LECTURE DELIVERED BY:

DR. NAVEEN KUMAR

Introduction to Data Communication
Topics and Structure of the
lesson
• Data Communication
• Components of Data Communication
• The concept of Data Communication
• Types of Signals
Learning Outcomes
 At the end of this lecture YOU should be able
to:
 Define Data Communication
 List and describe the functionality of Data
Communication components
 Understand the need for protocols
 Justify the need for communication networks
 Explain the criteria necessary for an effective
and efficient network
 Understand basic representation of Digital and
Analog signals
Key Terms you must be able to use:

If you have mastered this topic, you should

be able to use the following terms correctly
in your assignments and exams:
 Data Communication
 Source
 Medium
 Sink
 Protocol
 Analog Signal
 Digital Signal
Data Communication
 Data communications are the exchange
of data between two devices via some
form of transmission medium such as a
wire cable.
 For data communications to occur, the
communicating devices must be part of a
communication system made up of a
combination of hardware (physical
equipment) and software (programs).
 The effectiveness of a data
communications system depends on four
Data Communication
 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 the data
accurately. Data that have been altered in
transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.
 Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a
timely manner. Data delivered late are useless.
In the case of video and audio, timely delivery
means delivering data as they are produced, in
the same order that they are produced, and
without significant delay. This kind of delivery is
Data Communication
 Jitter: It refers to the variation in the
packet arrival time. It is the uneven delay
in the delivery of audio or video packets.
For example, let us assume that video
packets are sent every 3D ms. If some of
the packets arrive with 3D-ms delay and
others with 4D-ms delay, an uneven
quality in the video is the result.
Elements of Data
Communication Network
 The three basic elements are source,
medium and sink.
 Source is the equipment sends data. It

will encode the information and transfer

the encoded information into a form that
can be carried by the medium.
 Medium can carry the data sent by the

source to the sink.

 Sink is the equipment that receives the

data carried by the medium. It will decode

the information and transfer the
information to its original or any other
Data Communication

Data Communication System Components

Five components of Data Communication

 Message is the information (data) to be

communicated. Popular forms of
information include text, numbers,
pictures, audio, and video.
 Sender is the device that sends the data
message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset, video
camera, and so on.
 Receiver is the device that receives the
message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset,
Five components of Data Communication

 Transmission medium. The

transmission medium is the physical path
by which a message travels from sender
to receiver. Some examples of
transmission media include twisted-pair
wire, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, and
radio waves.
 Protocol is a set of rules that govern
data communications. It represents an
agreement between the communicating
devices. Without a protocol, two devices
may be connected but not
Protocol
 A protocol is a set of rules that govern
data communications.
 It defines what is communicated, how it
is communicated, and when it is
communicated.
 Two entities can not simply send bit
streams to each other and expect to be
understood. For communication to occur,
the entities must agree on a protocol.
 The key elements of a protocol are
syntax, semantics, and timing.
Protocol
 Syntax refers to the structure or format of the
data, i.e. the order in which they are presented.
 For example, a simple protocol might expect the
 first 8 bits of data to be the address of the

sender,
 the second 8 bits to be the address of the

receiver, and
 the rest of the stream to be the message itself.

 Semantics refers to the meaning of each section

of bits.
 How is a particular pattern to be interpreted,

and

Protocol
 Timing. The term timing refers to two
characteristics:
 when data should be sent and
 how fast they can be sent.
 For example, if a sender produces data at
100 Mbps but the receiver can process
data at only 1 Mbps, the transmission will
overload the receiver and some data will
be lost.
Data Representation
 Information today comes in different forms
such as text, numbers, images, audio, and
video.
 Text is represented as bit pattern, a
sequence of bits (0s or 1s). Different set of
bit patterns have been designed to
represent text symbols and each set is
called code.
 One such organization is ASCII

(American Standard Code for

Information Interchange) who developed
such a code which uses 8 bits for
Data Representation
 Numbers are also represented by bit
patterns. However a code like ASCII is not
used to represent numbers, they are
directly converted into a binary number to
simplify mathematical operations.
 Image is also represented by bit patterns.
An image is composed of a matrix of
pixels, where each pixel is a dot and size
of the pixel depends upon the resolution.
There are methods like RGB and
YCM(Yellow, Cyan, Magenta).
Data Representation
 Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting of
sound or music. Audio by nature is different from
text or number or images. It is continuous not
discreet. Even when we use a microphone to
change 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 can either be produced
as a continuous entity (e.g., by a TV camera),
or it can be a combination of images, each a
discrete entity, arranged to convey the idea of
motion.
Data Flow
 Communication between two devices can
be
 Simplex
 Half-duplex
 Full-duplex
 In Simplex Mode, the communication is
unidirectional as on a one way street.
Only one of the two devices can transmit;
the other can only receive.
Data Flow
 In Half-duplex Mode, each station can
both transmit and receive, but not in the
same time. When one device is sending,
the other one can only receive and vice
versa.
 In Full-duplex Mode, both stations send
and receive simultaneously. It is like two
way street with traffic flowing in both
directions. Like a telephone network.
 Data Flow

Data flow: a. simplex, b. half-duplex, c. full-duplex

What is a Network?
 A network is a set of devices (often referred to
as nodes) connected by communication links.
 A node can be a computer, printer, or any
other device capable of sending and/or
receiving data generated by other nodes on the
network.
 Most networks use distributed processing, in
which a task is divided among multiple
computers. Instead of one single large machine
being responsible for all aspects of a process,
separate computers (usually a personal computer
or workstation) handle a subset.
Network Criteria
 A network must be able to meet a certain
number of criteria. The most important of
these are
1. Performance
2. Reliability
3. Security
Network Criteria
 1. Performance can be measured in
many ways, including transit time and
response time.
 Transit time is the amount of time required
for a message to travel from one device to
another.
 Response time is the elapsed time between
an inquiry and a response.
 The performance of a network depends on
a number of factors, including the
number of users, the type of
transmission medium, the capabilities
Network Criteria
 Performance is often evaluated by two
networking metrics: throughput and
delay.
 We often need more throughput and less
delay. However, these two criteria are
often contradictory.
 If we try to send more data to the
network, we may increase throughput but
we increase the delay because of traffic
congestion in the network.
 Throughput refers to the amount of data that can be
transmitted over a network in a given amount of time. It is
typically measured in bits per second (bps) or bytes per
second (Bps).
 Throughput is an important metric because it directly affects the
speed at which data can be transmitted and received over a
network.

 Delay, refers to the time it takes for a packet of data to travel

from its source to its destination.
 Delay can be measured in various ways, including latency,
round-trip time (RTT), and jitter.
 Delay is an important metric because it affects the overall
performance of a network, especially in real-time applications
such as video conferencing or online gaming.
Network Criteria
 2. Reliability: In addition to accuracy of
delivery, network reliability is measured by
the frequency of failure, the time it takes a
link to recover from a failure, and the
network's robustness in a catastrophe.
 3. Security: Network security issues include
protecting data from unauthorized
access, protecting data from damage and
development, and implementing policies
and procedures for recovery from
breaches and data losses.
 Criteria for Effective and Efficient
Network

Number of users Frequency of failure Unauthorized access

Type of transmission Recovery time Viruses

Hardware Catastrophe

Software
Flow Control
 Flow control: If the rate at which the data
are absorbed by the receiver is less than the
rate at which data are produced in the
sender, the data link layer imposes a flow
control mechanism to avoid overwhelming
the receiver.
 If the amount of data to be transmitted is
small, it is possible for the sending device to
transmit all the data immediately because
the receiving device will have sufficient space
to hold the data.
 If the space is not sufficient, we have to
adopt a method to control the flow of data.
Error Control
 Error control: The data link layer adds reliability
to the physical layer by adding mechanisms to
detect and retransmit damaged or lost frames. It
also uses a mechanism to recognize duplicate
frames. Error control is normally achieved
through a trailer added to the end of the frame.
 If data has to be transmitted for a long distance,
it is likely the transmitted signal is corrupted.
 That is the signal level corresponding to a binary
0 is interpreted by the receiver as the level for a
binary 1.
 Error control is a way to make sure that the
receiver can identify the error data and can
Interface Control
 A set of rules must be adhered to by
both communicating parties to ensure
that information being exchanged across
a link is received and interpreted
correctly.
 An interface standard is needed for both
party to have same format, type and
order of the message exchanged.
Data and Signals
 One of the major functions of the physical
layer is to move data in the form of
electromagnetic signals across a transmission
medium.
 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.
Transmission media work by conducting
energy along a physical path.
Data Formats
 Data and signals can be represented in either
digital or analog formats.
 Analog represents those which are
continuous. A stream of points with points in
between.
 For example, an analog clock that has hour,

minute, and second hands gives

information in a continuous form; the
movements of the hands are continuous
 Digital is something that’s discrete in nature
and has very identifiable points in its
transformations.
Analog and Digital Signals
 Just like the data, signals can also be
represented as 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 0 and 1.
Analog and Digital Signals
 The simplest way to show signals is by
plotting them on a pair of perpendicular
axes. The vertical axis represents the
value or strength of a signal. The
horizontal axis represents time.
Analog and Digital Signals
 Both analog and digital signals can take
one of two forms: periodic or non-periodic
 A periodic signal completes a pattern
within a measurable time frame, called a
period, and repeats that pattern over
subsequent identical periods.
 The completion of one full pattern is called
a cycle. A non-periodic signal changes
without exhibiting a pattern or cycle that
repeats over time.
Analog and Digital Signals
 Both analog and digital signals can be
periodic or non-periodic.
 In data communications, we commonly
use periodic analog signals (because
they need less bandwidth), and non-
periodic digital signals (because they
can represent variation in data).
Digital Signal
 In addition to being represented by an
analog signal, information can also be
represented by a digital signal.
 For example, a 1(one) can be encoded as a
positive voltage and a 0 as zero voltage. A
digital signal can have more than two
levels. In this case, we can send more than
1 bit for each level. Figure shows two
signals, one with two levels and the other
with four.
Digital signal with two signal
levels
Digital Information
 Digital information is stored in bytes.
 Bytes can be used to represent anything
in the computer sense.
 256 different byte combinations can be
used to represent a variety of data.
 Should a computer be equipped with a
program to translate these bytes into
something meaningful, any number of
variance is possible.
Summary
 Data Communication
 Elements of Data Communication Network
 Protocols
 Criteria for Effective and Efficient Network
 Flow Control
 Error Control
 Interface Control
 Signals - Analog vs Digital
 Digital Information