Chapter 2
The Physical Layer
(This presentation is modification of the one provided by Andrew Tanenbaum )
Physical Layer
Functions:
• Media type
• Line coding
• Data rate
• Bandwidth
• Signal voltage level
• Modulation type
OSI Model
The Theoretical Basis for Data
Communication
• Fourier Analysis
• Bandwidth-Limited Signals
• Maximum Data Rate of a Channel
Bandwidth-Limited Signals
(a) A binary signal and its Fourier amplitudes.
(b) – (c) Successive approximations to the original signal.
Bandwidth-Limited Signals (2)
(d) – (e) Successive approximations to the original signal.
Bandwidth / Delay
• Nyquist Theory
• Shannon Theory
• Delay
• Transmission Delay
• Propagation Delay
• Queuing Delay
• Processing Delay
Channel Capacity
• The bit rate of a system increases with an increase in the
number of signal levels we use to denote a symbol.
• A symbol can consist of a single bit or “n” bits.
• The number of signal levels M = 2𝑛 .
• As the number of levels goes up, the spacing between level
decreases increasing the probability of an error occurring in
the presence of transmission impairments.
Nyquist Theory
• Nyquist gives the upper bound for the bit rate of a transmission
system by calculating the bit rate directly from the number of
bits in a symbol (baud) and the bandwidth of the system.
• Nyquist theorem states that for a noiseless channel,
𝑅𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 2𝐵𝑛 = 2𝐵𝑙𝑜𝑔2 𝑀
Shannon Theory
• Shannon’s theorem gives the capacity of a system in the
presence of noise regardless of the encoding technique used.
𝐶𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐵 𝑙𝑜𝑔2 1 + 𝑆𝑁𝑅
Conclusion:
• The Shannon capacity gives us the upper limit; the Nyquist
formula tells us how many signal levels we need.
Example (1)
Consider an extremely noisy channel in which the value of the
signal-to-noise ratio is almost zero. In other words, the noise is so
strong that the signal is faint. For this channel the capacity C is
calculated as
𝐶𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐵 𝑙𝑜𝑔2 1 + 𝑆𝑁𝑅 = 𝐵 𝑙𝑜𝑔2 1 + 0 = 0
This means that the capacity of this channel is zero regardless of
the bandwidth. In other words, we cannot receive any data through
this channel.
Example (2)
We have a channel with a 1-MHz bandwidth. The SNR for this
channel is 63. What are the appropriate bit rate and signal level?
• First, we use the Shannon formula to find the upper limit.
𝐶𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐵 𝑙𝑜𝑔2 1 + 𝑆𝑁𝑅 = 106 𝑙𝑜𝑔2 1 + 63 = 6 𝑀𝑏𝑝𝑠
• For better performance we choose something lower, 4 Mbps, for
example. Then we use the Nyquist formula to find the number of
signal levels.
4 Mbps = 2 * 1 MHz * 𝑙𝑜𝑔2 M −→ M = 4 levels
Example (3)
For telephone line systems, bandwidth is usually 4kHz.
n 𝑹𝒎𝒂𝒙 Modems data SNR
(kbits/sec) rates (kbits/sec)
1 8 7.2 2.48
2 16 14.4 11.13
4 32 28.8 146.03
6 48 ---
8 64 56.6 18178.19
Calculated using Calculated using
Nyquist Theorem Shannon Theorem
Delay Types
• Transmission delay
𝑇𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠 = 𝐿 , where L = Frame length
𝑅
R = data rate
• Propagation delay
𝑇𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝 = 𝑑 𝑠 , where d = distance
s = signal speed
• Queuing delay
• Processing delay
Media Types
Guided media Unguided media
• Twisted Pair (wireless)
• Coaxial Cable • Electromagnetic waves
• Fiber Optics • Radio waves
• Microwaves
• Infrared
• Light waves
Twisted Pair
• Ethernet Cable is formed of 4
twisted pair wires CAT3.
• Quality of the cable depends
on:
(a)Data rate of the cable i.e
(a) Category 3 UTP.
quality of metal used.
(b) Category 5 UTP.
(b)Number of twists/inch
Coaxial Cable
A coaxial cable cross-section
• Coaxial Cable is used in Television.
• It can carry data larger than twisted pair due to much
smaller interference.
• Head of coaxial cable is BNC.
Fiber Optics
• It depends on total Reflection Theory
• It can operate at higher data rates as no interference can
happen.
(a) Three examples of a light ray from inside a silica fiber impinging on the air/silica
boundary at different angles.
(b) Light trapped by total internal reflection.
Transmission of Light through Fiber
Attenuation of light through fiber in the infrared region.
Fiber Cables
(a) Side view of a single fiber.
(b) End view of a sheath with three fibers.
Modes of Operation:
1. Single Mode: only 1 light beam enters the fiber cable.
2. Multi Mode: more than one light beam enters the fiber cable.
Fiber Cables (2)
A comparison of semiconductor diodes and LEDs as light sources.
Fiber Optic Networks
A fiber optic ring with active repeaters.
Wireless Transmission
• The Electromagnetic Spectrum
• Radio Transmission
• Microwave Transmission
• Infrared and Millimeter Waves
• Light wave Transmission
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum and its uses for communication.
Radio Transmission
(a) In the VLF, LF, and MF bands, radio waves follow the
curvature of the earth.
(b) In the HF band, they bounce off the ionosphere.
Public Switched Telephone System
• Structure of the Telephone System
• The Politics of Telephones
• The Local Loop: Modems, ADSL and Wireless
• Trunks and Multiplexing
• Switching
• Line Coding
Structure of the Telephone System
(a) Fully-interconnected network.
(b) Centralized switch.
(c) Two-level hierarchy.
Structure of the Telephone System (2)
A typical circuit route for a medium-distance call.
Major Components of the
Telephone System
• Local loops
Analog twisted pairs going to houses and
businesses
• Trunks
Digital fiber optics connecting the switching
offices
• Switching offices
Where calls are moved from one trunk to another
Telephone Set /
Local loop
Landline telephone
number
The first four digits of a
local telephone number
define the office, and
the next four digits
define the local loop
number.
“Understanding Telephone
Electronics”
By: STEPHEN BICELOW
Pulse dialing / Tone dialing
• Pulse dialing sends the dialed numbers by briefly interrupting the
line current once for each number (twice for 2, three times for 3
etc.). This was the original dialing method used in the past.
• .
Pulse dialing / Tone dialing (2)
• Tone dialing is a more recent development, enabled by the
introduction of electronic exchanges and allowing push-button
dialing. It uses pairs of tones (frequency) to represent each
dialed number.
The Politics of Telephones
• LATA (Local Access and Transport Area)
A LATA can be a small or large metropolitan area. LATA boundaries may
overlap to provide full coverage)
• LEC (Local Exchange Carrier)
• IXC (Inter exchange Carrier)
It can carry traffic between LATA's. Each can build a switch in any
LATA where it wants to carry traffic called a point-of-presence (POP)
which is connected to the tandem office or the end offices.
The Politics of Telephones (2)
The relationship of LATAs, LECs, and IXCs.
Circles are LEC switching offices. Hexagon belongs to the IXC whose number is
on it.
The Local Loop: Modems,
ADSL, and Wireless
Codec: Coding/decoding
Modem: Modulation/demodulation
The use of both analog and digital transmissions for a computer to
computer call. Conversion is done by the modems and codecs.
Modems
Analog Modulation techniques
(a) A binary signal
(b) Amplitude modulation
(c) Frequency modulation
(d) Phase modulation
Modems (2)
Digital Modulation techniques
(a) QPSK. (b) QAM-16. (c) QAM-64.
Modems (3)
(a) (b)
(a) V.32 for 9600 bps.
(b) V.32 bis for 14,400 bps.
Digital Subscriber Lines
• When distance increases, the attenuation in signals increases and the
bandwidth decreases.
• That’s why in DSL, the distance between your home and the end office
limits your data rate.
Bandwidth versus distanced over category 3 UTP for DSL.
Digital Subscriber Lines (2)
• Voice is limited to 4 kHz but Internet is modulated at high frequencies
• Internet band is divided into multiple sub-bands with fixed BW. Each
user is assigned a number of sub-bands depending on his subscribed
rate.
Operation of ADSL using discrete multi tone modulation.
Digital Subscriber Lines (3)
Upstream: the direction from the service provider to the
customer
Downstream: the direction from the service provider to
the customer
DSL Technologies
a) Symmetric digital subscriber line (SDSL): where the bit
rate is equal in both directions (upstream & downstream)
b) Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL): where the bit
rate is greater in one direction than the other (upstream &
downstream)
Digital Subscriber Lines (4)
A typical ADSL equipment configuration.
DSLAM: DSL Access Multiplexer
ISP: Internet Service Provider
Frequency Division Multiplexing
(a) The original bandwidths.
(b) The bandwidths raised in frequency.
(b) The multiplexed channel.
Wavelength Division Multiplexing
Wavelength division multiplexing.
Time Division Multiplexing
For telephone calls
BW= 4 KHz
TDM Frame time = 125 μsec
fs = 8 KHz
Ts = 1/ fs = 125 μsec
Time Division Multiplexing (2)
E1: 30 channels/frame (European Standard)
T1: 24 channels/frame (American Standard)
The T1 carrier (1.544 Mbps)
Time Division Multiplexing (3)
Multiplexing T1 streams into higher carriers.
Circuit Switching
(a) Circuit switching.
(b) Packet switching.
Switching types
(a) Circuit switching (b) Message switching (c) Packet switching
Switching types (Cont.)
A comparison of circuit switched and packet-switched networks.
Line Coding
Line Coding techniques
