Module-2

Physical Layer
Transmission
medium
• A transmission medium can be broadly
defined as anything that can carry
information from a source to a
destination.
Classes of
transmission media
• Guided Media:
Guided media, which are those that provide a medium from one
device to another, include twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-
optic cable.
• Twisted-Pair Cable
A twisted pair consists of two conductors (normally copper), each
with its own plastic insulation, twisted together. One of the wires is
used to carry signals to the receiver, and the other is used only as a
ground reference.
 Unshielded Versus Shielded Twisted-Pair Cable

The most common twisted-pair cable used in communications is

referred to as unshielded twisted-pair (UTP). STP cable has a
metal foil or braided mesh covering that encases each pair of
insulated conductors. Although metal casing improves the quality
of cable by preventing the penetration of noise or crosstalk, it is
bulkier and more expensive.
The most common UTP connector is
RJ45 (RJ stands for registered jack)

Applications
Twisted-pair cables are used in
telephone lines to provide voice and
data channels.
•Local-area networks, such as l0Base-T
and l00Base-T, also use twisted-pair
cables.
Coaxial Cable

• Coaxial cable (or coax) carries signals of higher frequency ranges than
those in twisted pair cable. coax has a central core conductor of solid or
stranded wire (usuallycopper) enclosed in an insulating sheath, which
is, in turn, encased in an outer conductor of metal foil, braid, or a
combination of the two. The outer metallic wrapping serves both as a
shield against noise and as the second conductor, which completes the
circuit.This outer conductor is also enclosed in an insulating sheath,
and the whole cable is protected by a plastic cover.
The most common type of connector used today is the Bayone-Neill-Concelman (BNe),
connector.
Applications of Coaxial cable

• Coaxial cable was widely used in analog telephone networks,digital

telephone networks
• Cable TV networks also use coaxial cables.
• Another common application of coaxial cable is in traditional Ethernet
LANs
 Fiber-Optic Cable

• A fiber-optic cable is made of glass or plastic and transmits signals in the form of
light. Light travels in a straight line as long as it is moving through a single uniform
substance.
• If a ray of light traveling through one substance suddenly enters another
substance(of a different density), the ray changes direction.
• Bending of light ray Optical fibers use reflection to guide light through a channel. A
glass or plastic core is surrounded by a cladding of less dense glass or plastic.
Propagation Modes

Multimode is so named because multiple beams from a light source

move through the core in different paths. How these beams move
within the cable depends on the structure of the core, as shown below,
•In multimode step-index fiber, the density of
the core remains constant from the center to the
edges. A beam of light moves through this
constant density in a straight line until it reaches
the interface of the core and the cladding. The
term step index refers to the suddenness of this
change, which contributes to the distortion of the
signal as it passes through the fiber.
•A second type of fiber, called multimode
graded-index fiber, decreases this distortion of
the signal through the cable. The word index here
refers to the index of refraction.
•Single-Mode: Single-mode uses step-index
fiber and a highly focused source of light that
limits beams to a small range of angles, all close
to the horizontal.
Fiber Construction
•Applications
•Fiber-optic cable is often found in
backbone networks because
its wide bandwidth is cost-effective.

•Some cable TV companies use a

combination of optical fiber and coaxial
cable, thus creating a hybrid network.

•Local-area networks such as

100Base-FX network (Fast Ethernet)
and 1000Base-X also use fiber-optic
cable.
Advantages of Fiber-optic cable :

• Higher bandwidth.
• Less signal attenuation. Fiber-optic transmission distance is significantly greaterthan that of other
guided media. A signal can run for 50 km without requiring regeneration. We need repeaters every 5
km for coaxial or twisted- pair cable.
• Immunity to electromagnetic interference. Electromagnetic noise cannot affect fiber-optic cables.
• Resistance to corrosive materials. Glass is more resistant to corrosive materials than copper.
• Light weight. Fiber-optic cables are much lighter than copper cables.
• Greater immunity to tapping. Fiber-optic cables are more immune to tapping than copper cables.
Copper cables create antenna effects that can easily be tapped.
Disadvantages

• Installation and maintenance

• Unidirectional light propagation. Propagation of light is unidirectional.
If we need bidirectional communication, two fibers are needed.
• Cost. The cable and the interfaces are relatively more expensive than
those of other guided media. If the demand for bandwidth is not high,
often the use of optical fiber cannot be justified.
UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS

• Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical

conductor. This type of communication is often referred to as wireless
communication.

• Radio Waves
• Microwaves
• Infrared
Radio Waves

• Electromagnetic waves ranging in

frequencies between 3 kHz and 1 GHz
are normally called radio waves.
• Radio waves are omni directional.
• When an antenna transmits radio waves,
they are propagated in all directions.
Radio waves applications
• FM radio

• Television

• cordless phones
 Microwaves
• Electromagnetic waves having
frequencies between 1 and
300 GHz are called
microwaves.
• Microwaves are
unidirectional.
• The sending and receiving
antennas need to be aligned.
Microwaves Applications
• Cellular telephones

• Satellite networks

• Wireless LANs
Infrared
• Infrared waves, with frequencies from 300 GHz to 400
THz can be used for short-range communication.
• a short- range communication system in one room cannot be
affected by another system in the next room.
• When we use our infrared remote control, we do not interfere
with the use of the remote by our neighbors.
Data Rate Limits
• A very important consideration in data communication is how fast we
can send data, in bits per second, over a channel.
• Data rate depends on three factors
• 1. The bandwidth available
• 2. The Level of the signals we use
• 3. The quality of the channel (the level of noise)
• Two theoretical formulas were developed to calculate the data rate:
• 1.Nyquist for noiseless channel
• 2. Shannon for noisy channel
Noiseless Channel: Nyquist Bit Rate
For a noiseless channel, the Nquist bit rate formula defines the theoretical
maximum bit rate

BitRate = 2 * Bandwidth * log2(L) bits/sec

In the above equation, bandwidth is the bandwidth of the channel, L is the number
of signal levels used to represent data, and BitRate is the bit rate in bits per
second.
Bandwidth is a fixed quantity, so it cannot be changed. Hence, the data rate is
directly proportional to the number of signal levels.
Examples of Nyquist
Input1: Consider a noiseless channel with a bandwidth of 3000 Hz transmitting a
signal with two signal levels. What can be the maximum bit rate?
• Output1 : BitRate = 2 * 3000 * log2(2) = 6000bps

Input2: We need to send 265 kbps over a noiseless channel with a bandwidth of 20
kHz. How many signal levels do we need?
Output2 : 265000 = 2 * 20000 * log2(L)
log2(L) = 6.625
• L = 26.625 = 98.7 levels
Noisy Channel Shannon Capacity

• In reality, we cannot have a noiseless channel; the channel is always noisy. Shannon
capacity is used, to determine the theoretical highest data rate for a noisy channel:
Capacity = bandwidth * log2(1 + SNR) bits/sec
In the above equation, bandwidth is the bandwidth of the channel, SNR is the signal-to-
noise ratio, and capacity is the capacity of the channel in bits per second. Bandwidth is a
fixed quantity, so it cannot be changed. Hence, the channel capacity is directly proportional
to the power of the signal, as SNR = (Power of signal) / (power of noise).
The signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) is usually expressed in decibels (dB) given by the formula:
10 * log10(S/N)
So for example a signal-to-noise ratio of 1000 is commonly expressed as:
10 * log10(1000) = 30 dB.