Communication at Physical Layer

Analog & Digital Data

• Data  Analog or Digital

• Analog Data 
Continuous

• Digital Data  Discrete

• Examples: Analog Clock

vs. Digital Clock

• Human voice vs. Data in

Computer
Analog & Digital Signals
• Signals represent
Data

• Signals  Analog
or Digital

• Analog Signal 
Infinite Levels of
Intensity over
time

• Digital Signal 
Limited number
of defined values
Analog & Digital Signals
Periodic & Non-periodic Signals
• Analog/Digital Signal 
Periodic or Non-periodic

• Periodic Signal  Pattern

• Period and Cycle

• Non-Periodic  No
Pattern

• Periodic ANALOG Signals

and Non-periodic
DIGITAL Signals
Periodic Analog Signals
• Periodic Analog Signals
 Simple or Composite

• Simple Periodic Analog

signal Sine wave

• Composite Periodic
Analog signal
Composed of multiple
sine waves
 Sine Wave

Value

•••
Time
Sine Wave – Peak Amplitude
Sine Wave –Frequency

• Period (T)  Amount of

time required to
complete 1 cycle

• Frequency (f)  No. of

Periods in 1 sec

• f = 1/T or T = 1/f
Sine Wave –Frequency
Phase (or Phase Shift)

• Position of waveform
relative to time 0

• Phase describes the

amount of shift of the
wave

• Indicates start of the

first cycle
Phase
Wavelength
Wavelength is another
characteristic of a signal
traveling through a
transmission medium.
Wavelength binds the
period or the frequency of a
simple sine wave to the
propagation speed of the
medium (see Figure 3.7).
Wavelength
Figure 3.7
Time & Frequency Domains
A sine wave is
comprehensively defined
by its amplitude, frequency,
and phase. We have been
showing a sine wave by
using what is called a time
domain plot. The time-
domain plot shows changes
in signal amplitude with
respect to time (it is an
amplitude-versus-time
plot). Phase is not explicitly
shown on a time-domain
plot.
Time & Frequency Domains
Example 3.7
The frequency domain is
more compact and useful
when we are dealing with
more than one sine wave.
For example, Figure 3.9
shows three sine waves,
each with different
amplitude and frequency.
All can be represented by
three spikes in the
frequency domain.
Time & Frequency Domains

Figure 3.9
 Composite Signals
So far, we have focused on simple
sine waves. Simple sine waves
have many applications in daily
life. We can send a single sine wave
to carry electric energy from one
place to another. For example, the
power company sends a single sine
wave with a frequency of 60 Hz to
distribute electric energy to houses
and businesses.
Composite Signals

• Single Sine Wave can

only carry limited
information

• Composite Signal is made

up of multiple simple
sine waves

• Can be periodic or non-

periodic
A Composite Periodic Signal
 Decomposition of Composite Periodic Signal
Amplitude

•••
Time

Amplitude

f 3f 9f Frequency

b. Frequency-domain decomposition of the composite signal

Bandwidth

• Range of frequencies
contained in a Composite
Signal

• The bandwidth is
normally a difference
between two frequencies
(the highest and the
lowest)
Bandwidth of a composite signal
Digital Signals
In addition to being
represented by an
analog signal,
information can
also be represented
by a digital signal.
For example, a 1
can be encoded as
a positive voltage
and a 0 as zero
voltage. A digital
signal can have
more than two
levels.
Digital Signals
• Information can also be
represented by a digital
signal

• For example, a 1 can be

encoded as a positive
voltage and a 0 as zero
voltage

• A digital signal can have

more than two levels so
that we can send more
than one bit for each
level
 Digital Signals

In general, if a signal has

L levels, each level
needs log2 L bits. So, we
can send log2 2 = 1 bit
per level

log2 4 = 2 bits
Digital Signals
In this case, we can
send more than 1
bit for each level.
Figure 3.17 shows
two signals, one
with two levels and
the other with four.
Bit Rate

• Number of bits
sent in 1 second

• Bit Rate is
expressed in bits
per second (bps)

• Most digital
signals are non-
periodic, and
thus period and
frequency are
not appropriate
characteristics
Bit Rate
Bit Rate
 Bit Rate
Most digital signals are
nonperiodic, and thus
period and frequency are
not appropriate
characteristics. Another
term—bit rate (instead of
frequency)—is used to
describe digital signals. The
bit rate is the number of
bits sent in 1s, expressed in
bits per second (bps).
Figure 3.17 shows the bit
rate for two signals.
Bit Rate

• Number of bits
sent in 1 second

• Bit Rate is
expressed in bits
per second (bps)

• Most digital
signals are non-
periodic, and
thus period and
frequency are
not appropriate
characteristics
Bit Rate
 Bit Length
We discussed the concept of
the wavelength for an analog
signal: the distance one cycle
occupies on the transmission
medium. We can define
something similar for a
digital signal: the bit length.
The bit length is the distance
one bit occupies on the
transmission medium.
Digital Signal as Composite Analog Signal
• Based on Fourier
analysis, a digital
signal is a composite
analog signal

• A digital signal, in the

time domain,
comprises connected
vertical and horizontal
line segments

• Infinite Bandwidth
Transmission of Digital Signals
• Digital signal, periodic or
non-periodic, is a
composite analog signal
with frequencies between
zero and infinity (Infinite
Bandwidth)

• Two approaches for

transmission:
 Baseband Transmission
 Broadband
Transmission
 Baseband Transmission

Low Pass Channel

Sending a Digital Signal without changing it to an Analog

Signal
Baseband Transmission
Baseband Transmission
Broadband Transmission (Modulation)
• Changing the Digital
signal to an Analog
signal for transmission

• Modulation allows us
to use a bandpass
channel—a channel
with a bandwidth that
does not start from
zero

• More available than a

low-pass channel
Broadband Transmission (Modulation)
Broadband Transmission (Modulation)
Broadband Transmission (Modulation)
Transmission Impairments
• Transmission
media are not
perfect

• Cause Signal
impairments

• Signal sent is not

the same as the
signal received
Causes of Transmission Impairment
Transmission Impairment
What is sent is not
what is received.
Three causes of
impairment are
attenuation,
distortion, and
noise (see Figure
3.26).
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.
Attenuation
Attenuation means a loss of
energy. When a signal,
simple or composite,
travels through a medium,
it loses some of its energy
in overcoming the
resistance of the medium.
That is why a wire carrying
electric signals gets warm,
if not hot, after a while.
Some of the electrical
energy in the signal is
converted to heat.
Attenuation
To compensate for this
loss, amplifiers are used
to amplify the signal.
Figure 3.27 shows the
effect of attenuation and
amplification..
Attenuation and amplification
Figure 3.27
 Distortion
• Distortion means that the
signal changes its form or
shape.
• Distortion can occur in a
composite signal made of
different frequencies.
• Each signal component has
its own propagation speed
(see the next section)
through a medium and,
therefore, its own delay in
arriving at the final
destination.
Distortion
Differences in delay
may create a
difference in phase
if the delay is not
exactly the same as
the period
duration.
 Distortion

Figure 3.29
Noise
• Noise is another cause of
impairment.

• Several types of noise,

such as thermal noise,
induced noise, crosstalk,
and impulse noise, may
corrupt the signal.

• Thermal noise is the

random motion of
electrons in a wire, which
creates an extra signal not
originally sent by the
transmitter.
Noise
• Induced noise
comes from
sources such as
motors.

• Crosstalk is the
effect of one
wire on the
other.

• Impulse noise
happen by
passing of high
impulse signal
for a short while.
Noise
Noise – Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)
Noise – Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)
Data Rate Limits
• How fast we can
send data, in bits per
second, over a
channel?

• Data Rate depends

on 3 factors:

 The Bandwidth
available
 The level of the
signals we use
 The level of
noise
Data Rate Limits

• Two theoretical formulas

developed to calculate
the data rate:

 one by Nyquist for a

noiseless channel

 another by Shannon
for a noisy channel
Noiseless Channel : Nyquist Rate
• For a noiseless
channel, the
Nyquist bit rate
formula defines
the theoretical
maximum bit
rate

• Finding balance
between Bit rate
and System
Reliability
 Noisy Channel : Shannon Capacity

• In reality, we
cannot have a
noiseless
channel; the
channel is always
noisy

• In 1944, Claude
Shannon
introduced a
formula, to
determine the
theoretical
highest data rate
for a noisy
Using Both Limits
• In practice, we
need to use both
methods to find
the limits and
signal levels

• Shannon’s
formula gives us
the upper limit
while the Nyquist
formula gives us
the signal levels
Network Performance
• Data transmission
(in form of Signal)
over a network
and how network
behaves is
important

• More important
is the
performance of
the network

• How good is our

network?
 Network Performance

Network
Performance

Bandwidth Throughput Latency

• There are 3 characteristics of network

performance
 Bandwidth
• An important characteristic
that measures Network
Performance

• Bandwidth can be used in two

different contexts with two
different measuring values:

• Bandwidth in Hertz
• Bandwidth in bits per
second
 Bandwidth

Bandwidth

Bandwidth in
Bandwidth in
Hertz
bps
Range of frequencies
in a composite signal No. of bits a channel, link
or network can transmit
Throughput

• Measure of how fast we

can actually send data
through a network.

• Bandwidth is not the

same as Throughput

• A link may have a

bandwidth of B bps, but
we can only send T bps
through this link with T
always less than B
 Throughput
The throughput is a measure
of how fast we can actually
send data through a network.
Although, at first glance,
bandwidth in bits per second
and throughput seem the
same, they are different. A
link may have a bandwidth of
B bps, but we can only send T
bps through this link with T
always less than B.
Throughput
The latency or
delay defines how
long it takes for an
entire message to
completely arrive
at the destination
from the time the
first bit is sent out
from the source.
Throughput
We can say that latency is
made of four components:
propagation time,
transmission time, queuing
time and processing delay.

Latency = propagation time

+ transmission time +
queuing time + processing
delay
 Latency or Delay

• Latency or delay defines

how long it takes for an
entire message to
completely arrive at the
destination from the
time the first bit is sent
out from the source
Delay – Bandwidth Delay Product
• Bandwidth and
delay are two
performance
metrics of a link

• Product of the
two, The
Bandwidth-
Delay Product
defines the
number of bits
that can fill a
link
Bandwidth-Delay Product

Case 1
Bandwidth-Delay Product

Case 2
Bandwidth-Delay Product
Delay - Jitter

• Jitter is a problem if
different packets of
data encounter
different delays and
the application using
the data at the
receiver site is time-
sensitive (audio and
video data, for
example)
Delay - Jitter

• Delay for first

packet is 20 ms
for the second is
45 ms, and for
the third is 40
ms, then the
real-time
application that
uses the packets
endures jitter