Chapter 7

Transmission Media

7.1 Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
 Figure 7.1 Transmission medium and physical layer

7.2
 Figure 7.2 Classes of transmission media

7.3
 7-1 GUIDED MEDIA

Guided media, which are those that provide a

connection from one device to another, include
twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable.

Topics discussed in this section:

Twisted-Pair Cable
Coaxial Cable
Fiber-Optic Cable

7.4
 Figure 7.3 Twisted-pair cable

7.5
  Twisted-pair and coaxial cable use
metallic (copper) conductors that accept
and transport signals in the form of
electric current.

 A twisted pair consists of two conductors

(normally copper), each with its own plastic
insulation, twisted together.

 One of the wires is use to carry signals to

the receiver, and the other is used only as
a ground reference.
7
 The most common twisted-pair cable used in
communications is referred to as
unshielded twisted-pair (UTP).

 IBM has also produced a version of twisted-pair

cable for its use, called shielded twisted-pair
(STP)

7.7
 Figure 7.4 UTP and STP cables

7.8
7.9
 Categories
 The Electronic Industries Association (EIA)
has developed standards to classify
unshielded twisted-pair cable into seven
categories.

 Categories are determined by cable

quality, with 1 as the lowest and 7 as the
highest.

 Each EIA category is suitable for specific

uses. Table shows these categories.

7.10
 Table 7.1 Categories of unshielded twisted-pair cables

7.11
 RJ45
 The most common UTP connector is
RJ45 (RJ stands for registered jack).

 The RJ45 is a keyed connector, meaning

the connector can be inserted in only
one way.

7.12
 Figure 7.5 UTP connector

7.13
 Figure 7.6 UTP performance

7.14
 Coaxial cable

7.15
7.16
  Coaxial cable (or coax) carries signals of
higher frequency ranges than those in
twisted pair cable, in part because the
two media are constructed quite
differently.

7.17
7.18
  Coax has a central core conductor of solid or
stranded wire (usually copper) enclosed in an
insulating sheath, which is, in turn, encased in an
outer conductor of metal foil, braid, or a combination
of the two.

7.19
 Coaxial cables are categorized by their Radio
Government (RG) ratings.
 Each RG number denotes a unique set of
physical specifications,
 wire gauge of the inner conductor,
 the thickness
 type of the inner insulator,
 the construction of the shield,
 size and type of the outer casing.

7.20
 Figure 7.8 BNC connectors

7.21
  To connect coaxial cable to devices, we
need coaxial connectors.
 The most common type of connector
used today is the Bayonet Neill-
Concelman (BNC) connector.
 Figure shows three popular types of
these connectors:
 BNC connector,
 TBNC T connector,
 BNC terminator
7.22
  The BNC connector is used to connect
the end of the cable to a device, such as
a TV set.
 The BNC T connector is used in Ethernet
networks to branch out to a connection
to a computer or other device.
 The BNC terminator is used at the end
of the cable to prevent the reflection of
the signal.

7.23
7.24
 Figure 7.9 Coaxial cable performance

7.25
 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.

7.26
  if the angle of incidence I is less than
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 of incidence is greater than
the critical angle, the ray reflects
(makes a turn) and travels again in the
denser

7.27
 Critical angle
 The angle of incidence beyond which
rays of light passing through a denser
medium to the surface of a less dense
medium are no longer refracted but
totally reflected.

7.28
 Figure 7.10 Bending of light ray

7.29
 Figure 7.11 Optical fiber

7.30
 Figure 7.12 Propagation modes

Current technology supports two modes

(multimode and single mode) for
propagating light along optical channels,
each requiring fiber with different physical
characteristics
7.31
 Multimode step-index fiber
 Multimode is so named because multiple
beams from a light source move through the
core in different paths.

 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.

7.32
 Multimode graded-index fiber
 A second type of fiber, called multimode
graded-index fiber, decreases this
distortion of the signal through the cable.

 A graded index fiber, therefore, is one with

varying densities.

 Density is highest at the center of the core

and decreases gradually to its lowest at the
edge.

7.33
 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.

7.34
 Figure 7.13 Modes

7.35
 Fiber Sizes
 Optical fibers are defined by the ratio of the
diameter of their core to the diameter of
their cladding, both expressed in
micrometers.

 The common sizes are shown in Table

Note that the last size listed is for single-
mode only.

7.36
 Table 7.3 Fiber types

7.37
 Figure 7.14 Fiber construction

The outer jacket is made of either PVC or

Teflon.

7.38
 Fiber-Optic Cable Connectors
 The subscriber channel (SC) connector is
used for cable TV. It uses a push/pull locking
system.

 The straight-tip (ST) connector is used for

connecting cable to networking devices.

 It uses a bayonet locking system and is

more reliable than SC

 MT-RJ (Mechanical Transfer Registered Jack)

is a connector that is the same size as RJ45.

7.39
 Figure 7.15 Fiber-optic cable connectors

7.40
 Figure 7.16 Optical fiber performance

7.41
 7-2 UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS

Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves

without using a physical conductor. This type of
communication is often referred to as wireless
communication.

Topics discussed in this section:

Radio Waves
Microwaves
Infrared

7.42
 Figure 7.17 Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless communication

7.43
 Figure 7.18 Propagation methods

7.44
 Table 7.4 Bands

7.45
 Figure 7.19 Wireless transmission waves

7.46
 Figure 7.20 Omnidirectional antenna

7.47
 Note

Radio waves are used for multicast

communications, such as radio and
television, and paging systems.

7.48
 Figure 7.21 Unidirectional antennas

7.49
 Note

Microwaves are used for unicast

communication such as cellular
telephones, satellite networks,
and wireless LANs.

7.50
 Note

Infrared signals can be used for short-

range communication in a closed area
using line-of-sight propagation.

7.51
 Summary: Wireless & Wired
Media
Wireless Media Wired Media
 Signal energy  Signal energy contained

propagates in space, & guided within medium

limited directionality  Spectrum can be re-
 Interference possible, so
used in separate media
spectrum regulated (wires or cables), more
 Limited bandwidth scalable
 Simple infrastructure:  Extremely high

antennas & transmitters bandwidth

 No physical connection  Complex infrastructure:

between network & user ducts, conduits, poles,

 Users can move right-of-way

7.52