Module-1

1. Introduction: Data Communications, Networks, Network Types,

2. Networks Models: Protocol Layering, TCP/IP Protocol suite, The OSI
model
3. Introduction to Physical Layer: Transmission media, Guided Media,
4. Unguided Media: Wireless.
5. Switching: Packet Switching and its types.

Textbook: Ch. 1.1 - 1.3, 2.1 - 2.3, 7.1 – 7.3, 8.3.

Data Communication
 Data Communication
The effectiveness of a data communications system depends on four fundamental
characteristics: delivery, accuracy, timeliness, and jitter.
 Data Communication
Data Representation
Information today comes in different forms such as text, numbers, images, audio, and video.
Text
In data communications, text is represented as a bit pattern, a sequence of bits (Os or Is). Different sets of bit patterns have been
designed to represent text symbols. Each set is called a code, and the process of representing symbols is called coding. Today,
the prevalent coding system is called Unicode, which uses 32 bits to represent a symbol or character used in any language in the
world. The American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)
Numbers
Numbers are also represented by bit patterns. The number is directly converted to a binary number to simplify mathematical
operations.
Images
Images are also represented by bit patterns. In its simplest form, an image is composed of a matrix of pixels (picture
elements), where each pixel is a small dot. The size of the pixel depends on the resolution. After an image is divided into
pixels, each pixel is assigned a bit pattern. The size and the value of the pattern depend on the image. For an image made of
only blackand- white dots (e.g., a chessboard), a I-bit pattern is enough to represent a pixel.
If an image is not made of pure white and pure black pixels, you can increase the size of the bit pattern to include gray scale.
For example, to show four levels of gray scale, you can use 2-bit patterns. A black pixel can be represented by 00, a dark gray
pixel by 01, a light gray pixel by 10, and a white pixel by 11.
There are several methods to represent color images. One method is called RGB, so called because each color is made of a
combination of three primary colors: red, green, and blue. The intensity of each color is measured, and a bit pattern is
assigned to it. Another method is called YCM, in which a color is made of a combination of three other primary colors: yellow,
cyan, and magenta.
 Data Communication
Data Representation
Information today comes in different forms such as text, numbers, images, audio, and video.
Audio
Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting of sound or music. It is continuous, not discrete.

Video
Video refers to the recording or broadcasting of a picture or movie. Video can either be produced as a continuous entity (e.g.,
by a TV camera), or it can be a combination of images, each a discrete entity, arranged to convey the idea of motion. Again we
can change video to a digital or an analog signal.
Data Communication

Theory read from textbook

 Networks
A network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes) connected by communication links. A node can be a computer, printer,
or any other device capable of sending and/or receiving data generated by other nodes on the network.

Distributed Processing
Most networks use distributed processing, in which a task is divided among multiple computers.

Network Criteria
1. Performance 2. Reliability 3. Security

Physical structures
1. Type of connection :
a) Point – to- point
b) Multipoint
 Networks
Physical structures
2. Physical Topology : a) Mesh b) Star c) Bus d) Ring

To find the number of physical links in a fully connected mesh network with n nodes,
we first consider that each node must be connected to every other node. Node 1 must be
connected to n - I nodes, node 2 must be connected to n -1 nodes, and finally node n
must be connected to n - 1 nodes. We need n(n - 1) physical links. However, if each
physical link allows communication in both directions (duplex mode), we can divide the
number of links by 2. In other words, we can say that in a mesh topology, we need
duplex-mode links.
n(n -1) /2
Advantages of Mesh Topology:
1.Dedicated links eliminate traffic issues by ensuring each connection carries its own data load.
2.Mesh topology is robust; if one link fails, it doesn't incapacitate the whole network.
3.Enhanced privacy and security, as messages travel on dedicated lines preventing unauthorized access.
4.Fault identification and isolation are easy; traffic can be rerouted around faulty links.

Disadvantages of Mesh Topology:

1.Installation and reconnection are difficult due to the need for every device to be connected to every other device.
2.Bulk of cabling can exceed available physical space (walls, ceilings, or floors).
3.High cost due to the required hardware, such as I/O ports and cables.
 Networks
Physical structures
2. Physical Topology : a) Mesh b) Star c) Bus d) Ring

•Star topology is less expensive than mesh topology.

•Each device in a star topology requires only one link and one I/O port.
•Installation and reconfiguration are easy due to fewer cables and simple connections.
•Robustness is an advantage: if one link fails, others remain active.
•Fault identification and isolation are easier, as the hub monitors link issues.
•A major disadvantage is the hub dependency—if the hub fails, the entire system stops.
•More cabling may be required compared to some other topologies like ring or bus.
•Star topology is commonly used in local-area networks (LANs), especially in high-speed LANs with a central
hub.
 Networks
Physical structures
2. Physical Topology : a) Mesh b) Star c) Bus d) Ring

•Nodes are connected to the bus cable via drop lines and taps.
Drop lines link devices to the main cable
•As signals travel along the bus, energy is lost as heat, weakening
the signal over distance. This limits the number of taps and the
distance between them.
•Bus topology is used in some Ethernet LANs, though it has
become less popular.

Advantages of Bus Topology:

•Efficient cabling: Requires less cabling compared to mesh or star topologies.
•Simpler installation: The backbone cable can be laid efficiently with drop lines connecting devices at various points.
Disadvantages of Bus Topology:
•Fault handling: Difficult reconnection and fault isolation. A break in the bus disrupts all communications.
•Signal degradation: Signal reflection at taps can reduce quality, requiring careful spacing and limits on connected devices.
Limitations: Adding new devices may require modifying or replacing the backbone.
 Networks
Physical structures
2. Physical Topology : a) Mesh b) Star c) Bus d) Ring
•Devices are connected in a circular fashion, with each
device linked to two neighboring devices.
•Signals travel in one direction from device to device until
they reach the destination, with each device having a
repeater.
•Relatively easy to install and reconfigure, only requiring
changes to two connections when adding or removing
devices.
•Simplified fault isolation as devices issue alarms if a
signal is not received, helping to locate the problem.

• Disadvantages: Unidirectional traffic makes the network vulnerable to failure if a break occurs, but this can be
mitigated with a dual ring or a switch.

• Ring topology was commonly used in IBM’s Token Ring LAN but has declined in popularity due to the need for
higher-speed LANs.
 Networks
Physical structures
2. Physical Topology : Hybrid Topology
 Network Models
Computer networks are created by different entities. Standards are needed so that these heterogeneous networks can communicate
with one another. The two best-known standards are the OSI model and the Internet model.

Categories of network: 1. LAN 2. WAN 3. MAN 4. Internetworks

Categories of network: 1. LAN –Local Area Network

• LANs enable resource sharing between personal computers or

workstations.
• Shared resources may include hardware (e.g., printers), software, or
data.
• A typical business LAN links task-related computers like engineering
workstations or accounting PCs.
• One computer with a large-capacity disk may act as a server, storing
software for group use.
• LAN size can be restricted by software licensing limits or operating
system access limits.
• LANs are characterized by their transmission media and topology (bus,
ring, or star).
• Early LANs had speeds of 4 to 16 Mbps; modern LANs typically run at
100 or 1000 Mbps.
• Wireless LANs represent the latest development in LAN technology.
 Network Models
Computer networks are created by different entities. Standards are needed so that these heterogeneous networks can communicate
with one another. The two best-known standards are the OSI model and the Internet model.

Categories of network: 1. LAN 2. WAN 3. MAN 4. Internetworks

Categories of network: 2. WAN – Wide Area Network

• A wide area network (WAN) is also an interconnection of devices capable of
communication.
• A WAN has a wider geographical span, spanning a town, a state, a country, or even the
world.
• A WAN interconnects connecting devices such as switches, routers, or modems.
• A WAN is normally created and run by communication companies and leased by an
organization that uses it.

i) Point-to-Point WAN
A point-to-point WAN is a network that connects two communicating devices through a
transmission media (cable or air).

ii) Switched WAN

· A switched WAN is a network with more than two ends. A switched WAN is used in
the backbone of global communication today. A switched WAN is a combination of several
point-to-point WANs that are connected by switches.
 Network Models
Computer networks are created by different entities. Standards are needed so that these heterogeneous networks can communicate
with one another. The two best-known standards are the OSI model and the Internet model.

Categories of network: 1. LAN 2. WAN 3. MAN 4. Internetworks

Categories of network: 4. Internetworks

When two or more networks are connected, they make an internetwork, or
internet.
An example, assume that an organization has two offices, one on the east
coast and the other on the west coast. Each office has a LAN that allows all
employees in the office to communicate with each other. To make the
communication between employees at different offices possible, the
management leases a point-to-point dedicated WAN from a service provider,
such as a telephone company, and connects the two LANs. Now the company
has an internetwork, or a private internet (with lowercase i). Communication
between offices is now possible. Figure shows this internet.

When a host in the west coast office sends a message to another host in the
same office, the router blocks the message, but the switch directs the message
to the destination. On the other hand, when a host on the west coast sends a
message to a host on the east coast, router R1 routes the packet to router R2,
and the packet reaches the destination.
 Switching
An internet is a switched network in which a switch connects at least two links together. A switch needs to forward data from a network to
another network when required. The two most common types of switched networks are circuit-switched and packet-switched networks.

Circuit-Switched Network
In a circuit-switched network, a dedicated connection,
Let us look at two cases.
called a circuit, is always available between the two end
systems; the switch can only make it active or inactive. In the first case, all telephone sets are busy; four people at one site are talking with
In Figure, the four telephones at each side are connected four people at the other site; the capacity of the thick line is fully used.
to a switch. The switch connects a telephone set at one
side to a telephone set at the other side. The thick line In the second case, only one telephone set at one side is connected to a telephone
connecting two switches is a high-capacity communication set at the other side; only one-fourth of the capacity of the thick line is used.
line that can handle four voice communications at the
This means that a circuit-switched network is efficient only when it is working at its
same time; the capacity can be shared between all pairs of full capacity; most of the time, it is inefficient because it is working at partial capacity.
telephone sets. The switches used in this example have The reason that we need to make the capacity of the thick line four times the capacity
forwarding tasks but no storing capability. of each voice line is that we do not want communication to fail when all telephone
sets at one side want to be connected with all telephone sets at the other side.
 Switching
Packet-Switched Network
In a computer network, the communication between the
two ends is done in blocks of data called packets- we see
the exchange of individual data packets between the two
computers.
This allows us to make the switches function for both A router in a packet-switched network has a queue that can store and forward the
storing and forwarding because a packet is an packet. Now assume that the capacity of the thick line is only twice the capacity of
independent entity that can be stored and sent later. the data line connecting the computers to the routers. If only two computers (one
Figure shows a small packet-switched network that at each site) need to communicate with each other, there is no waiting for the
connects four computers at one site to four computers at packets.
the other site.
However, if packets arrive at one router when the thick line is already working at its
full capacity, the packets should be stored and forwarded in the order they arrived.
The two simple examples show that a packet-switched network is more efficient
than a circuit-switched network, but the packets may encounter some delays.
 The Internet
An internet is two or more networks that can communicate with each other
The figure shows the Internet as several backbones, provider
networks, and customer networks.
At the top level, the backbones are large networks owned by
some communication companies such as Sprint, Verizon (MCI),
AT&T, and NTT. The backbone networks are connected
through some complex switching systems, called peering
points.
At the second level, there are smaller networks, called provider
networks, that use the services of the backbones for a fee. The
provider networks are connected to backbones and sometimes
to other provider networks.
The customer networks are networks at the edge of the Internet
that actually use the services provided by the Internet.

They pay fees to provider networks for receiving services.

Backbones and provider networks are also called Internet
Service Providers (ISPs).

The backbones are often referred to as international ISPs; the

provider networks are often referred to as national or regional
ISPs.
 The Internet
Accessing the Internet

Using Telephone Networks:

Since most telephone networks have already connected themselves to the Internet, one option for residences and small businesses to connect to the
Internet is to change the voice line between the residence or business and the telephone center to a point-to-point WAN. This can be done in two
ways.
1. Dial-up service:
● The first solution is to add to the telephone line a modem that converts data to voice. The software installed on the computer dials the
ISP and imitates making a telephone connection.
●This is slow.
1. DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) Service:
● The DSL service also allows the line to be used simultaneously for voice and data communication
● provide higher speed Internet services to residences or small businesses.

Using Cable Networks:

A residence or a small business can be connected to the Internet by using this service. It provides a higher speed connection, but the speed varies
depending on the number of neighbors that use the same cable.

Using Wireless Networks:

Household or a small business can use a combination of wireless and wired connections to access the Internet. Connection to the Internet is through
a wireless WAN

Direct Connection to the Internet:

A large organization or a large corporation can itself become a local ISP and be connected to the Internet. This can be done if the organization or the
corporation leases a high-speed WAN from a carrier provider and connects itself to a regional ISP.
 Protocol Layering
A protocol defines the rules that both the sender and receiver and all intermediate devices need to follow to be able to communicate
effectively. When communication is simple, we may need only one simple protocol; when the communication is complex, we may need to
divide the task between different layers, in which case we need a protocol at each layer, or protocol layering.

Single Layer Protocol:

Three Layer Protocol:

 Protocol Layering
Advantages of Protocol Layering:
1. One of the advantages of protocol layering is that it allows us to separate the services from the implementation. A layer needs to be
able to receive a set of services from the lower layer and to give the services to the upper layer; we don’t care about how the layer is
implemented.
2. Without Protocol layering, the system becomes more expensive because of intermediate systems

Principles of Protocol Layering

1. First Principle:
The first principle dictates that if we want bidirectional communication, we need to make each layer so that it is able to
perform two opposite tasks, one in each direction. For example: the third layer task is to listen (in one direction) and talk
(in the other direction). The second layer needs to be able to encrypt and decrypt. The first layer needs to send and
receive mail.

1. Second Principle:
The two objects under each layer at both sites should be identical. For example, the object under layer 3 at both sites
should be a plaintext letter.
 TCP/IP Protocol Suite
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is a protocol suite (a set of protocols organized in different layers)
used in the Internet today. It is a hierarchical protocol made up of interactive modules, each of which provides a specific
functionality. The term hierarchical means that each upper level protocol is supported by the services provided by one or
more lower level protocols. The original TCP/IP protocol suite was defined as four software layers built upon the hardware.
 TCP/IP Protocol Suite - Layered architecture
To show how the layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite are involved in communication between two hosts, we assume that we
want to use the suite in a small internet made up of three LANs (links), each with a link-layer switch. We also assume that the
links are connected by one router, as shown in Figure
Layers in TCP/IP Protocol Suite
Layers in TCP/IP Protocol Suite
 Layers in TCP/IP Protocol Suite
1. Physical Layer: the physical layer is responsible for carrying individual bits in a frame across the link through
the transmission medium. The transmission medium does not carry bits; it carries electrical or optical
signals. So the bits received in a frame from the data-link layer are transformed and sent through the
transmission media, but we can think that the logical unit between two physical layers in two devices is a bit.
There are several protocols that transform a bit to a signal.

1. Data Link Layer: The data-link layer is responsible for taking the datagram and moving it across the link. The
link can be a wired/wireless LAN with a link-layer switch, a wired/wireless WAN. TCP/IP does not define any
specific protocol for the data-link layer. It supports all the standard and proprietary protocols. The data-link
layer takes a datagram and encapsulates it in a packet called a frame. Each link-layer protocol may provide a
different service. Some link-layer protocols provide complete error detection and correction, some provide
only error correction.
 Layers in TCP/IP Protocol Suite
3. Network Layer: The network layer is responsible for creating a connection between the source computer and the
destination computer. The network layer is responsible for host-to-host communication and routing the packet through
possible routes.
The network layer in the Internet includes the main protocol, Internet Protocol (IP), that defines the format of the packet,
called a datagram at the network layer. IP also defines the format and the structure of addresses used in this layer. IP is also
responsible for routing a packet from its source to its destination, which is achieved by each router forwarding the datagram
to the next router in its path.
IP is a connectionless protocol that provides no flow control, no error control, and no congestion control services. This means
that if any of theses services is required for an application, the application should rely only on the transport-layer protocol.
The network layer also includes unicast (one-to-one) and multicast (one-to-many) routing protocols. A routing protocol does
not take part in routing (it is the responsibility of IP), but it creates forwarding tables for routers to help them in the routing
process.
4. Transport Layer: there are a few transport-layer protocols in the Internet, each designed for some specific task. The main
protocol, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), is a connection-oriented protocol that first establishes a logical connection
between transport layers at two hosts before transferring data. TCP provides flow control (matching the sending data rate of
the source host with the receiving data rate of the destination host to prevent overwhelming the destination), error control
(to guarantee that the segments arrive at the destination without error and resending the corrupted ones), and congestion
control to reduce the loss of segments due to congestion in the network.
5. Application Layer: Communication at the application layer is between two processes (two programs running at this
layer). To communicate, a process sends a request to the other process and receives a response.
 Layers in TCP/IP Protocol Suite
Protocols List

Application Layer Protocols The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a vehicle for accessing the World Wide Web
(WWW).

The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the main protocol used in electronic mail (e-mail)
service.

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is used for transferring files from one host to another

The Terminal Network (TELNET) and Secure Shell are used for accessing a site remotely.
(SSH)

The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is used by an administrator to manage the Internet at
global and local levels.

The Domain Name System (DNS) is used by other protocols to find the network-layer
address of a computer.

The Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is used to collect membership in a group.
 Layers in TCP/IP Protocol Suite
Protocols List
Transport Layer Protocols Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), is a connection-oriented protocol that first
establishes a logical connection between transport
layers at two hosts before transferring data.

User Datagram Protocol (UDP), is a connectionless protocol that transmits user

datagrams without first creating a logical connection.
In UDP, each user datagram is an independent entity
without being related to the previous or the next one
(the meaning of the term connectionless). UDP is a
simple protocol that does not provide flow, error, or
congestion control. Its simplicity, which means small
overhead, is attractive to an application program that
needs to send short messages and cannot afford the
retransmission of the packets involved in TCP, when
a packet is corrupted or lost.

Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) is designed to

respond to new applications that are emerging in the
multimedia.
 Layers in TCP/IP Protocol Suite
Protocols List
Network Layer Protocols The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) helps IP to report some problems when routing a
packet.

The Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is another protocol that helps IP in multitasking.

The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) helps IP to get the network-layer address for a host.

The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is a protocol that helps IP to find the link-layer
address of a host or a router when its network-layer
address is given
 Encapsulation and Decapsulation
The encapsulation in the source host, decapsulation in the destination host, and encapsulation and decapsulation in the router.
 Encapsulation and Decapsulation
Encapsulation at the Source Host
Application Layer:
Data is called a message and is passed to the transport layer.
Transport Layer:
Adds a header to the message (payload) with source/destination application info.
Creates a segment (TCP) or user datagram (UDP) and passes it to the network layer.
Network Layer:
Adds a header with source/destination host addresses to create a datagram.
Passes the datagram to the data-link layer.
Data-Link Layer:
Adds a header with link-layer addresses to form a frame.
Passes the frame to the physical layer for transmission.

Decapsulation and Encapsulation at the Router:

Data-Link Layer:
Decapsulates the datagram from the frame and passes it to the network layer.
Network Layer:
Inspects the datagram's header, checks the forwarding table, and sends the datagram to the next hop.
If needed, fragments the datagram.
Data-Link Layer (Next Link):
Encapsulates the datagram into a new frame for transmission.

Decapsulation at the Destination Host:

Each layer decapsulates the received packet, removes the header, and delivers the payload to the next-higher layer.
Error checking is performed at each layer, and the message eventually reaches the application layer.
 Addressing
Any communication that involves two parties needs two addresses: source address and destination address.
Although it looks as if we need five pairs of addresses, one pair per layer, we normally have only four because
the physical layer does not need addresses

Names define the site that provides services, such as someorg.com,

or the e-mail address, such as [email protected]

Port numbers are local addresses that distinguish between

several programs running at the same time.

Logical address uniquely defines the connection of a

device to the Internet.

The link-layer addresses, sometimes called MAC

addresses, are locally defined addresses, each of
which defines a specific host or router in a network
(LAN or WAN)
 Multiplexing and Demultiplexing
Multiplexing in this case means that a protocol at a layer can encapsulate a packet from several next-higher
layer protocols (one at a time); demultiplexing means that a protocol can decapsulate and deliver a packet to
several next-higher layer protocols (one at a time).
To be able to multiplex and demultiplex, a protocol needs to have a field in its header to identify to which
protocol the encapsulated packets belong. At the transport layer, either UDP or TCP can accept a message
from several application-layer protocols. At the network layer, IP can accept a segment from TCP or a user
datagram
from UDP. IP can also accept a packet from other protocols such as ICMP, IGMP, andso on. At the data-link
layer, a frame may carry the payload coming from IP or otherprotocols such as ARP.
 Open System
The OSI Reference Model Interconnection
Application
Protocol Data
(OSI) Model
Unit (APDU)
Software
Presentation
Protocol Data Layers
Unit (PPDU)
Session
Protocol Data
Unit (SPDU)
Transport
Protocol Data
Unit (TPDU)
Packet
Hardware
Layers
Frame

Bits
OSI v/s TCP/IP Models
 Lack of OSI Model’s Success
First, OSI was completed when TCP/IP was fully in place and a lot of time and money had been spent on
the suite; changing it would cost a lot.

Second, some layers in the OSI model were never fully defined. For example, although the services
provided by the presentation and the session layers were listed in the document, actual protocols for these
two layers were not fully defined, nor were they fully described, and the corresponding software was not
fully developed.

Third, when OSI was implemented by an organization in a different application, it did not show a high
enough level of performance to entice the Internet authority to switch from the TCP/IP protocol suite to the
OSI model.
 Introduction to Physical Layer
Transmission Media

A transmission medium can be broadly defined as anything that can carry information from a source to a destination

The transmission medium is usually free space, metallic cable, or fiber-optic cable. The information is usually a signal
that is the result of a conversion of data from another form.
 Introduction to Physical Layer
Transmission Media

Classes of Transmission Media

 Introduction to Physical Layer
Guided Transmission Media

A signal traveling along any of these media is directed and contained by the physical limits of the medium.

Guided Transmission Media - Twisted Pair Cable

One of the wires is used to carry signals to the receiver, and the other is used only as a ground reference.
The receiver uses the difference between the two.

In addition to the signal sent by the sender on one of the wires, interference (noise) and crosstalk may
affect both wires and create unwanted signals. If the two wires are parallel, the effect of these unwanted
signals is not the same in both wires because they are at different locations relative to the noise or
crosstalk sources. This results in a difference at the receiver. By twisting the pairs, a balance is
maintained.
 Introduction to Physical Layer
Guided Transmission Media

A signal traveling along any of these media is directed and contained by the physical limits of the medium.

Guided Transmission Media - Twisted Pair Cable - Unshielded Versus Shielded Twisted-Pair Cable
The most common twisted-pair cable used in communications is referred to as unshielded twisted-pair
(UTP). IBM has also produced a version of twisted-pair cable for its use, called shielded twisted-pair
(STP). STP cable has a metal foil or braidedmesh covering that encases each pair of insulated
conductors. Although metal casing improves the quality of cable by preventing the penetration of noise or
crosstalk, it is
bulkier and more expensive.
 Introduction to Physical Layer
Guided Transmission Media

A signal traveling along any of these media is directed and contained by the physical limits of the medium.

Guided Transmission Media - Twisted Pair Cable - Unshielded Versus Shielded Twisted-Pair Cable
 Introduction to Physical Layer
Guided Transmission Media

A signal traveling along any of these media is directed and contained by the physical limits of the medium.

Guided Transmission Media - Twisted Pair Cable - UTP Connector - RJ45 [Registered JAck]

Applications:

1. Twisted-pair cables are used in telephone lines to

provide voice and data channels.

1. The local loop—the line that connects subscribers to

the central telephone office

1. The DSL lines that are used by the telephone

companies to provide high-data-rate connections
 Introduction to Physical Layer
Guided Transmission Media

A signal traveling along any of these media is directed and contained by the physical limits of the medium.

Guided Transmission Media - Twisted Pair Cable - UTP Connector - RJ45 [Registered JAck]

One way to measure the performance of

twisted-pair cable is to compare
attenuation versus frequency and distance.
A twisted-pair cable can pass a wide range
of frequencies.

The gauge is a measure of the thickness of

the wire
 Introduction to Physical Layer
Guided Transmission Media - Coaxial Cable

Coaxial cable (or coax) carries signals of higher

frequency ranges than those in twisted-pair cable, in part
because the two media are constructed quite differently.
Instead of having two wires, coax has a central core
conductor of solid or stranded wire (usually copper)
enclosed in an insulating sheath, which is, in turn,
encased in an outer conductor of metal foil, braid, or a
combination of the two. The outer metallic wrapping
serves both as a shield against noise and as the second
conductor, which completes the circuit. This outer
conductor is also enclosed in an insulating sheath, and
the whole cable is protected by a plastic cover
 Introduction to Physical Layer
Guided Transmission Media - Coaxial Cable

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 BNC connector is used to
connect the end of the cable to a 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.
 Introduction to Physical Layer
Guided Transmission Media - Fibre-Optic Cable

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 BNC connector is used to
connect the end of the cable to a 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.
 Packet Switching and its types
A better solution is switching. A switched network consists of a series of interlinked nodes, called
switches. Switches are devices capable of creating temporary connections between two or more
devices linked to the switch.

In data communications, we need to send messages from one end system to another. If the message is going to
pass through a packet-switched network, it needs to be divided into packets of fixed or variable size. The size of the
packet is determined by the network and the governing protocol.
In packet switching, there is no resource allocation for a packet. This means that there is no reserved bandwidth on
the links, and there is no scheduled processing time for each packet. Resources are allocated on demand. The
allocation is done on a first-come, first-served basis. When a switch receives a packet, no matter what the source or
destination is, the packet must wait if there are other packets being processed.

Two types of packet-switched networks:

1. datagram networks and
2. virtualcircuit networks.
 Packet Switching and its types
1. Datagram Networks

In a datagram network, each packet is treated

independently of all others. Packets in this
approach are referred to as datagrams.
Fig shows how the datagram approach is used to
deliver four packets from station A to station X.
The switches in a datagram network are
traditionally referred to as routers.
In this example, all four packets (or datagrams)
belong to the same message, but may travel
different paths to reach their destination. This is
so because the links may be involved in carrying
packets from other sources and do not have the
necessary bandwidth available to carry all the
packets from A to X. This approach can cause the
datagrams of a transmission to arrive at their
destination out of order with different delays
between the packets. Packets may also be lost or
dropped because of a lack of resources.
 Packet Switching and its types
1. Datagram Networks - Routing Table

In this type of network, each switch (or packet Destination Address

switch) has a routing table which is based on the Every packet in a datagram network carries a header that
destination address. The routing tables are contains the destination address of the packet. When the
dynamic and are updated periodically. The switch receives the packet, this destination address is
destination addresses and the corresponding examined; the routing table is consulted to find the
forwarding output ports are recorded in the tables corresponding port through which the packet should be
forwarded. This address, remains the same during the entire
journey of the packet.
 Packet Switching and its types
1. Datagram Networks - Routing Table
 Packet Switching and its types
2. Virtual Circuits Networks

A virtual-circuit network is a combination of a circuit-switched network and a datagram network.

It has some characteristics of both.
1. As in a circuit-switched network,there are setup and teardown phases in addition to the data transfer phase.
2. Resources can be allocated during the setup phase, as in a circuit-switched network, or on demand, as in a
datagram network.
3. As in a datagram network, data are packetized and each packet carries an address in the header. However, the
address in the header has local jurisdiction (it defines what the next switch should be and the channel on which the
packet is being carried), not end-to-end jurisdiction.
4. As in a circuit-switched network, all packets follow the same path established during the connection.
5. A virtual-circuit network is normally implemented in the data-link layer.
 Packet Switching and its types
2. Virtual Circuits Networks

Addressing
In a virtual-circuit network, two types of addressing are
involved: global and local (virtual-circuit identifier).
Global Addressing
A source or a destination needs to have a global
address—an address that can be unique in the scope of
the network.
Virtual-Circuit Identifier
The identifier that is actually used for data transfer is
called the virtual-circuit identifier (VCI) or the label. A VCI,
is a small number that has only
switch scope; it is used by a frame between two switches.
When a frame arrives at a switch, it has a VCI; when it
leaves, it has a different VCI.