RVU /Department of computer science 2013 E/C

Chapter One

Concepts Of Data Communications

At the end of this session, Student will be able to know:

 What is data communication?
 What are the components of data communication?
 How to measure effective data communication performed or not?
 What are transmission modes and their concepts
 What the main difference between analog signal and digital signals
 What is transmission impairments and channel capacity?
 What are the causes of transmission impairments?

Data communication
Data communications refers to the exchange of data between two devices via some
form of transmission medium such as a wire cable, wireless transmission media
For data communications to occur, the communicating devices must be part of a
communication system, those communicating devices made up of a combination of
hardware (physical equipment) and software (programs).

Components of a data communications system

A data communications system has five basic components:
 Message: The message is the information (data) to be communicated.
Popular forms of information include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and
video.

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 Sender: The sender is the device that sends the data message. It can be a
computer, workstation, telephone handset, video camera, and so on.
 Receiver: The receiver is the device that receives the message. It can be a
computer, workstation, telephone handset, television, and so on.
 Transmission medium: The transmission medium is the physical path by
which a message travels from sender to receiver. Some examples of
transmission media include twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic
cable, and radio waves, satellite micro wave.
 Protocol: A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. It
represents an agreement between the communicating devices. Without a
protocol, two devices may be connected but not communicating, just as a
person speaking French cannot be understood by a person who speaks only
Japanese.
The data transmission software or protocols perform the following functions for
the efficient and error free transmission of data.
1. Data sequencing: A long message to be transmitted is broken into smaller
packets of fixed size for error free data transmission.
2. Data Routing: It is the process of finding the most efficient route between
source and destination before sending the data.
3. Flow control: All machines are not equally efficient in terms of speed. Hence
the flow control regulates the process of sending data between fast sender and slow
receiver.
4. Error Control: Error detecting and recovering is the one of the main functions
of communication software. It ensures that data are transmitted without any error.

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Figure 1. Component of data communication

The effectiveness of a data communications system depends on four fundamental
characteristics: delivery, accuracy, timeliness, and jitter.
1. Delivery: The system must deliver data to the correct destination. Data must be
received by the intended device or user and only by that device or user.
2. Accuracy: The system must deliver the data accurately. Data that have been
altered in transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.
3. Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data delivered
late are useless. In the case of video and audio, timely delivery means delivering
data as they are produced, in the same order that they are produced, and without
significant delay. This kind of delivery is called real-time transmission.
4. Jitter: Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. It is the uneven
delay in the delivery of audio or video packets. For example, let us assume that
video packets are sent every 30ms. If some of the packets arrive with 30ms delay
and others with 40ms delay, an uneven quality in the video is the result.
Data Communications System Tasks
Some of the Key tasks to be performed by a Data Communications System are:-
 Signal Generation  Data encoding
 Interfacing  Synchronization

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 Exchange Management  Addressing
 Transmission System  Routing
Utilization  Security
 Error Detection and Correction  Recovery
 Flow Control  Message Formatting
Signal generation: - All the data that are transmitted over the transmitting system
propagate as
Electromagnetic signals. Hence the communicating device must be able to generate
and receive these signals. Signal generation should be such that the resultant signal
is capable of being propagated through the transmission medium and interpretable
as data at the receiver.
Interface: - A device must interface with the transmission system in order to
communicate.
Synchronization: - Unless the receiver and transmitter are in Synchronization the
receiver will not be able to make sense out of received signals. Receiver should
know when the transmission of data starts, when it ends.
Data encoding: the process of transforming input data or signals into signals that
can be transmitted
Exchange Management:-For meaningful data transaction there should be some
kind management of data being exchanged. Both the transmitter and receiver
should adhere to some common convention about the format of data, amount of
data that can be sent at a time and so on. This requires a prior definition of message
formatting.
Transmission System Utilization: - It refers to the need to make efficient use of
transmission Channel, which is generally shared by many communicating devices.

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Various techniques (Multiplexing) are available to allocate the total capacity of a
transmission channel among connected devices. Care should be taken to avoid
probable Congestion in some kind of multiplexing.
Error Detection and Correction:-In any communication system transmitted data
is prone to error. Either it is because of transmitted signal getting distorted in the
transmission medium leading to misinterpretation of signal or errors introduced by
the intermediate devices. Error detection and Correction is required in cases where
there is no scope for error in the data transaction. We can think of file transfer
between two computers where there is a need for this. But in some cases it may not
be very important as in the case of telephonic conversation.
Flow Control:-There is a possibility of transmitter generating data faster than the
receiver device capable of handling. To handle this there should be some kind of
flow control mechanism agreed upon between the two communicating devices.
Addressing:-When more than two devices share a transmitting facility, a source
system must somehow indicate the identity (or address) of the destination.
Routing:-The transmission system must ensure that the data being sent are routed
only to the destination system.

The list of tasks explained above is not exhaustive one. But sure it indicates the
complexities involved in a communication system. The data communication
system must be designed to handle the above tasks as required so that meaningful
communication can take place between two devices efficiently.
Data Flow /Data Transmission Modes

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Communication between two devices can be categorized into three mode of
communication
Those are
 Simplex
 Half-duplex
 Full-duplex.

Simplex
 In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way
street. Only one of the two devices on a link can transmit; the other can
only receive.
 Keyboards and traditional monitors are examples of simplex devices. The
keyboard can only introduce input; the monitor can only accept output.
 The simplex mode can use the entire capacity of the channel to send data
in one direction.

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 For example, radio & T.V
Simplex
Sender
Receiver

Half-Duplex
 In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at
the same time. When one device is sending, the other can only receive, and
vice versa.
 The half-duplex mode is like a one-lane road with traffic allowed in both
directions. When cars are traveling in one direction, cars going the other way
must wait.
 Example walky-talky
Half Duplex

Sender (receiver) Receiver

(Sender)

Full Duplex
 In full-duplex mode, both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously.
 The full-duplex mode is like a two way street with traffic flowing in both
directions at the same time.
 One common example of full-duplex communication is the telephone
network. When two people are communicating by a telephone line, both can
talk and listen at the same time.

Full Duplex

Sender (receiver) Receiver

(Sender)

Digital and Analog Transmission

An analogue signal (otherwise known as a wave form) is characterized by being
continuously variable along both amplitude and frequency. In the case of
telephony, when we speak into a handset, our voice is converted into current or
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voltage fluctuations. Those fluctuations in current are an analogue transmission of
the actual voice pattern.

To transmit an analogue signal effectively, we need to define the frequency in

which it operates.

Some of the terms are frequently used in data communication are:-

Data: A collection of facts in raw forms that become information after processing.
Signals: Electric or electromagnetic encoding/representing of data.
Signaling: the process of Propagation of signals across a suitable communication
medium.
Transmission: Communication of data achieved by the processing of signals.
A signal is a periodic signal if it completes a pattern within a measurable time
frame. A periodic signal is characterized by the following three parameters
Phase: It gives a measure of the relative position in time of two signals within a
single period
Amplitude: It is the value of the signal at different instants of time. It is measured
in volts.
Frequency: It is inverse of the time period, i.e. f=1/T. The unit of frequency is
Hertz (Hz) or cycles per second.
 Frequency is the rate of change with respect to time.
 Change in a short span of time means high frequency.
 Change over a long span of time means low frequency.
 If a signal does not change at all, its frequency is zero.
 If a signal changes instantaneously, its frequency is infinite.
Bandwidth
 It is a property of a medium: It is the difference between the highest
and the lowest frequencies that the medium can satisfactorily pass.

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 Amount of data that can be transferred from one point to another in a
certain time period

Data rate: - in bits per second (bps), at which data can be communicated
Advantages of Digital Transmission
• Digital transmission techniques are widely used because of the following
advantages:
 Digital technology
 The advent of low cost LSI/VLSI technology has caused a
continuing drop in the cost and size of digital circuitry.
 Data integrity
 With the use of repeaters, the effects of noise and other
impairments are not cumulative. Thus it is possible to transmit
data longer distances and over lower quality lines while
maintaining the integrity of the data.
 Capacity utilization
 High bandwidth links become economical.
 High degree of multiplexing is easier with digital techniques.
 Security & Privacy
 Encryption technique can be readily applied to digital data and to
analog data that have been digitized.
 Integration
 By treating both analog and digital data digitally, all signals have
the same form and can be treated similarly. Thus economies of
scale and convenience can be achieved by integrating voice,
video, and digital data.
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Asynchronous and Synchronous Transmission

• Data transmission through a medium can be either asynchronous or

synchronous. In asynchronous transmission data is transmitted character by
character as you go on typing on a keyboard. Hence there is an irregular gap
between characters. However, it is cheaper to implement, as you do not have
to save the data before sending.

• On the other hand, in the synchronous mode, the saved data is transmitted
block by block. Each block can contain many characters. Synchronous
transmission is well suited for remote communication between a computer
and related devices like card reader and printers.
Transmission Impairment
 Signals travel through transmission media, which are not perfect. The
imperfection causes signal impairment. This means that the signal at the
beginning of the medium is not the same as the signal at the end of the
medium. What is sent is not what is received.
 Signal received may differ from signal transmitted
 Impairments exist in all forms of data transmission
- Analog signal impairments degrade the signal quality
- Digital signal impairments result in bit errors (1s and 0s transposed)

Three causes of transmission impairment are:-

 Attenuation
 Distortion
 Noise.

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Attenuation
 Loss of power in a signal as it travels from the sending device to the
receiving device
 where the signal becomes weaker over distance
 Means loss of energy -> weaker signal
 When a signal travels through a medium it loses energy overcoming the
resistance of the medium
 Signal strength falls off with distance
 Depends on type of medium
 Received signal strength:
- must be enough to be detected
- must be sufficiently higher than noise to be received without error
 Attenuation is an increasing function of frequency
 Amplifiers are used to compensate for this loss of energy by amplifying the
signal.
Distortion
 Means that the signal changes its form or shape
 Distortion occurs in composite signals
 Each frequency component has its own propagation speed traveling through
a medium.

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 The different components therefore arrive with different delays at the
receiver. That means that the signals have different phases at the receiver
than they did at the source.
Noise
 Additional unwanted signals inserted between transmitter and receiver
 Undesirable signals added between the transmitter and the receiver
 There are different types of noise

Thermal Noise -Caused by the thermal agitation of electrons within a conductor

Characteristics:
 Present in all electronic devices and conductors
 It is a function of temperature i.e. increased temperature leads to
increase in thermal noise
 In thermal noise random noise of electrons in the wire creates an extra
signal
Inter modulation Noise - Multiple signals can be carried across a single
transmission medium
 Uses a technique known as multiplexing
 Normally these signals do not mix: However, a fault in the system may
cause problems Faults can lead to a mixing of signals
Cross Talk
 Unwanted coupling between signals on neighboring transmission paths
 Here coupling means connecting without actually touching
 Coupling can occur between cables in close proximity or between radio
signals close to the same frequency.

Impulse Noise: -Irregular pulses or noise spikes of short duration and high
amplitude

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Causes:
 Lightning and static discharges
 Switching of heavy electrical loads
 Faults within the transmission system
 Analogue signals are less affected by this type of noise
E.g. a voice transmission, at the same time as affected by impulse noise, it can still
be received intelligibly
Digital signals are very susceptible, Can lead to corruption of data i.e. changing
one to zero and vice-versa.
Type of impairment depends on type of media used
Transmission Impairments in Guided media
 Attenuation: Loss (in dB) of signal strength over distance
èPrevention: Repeater or amplifier
 Noise: Distortion caused by interference from external sources
èPrevention: Depends on type of noise
Transmission Impairments in Wireless media
 Free-Space Loss : Attenuation due to distance
 Atmospheric Absorption: Attenuation due to atmospheric conditions
(humidity)
 Multi-path: Due to lack of direct line of sight path. Obstacles reflect
signal (creating multiple copies) or block it (no signal)
 Thermal noise: Due to thermal activity of devices used for
transmission

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Channel capacity
 Channel capacity determines the rate at which data can be transmitted over
a given path or transmission media, under given conditions
 Channel Capacityis the maximum rate at which data can be transmitted over
a communications path or channel.
 In order to overcome the problem with channel capacity the network
designers must deal with:-
- Data rate: in bps
- Bandwidth: in Hz
- Noise: Average level of noise
- Error rate: rate at which errors occur
- Packet loss
- Packet delay and manage to get the highest data rate possible.
Broadband data transmission
– Multiple pieces of data are sent simultaneously to increase the
transmission rate
Narrowband
– Voice-grade transmission channel capable of transmitting a maximum
of 56,000 bps, so only a limited amount of information can be
transferred

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