[DATA COMMUNICATION NOTES BY RANA MUSAWAR RAZA] July 11, 2025

What is Data Communication?

Data communication refers to the process of transmitting and receiving data between two or
more devices over a communication channel. It involves the conversion of data into signals
that can be transmitted and then decoding those signals at the receiving end. Effective data
communication requires the use of appropriate protocols, encoding techniques, and hardware
devices.
Components of Data Communication
Data communication systems consist of several components that work together to enable the
transfer of data. These components include:

• Sender: The device or system that initiates the data transmission.

• Receiver: The device or system that receives the transmitted data.
• Medium/Channel: The physical pathway through which data is transmitted, such as
cables or wireless connections.
• Protocol: A set of rules and conventions that govern the transmission and reception of
data.
• Modem: Short for modulator-demodulator, a device that converts digital signals into
analog signals for transmission and vice versa.

Types of Data Transmission

Data transmission can occur in two primary ways:
• Serial Transmission: In serial transmission, data is transmitted bit by bit over a single
communication channel. It is commonly used for long-distance communication and is
more reliable but slower compared to parallel transmission.
• Parallel Transmission: In parallel transmission, multiple bits are transmitted
simultaneously over separate communication channels. It allows for faster data transfer
but is more susceptible to errors in long-distance transmissions.
5. Set of rules (Protocol): When someone sends the data (The sender), it should be
understandable to the receiver also otherwise it is meaningless. For example, Sonali
sends a message to Chetan. If Sonali writes in Hindi and Chetan cannot understand
Hindi, it is a meaningless conversation.

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Therefore, there are some set of rules (protocols) that is followed by every computer
connected to the internet and they are:
• TCP(Transmission Control Protocol): It is responsible for dividing messages into
packets on the source computer and reassembling the received packet at the destination
or recipient computer. It also makes sure that the packets have the information about the
source of the message data, the destination of the message data, the sequence in which
the message data should be re-assembled, and checks if the message has been sent
correctly to the specific destination.
• IP(Internet Protocol): Do You ever wonder how computer determines which packet
belongs to which device. What happens if the message you sent to your friend is
received by your father? Scary Right. Well! IP is responsible for handling the address of
the destination computer so that each packet is sent to its proper destination.

What is Transmission Modes?

Transmission mode means transferring data between two devices. It is also known as a
communication mode. Buses and networks are designed to allow communication to occur
between individual devices that are interconnected. There are three types of
transmission modes:
1. Simplex Communication: It is one-way communication or we can say that
unidirectional communication in which one device only receives and another device only
sends data and devices uses their entire capacity in transmission. For example, IoT,
entering data using a keyboard, listening music using a speaker, etc.

2. Half Duplex communication: It is a two-way communication, or we can say that it is a

bidirectional communication in which both the devices can send and receive data but not
at the same time. When one device is sending data then another device is only receiving
and vice-versa. For example, walkie-talkie.

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3. Full-duplex communication: It is a two-way communication or we can say that it is a

bidirectional communication in which both the devices can send and receive data at the
same time. For example, mobile phones, landlines, etc.

Communication Channels
Communication channels are the medium that connects two or more workstations.
Workstations can be connected by either wired media or wireless media. It is also known as
a transmission medium. The transmission medium or channel is a link that carries messages
between two or more devices. We can group the communication media into two categories:
• Guided media transmission
• Unguided media transmission

1. Guided Media:
In this transmission medium, the physical link is created using wires or cables between
two or more computers or devices, and then the data is transmitted using these cables in
terms of signals. Guided media transmission of the following types:

1. Twisted pair cable: It is the most common form of wire used in communication. In a
twisted-pair cable, two identical wires are wrapped together in a double helix. The twisting
of the wire reduces the crosstalk. It is known as the leaking of a signal from one wire to
another due to which signal can corrupt and can cause network errors. The twisting protects
the wire from internal crosstalk as well as external forms of signal interference. Types of
Twisted Pair Cable :

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• Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP): It is used in computers and telephones widely. As the
name suggests, there is no external shielding so it does not protects from external
interference. It is cheaper than STP.
• Shielded Twisted Pair (STP): It offers greater protection from crosstalk due to shield.
Due to shielding, it protects from external interference. It is heavier and costlier as
compare to UTP.

2. Coaxial Cable: It consists of a solid wire core that is surrounded by one or more foil or
wire shields. The inner core of the coaxial cable carries the signal and the outer shield
provides the ground. It is widely used for television signals and also used by large
corporations in building security systems. Data transmission of this cable is better but
expensive as compared to twisted pair.
3. Optical fibers: Optical fiber is an important technology. It transmits large amounts of data
at very high speeds due to which it is widely used in internet cables. It carries data as a light
that travels inside a thin glass fiber. The fiber optic cable is made up of three pieces:
1. Core: Core is the piece through which light travels. It is generally created using glass or
plastic.
2. Cladding: It is the covering of the core and reflects the light back to the core.
3. Sheath: It is the protective covering that protects fiber cable from the environment.

2. Unguided Media:
The unguided transmission media is a transmission mode in which the signals are propagated
from one device to another device wirelessly. Signals can wave through the air, water, or
vacuum. It is generally used to transmit signals in all directions. Unguided Media is further
divided into various parts :
1. Microwave: Microwave offers communication without the use of cables. Microwave
signals are just like radio and television signals. It is used in long-distance communication.
Microwave transmission consists of a transmitter, receiver, and atmosphere. In microwave
communication, there are parabolic antennas that are mounted on the towers to send a beam
to another antenna. The higher the tower, the greater the range.
2. Radio wave: When communication is carried out by radio frequencies, then it is termed
radio waves transmission. It offers mobility. It is consists of the transmitter and the receiver.
Both use antennas to radiate and capture the radio signal.
3. Infrared: It is short-distance communication and can pass through any object. It is
generally used in TV remotes, wireless mouse, etc.

Physical Components of Computer Network

The physical components of a computer network include hardware devices and media that
enable connectivity and data exchange between devices. The server, client, peer, transmission
media, and connecting devices make up the hardware components. A computer network is
made up of several computers connected so that resources and data can be shared. In this article,
we will discuss every point about the physical component of a computer network.

Types of Physical Components

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A computer network consists of several physical components. In other words, two or more
devices are connected via a computer network to exchange an almost infinite amount of data
and services. Here Below are some physical components of computer Networks:

1. NIC(Network Interface Card)

NIC or Network Interface Card is a network adapter used to connect the computer to the
network. It is installed in the computer to establish a LAN. It has a unique ID that is written
on the chip, and it has a connector to connect the cable to it. The cable acts as an interface
between the computer and the router or modem. NIC card is a layer 2 device, which means it
works on the network model's physical and data link layers.
Types of NIC
• Wired NIC: Cables and Connectors use Wired NIC to transfer data.
• Wireless NIC: These connect to a wireless network such as Wifi, Bluetooth, etc.

2. HUB
A hub is a multi-port repeater. A hub connects multiple wires coming from different
branches, for example, the connector in star topology which connects different stations. Hubs
cannot filter data, so data packets are sent to all connected devices. In other words,
the collision domain of all hosts connected through hub remains one. Hub does not have any
routing table to store the data of ports and map destination addresses. The routing table is
used to send/broadcast information across all the ports.

HUB

Types of HUB
• Active HUB: Active HUB regenerates and amplifies the electric signal before sending
them to all connected device. This hub is suitable to transmit data for long distance
connections over the network.
• Passive HUB: As the name suggests it does not amplify or regenerate electric signal, it is
the simplest types of Hub among all and it is not suitable for long-distance connections.
• Switching HUB: This is also known as intelligent HUB; they provide some additional
functionality over active and passive hubs. They analyze data packets and make decisions
based on MAC address and they are operated on DLL (Data Link Layer).

3. Router
A Router is a device like a switch that routes data packets based on their IP addresses. The
router is mainly a Network Layer device. Routers normally connect LANs and WANs and
have a dynamically updating routing table based on which they make decisions on routing the
data packets. The router divides the broadcast domains of hosts connected through it.

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Router

4. Modem
A Modem is a short form of Modulator/Demodulator. The Modem is a hardware
component/device that can connect computers and other devices such as routers and switches
to the internet. Modems convert or modulate the analog signals coming from telephone wire
into a digital form that is in the form of 0s and 1s.

Modem

5. Switch
A Switch is a multiport bridge with a buffer and a design that can boost its efficiency(a large
number of ports implies less traffic) and performance. A switch is a data link layer device. The
switch can perform error checking before forwarding data, which makes it very efficient as it
does not forward packets that have errors and forward good packets selectively to the correct
port only.

Switches

6. Nodes
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Node is a term used to refer to any computing devices such as computers that send and receive
network packets across the network.
Types of nodes
• End Nodes: These types of nodes are going to be the starting point or the end point of
communication. E.g., computers, security cameras, network printers, etc.
• Intermediary Nodes: These nodes are going to be in between the starting point or end
point of the end nodes. E.g., Switches, Bridges, Routers, cell towers, etc.

7. Media
It is also known as Link which is going to carry data from one side to another side. This link
can be Wired Medium (Guided Medium) and Wireless Medium (Unguided Medium). It is of
two types:

7.1 Wired Medium

• Ethernet: Ethernet is the most widely used LAN technology, which is defined under
IEEE standards 802.3. There are two types of Ethernet:
• Fibre Optic Cable: In fibre optic cable data is transferred in the form of light waves.

Fibre Optic Cable

• Coaxial Cable: Coaxial Cable is mainly used for audio and video communications.

Coaxial Cable

• USB Cable: USB Stands for Universal Serial Bus it is mainly used to connect PCs and
smartphones.

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USB

7.2 Wireless Medium

• Infrared (E.g. short-range communication - TV remote control).
• Radio (E.g. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi).
• Microwaves (E.g. Cellular system).
• Satellite (E.g. Long range communications - GPS).

8. Repeater
Repeater is an important component of computer networks as it is used to regenerate and
amplify signal in the computer networks. Repeaters are used to improve the quality of the
networks and they are operated on the Physical Layer of the OSI Model.

Repeater

9. Server
A server is a computer program that provides various functionality to another computer
program. The server plays a vital role in facilitating communication, data storage, etc. Servers
have more data storage as compared to normal computers. They are designed for the specific
purpose of handling multiple requests from clients.

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Servers

Types of Computer Networks

A computer network is a system that connects many independent computers to share

information (data) and resources. The integration of computers and other different devices
allows users to communicate more easily. It is a collection of two or more computer systems
that are linked together. A network connection can be established using either cable or wireless
media. Hardware and software are used to connect computers and tools in any network.

Types of Computer Networks

Computer networks are classified based on several factors such as geographical area,
ownership, architecture, topology, and transmission technology. The below is the classification
of the networks :

Classification Based on Geographical Area

This is the most common way of classifying networks below are the different types :

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Network

1. Personal Area Network (PAN)

PAN is the most basic type of computer network. It is a type of network designed to connect
devices within a short range, typically around one person. It allows your personal devices, like
smartphones, tablets, laptops, and wearables, to communicate and share data with each other.
PAN offers a network range of 1 to 10 meters from person to device providing communication.
Its transmission speed is very high with very easy maintenance and very low cost.

Examples of PAN are Bluetooth connection between a phone and wireless earbuds , Infrared
communication between TV and remote.
Personal Area Network

2. Local Area Network (LAN)

LAN is the most frequently used network. It is a computer network that connects computers
through a common communication path, contained within a limited area, that is, locally. A
LAN encompasses two or more computers connected over a server. The two important
technologies involved in this network are Ethernet and Wi-fi. It ranges up to 2km &
transmission speed is very high with easy maintenance and low cost.

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Examples of LAN are Wi-Fi in a home or school, wired LAN in a company's office.
Local Area Network

3. Campus Area Network (CAN)

CAN is bigger than a LAN but smaller than a MAN. This is a type of computer network that
is usually used in places like a school or colleges. This network covers a limited geographical
area that is, it spreads across several buildings within the campus. CAN mainly use Ethernet
technology with a range of few kilometers. Its transmission speed is very high with a moderate
maintenance cost and moderate cost.

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Examples of CAN are networks that cover schools, colleges, buildings, etc.
Campus Area Network

4. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

A MAN is larger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN. This is the type of computer network
that connects computers over a geographical distance through a shared communication path
over a city, town, or metropolitan area. This network mainly uses FDDI, CDDI, and ATM as
the technology with a range from 5km to 50km. Its transmission speed is average. It is difficult
to maintain and it comes with a high cost.

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Examples of MAN are networking in towns, cities, a single large city, a large area within
multiple buildings, etc.
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

5. Wide Area Network (WAN)

WAN is a type of computer network that connects computers over a large geographical distance
through a shared communication path. It is not restrained to a single location but extends over
many locations. WAN can also be defined as a group of local area networks that communicate
with each other with a range above 50km. Here we use Leased-Line & Dial-up technology. Its
transmission speed is very low and it comes with very high maintenance and very high cost.

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Examples of WAN are the Internet (largest WAN), Banking networks linking global
branches
Wide Area Network

Classification Based on Transmission Technology

1. Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) :
WLAN is a type of computer network that acts as a local area network but makes use of
wireless network technology like Wi-Fi. This network doesn't allow devices to communicate
over physical cables like in LAN but allows devices to communicate wirelessly. The most
common example of WLAN is Wi-Fi.

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WLAN

2. System Area Network (SAN)

A System Area Network is designed to connect high-performance computers within
a localized, high-speed environment, such as in data centers or supercomputing facilities. A
SAN provides access to block-level data storage. Examples of SAN are a network of disks
accessed by a network of servers.

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SAN

3. Passive Optical Local Area Network (POLAN)

A POLAN is a type of computer network that is an alternative to a LAN. POLAN uses
optical splitters to split an optical signal from a single strand of single-mode optical fiber to
multiple signals to distribute users and devices. In short, POLAN is a point to multipoint
LAN architecture.
Passive Optical Local Area Network

Classification Based on Ownership and Access Control

We can classify networks into three main types based on ownership and how access is
controlled: Private, Public, and Hybrid networks.
1. Private Network
These are networks completely owned and managed by a single organization or individual.
The owner controls who can connect, what they can do, and how data moves within the
network. Since there is no outside access, they are highly secure and reliable, often protected
by firewalls and strict policies.
Examples:
• A company’s internal office network (Intranet)
• School or college campus networks
• Hospital systems storing patient data
2. Public Network
These are networks open to the general public and are usually provided by Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) or businesses in public places. They offer basic or no authentication, making
them less secure and vulnerable to attacks if not used carefully. Examples: Public Wi-Fi at
cafes or airports, free hotspots in city centers, Internet (the largest public network).

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3. Hybrid Network
A hybrid network blends private and public access, offering flexibility and role-based access
control. Some parts are restricted (like internal systems), while others are open (like guest
Wi-Fi). This setup is useful in environments where different users need different access
levels. Example: A university network with private access for staff and students and limited
access for guests.
Internetwork
An internetwork is a setup where two or more networks (like LANs or WANs) are
interconnected using routers or gateways, allowing communication between them. This
process is called internetworking.
There are two main types:
1. Intranet
An intranet is a private network used within an organization. It allows employees to access
internal tools, documents, and systems securely. It's not available to the public, and typically
uses private IP addresses. Examples: Company HR portals, Internal knowledge bases, Staff-
only communication tools.
2. Extranet
An extranet is an extension of the intranet that provides limited, secure access to outsiders
such as partners, vendors, or clients. It's used to collaborate across organizations while
maintaining internal security. Examples: Supplier portals, Client dashboards for project
updates, Partner login systems for shared services
Advantages of Computer Network
• Central Storage of Data: Files are stored on a central storage database which helps to
easily access and available to everyone.
• Connectivity: A single connection can be routed to connect multiple computing devices.
• Sharing of Files: Files and data can be easily shared among multiple devices which helps
in easily communicating among the organization.
• Security through Authorization: Computer Networking provides additional security and
protection of information in the system.
Disadvantages of Computer Network
• Virus and Malware: A virus is a program that can infect other programs by modifying
them. Viruses and Malware can corrupt the whole network.
• High Cost of Setup: The initial setup of Computer Networking is expensive because it
consists of a lot of wires and cables along with the device.
• loss of Information: In case of a System Failure, might lead to some loss of data.
• Management of Network: Management of a Network is somehow complex for a person,
it requires training for its proper use.

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