UNIT 1 FUNDAMENTALS OF DATA

COMMUNICATIONS

Structure

1.0 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Definitions
1.3 Concept of Data Communications

1.3.1 Data Communication Codes (Data encoding)

1.3.2 Communication Speed or Rate
1.3.3 Private vs. Switched Channels
1.3.4 Analog and Digital Transmission
1.3.5 Parallel and Serial Transmission
1.3.6 Tariff
1.3.7 Communication Protocols

1.4 Data Communication Modes

1.4.1 Synchronous & Asynchronous Transmission

1.4.2 Simplex, Half Duplex and Full Duplex Communication

1.5 Communication Hardware

1.5.1 Sends/Receiver Hardware

1.5.2 Communication Devices
1.5.3 Communication Channels

1.6 Summary
1.7 Review Questions
1.8 Model Answers

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Information is carried in data communication systems as signals between two or more points, which could
be at a distance of a few inches or several thousand kilometers.

These signals are subject to various effects while they are in transit which alter their characteristics to some
degree. The data communication technology ensures that information between two communicating entities
is transferred in a reliable and orderly manner.

To understand transmission one needs to study electrical form that messages take while they are in transit
and of media and communication technologies that ensure error-free transmission. In our subsequent units
we would be discussing the basic concepts of electronic communications
Data Communication is also well known as DATACOMM.

1.1 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, You would be able to:

• understand the basic concept of Data Communication

• define various terminology of Data Communication
• state the function of the following Data Communication Hardware

- Nodes and Workstation

- Modem and Codes
- Multiplexes
- Communication Channels

• describe the implication of Data Communication

1.2 DEFINITIONS
In data communications, four basic terms - Data, Signal, Signalling and Transmission are frequently used.

Data are entities that convey meaning. Data and information does not mean the same thing; data are a
representation of something; whereas information refers to the content or interpretation of data.

Signals are electric or electromagnetic encoding of data, and signalling is propagation of signal along
suitable communication medium.

Transmissionis communication of data achieved by the propagation. And processing of signals.

1.3 CONCEPT OF DATA COMMUNICATIONS

The concept of Data communication evolved from sharing the computation power of a computer alongwith
various resources available in a computer environment such as printers, Harddisk etc. With increasing
demand for exchange of information across the globe, the need for data communication has increased in
many folds. Data Comm, can be used to transfer as exchange conformation within one building, one city,
across cities, countries and continents. Due to physical constraints are involved in connecting two remote
point directly. Data Communication has emerged as an instant solution.

1.3.1 Data Communication Code (Data encoding)

The first step towards understanding communications is to look at computer data at its must base level. As
all of us know computer and computer device manage store and exchange data using electronic pulses
or digital signals, that come in two varieties, the binary digit '0' indicates the absence ("OFF") and '1'
indicate ("ON") the presence of electric current. A series of ONs and OFFs in various combinations can be
sent on the communication channels to represent any character.

Every character (letter, numeral, symbol, or punctuation mark) is composed of a group of bits called codes.
To avoid incompatibility between systems, the computer industry has created a number of standards that
establish relationships between bit combinations and their corresponding characters.

The most widely used codes are the American Standards Code for Information Interchange ((ASCII)) and
the IBM standard, Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code (EBCDIC). Some of the
characteristics of these codes are tabled below:

Table : Data Codes

ASCII EBCDIC
Controlling authority ANSI IBM
Number of bits 7 8
Number of Characters 128 256

To ensure successful transmission of data between two points, the sender and receivers should use the
same code, or they can use translates to aid in communication. Translation are data communication
software, which translate the sender's data into the codes receiver understand.

1.3.2 Communication Speed or Rate

The speed at which two computers exchange or transmit data is called communication rate on transmission
speed. The unit of measurement of the speed is measured using bps (bits per second) or band. Normal PC
based communication station transferred using 300 to 9600 bps, whereas main frame computers uses
19,200 band or more.

1.3.3 Private vs. Switched Channels

Private vs leased lines are permanently connected circuits between two or more points. These lines are
available for private use by the leasing party.

Whereas switched lines, or dial up lines are available to any subscriber. For example telephone connection
in our home or office is a dial up lines as we dial up a number to use a particular circuit.

1.3.4 Analog and Digital Transmission

One of the fundamentals concepts in data transmission is to understand the difference between analog and
digital signals.

An analog signals is one that is continuous with respect to time, and may take on any value within a given
range of values. Human voice, video and music when converted to electrical signal using suitable devices
produce analog signals.

A digital signal may take on only a discrete set of values within a given range. Most computers and
computer-related equipment is digital.
Irrespective of original form of the message, the actual transmission of signal could be either in analog or
digital form. Figure, 1 shows the two possible transmission methods:

Figure 1 :

1.3.5 Parallel and Serial Transmission

In parallel data transmission, there are multiple parallel lines concepting the transmitting and receiving
units. Each wire carries a bit of information.

In serial data transmission, each bit is sent sequentially one after another and it requires only one pairs or
wire conductors for connecting the receiving and transmitting units.

Serial transmission is slower than parallel transmission is used primarily for transferring data between
devices at the same site. Communication between computers is almost always serial.

1.3.6 Tariff

As most of the data communication is being done using public channels such as telephone lines, a user has
to pay for the use of channels. The tariff is generally calculated taking various data communication
parameters into consideration such as volume of data transferred, communication rate or transmission rate
and time utilised on the communication channel.

1.3.7 Communication Protocols/Standard

There are several manufacturers of computer hardware and software across the globe. For successful data
communication these products should be compatibles with each other or they should conform to certain set
of rules so that any one can use them. These set of rules is known as communication protocols or
communication standard.
In other words protocols are technical customs or guide lines that govern the exchange of signal
transmission and reception between equipments.

Each protocol specifies the exact order in which signals will be transferred, what signal will indicate that
the opposite device has completed its transfer, and so forth. Both hardware and software are designed to
handle specific protocols.

Communication protocols are usually defined and approved by some international body such as ISO,
CCITT or IEEE. At times protocols defined by certain manufacturer of computers or networking products
become so widely accepted, that they become 'defactor' standard even though these protocols may not have
approval of any standardisation body. Some of the functions that communication protocol regulates are:

• Control of information transfer

• Structure and formats of data
• Error recoveries
• Retransmission control
• Interfaces management.

Only communication devices using same protocols can communicate with each other.

To make sure that the bits (or characters) are securely transmitted through the channel or line, we need a
link level protocol between two computers. Some of the main functions to be performed by such a link
level protocol are:

• Assuring the data to be transmitted is split into data blocks with beginning and ending markers.
This is called framing and the transmission block is called a frame.

• Achieving data transparency. This allows a link to treat a bit pattern, including normally restricted
control characters, just as pure data.

• Controlling the flow of data across the link. It is essential not to transmit bits faster. Than they can
be received at the other end. Otherwise, the receiver overflows and the data is overrun, or all
buffering capacity is used up, leading to loss of data.

• Controlling errors. This involves detection of errors using some kind of redundancy check. It also
involves acknowledgement or correctly received messages and requests for retransmission of
faulty messages.

There are basically two classes of link protocols. They are, Binary SYNchronous protocols (BISNYC) and
High Level Data Link Control (HDLC) protocols. BISYNC is based on character control, whereas HDLC
is a bit oriented protocol. In fact, HDLC is widely used in most link protocols of computers.

1.4 DATA COMMUNICATION MODES

So far, we discussed a method of transferring information electronically and various aspects involved in it.

Data characters in a computer system are represented using codes such as ASCII on EBCD1C. The
exchange of information can take place only if a facility exists to send information from one end, character
by character and also to receive it at the other end in the same manner or sequence. Hence we must
understand how the characters are transmitted over the transmission medium.

1.4.1 Synchronous and Asynchronous Transmission

The mode of transmission is the way in which coded characters are assembled for the process of
transmission and permits and receiving devices to identify where the coding for each character begins and
ends within the torrent of bits. When two computers communicate, they must have a way to synchronize
the flow of data so that the receiving computer can read at the same speed at which the sending computer
transmits. The principal modes are asynchronous and synchronous.

In synchronous transmission characters are transmitted as groups, with control characters in the beginning
and the end of the bit train. The transmission and receiving intervals between each bit are precisely timed
permitting the grouping of bits into identifiable characters. In synchronous mode, intervals between
characters are uniform with no space between consecutive bytes.

In asynchronous transmission, each character is transmitted separately, that is, one character at a time. Each
character begins with a start bit which tells the receiving device where the character coding begins and
ends with a stop bit, which tells the receiving device where the character coding ends. Then, the next
character is sent, with start and stops bits. The start and stop bits and the interval of time between
consecutive characters allow the receiving and sending computers to synchronize and transmission.

Asynchronous communication is slower than synchronous communication, it is typically used at

communication rates lower than 2400 bits per second. Asynchronous communication does not
require complex and costly hardware as required by synchronous communication and is the mode most
widely used with microcomputers.

Figure 2 (a) : Asynchronous Series Transmission

 Figure 2(b):Synchronous data character format

1.4.2 Simplex, Half-duplex, Full duplex Communication

The direction in which information can flow over a transmission path is determined by the properties of
both the transmitting and the receiving devices. There are three basic options:

In Simplex mode, the communication channel is used in one direction. The receiver ,receives the signals
from the transmitting device. A typical use is to gather from a monitoring device at a regular interval. The
simplex mode is rarely used for data communication.

In Half-duplex mode, the communication channel is used in both directions, but only in one direction at
time. This requires the receiving and transmitting devices to switch between send and receive modes after
each transmission.

In Full-duplex mode, the communication channel is used in both directions at the same time. Typical
example of this mode of transmission is the telephone in which both parties talk to each other at the same
time.

Figure 3:Modes of Transmission

1.5 COMMUNICATION HARDWARE

All these while, we had been talking about communication codes; units of measurement; data transmission
methods such as analog and digital, parallel and serial; data transmission modes such as synchronous and
asynchronous simplex, half duplex and full duplex; the transmission error control and protocols. All this
was intended to lay the foundation for all that is going to follow.

Whenever we want two devices - transmitting and receiving device to communicate with each other, we
need hardwares to achieve that. We would be discussing about the various hardware such as:

• Sender and Receiver Hardware

• Communication Devices
• Communication Channels

1.5.1 Sender and Receiver Hardware

Sender and Receiver Hardware are used for handling Communication messages, data transfer etc.

1.5.1.1 Nodes and Workstations

Data Communication is done using various communication devices and software inter connected for
information exchange. The devices used to communicate a data communication network is called
workstations. These work stations may be computer, terminal, printer, telephones in other communication
devices. Each workstation are connected to something called a data communication network mode.

Figure 4 :

1.5.1.2 Multiplexer

As the name suggest, multiplexing is a form of data transfer in which are communication channels is used
for several transmission. For example, the telephone lines that we use for our daily conversation can carry
hundreds or even thousands of conservation using multiplexing. In other words multiplexing is a type of
network which allows a number of simple, low cost terminals to share each communication line, introduces
almost no delay and requires no special computer software.

Multiplexed is used in two ways

(a) by dividing a communication channel into various smaller segment of different

frequencies.
 Figure 5 :

(b) by taking group of bytes from each sender and send or transmit them over the channel
one after another. Each group of data bytes are tagged at the beginning and end with start
and end control bytes. These by data bytes are then separated at the receiving end and
sent tot their respective places. This type of multiplexing occurs so fast that the
transmission seems continuous.

1.5.2 Communication Devices

There are several types of communication devices or interface used in data communication. These
interfaces are connection between receiver and sender hardware involved in data communication and the
communication network. Some of these interface or communication devices are discussed below.

(a) Modems or modulator - demodulators are devices which convert digital signals into analog for
transmission over analog transmission facilities such as telephone lines. At the receiving end, a modem
performs the reverse function and converts analog signal into digital form.

Figure 6 : Data Communication using Modem

Line drivers are simple devices used to transmit digital signals over short distances. These devices do not
modulate or demodulate signals, but use filters to reduce the high frequency component and the modified
signal is transmitted directly over the media. These devices are used for distances of upto 1 Km and can
achieve data transfer rates of upto 19200 bps. It is mainly used for connecting VDU terminals with a
computer at a distance of more than 100 feet or so.

(b) Codec performs the opposite function of a modem.

A communication Port/adopter lower case is a connecter on the computer which is used as an entry to
departure point for data involved in Data communication. A common type of communication port is RS
232C. This adapter is used for transfer of data between the computer and the telephone line. During
transmission process it adds start and stop bits and controls the communication rate or it strips the start and
stop bits where it receives data.
1.5.3 Communication Channels

The most basic hardware required for communication is the media through which data is transferred. There
are several types of media, and the choice of the right media depends on many factors such as cost of
transmission media, efficiency of data transmission and the transfer rate. We will describe some of these
transmission media.

1. Two wire open line

This is the simplest of all the transmission media. It consists of a simple pair of metallic wires made of
copper or sometimes aluminium of between 0.4 and 1 rnm diameter, and each wire is insulated from the
other. There are variations to this simplest form with several pairs of wire enclosed in a single protected
cable called a multicore cable or moulded in the form of a flat ribbon. This type of media is used for
communication within a short distance, upto about 50 meters, and can achieve a transfer rate of upto 19200
bits per second.

2. Twisted Pair Cable

A twisted pair consists of a pair of insulated conductors that are twisted together. The advantage of a
twisted pair cable over the two wire open lines is, it provides better immunity from spurious noise signals.
As the two wires are close to each other, both pick equal interferences caused by extraneous singnal
sources and this reduces the differential signal added by the noise.

Twisted pair cable is used for communications upto a distance of 1 Km. and can achieve transfer rates of 1-
2 Megabytes per second. But, as the speed increased the maximum transmission distance is reduced, and
may require repeaters.

Twisted pair cable is widely used in telephone networks and are increasingly being used for data.

3. Coaxial Cable
A coaxial cable consists of a solid conductor running coaxially inside a solid or braided outer annular
conductor. The space between the two conductors is filled with a dielectric insulating material. Larger the
cable diameter, lower is the transmission loss, and higher transfer speeds can be achieved. A coaxial cable
can be used over a distance of about 1 Km. and can achieve a transfer rate of upto 100 megabytes per
second.

A coaxial cable is of two types - a 75 ohm cable which is used by the cable TV operators and the 50 ohm
cable which is used in high speed broadband networks and are low loss cables.

4. Fibre Optic Cables

A fibre optic cable carries signals in the form of fluctuating light in a glass or plastic fibre. An optical fibre
cable consists of a glass or plastic core surrounded by a cladding made of a similar material but with a
lower refractive index. The core transmits the light while the change in refractive index. The core transmits
the light while the change in refractive index between the core and the cladding causes total internal
reflection, thus minimising the loss of light from fibre.

As light waves gave a much wider bandwidth than the electrical signal and are immune from
electromagnetic interferences, this leads to high data transfer rates of about 1000 megabytes per second and
can be used for long and medium distance transmission links.
5. Radio, Microwave and Satellite Channels
Radio, microwave and satellite channels use electromagnetic propagation in open space. The advantage of
these channels lie in their capability to cover large geographical areas and being inexpensive than the wired
installation,

The demarcation between radio, microwave and satellite channels lie in the frequencies in which they
operate. Frequencies below 1000 MHZ are radio frequencies and higher are the microwave frequencies.

Radio frequency transmission may be below 30 MHZ or above 30 MHZ and thus the techniques of
transmission are different. Owing to the characteristics of the ionosphere, frequencies below 30 MHz are
reflected back towards the surface of the earth. Above 30 MHz propagation is on line-of-sight paths.

Antennas are placed in between the line-of-sight paths to increase the distance, Radio frequencies are prone
to attenuations and, thus, they require repeats along the path to enhance the signal. Radio frequencies can
achieve data transfer rates of 100 Kbps to 400 Kbps.

Microwave links would invariably use line-of-sight transmission with repeaters placed every 100-200
Kms. Microwave links can achieve data transfer rates of about 1000 Mbps.

Satellite links use microwave frequencies is the order of 4-12 GHz with the satellite as a repeater. They can
achieve data transfer rates of about 1000 Mbps.

1.6 SUMMARY
In this Unit we discussed theconcept of data communication and defined the process involved in data-
communication. Various Hardware and Software concept were also discussed alongwith the digital and
analog signals. It also introduced you to various types of communication devices and also explained what
is transmission protocols.

1.7 REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 Match the followings:

(i) Modem (a)band

ii)Multiplexer (b)formalised set of rules

(iii)Protocols (c)translate data into same type of code

(iv)Translator (d)volume of data transferred

(v)Communication
(e)data link
Rate
(vi)Communication (f)Multiple Communication in one channels at
tariff the same time

Fill in the Blanks

2. allows one single communication channel to send many transmission at the same time.

3. Any subscriber can use lines.

4. A network consists of interconnected

5. is a unit of measurement for communication rate.

1.8 MODEL ANSWERS

1. (i) (e), (ii) (f), (iii) (b), (iv) (c), (v) (a), (vi) (d)

2. Multiplexer 3. Switched line/dial up 4. Radio waves 5. Band/bps