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Running Head: NETWORK MEDIA

Network Media

Case Study: Types of Network Media

SCT 121-C004-0454/2019

DIT

29th July 2021

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NETWORK MEDIA
Network Media

Introduction

The communication channels that link nodes on a computer network are referred to as
network media. Copper coaxial cable, copper twisted pair cables, and optical fiber cables used in
wired networks, as well as radio waves used in wireless data transmission networks, are typical
types of network media. This writeup will attempt to analyses the various methodologies of
network transmission that exists in the current technology and we shall further internalize the
various attributes, merits and demerits attached to the different types of network media.

I. Twisted Pair Cable

This cable is the most commonly used and is cheaper than others. Twisted pairs are made
up of two conductors (usually copper) twisted together, each with its own plastic insulation. One
of these cables carries signals to the receiver, while the other just serves as a ground reference.
The difference between the two is utilized by the receiver. Interference (noise) and crosstalk may
impact both lines and create undesired signals in addition to the signal sent by the sender on one
of them. Because the two wires are at different locations relative to the noise or crosstalk
sources, the effect of these undesirable signals is not the same in both wires if they are parallel.
As a result, the receiver detects a difference.

What are the Characteristics?

 It is lightweight
 Cheap
 Easily Installed
 They support many different types of networks.

Furthermore, there type of network media is accustomed to the following technical attributes:

 Its frequency range is 0 to 3.5 kHz.

 Typical attenuation is 0.2 dB/Km @ 1kHz.

 Typical delay is 50 µs/km.

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 Repeater spacing is 2km.

Twisted pair cables are clustered as; Unshielded Twisted Pair and Shielded twisted Pair

 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP): It is the most common type of telecommunication when
compared with Shielded Twisted Pair Cable which consists of two conductors usually copper,
each with its own color plastic insulator. Identification is the reason behind colored plastic
insulation. UTP cables consist of 2 or 4 pairs of twisted cable. Cable with 2 pair use RJ-11
connector and 4 pair cable use RJ-45 connector.

Merits of Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable

 Easy Installation
 Flexible
 Cheap
 It has high speed capacity,
 Higher grades of UTP are used in LAN technologies like Ethernet.
 It consists of two insulating copper wires (1mm thick). The wires are twisted together in a helical
form to reduce electrical interference from similar pair.

Demerits of Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable

 Bandwidth is low when compared with Coaxial Cable

 Provides less protection from interference

 Shielded Twisted Pair (STP): This cable has a metal foil or braided-mesh covering which
encases each pair of insulated conductors. Electromagnetic noise penetration is prevented by
metal casing. Shielding also eliminates crosstalk. It has same attenuation as unshielded twisted
pair.

What are the Characteristics?

 It is faster than the unshielded and coaxial cable.
 It is more expensive than coaxial and unshielded twisted pair.

Merits of Shielded Twisted Pair Cable

 Easy to install
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 Performance is adequate
 Can be used for Analog or Digital transmission
 Increases the signaling rate
 Higher capacity than unshielded twisted pair
 Eliminates crosstalk

Demerits of Shielded Twisted Pair Cable

 Difficult to manufacture
 Heavy

II. Coaxial Cable

Coaxial contains two conductors that are parallel to each other. Copper is used in this as
center conductor which can be a solid wire or a standard one. It is surrounded by PVC
installation, a sheath which is encased in an outer conductor of metal foil, barred or both. Outer
metallic wrapping is used as a shield against noise and as the second conductor which completes
the circuit. The outer conductor is also encased in an insulating sheath. The outermost part is the
plastic cover which protects the whole cable. Among the most common standards of coaxial cable
include:

 50-Ohm RG-7 or RG-11: used with thick Ethernet.

 50-Ohm RG-58: used with thin Ethernet

 75-Ohm RG-59: used with cable television

 93-Ohm RG-62: used with ARCNET.

Standards of Coaxial Cables: Coaxial cables are categorized by their Radio Government (RG)
ratings. Each RG number denotes a unique set of physical specifications, including the wire
gauge of the inner conductor, the thickness and the type of the inner insulator, the construction of
the shield, and the size and type of the outer casing.
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Coaxial Cable Connectors: To connect coaxial cable to devices, we need coaxial connectors. The
most common type of connector used today is the Bayonet Neill-Concelman (BNC) connector.
The below figure shows 3 popular types of these connectors: the BNC Connector, the BNC T
connector and the BNC terminator. The BNC connector is used to connect the end of the cable to
the device, such as a TV set. The BNC T connector is used in Ethernet networks to branch out to
a connection to a computer or other device. The BNC terminator is used at the end +of the cable
to prevent the reflection of the signal. There constitute of two types of Coaxial Cables:

 Baseband: This is a 50 ohm (Ω) coaxial cable which is used for digital transmission. It is
mostly used for LAN's. Baseband transmits a single signal at a time with very high speed.
The major drawback is that it needs amplification after every 1000 feet.

 Broadband: This uses analog transmission on standard cable television cabling. It transmits
several simultaneous signals using different frequencies. It covers large area when compared with
Baseband Coaxial Cable.

Merits of Coaxial Cables

 Bandwidth is high

 Used in long distance telephone lines.

 Much higher noise immunity

 Data transmission without distortion.

 They can span to longer distance at higher speeds as they have better shielding when compared to
twisted pair cable

Disadvantages of Coaxial Cable

 Single cable failure can fail the entire network.

 Difficult to install and expensive when compared with twisted pair.

 If the shield is imperfect, it can lead to grounded loop.

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III. Fiber Optic Cable

A fiber-optic cable is made of glass or plastic and transmits signals in the form of light. For better
understanding we first need to explore several aspects of the nature of light. Light travels in a straight
line as long as it is mobbing through a single uniform substance. If ray of light travelling through one
substance suddenly enters another substance (of a different density), the ray changes direction.

Note: Optical fibers use reflection to guide light through a channel. A glass or plastic core is
surrounded by a cladding of less dense glass or plastic. The difference in density of the two materials
must be such that a beam of light moving through the core is reflected off the cladding instead of being
refracted into it.

Merits of Fiber Optic Cable

 Fiber optic has several advantages over metallic cable:

 Higher bandwidth
 Less signal attenuation
 Immunity to electromagnetic interference
 Resistance to corrosive materials
 Light weight
 Greater immunity to tapping

Disadvantages of Fiber Optic Cable

There are some disadvantages in the use of optical fiber:

 Installation and maintenance

 Unidirectional light propagation

 High Cost

Conclusion

Network services have grown increasingly over the past several years with a variety of high-
quality applications such as IPTV, VoIP, videoconferencing, telepresence and online games. Facing such
rapid development, the widely used Quality of Service (QoS) framework, which is defined as an aspect
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ensuring service quality of network traffic, is not suitable enough. This has prompted the innovation of
modern, low latency satellite transmitters aimed to help cover the rapid growth of networks globally
accustomed to low latency, this includes the Star link satellites among other low earth orbit networking
satellites.