COMPUTER NETWORKS UNIT II

Unit II

Syllabus
Physical Layer: Transmission modes, DTE-DCE Interface, Modems, Guided media, Unguided
media, Performance, Multiplexing, Switching, DSL, FTTC.

Transmission Modes

Transmission media can be defined as physical path between transmitter and receiver in a
data transmission system.

• Guided: Transmission capacity depends critically on the medium, the length, and
whether the medium is point-to-point or multipoint (e.g. LAN). Examples are coaxial
cable, twisted pair, and optical fiber.
• Unguided: provides a means for transmitting electro-magnetic signals but do not
guide them. Example wireless transmission.

Characteristics and quality of data transmission are determined by medium and signal
characteristics. For guided media, the medium is more important in determining the
limitations of transmission. While in case of unguided media, the bandwidth of the
signal produced by the transmitting antenna and the size of the antenna is more
important than the medium. Signals at lower frequencies are omni-directional
(propagate in all directions).
For higher frequencies, focusing the signals into a directional beam is
possible. These properties determine what kind of media one should use in a particular
application.

Guided Transmission Media

Commonly used guided transmission media include twisted-pair of cable, coaxial cable and
optical fiber.

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• Twisted Pair

In twisted pair technology, two copper wires are strung between two points:

o The two wires are typically ``twisted'' together in a helix to reduce interference
between the two conductors as shown in Fig. above. Twisting decreases the
crosstalk interference between adjacent pairs in a cable. Typically, a number of
pairs are bundled together into a cable by wrapping them in a tough protective
sheath.
o Can carry both analog and digital signals. Actually, they carry only analog
signals. However, the ``analog'' signals can very closely correspond to the
square waves representing bits, so we often think of them as carrying digital
data.
▪ Data rates of several Mbps common.
▪ Spans distances of several kilometers.
▪ Data rate determined by wire thickness and length. In addition, shielding
to eliminate interference from other wires impacts signal-to-noise ratio,
and ultimately, the data rate.
▪ Good, low-cost communication. Indeed, many sites already have twisted
pair installed in offices -- existing phone lines!

Typical characteristics: Twisted-pair can be used for both analog and digital
communication. The data rate that can be supported over a twisted-pair is inversely
proportional to the square of the line length. Maximum transmission distance of 1 Km can be
achieved for data rates up to 1 Mb/s. For analog voice signals, amplifiers are required about
every 6 Km and for digital signals, repeaters are needed for about 2 Km. To reduce interference,
the twisted pair can be shielded with metallic braid. This type of wire is known as Shielded
Twisted-Pair (STP) and the other form is known as Unshielded Twisted-Pair (UTP).
Use: The oldest and the most popular use of twisted pair are in telephony. In LAN it is
commonly used for point-to-point short distance communication (say, 100m) within a
building or a room.

Base Band Coaxial

With ``coax'', the medium consists of a copper core surrounded by insulating material and
a braided outer conductor as shown in Fig. The term base band indicates digital
transmission (as opposed to broadband analog).

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Physical connection consists of metal pin touching the copper core. There are two
common ways to connect to a coaxial cable:
1. With vampire taps, a metal pin is inserted into the copper core. A special tool drills a
hole into the cable, removing a small section of the insulation, and a special connector
is screwed into the hole. The tap makes contact with the copper core.
2. With a T-junction, the cable is cut in half, and both halves connect to the T-junction.
A T-connector is analogous to the signal splitters used to hook up multiple TVs to the
same cable wire.
Characteristics: Co-axial cable has superior frequency characteristics compared to
twisted-pair and can be used for both analog and digital signaling. In baseband LAN, the
data rates lie in the range of 1 KHz to 20 MHz over a distance in the range of 1 Km. Coaxial
cables typically have a diameter of 3/8". Coaxial cables are used both for baseband
and broadband communication. For broadband CATV application coaxial cable of 1/2"
diameter and 75 Ω impedance is used. This cable offers bandwidths of 300 to 400 MHz
facilitating high-speed data communication with low bit-error rate. In broadband
signaling, signal propagates only in one direction, in contrast to propagation in both
directions in baseband signaling. Broadband cabling uses either dual-cable scheme or
single-cable scheme with a headend to facilitate flow of signal in one direction. Because
of the shielded, concentric construction, co-axial cable is less susceptible to interference and
cross talk than the twisted-pair. For long distance communication, repeaters are needed for
every kilometer or so. Data rate depends on physical properties of cable, but
10 Mbps is typical.
Use: One of the most popular use of co-axial cable is in cable TV (CATV) for the
distribution of TV signals. Another importance use of co-axial cable is in LAN.

Broadband Coaxial
The term broadband refers to analog transmission over coaxial cable. (Note, however,
that the telephone folks use broadband to refer to any channel wider than 4 kHz). The
technology:
• Typically, bandwidth of 300 MHz, total data rate of about 150 Mbps.
• Operates at distances up to 100 km (metropolitan area!).
• Uses analog signaling.
• Technology used in cable television. Thus, it is already available at sites such as
universities that may have TV classes.

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• Total available spectrum typically divided into smaller channels of 6 MHz each.
That is, to get more than 6MHz of bandwidth, you have to use two smaller
channels and somehow combine the signals.
• Requires amplifiers to boost signal strength; because amplifiers are one way, data
flows in only one direction.
Two types of systems have emerged:
1. Dual cable systems use two cables, one for transmission in each direction:
a. One cable is used for receiving data.
b. Second cable used to communicate with headend. When a node wishes to
transmit data, it sends the data to a special node called the headend. The
headend then resends the data on the first cable. Thus, the headend acts as
a root of the tree, and all data must be sent to the root for redistribution to
the other nodes.
2. Midsplit systems divide the raw channel into two smaller channels, with each sub
channel having the same purpose as above.
Which is better, broadband or base band? There is rarely a simple answer to such
questions. Base band is simple to install, interfaces are inexpensive, but doesn't have the
same range. Broadband is more complicated, more expensive, and requires regular
adjustment by a trained technician, but offers more services (e.g., it carries audio and
video too).

Fiber Optics
In fiber optic technology, the medium consists of a hair-width strand of silicon or glass,
and the signal consists of pulses of light. For instance, a pulse of light means ``1'', lack of
pulse means ``0''. It has a cylindrical shape and consists of three concentric sections: the
core, the cladding, and the jacket as shown in Fig.

The core, innermost section consists of a single solid dielectric cylinder of diameter d1
and of refractive index n1. The core is surrounded by a solid dielectric cladding of
refractive index n2 that is less than n1. As a consequence, the light is propagated through
multiple total internal reflection. The core material is usually made of ultra-pure fused
silica or glass and the cladding is either made of glass or plastic. The cladding is
surrounded by a jacket made of plastic. The jacket is used to protect against moisture,
abrasion, crushing and other environmental hazards.

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Three components are required:

1. Fiber medium: Current technology carries light pulses for tremendous distances
(e.g., 100s of kilometers) with virtually no signal loss.
2. Light source: typically, a Light Emitting Diode (LED) or laser diode. Running current
through the material generates a pulse of light.
3. A photo diode light detector, which converts light pulses into electrical signals.

Advantages:
1. Very high data rate, low error rate. 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) over distances of
kilometers common. Error rates are so low they are almost negligible.
2. Difficult to tap, which makes it hard for unauthorized taps as well. This is
responsible for higher reliability of this medium. How difficult is it to prevent coax
taps? Very difficult indeed, unless one can keep the entire cable in a locked room!
3. Much thinner (per logical phone line) than existing copper circuits. Because of its
thinness, phone companies can replace thick copper wiring with fibers having
much more capacity for same volume. This is important because it means that
aggregate phone capacity can be upgraded without the need for finding more
physical space to hire the new cables.
4. Not susceptible to electrical interference (lightning) or corrosion (rust).
5. Greater repeater distance than coax.

Disadvantages:

1. Difficult to tap. It really is point-to-point technology. In contrast, tapping into

coax is trivial. No special training or expensive tools or parts are required.
2. One-way channel. Two fibers needed to get full duplex (both ways) communication.
Fiber Uses:
Because of greater bandwidth (2Gbps), smaller diameter, lighter weight, low
attenuation, immunity to electromagnetic interference and longer repeater spacing,
optical fiber cables are finding widespread use in long-distance telecommunications.
Especially, the single mode fiber is suitable for this purpose. Fiber optic cables are also
used in high-speed LAN applications. Multi-mode fiber is commonly used in LAN.
• Long-haul trunks-increasingly common in telephone network (Sprint ads)
• Metropolitan trunks-without repeaters (average 8 miles in length)
• Rural exchange trunks-link towns and villages
• Local loops-direct from central exchange to a subscriber (business or home)
• Local area networks-100Mbps ring networks.

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Unguided Transmission

Unguided transmission is used when running a physical cable (either fiber or copper)
between two end points is not possible. For example, running wires between buildings is
probably not legal if the building is separated by a public street.
Infrared signals typically used for short distances (across the street or within same room),
Microwave signals commonly used for longer distances (10's of km). Sender and receiver
use some sort of dish antenna as shown in Fig.

Difficulties:
1. Weather interferes with signals. For instance, clouds, rain, lightning, etc. may
adversely affect communication.
2. Radio transmissions easy to tap. A big concern for companies worried about
competitors stealing plans.
3. Signals bouncing off of structures may lead to out-of-phase signals that the
receiver must filter out.

Satellite Communication
Satellite communication is based on ideas similar to those used for line-of-sight. A
communication satellite is essentially a big microwave repeater or relay station in the sky.
Microwave signals from a ground station is picked up by a transponder, amplifies the
signal and rebroadcasts it in another frequency, which can be received by ground stations
at long distances as shown in Fig. below

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To keep the satellite stationary with respect to the ground-based stations, the
satellite is placed in a geostationary orbit above the equator at an altitude of about 36,000
km. As the spacing between two satellites on the equatorial plane should not be closer
than 40, there can be 360/4 = 90 communication satellites in the sky at a time. A satellite
can be used for point-to-point communication between two ground-based stations or it
can be used to broadcast a signal received from one station to many ground-based
stations as shown in Fig. below. Number of geo-synchronous satellites limited (about 90
total, to minimize interference). International agreements regulate how satellites are used,
and how frequencies are allocated. Weather affects certain frequencies. Satellite
transmission differs from terrestrial communication in another important way: One-way
propagation delay is roughly 270 ms. In interactive terms, propagation delay alone
inserts a 1 second delay between typing a character and receiving its echo.

Characteristics:
Optimum frequency range for satellite communication is 1 to 10 GHz. The most popular
frequency band is referred to as 4/6 band, which uses 3.7 to 4.2 GHz for down link and 5.925
to 6.425 for uplink transmissions. The 500 MHz bandwidth is usually split over a dozen
transponders, each with 36 MHz bandwidth. Each 36 MHz bandwidth is shared by time
division multiplexing. As this preferred band is already saturated, the next highest band
available is referred to as 12/14 GHz. It uses 14 to 14.5GHz for upward transmission and 11.7
to 12.2 GHz for downward transmissions. Communication satellites have several unique
properties. The most important is the long communication delay for the round trip (about 270
ms) because of the long distance (about 72,000 km) the signal has to travel between two earth
stations. This poses a number of problems, which are to be tackled for successful and reliable
communication. Another interesting property of satellite communication is its broadcast
capability. All stations under the downward beam can receive the transmission. It may be
necessary to send encrypted data to protect against piracy.

Use: Now-a-days communication satellites are not only used to handle telephone, telex
and television traffic over long distances, but are used to support various internet based
services such as e-mail, FTP, World Wide Web (WWW), etc. New types of services,
based on communication satellites, are emerging.

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Comparison/contrast with other technologies:

1. Propagation delay very high. On LANs, for example, propagation time is in
nanoseconds -- essentially negligible.
2. One of few alternatives to phone companies for long distances.
3. Uses broadcast technology over a wide area - everyone on earth could receive a
message at the same time!
4. Easy to place unauthorized taps into signal.

Satellites have recently fallen out of favor relative to fiber.

However, fiber has one big disadvantage: no one has it coming into their house or
building, whereas anyone can place an antenna on a roof and lease a satellite channel.

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Multiplexing
It has been observed that most of the individual data-communicating devices typically
require modest data rate. But communication media usually have much higher bandwidth. As
a consequence, two communicating stations do not utilize the full capacity of a data link.
Moreover, when many nodes compete to access the network, some efficient techniques for
utilizing the data link are very essential. When the bandwidth of a medium is greater than
individual signals to be transmitted through the channel, a medium can be shared by more than
one channel of signals. The process of making the most effective use of the available channel
capacity is called Multiplexing.
For efficiency, the channel capacity can be shared among a number of communicating
stations just like a large water pipe can carry water to several separate houses at once.
Most common use of multiplexing is in long-haul communication using coaxial cable,
microwave and optical fibre.
Figure below depicts the functioning of multiplexing functions in general. The
multiplexer is connected to the demultiplexer by a single data link. The multiplexer
combines (multiplexes) data from these ‘n’ input lines and transmits them through the
high capacity data link, which is being demultiplexed at the other end and is delivered to
the appropriate output lines. Thus, Multiplexing can also be defined as a technique that
allows simultaneous transmission of multiple signals across a single data link.

Multiplexing techniques can be categorized into the following three types:

• Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM): It is most popular and is used extensively

in radio and TV transmission. Here the frequency spectrum is divided into several
logical channels, giving each user exclusive possession of a particular frequency band.
• Time-division Multiplexing (TDM): It is also called synchronous TDM, which is
commonly used for multiplexing digitized voice stream. The users take turns using
the entire channel for short burst of time.
• Statistical TDM: This is also called asynchronous TDM, which simply improves on
the efficiency of synchronous TDM.

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Switching
When there are many devices, it is necessary to develop suitable mechanism for
communication between any two devices. One alternative is to establish point-to-point
communication between each pair of devices using mesh topology. However, mesh
topology is impractical for large number of devices, because the number of links increases
exponentially (n(n-1)/2, where n is the number of devices) with the number of devices. A
better alternative is to use switching techniques leading to switched communication
network. In the switched network methodology, the network consists of a set of
interconnected nodes, among which information is transmitted from source to destination
via different routes, which is controlled by the switching mechanism. A basic model of a
switched communication is shown in Fig. 4.1.1. The end devices that wish to communicate
with each other are called stations. The switching devices are called nodes. Some nodes
connect to other nodes and some are to connected to some stations. Key features of a
switched communication network are given below:
• Network Topology is not regular.
• Uses FDM or TDM for node-to-node communication.
• There exist multiple paths between a source-destination pair for better network
reliability.
• The switching nodes are not concerned with the contents of data.
• Their purpose is to provide a switching facility that will move data from node to node
until they reach the destination.
The switching performed by different nodes can be categorized into the following three
types:
• Circuit Switching.
• Packet Switching.
• Message Switching.
Circuit Switched Networks − Circuit switched networks are connection-oriented networks.
Here, a dedicated route is established between the source and the destination and the entire
message is transferred through it.
Packet Switched Networks − Packet switched networks are connectionless networks. Here,
the message is divided and grouped into a number of units called packets that are individually
routed from the source to the destination.
Message Switched Networks - With message switching, there is no limit at all on block size,
which means that routers (in a modern system) must have disks to buffer long blocks. It also
means that a single block can tie up a router-router line for minutes, rendering message
switching useless for interactive traffic.

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DTE and DCE

DTE (Data terminating equipment) is a terminal residing at physical layer or can be anything
that could be able to generate to consume digital data like computers. In other words, it is an
assembly that operates either as a source of or as a destination for binary digital data. There
is no direct mechanism for DTE to communicate, so communication occurs place through some
intermediary devices.
Customer devices that connect to the telephone company’s (telco’s) equipment are known
as CTE (Customer telephony Equipment). Demarcation point (demarc) is the meeting
spot of customer equipment (DTE) and telephone equipment (DCE).
DCE (Data circuit terminating equipment) involves operative units that transfer or receives
data in the form of digital or analog signal within a network. In the physical layer, the DCE
obtain the data produced by the DTE and convert it to suitable signals. Then it introduces the
signal onto the telecommunication link. Generally, the DCE’s we use at this layer
involves modems (modulator/demodulator).

In a network, a DTE produces digital data and move them to a DCE. Then DCE translates the
data in a specific form that can be accepted by the transmission medium and sends the
translated signal to another DCE on the network. The second DCE extracts the signal out of
the line, and transforms it into such a form that its DTE can use and deliver.

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