occupies one input time slot. A unit can be 1 bit, one character, or one block of data.
 Each input unit becomes one output unit and occupies one output time slot. However, the duration of an
output time slot is n times shorter than the duration of an input time slot.
Interleaving
 b) Statistical (Asynchronous) TDM

Statistical TDM allocates

time slots dynamically
based on demand, which
improves Bandwidth
efficiency.