INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER

CSC 101 – 2 Units

Transmission Media
 Transmission Media
The media over which the information between two computer
systems is sent, called transmission media. This is nothing but
the physical media over which communication takes place in
computer networks. Transmission media comes in two forms.

Guided Media
All communication wires/cables are guided media, such as
UTP, coaxial cables, and fiber Optics. In this media, the
sender and receiver are directly connected and the
information is send (guided) through it.
Unguided Media
Wireless or open air space is said to be unguided media, because there is no
connectivity between the sender and receiver. Information is spread over the air, and
anyone including the actual recipient may collect the information.
 Types of Transmission Media

Magnetic Media
•One of the most convenient way to transfer data
from one computer to another, even before the birth
of networking, was to save it on some storage media
and transfer physical from one station to another.
Though it may seem old-fashion way in today’s
world of high speed internet, but when the size of
data is huge, the magnetic media comes into play.
•For example, a bank has to handle and transfer huge data of
its customer, which stores a backup of it at some
geographically far-away place for security reasons and to
keep it from uncertain calamities. If the bank needs to store
its huge backup data then its, transfer through internet is not
feasible. The WAN links may not support such high speed.
Even if they do; the cost too high to afford.
•In these cases, data backup is stored onto magnetic tapes or
magnetic discs, and then shifted physically to remote places.
 Twisted Pair Cable
•A twisted pair cable is made of two plastic
insulated copper wires twisted together to form a
single media. Out of these two wires, only one
carries actual signal and another is used for
ground reference. The twists between wires are
helpful in reducing noise (electro-magnetic
interference) and crosstalk.
Diagram of Twisted Pair Cable
•There are two types of twisted pair cables:
 Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Cable
 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable
•STP cables comes with twisted wire pair covered in
metal foil. This makes it more indifferent to noise and
crosstalk.
•UTP has seven categories, each suitable for specific use. In
computer networks, Cat-5, Cat-5e, and Cat-6 cables are mostly
used. UTP cables are connected by RJ45 connectors.
 Coaxial Cable
•Coaxial cable has two wires of copper. The core wire lies in the
center and it is made of solid conductor. The core is enclosed in
an insulating sheath. The second wire is wrapped around over the
sheath and that too in turn encased by insulator sheath. This all is
covered by plastic cover.
•
•Because of its structure,the coax cable is capable of carrying high
frequency signals than that of twisted pair cable.The wrapped
structure provides it a good shield against noise and cross talk.
Coaxial cables provide high bandwidth rates of up to 450 mbps.
Diagram of Coaxial Cable
•There are three categories of coaxial cables
namely, RG-59 (Cable TV), RG-58 (Thin
Ethernet), and RG-11 (Thick Ethernet). RG
stands for Radio Government.
•Cables are connected using BNC connector and
BNC-T. BNC terminator is used to terminate the
wire at the far ends.
 Power Lines
•Power Line communication (PLC) is Layer-1
(Physical Layer) technology which uses power
cables to transmit data signals. In PLC, modulated
data is sent over the cables. The receiver on the
other end de-modulates and interprets the data.
•Because power lines are widely deployed, PLC
can make all powered devices controlled and
monitored. PLC works in half-duplex.
•There are two types of PLC:
 Narrow band PLC
 Broad band PLC
•Narrow band PLC provides lower data rates up to 100s of
kbps, as they work at lower frequencies (3-5000 kHz).They
can be spread over several kilometers.
•Broadband PLC provides higher data rates up to 100s of
Mbps and works at higher frequencies (1.8 – 250 MHz).They
cannot be as much extended as Narrowband PLC.
 Fiber Optics
•Fiber Optic works on the properties of light. When light ray
hits at critical angle it tends to refracts at 90 degree. This
property has been used in fiber optic. The core of fiber optic
cable is made of high quality glass or plastic. From one end of it
light is emitted, it travels through it and at the other end light
detector detects light stream and converts it to electric data.
• Fiber Optic provides the highest mode of speed. It comes in
two modes, one is single mode fiber and second is multimode
fiber. Single mode fiber can carry a single ray of light
whereas multimode is capable of carrying multiple beams of
light.
Diagram of Fiber Optics
•Fiber Optic also comes in unidirectional and
bidirectional capabilities. To connect and access
fiber optic special type of connectors are used.
These can be Subscriber Channel (SC), Straight
Tip (ST), or MT-RJ.
 Wireless Transmission
•Wireless transmission is a form of unguided media. Wireless
communication involves no physical link established
between two or more devices, communicating wirelessly.
Wireless signals are spread over in the air and are received
and interpreted by appropriate antennas.
•When an antenna is attached to electrical circuit of a
computer or wireless device, it converts the digital data into
wireless signals and spread all over within its frequency
range. The receptor on the other end receives these signals
and converts them back to digital data.
•A little part of electromagnetic spectrum can be
used for wireless transmission.
 Radio Transmission
•Radio frequency is easier to generate and because of its large
wavelength it can penetrate through walls and structures alike.
Radio waves can have wavelength from 1 mm – 100,000 km and
have frequency ranging from 3 Hz (Extremely Low Frequency) to
300 GHz (Extremely High Frequency). Radio frequencies are sub-
divided into six bands.
•Radio waves at lower frequencies can travel through walls whereas
higher RF can travel in straight line and bounce back. The power of
low frequency waves decreases sharply as they cover long distance.
High frequency radio waves have more power.
•Lower frequencies such as VLF, LF, MF bands
can travel on the ground up to 1000 kilometers,
over the earth’s surface.
Diagram of Radio Transmission
•Radio waves of high frequencies are prone to be
absorbed by rain and other obstacles. They use
Ionosphere of earth atmosphere. High frequency
radio waves such as HF and VHF bands are
spread upwards. When they reach Ionosphere,
they are refracted back to the earth.
 Microwave Transmission
•Electromagnetic waves above 100 MHz tend to travel
in a straight line and signals over them can be sent by
beaming those waves towards one particular station.
Because Microwaves travels in straight lines, both
sender and receiver must be aligned to be strictly in
line-of-sight.
•Microwaves can have wavelength ranging from 1 mm
– 1 meter and frequency ranging from 300 MHz to 300
GHz.
•Microwave antennas concentrate the waves making
a beam of it. As shown in picture above, multiple
antennas can be aligned to reach farther.
Microwaves have higher frequencies and do not
penetrate wall like obstacles.
•Microwave transmission depends highly upon the
weather conditions and the frequency it is using.
•
 Infrared Transmission
•Infrared wave lies in between visible light spectrum
and microwaves. It has wavelength of 700-nm to 1-mm
and frequency ranges from 300-GHz to 430-THz.
•Infrared wave is used for very short range
communication purposes such as television and it’s
remote. Infrared travels in a straight line hence it is
directional by nature. Because of high frequency range,
Infrared cannot cross wall-like obstacles.
 Light Transmission
•Highest most electromagnetic spectrum which can be used for
data transmission is light or optical signaling. This is achieved
by means of LASER.
•Because of frequency light uses, it tends to travel strictly in
straight line. Hence the sender and receiver must be in the line-
of-sight. Because laser transmission is unidirectional, at both
ends of communication the laser and the photo-detector needs
to be installed. Laser beam is generally 1mm wide hence it is a
work of precision to align two far receptors each pointing to
lasers source.
•Laser works as Tx (transmitter) and photo-detectors
works as Rx (receiver).
•Lasers cannot penetrate obstacles such as walls, rain,
and thick fog. Additionally, laser beam is distorted by
wind, atmosphere temperature, or variation in
temperature in the path.
• Laser is safe for data transmission as it is very
difficult to tap 1mm wide laser without interrupting
the communication channel.