Chapter I

Introduction
2 Contents

 Data Communication Basics

 Introduction to Computer Networks
 Transmission Medias
 Network Protocol Stacks
 Data communication basics
3  Data communication is the process of exchanging data between (among) parties.
 The following figures show, the general (simplified) data communication model and the communication between a workstation and a
server computer system over a public telephone network with all necessary hardware devices in each stages of simplified
communication model.
 Data communication basics cont….
4
The key elements of the model are clearly described below:
 Message sources are people, or electronic devices, that need to send a message to other individuals or devices.
 Transmitter: it can perform a suitable changes (i.e. a sequence of 1 and 0 mapped into a suitable signal and current level to meet
the requirement of the channel) on the source data in order to make the data suitable for transmission.
 Transmission system: This can be a single transmission line or a complex network devices (it is always dependent on the
complexity of the network your system currently running on) for interconnection source and destination systems.
 Receiver: The receiver accepts the signal from the transmission system and converts it into a form that can be handled by the
destination device (this module does the reverse of transmitter module).
 Destination: Takes the incoming data from the receiver.
 Data communication basics cont…
5
 The table lists some of the key tasks that must be performed in a data communications system.
 The list is somewhat arbitrary: Elements could be added; items on the list could be merged; and some items represent
several tasks that are performed at different “levels” of the system (i.e. data communication system). However, the list
as it stands is suggestive of the coverage of this course.
6 Data communication basics cont….
Data Representation Techniques
 The terms analog and digital correspond to continuous and discrete, respectively.
 These two terms are used frequently in data communications in at least three contexts: data, signaling, and transmission.
 Data is an entities that convey meaning, or information.
 Signals are electric or electromagnetic representations of data.
 Signaling is the physical propagation of the signal along a suitable medium.
 Transmission is the communication of data by the propagation and processing of signals.
 The next slide demonstrate how the digital and analog data and signals can be processed and propagated using different
communication devices in the network.
 Data communication basics cont…
7
8
Data communication basics cont….
Digital Data Transmission formats
 Both analog and digital signals may be transmitted on suitable transmission media. The way these signals are treated
is a function of the transmission system.
 Analog transmission is a means of transmitting analog signals without regard to their content; the signals may
represent analog or digital data.
 In either case, the analog signal will become weaker (attenuate) after a certain distance. To achieve longer distances,
the analog transmission system includes amplifiers that boost the energy in the signal.
 Unfortunately, the amplifier also boosts the noise components. With amplifiers cascaded to achieve long distances,
the signal becomes more and more distorted.
 Data communication basics cont….
9 Digital Data Transmission formats
 Digital transmission, a digital signal can be transmitted only a limited distance before attenuation, noise, and other
impairments endanger the integrity.
 To achieve greater distances, repeaters are used. A repeater receives the digital signal, recovers the pattern of 1s and 0s,
and retransmits a new signal. Thus the attenuation is overcome.
 The question naturally arises as to which is the preferred method of transmission. Both telecommunications facilities and
intra-building services have moved to digital transmission and, where possible, digital signaling techniques.
 The most important reasons are the following:
 Digital technology
 Data integrity
 Capacity utilization
 Security and privacy
 Integration
 Data communication basics cont….
10

Analog Transmission Digital Transmission

Analog Is propagated through amplifiers; same Assumes that the analog signal represents digital data. Signal is propagated
treatment whether signal is used to represent through repeaters; at each repeater, digital data are recovered from inbound signal
Signal analog data or digital data. and used to generate a new analog outbound signal.
Digital Not used Digital signal represents a stream of 1s and 0s, which may represent digital data or
may be an encoding of analog data. Signal is propagated through repeaters; at
Signal each repeater, stream of 1s and 0s is recovered from inbound signal and used to
generate a new digital outbound signal.
 11
Data communication basics cont…..
Signal Encoding Technique
 Digital data, digital signals: it is to assign one voltage level to binary one and another to binary zero.
 Digital data, analog signal: it converts digital data to an analog signal so that it can be transmitted over an analog line. The basic techniques are amplitude
shift keying (ASK), frequency shift keying (FSK), and phase shift keying (PSK). All involve altering one or more characteristics of a carrier frequency to
represent binary data.
 Analog data, digital signals: the simplest technique is pulse code modulation (PCM), which involves sampling the analog data periodically and quantizing
the samples.
 Analog data, analog signals: these are modulated by a carrier frequency to produce an analog signal in a different frequency band, which can be utilized
on an analog transmission system. The basic techniques are amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), & phase modulation (PM).
12
Data communication basics cont….
Transmission Impairments
 Impairments are communication problems (barriers) that could cause the signal degradation (signal
quality loss or bit level change) in the time data communication among or between communication
devices.
For analog signals, these impairments can degrade the signal quality.
For digital signals, bit errors may be introduced, such that a binary 1 is transformed into a binary 0.
 The most common impairments are:
Attenuation and attenuation distortion
Delay distortion
Noise
 Data communication basics cont….
13
Attenuation
 It is defined as the ratio of input to output signal power OR it is the strength of a signal falls off with distance over any
transmission medium.
 For guided media, this reduction in strength is generally exponential and thus is typically expressed as a constant number
of decibels per unit distance. For unguided media, it is a more complex function of distance, the makeup of the
atmosphere and other factors (like buildings, towers height, etc.).
 Attenuation introduces three considerations for the transmission engineer.
 First, a received signal must have sufficient strength so that the electronic circuitry in the receiver can detect the
signal.
 Second, the signal must maintain a level sufficiently higher than noise to be received without error.
 Third, attenuation varies with frequency.
 Data communication basics cont…..
14 Delay distortion
 Distortion is any change in a signal that alters the basic waveform or the relationship between various frequency
components; it is usually a degradation of the signal.
 Delay distortion is a guided transmission media phenomenon where network data signals are transmitted via a
medium at a certain frequency and speed. It is occurs when signal velocity and frequency vary.
 For a band-limited signal, the velocity tends to be highest near the center frequency and fall off toward the two
edges of the band.
 Thus various frequency components of a signal will arrive at the receiver at different times, resulting in phase shifts
between the different frequencies.
 Delay distortion is particularly critical for digital data. Equalizing techniques can also be used for delay distortion.
 Data communication basics cont….
15
Noise
 Noise is a summation of unwanted or disturbing energy from natural and sometimes man-made sources or it is unwanted
signals that are inserted somewhere between transmission and reception.
 Noise is the major limiting factor in communications system performance.
 Noise may be divided into four categories:
 Thermal noise: is due to thermal agitation of electrons.
 Intermodulation noise: is a situation when signals at different frequencies share the same transmission medium. The
effect of intermodulation noise is to produce signals at a frequency that is the sum or difference of the two original
frequencies or multiples of those frequencies.
 Crosstalk: is an unwanted coupling between signal paths.
 Impulse noise: is non-continuous, consisting of irregular pulses or noise spikes of short duration and of relatively
high amplitude.
 Data communication basics cont….
16
Modes of Data Transmission
 Data communication basics cont….
17
Multiplexing
 It refer to a process where multiple analog message signals or digital data streams are combined into one signal over a shared medium
OR the multiplexer combines (multiplexes) data from the n input lines and transmits over a higher-capacity data link.
 The main target of multiplexing is sharing an expensive resource.
 The demultiplexer accepts the multiplexed data stream, separates (demultiplexes) the data according to channel, and delivers data to the
appropriate output lines.
 Basic forms of multiplexing are :
 Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM)
 Time-division multiplexing (TDM) (Synchronous TDM and Asynchronous TDM )
 CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)
 Data communication basics cont…..
18
Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)
 It divides the spectrum into frequency bands, with each user having exclusive possession of some band in which to send their signal. Different
frequencies are allocated to different logical channels (stations), each operating in a portion of the spectrum, with the inter-channel separation
great enough to prevent interference.
 Example: AM radio broadcasting illustrates FDM. The allocated spectrum is about 1 MHz, roughly 500 to 1500 kHz.
 FDM is possible when the useful bandwidth of the transmission medium exceeds the required bandwidth of signals to be transmitted. It is
used for analog signals.
 Data communication basics cont….
19 Time Division Multiplexing (Synchronous TDM and Asynchronous TDM)
 In synchronous TDM the users take turns (in a round-robin fashion), each one periodically getting the entire
bandwidth for a little burst of time.
 In case of asynchronous TDM the individual streams contribute to the multiplexed stream not on a fixed
schedule, but according to the statistics of their demand.
20 TDM
 Data communication basics cont…..
21
Code Division Multiple Access(CDMA)
 It allows each station to transmit over the entire frequency spectrum all the time. Multiple simultaneous
transmissions are separated using coding theory. Thus, the key to CDMA is to be able to extract the desired signal
while rejecting everything else as random noise.
 In CDMA, each bit time is subdivided into m short intervals (for example 8 chips/bit) called chips.
 Each station is assigned a unique m-bit code called a chip sequence.
 For example, it is convenient to use a bipolar notation to write these codes as sequences of −1 and +1. To transmit
a 1 bit, a station sends its chip sequence. To transmit a 0 bit, it sends the negation of its chip sequence. Thus, for
m = 8, if station A is assigned the chip sequence (−1 −1 −1 +1 +1 −1 +1 +1), it can send a 1 bit by transmitting the
chip sequence and a 0 by transmitting (+1 +1 +1 −1 −1 +1 −1 −1).
 Data communication basics cont…..
22 Data transmission error detection and correction
 In digital transmission systems, an error occurs when a bit is altered between transmission and reception.
 Designers developed two basic strategies for dealing with errors. Both add redundant information to the data that is sent.
 The first approach is to include only enough redundancy to allow the receiver to deduce that an error has occurred and have it request a
retransmission (error-detecting codes).
 The other is to include enough redundant information to enable the receiver to deduce what the transmitted data must have been (error-
correcting codes). The use of error-correcting codes is often referred to as FEC (Forward Error Correction).
 Each of these techniques are suitable for different communication media and transmission condition.
 There are two general types of errors can occur: single-bit and burst errors.
 A single-bit error: is an isolated error condition that alters one bit but does not affect nearby bits.
 Error burst: A group of bits in which two successive erroneous bits are always separated by less than a given number x of correct
bits.
 Data communication basics cont….
23
Error Detection
 Error detection techniques works by considering the following principle:
 For a given frame of bits, additional bits that constitute an error-detecting code are added by the transmitter.
 For a data block of k bits, the error-detecting algorithm yields an error-detecting code of n-k bits, where (n-k)<k.
 The error-detecting code, also referred to as the check bits, is appended to the data block to produce a frame of n bits, which is then transmitted. The
receiver separates the incoming frame into the k bits of data and (n-k) bits of the error-detecting code.
 The receiver performs the same error-detecting calculation on the data bits and compares this value with the value of the incoming error-detecting
code.
 A detected error occurs if and only if there is a mismatch.
 Example:
 Data communication basics cont….
24
Error Detecting
 Data communication basics cont…..
25 Parity Bit
 The simplest error-detecting scheme is to append a parity bit to the end of a block of data.
 A typical example is character transmission, in which a parity bit is attached to each 7-bit International
Reference Alphabet (IRA) character.
 The value of this bit is selected so that the character has an even number of 1s (even parity) or an odd number
of 1s (odd parity). This method is not suitable for burst error.
 In order to handle a burst error, we can compute the parity bits over the data in a different order than the
order in which the data bits are transmitted. Doing so is called interleaving.
26 Parity Bit
 Data communication basics cont….
27 Checksum
 The checksum is usually placed at the end of the message, as the complement (one’s complement) of the sum function. This
way, errors may be detected by summing the entire received codeword, both data bits and checksum. If the result comes out to
be zero, no error has been detected.
Example: Consider a header that consists of 10 octets, with the checksum in the last two octets (this does not correspond to any
actual header format) with the following content (in hexadecimal): 00 01 F2 03 F4 F5 F6 F7 00 00
28 Checksum
 Data communication basics cont….
29 Cyclic Redundancy Check(CRC)
 Given a k-bit block of bits, or message, the transmitter generates an (n-k) bit sequence, known as a frame check
sequence (FCS), such that the resulting frame, consisting of n bits, is exactly divisible by some predetermined
number known as generator polynomial (number).
 The receiver then divides the incoming frame by that number and, if there is no remainder, assumes there was
no error.
Example: If the transmitter is transmitting an IRA character G (1110001) with k = x2+1 bits.
 Data communication basics cont….
30 Error correction
 Correction of errors using an error-detecting code, requires that block of data be retransmitted. But this
solution is very difficult and highly resource consumption.
 Instead, it would be desirable to enable the receiver to correct errors in an incoming transmission on the basis
of the bits in that transmission.
 Data communication basics cont…..
31
Error correction cont……
This block is passed through an FEC decoder, with one of four possible outcomes:
1. If there are no bit errors, the input to the FEC decoder is identical to the original codeword, and the decoder produces the original data
block as output.
2. For certain error patterns, it is possible for the decoder to detect and correct those errors. Thus, even though the incoming data block
differs from the transmitted codeword, the FEC decoder is able to map this block into the original data block.
3. For certain error patterns, the decoder can detect but not correct the errors. In this case, the decode simply reports an uncorrectable
error.
4. For certain, typically rare, error patterns, the decoder does not detect that any errors have occurred and maps the incoming n-bit data
block into a k-bit block that differs from the original k-bit block.
 There are a number of algorithms (like Hamming codes, Binary convolutional codes, Reed-Solomon codes and Low-Density Parity
Check codes) used in the FEC decoder but these algorithms are out of the scope of this course. One of the algorithm used to decode
the data is block error-correcting code.
32 Introduction to Computer Networks
 The dictionary defines the word network as “a group or system of interconnected people or things.”
 Similarly, in the computer world, the term network means two or more connected computers (other communication
devices) that can share resources like data, applications, office machines, an Internet connection, or some
combination of these. OR
 Computer network to mean a collection of autonomous computers interconnected by a single technology. Two
computers are said to be interconnected if they are able to exchange information.
 The connection be via a copper wire; fiber optics, microwaves, infrared, and communication satellites can also be
used.
 Networks come in many sizes (small, medium or large), shapes (physical and logical structure) and forms.
33 Introduction to Computer Net cont….
Importance of Computer Networking
 Resource (hardware) sharing
 To share databases
 To share application programs
 To undertake parallel processing
 High reliability by having alternative sources of supply
 Money saving
 Increase system performance
 Powerful communication medium among widely separated people
 Introduction to Computer Net cont….
34
Computer Network Applications
 Business application
 Home application
 Internet access
 Entertainment
 Ubiquitous computing
 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
 Wireless network
 Sensor network
 Wearable computers
 Science and Research
 Transportation
 Weather forecasting and others.
 35
Introduction to computer Net cont…
Social Issues
 Computer networks allow ordinary citizens to distribute and view content in ways that were not previously possible.
 Social networks, message boards, content sharing sites, and a host of other applications allow people to share their views.
 The trouble comes with topics that people actually care about, like politics, religion, or sex.
 The other issue is copyright, to handle this some automated systems that search peer-to-peer networks and fire off warnings to network operators
and users who are suspected of trespassing copyright.
 Privacy also a big problem in this regard.
For example, Google can read your email (at least the subject in order) and show you advertisements based on your interests (i.e. information domain) if
you use its email service, Gmail. However, it is totally the violation of individuals as well as companies privacy right, stated under legal documents and
constitutions.
 Introduction to Computer net cont…..
36
Computer Network Types
Personal Area Networks
 A personal area network (PAN) is a computer network used for data transmission amongst devices such as computers,
telephones, tablets and personal digital assistants.
 Introduction to Computer net cont…..
37 Local Area Network (LAN)
 A LAN (Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi)) is a privately owned network that operates within and nearby a single building like a
home, office or factory.
 LANs are widely used to connect personal computers, laptop, PDA, Smart phones and other consumer electronics to let
them share resources and exchange information.
 Introduction to Computer net cont….
38 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
 A MAN covers a city. The best examples for MAN are Cable TV network, campuses and mobile phone networks.
 Recent developments in high-speed wireless Internet access have resulted in another MAN, which has been standardized as IEEE
802.16 and is popularly known as WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access).
 Introduction to Computer Net cont….
39 Wide Area Network (WAN)
 In most WANs, the subnet consists of two distinct components: transmission lines and switching elements.
 Transmission lines move bits between machines.
 Switching elements, or just switches, are specialized computers that connect two or more transmission lines. When data arrive on an
incoming line, the switching element must choose an outgoing line on which to forward them.
 The WAN as we have described it looks similar to a large wired LAN, but there are some important differences that go beyond long wires.
 Usually in a WAN, the hosts and subnet are owned and operated by different people.
 A second difference is that the routers will usually connect different kinds of networking technology.
 A final difference is in what is connected to the subnet. In case of LANs devices(computer system) is connected but in case of WAN
the entire LAN is connected to the network.
40 Introduction to Computer net cont….
41
Introduction to Computer Net cont….
Network Topology
It defines the physical (logical) characteristics of a network, such as where all the workstations and
other devices are located, the precise arrangement of all the physical media like cables and how data
can transferred from source to destination.
Physical and logical topologies that are very different.
Physical topology refers to the way in which the endpoints, or stations, attached to the network
are interconnected.
Logical topology refers the way of data transmission among communication device on the
existing physical topology
 Here is a list of the various topologies (physical) you’re most likely to run into these days LANs:
Bus, Star, Ring, Mesh and Hybrid.
 Introduction to Computer Net cont…..
42 Bus Topology
 In this topology, all stations attach, through appropriate hardware interfacing directly to a linear transmission medium, or bus.
 Full-duplex operation between the station and the tap allows data to be transmitted onto the bus and received from the bus.
 A transmission from any station propagates the length of the medium in both directions and can be received by all other stations.
At each end of the bus is a terminator, which absorbs any signal, removing it from the bus.
 Bus topology uses Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD), a protocol that helps devices share the
bandwidth evenly without having two devices transmit at the same time on the network medium.
 CSMA/CD was created to overcome the problem of those collisions that occur when packets are transmitted simultaneously from
different nodes.
 Introduction to Computer Net cont….
Star Topology
43
 In this topology, each station is directly connected to a common central node. Typically, each station attaches to a central node via a
full duplex point-to-point link, in order to transmit or receive signals.
 There are two alternatives for the operation of the central node.
 One approach is for the central node to operate in a broadcast fashion (using hub).
 Another approach is for the central node to act as a frame-switching device. An incoming frame is buffered in the node and then
retransmitted on an outgoing link to the destination station.
 Introduction to Computer Net cont….
44 Ring Topology
Computers are connected on a single circle of cable. Unlike the bus topology, there are no terminated ends.
Signals travel around the loop in one direction and pass through each computer
The method by which the data is transmitted around the ring is called token passing. A token is a special
series of bits that contains control information.
Each computer acts as a repeater to boost the signal and send it to the next computer.
 Introduction to Computer Net cont….
45
Mesh Topology
In this type of topology, you’ll find that there’s a path from every machine to every other
one in the network.
For each n location or host, you end up with n(n–1)/2 connections. This means that in a
network consisting of 4 computers, you have 4(4–1)/2, or 6 connections and for 10
computers, you’ll have a whopping 45 connections.
46 Introduction to Computer Net cont….
Hybrid Topology
 Hybrid topology is a combination of two or more types of physical or logical network topologies
working together within the same network.
47
Introduction to Computer Net cont….
Selecting the Right Topology
In the process of selecting appropriate network type you must first answer the following
questions:
How much cash do you have?
How much fault tolerance do you really need?
How scalable does your network need to be?
 48 Selecting the Right Topology

Here’s a list of things to keep in mind when you’re faced with coming up with the right topology for
the right network:
Cost
Ease of installation
Ease of maintenance
Fault-tolerance requirement
49 Introduction to Computer Net cont…..
Computer Network Models
We’ve developed networking as a way to share resources and information, and how that’s
achieved directly maps to the particular architecture of the network operating system software.
There are two main network types:
Peer-to-peer and
Client/server
 Introduction to Computer Net cont….
50
Peer-to-Peer Networks
 Computers connected in peer-to-peer networks do not have any central, or special authority they’re
all peers, meaning that when it comes to authority, they’re all equals.
 This means it’s up to the computer that has the resource being requested to perform a security
check for access rights to its resources.
 It also means that the computers existing in a peer-to-peer network can be client machines that
access resources and server machines that provide them to other computers.
 This works really well if there’s not a huge number of users on the network, each user handles
backing things up locally, and your network doesn’t require a lot of security.
51
Introduction to Computer Net cont….
52 Introduction to Computer Net cont….
Client/Server Networks
 In instead of the request going directly to the machine with the desired resource, a client
machine’s request for a resource goes to the main server, which responds by handling security and
directing the client to the resource it wants.
 There are a number of benefits can get from this architecture:
Scalability
Easy to access resource
Security
Better performance compare to peer-peer network
53 Introduction to Computer Net cont….
54
55
Transmission Medias
Data transmission occurs between transmitter and receiver over some transmission medium.
Transmission media may be classified as guided or unguided. In both cases, communication is in
the form of electromagnetic waves.
With guided media, the waves are guided along a physical path (i.e. twisted pair, coaxial cable,
and optical fiber).
Unguided media, also called wireless, provide a means for transmitting electromagnetic waves but
do not guide them; examples are propagation through air, vacuum, and seawater.
56 Transmission Medias
The characteristics and quality of a data transmission are determined by the characteristics
of the medium and signal.
 In guided media, the medium itself is more important in determining the limitations of
transmission. For unguided media, the bandwidth of the signal produced by the
transmitting antenna is more important than the medium in determining transmission
characteristics.
One key property of signals transmitted by antenna is directionality. Signals at lower
frequencies are omnidirectional. At higher frequencies, it is possible to focus the signal
into a directional beam.
57 Transmission Medias cont…..
In considering the design of data transmission systems, key concerns are data rate
and distance.
The design factors relating to the transmission medium and the signal:
Bandwidth
Transmission impairments
Interference
Number of receivers
 Transmission Medias cont….
58 Guided Transmission Media
 Various physical media can be used for the actual transmission. Each one has its own niche in terms of
bandwidth, delay, cost, and ease of installation and maintenance.
 The transmission capacity depends critically on the distance, the property of the media and on connection type
(i.e. point-to-point or multipoint).
 The three guided media commonly used for data transmission are
Twisted pair cable,
Coaxial cable, and
Optical fiber
 Transmission Medias cont….
Twisted Pair Cable
59
 A twisted pair consists of two insulated copper wires arranged in a regular spiral pattern.
 The twisting tends to decrease the crosstalk interference between adjacent pairs in a cable.
 Ethernet operating over twisted-pair cabling is commonly used within a building for LANs supporting personal
computers with the data rate of 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps.
 Twisted pair may be used to transmit both analog (amplifiers in every 5 to 6 KM) and digital (repeaters in every 2 to 3
KM) transmission.
 Compared to other commonly used guided transmission media, twisted pair is limited in distance, bandwidth, and data
rate.
 Signal attenuation of twisted pair is a very strong function of frequency compared to other cables.
 Twisted-pair cabling is also susceptible to signal reflections, or return loss, caused by impedance mismatches along the
length of the transmission line and crosstalk from adjacent twisted pairs or twisted-pair cables.
 Transmission Medias cont…
60 Types of Twisted Pair Cable
Twisted pair cables are mainly categorized into two, namely, Shielded (STP) and Unshielded
(UTP) Twisted Pair cable. Shielded twisted pair cable has three forms.
1. Each pair of wires is individually shielded with metallic foil, generally referred to as foil twisted
pair (FTP).
2. There is a foil or braid shield inside the jacket covering all wires (as a group). This configuration
is sometimes designated as screened twisted pair (F/UTP).
3. There is a shield around each individual pair, as well as around the entire group of wires. This is
referred to as fully shielded twisted pair or shielded/foil twisted pair (S/FTP).
 Transmission Medias cont…..
Twisted Pair Cabling
61
 Twisted pair cables are terminated with RJ-45 connectors, is a common copper-based medium for interconnecting devices in the network.
 Different situations may require different UTP cabling with different wiring conventions. The following are main cable types that are
obtained by using specific wiring conventions:
 Ethernet Straight-through: in order to connect different kinds of networking devices like PC to Switch, Switch to router and others.
 Ethernet Crossover: used to interconnect similar devices (i.e. PC to PC , PC to Router, Switch to Switch, Router to Router)
 Rollover: used to interlink PC to other networking devices for configuration purpose only.
 Transmission Medias cont…..
62
Coaxial cable
 Coaxial cable consists of two conductors, it is constructed to permit it to operate over a wider range of
frequencies.
 It consists of a hollow outer cylindrical conductor that surrounds a single inner wire conductor.
 The inner conductor is held in place by insulating rings. The outer conductor is covered with a jacket
or shield.
 Coaxial cable can be used over longer distances and support more stations on a shared line than
twisted pair.
 Transmission Medias cont….
63
Coaxial Cable cont…..
Because of its shielded, concentric construction, coaxial cable is much less susceptible to
interference and crosstalk than twisted pair.
The principal constraints on performance are attenuation, thermal noise, and intermodulation
noise.
Applications of Coaxial Cable
Television distribution
Long-distance telephone transmission
Short-run computer system links
Local area networks (in early age of LAN)
 Transmission Medias cont….
64
Fiber Optics
Fiber-optic cabling uses either glass or plastic fibers to guide light impulses from source to
destination. The bits are encoded on the fiber as light impulses . Optical fiber cabling is capable
of very large raw data bandwidth rates.
An optical fiber strand (also called an optical waveguide) has a cylindrical shape and consists of
three concentric sections: the core, the cladding, and the Jacket.
 Transmission Medias cont….
65 Fiber Optics cont….
 The core is the innermost section and consists of one or more very thin strands, or fibers, made of glass or plastic;
the core has a diameter in the range of 8 to 50 µm.
 Each fiber is surrounded by its own cladding, a glass or plastic coating that has optical properties different from
those of the core and a diameter of 125 µm.
 The interface between the core and cladding acts as a reflector to confine light that would otherwise escape the core.
 The outermost layer, surrounding one or a bundle of cladded fibers, is the jacket. The jacket is composed of plastic
and other material layered to protect against moisture, abrasion (scratch), crushing, and other environmental
dangers.
 Transmission Medias cont….
66 Fiber Optics cont….
 Fiber optic cables can be broadly classified into two types: single-mode and multimode.
Single-mode optical fiber carries a single ray of light, usually emitted from a laser. Because the laser light is
unidirectional and travels down the center of the fiber, this type of fiber can transmit optical pulses for very long
distances.
Multimode fiber typically uses LED emitters that do not create a single coherent light wave. Instead, light from an
LED enters the multimode fiber at different angles.
Because light entering the fiber at different angles takes different amounts of time to travel in the fiber, long fiber
runs may result in the pulses becoming blurred on reception at the receiving end. This effect, known as modal
dispersion, limits the length of multimode fiber segments.
 Transmission Medias cont…..
67 Fiber optics cont…….

 The following characteristics distinguish optical fiber from Application Areas

twisted pair or coaxial cable:  Five basic categories of application have become
Greater capacity important for optical fiber:
Smaller size and lighter weight Long-haul trunks
Lower attenuation Metropolitan trunks
Electromagnetic isolation Rural exchange trunks
Greater repeater spacing Subscriber loops
Local area networks
 Unguided Media
69

Where:
MWA-Mobile Wireless Access
FWA-Fixed Wireless Access
NWA-Nomadic Wireless Access
 Unguided (Wireless) media cont….
 Wireless media carry electromagnetic signals at radio and microwave frequencies that represent the binary
70 digits of data communications.
 Wireless data communication technologies are good in open environments. However, buildings and structures,
and the local terrain, will limit the effective coverage.
 In addition, wireless is susceptible to different kinds interference from home appliances.
 Each frequency band has its advantages and disadvantages.
 Popular mobile systems congregate toward lower frequencies, lower frequencies mean longer wavelengths that
travel further, but it has a bandwidth limitation.
 In contrast, higher frequencies can provide sufficient bandwidth but their shorter wavelengths make for shorter
traveling distances.
 Unguided Media cont…
71 Antenna
 An antenna is electrical conductor(s) used either for radiating or collecting electromagnetic energy.
 For transmission of a signal, radio-frequency electrical energy from the transmitter is converted into
electromagnetic energy by the antenna and radiated into the surrounding environment (atmosphere, space,
water).
 For reception, electromagnetic energy impinging on the antenna is converted into radio-frequency electrical
energy and fed into the receiver.
 In two-way communication, the same antenna can be and often is used for both transmission and reception.
 An antenna radiate signal in all direction, but not equal in all direction. This condition is know as an antenna
gain.
 Unguided Media cont…
72 Types of Wireless Networks
Standards for wireless data communications cover both the Data Link and Physical layers. Four
common standards are:
IEEE 802.11 - is a Wireless LAN (WLAN) technology that uses a Carrier Sense Multiple
Access/Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) media access process.
IEEE 802.15 - Wireless WPAN, commonly known as "Bluetooth", uses a device pairing process
to communicate over distances from 1 to 100 meters.
 Unguided Media cont…
73
 IEEE 802.16 - Commonly known as WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), uses
a point-to-multipoint topology to provide wireless broadband access.
 Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) - Includes Physical layer specifications that enable
the implementation of the Layer 2 General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) protocol to provide data
transfer over mobile cellular telephony networks.
 Other wireless technologies such as satellite communications provide data network connectivity for
locations without another means of connection.
 Unguided Media cont….
74 Wireless Propagation
 A signal radiated from an antenna travels along one of three routes:
Ground wave: follows the contour of the earth and can propagate considerable distances. This effect is found
in frequencies up to about 2 MHz (Low and Medium wave frequency range).
Sky wave: a signal from an earth-based antenna is reflected from the ionized layer of the upper atmosphere
(ionosphere) back down to earth.
75 Unguided Media cont…..
Line of sight (LOS): Above 30 MHz communication must be by line of sight.
For satellite communication, a signal above 30 MHz is not reflected by the ionosphere and
therefore a signal can be transmitted between an earth station and a satellite overhead that is
not beyond the horizon.
For ground-based communication, the transmitting and receiving antennas must be within an
effective line of sight of each other.
 Test I on
76
 Network Protocol Stacks
77
 Protocol is an agreement between the communicating parties on how communication is to proceed. OR
 A protocol defines the format and the order of messages exchanged between two or more communicating
entities, as well as the actions taken on the transmission and/or receipt of a message or other event.
 A protocol layer can be implemented in software, in hardware, or in a combination of the two.
 A set of layers and protocols is called a network architecture.
 The specification of an architecture must contain enough information to allow an implementer to write the
program or build the hardware for each layer so that it will correctly obey the appropriate protocol.
 78 Network Protocol Stacks
 A list of the protocols used by a certain system, one protocol per layer, is called a protocol stack.
 When layer n on one machine carries on a conversation with layer n on another machine, the rules and conventions used in
this conversation are collectively known as the layer n protocol.
 The entities comprising the corresponding layers on different machines are called peers. The peers may be software
processes, hardware devices, or even human beings.
79 Network Protocol Stack cont…..
 Network Protocol Stacks cont…..
80
 Network Protocol Stack cont…..
81
The Need for Layer Architecture
 We use layered architecture in networking for the following reasons:
It reduces design and implementation complexity of the software as well as the hardware.
It helps to easily replace one layer with a completely different protocol or implementation without affecting
the upper or lower layers in the architecture. This makes it easier to introduce new standards.
Example: Introducing Wi-Fi in Physical layer.
Since the functions of each layer are well defined, standards can be developed independently and
simultaneously for each layer. This speeds up the standards-making process.
82 Network Protocol Stack cont…..
 Some researchers and networking engineers are strongly opposed to layering, because:
One layer may duplicate lower-layer functionality (for example error detection and correction).
Functionality at one layer may need information that is present only in another layer; this violates the
goal of separation of layers.
 Network Protocol Stack cont….
83
Open System Interconnection (OSI)Reference Model
 It is considered as the primary architectural model for inter-computer communications. It ensures greater
compatibility and interoperability between various types of network technologies.
 Divides the problem of moving information between computers over a network medium into SEVEN smaller
and more manageable problems (modules).
 The model define how each layer communicates and works with the layers immediately above and below it.
 84 Open System Interconnection (OSI)Reference Model

 Each layer communicates with the same layer’s software or hardware on other computers.
 The lower 4 layers are concerned with the flow of data from end to end through the network.
 The upper three layers of the OSI model are orientated more toward services to the applications.
 Data is Encapsulated with the necessary protocol information as it moves down the layers before network transit.
 Network Protocol Stack cont…..
85
 Network Protocol Stack cont……
86 OSI Reference Model cont…..
 The principles that were applied to arrive at the seven layers:
1. A layer should be created where a different abstraction is needed.
2. Each layer should perform a well-defined function.
3. The function of each layer should be chosen with an eye toward defining internationally standardized
protocols.
4. The layer boundaries should be chosen to minimize the information flow across the interfaces.
5. The number of layers should be large enough that distinct functions need not be thrown together in the same
layer out of necessity and small enough that the architecture does not become unwieldy.
 Network Protocol Stack cont…..
87 TCP/IP (Internet) Reference Model
 Used in the grandparent of all wide area computer networks, the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network
(ARPANet).
 Developed by Department of Defense (DoD) to ensure and preserve data integrity as well as maintain
communication in the time of catastrophic war.
 Condensed version of OSI model contains four layers instead of seven.
 It is independent of the Network access methods, Frame format, & Medium.

OSI TCP/IP Internet Protocol

Application Application Application

Presentation

Session

Transport Transport Transport

Network Internet Internet

Data Link Link Link

 Network Protocol Stack cont……
88
TCP/IP cont……
 The fact that the TCP/IP (and Internet protocol) lacks two layers (session and presentation) found in the OSI
reference model poses a couple of interesting questions:
 Are the services provided by these layers unimportant? What if an application needs one of these services? The
TCP/IP answer to both of these questions is the same—it’s up to the application developer.
89 Network Protocol Stack cont……
TCP/IP cont……

Goals
Multiple networks communicate in a seamless way
The network be able to survive loss of subnet hardware
As long as the source and the destination are known in advance.
Handle applications with divergent requirements ranging from transferring files
to real-time speech transmission
90 Network Protocol Stack cont……
Protocols in TCP/IP Reference Model
 Network Protocol Stack cont…..
91 Comparison of the OSI and TCP/IP Reference Models
 Three concepts (i.e. services, interfaces and protocols) are central to the OSI model. But the TCP/IP model did
not originally clearly distinguish these concepts.
 Protocols in the OSI model are better hidden than in the TCP/IP model and can be replaced easily by new
technology.
 The OSI reference model was devised before the corresponding protocols were invented. The downside of this
ordering was that the designers did not have much experience with the subject and did not have a good idea of
which functionality to put in which layer.
92 Comparison of the OSI and TCP/IP Reference Models ….

 With TCP/IP the reverse was true. There was no problem with the protocols fitting
the model. The only trouble was that the model did not fit any other protocol stacks.
 Another difference is OSI supports both connectionless and connection oriented
communication in the network layer, but only connection-oriented communication in
the transport layer and TCP/IP supports only connectionless in the network layer but
both in the transport layer.
93 Network Protocol Stack cont……
A Critique of the OSI Model and Protocols
1. Bad timing.
2. Bad technology.
3. Bad implementations.
4. Bad politics.
 Network Protocol Stack cont…..
94 A Critique of the TCP/IP Reference Model
 Not clearly distinguish the concepts of services, interfaces, and protocols.
 Not much of a guide for designing new networks using new technologies.
 It is not general and is poorly suited to describing any protocol stack other than TCP/IP. For example,
Bluetooth is completely impossible.
 The link layer is not a layer but it is an interface (between the network and data link layers).
 The TCP/IP model does not distinguish between the physical and data link layers. These are completely
different.
 The protocol implementations were then distributed free, which resulted in their becoming widely used,
deeply entrenched, and thus hard to replace.
95 Chapter II
Data Link Layer