The Physical Layer

Chapter 2
 Theoretical Basis for Data
Communication

• Fourier analysis
• Bandwidth-limited signals
• Maximum data rate of a channel
 Fourier Analysis
• We model the behavior of variation of voltage
or current with mathematical functions
• Fourier series is used

• Function reconstructed with

Bandwidth-Limited Signals (1)

A binary signal and its root-mean-square

Fourier amplitudes.
Bandwidth-Limited Signals (2)

(b)-(e) Successive approximations

to the original signal.
Bandwidth-Limited Signals (3)

(b)-(e) Successive approximations

to the original signal.
Bandwidth-Limited Signals (4)

(b)-(e) Successive approximations

to the original signal.
Bandwidth-Limited Signals (5)

(b)-(e) Successive approximations

to the original signal.
Bandwidth-Limited Signals (6)

Relation between data rate and

harmonics for our example.
The Maximum Data Rate of a Channel

• Nyquist’s theorem

• Shannon’s formula for capacity of a noisy channel

Guided Transmission Media

• Magnetic media
• Twisted pairs
• Coaxial cable
• Power lines
• Fiber optics
 Magnetic Media

• Write data onto magnetic media

• Disks
• Tapes
• Data transmission speed
• Never underestimate the bandwidth of
a station wagon full of tapes hurtling
down the highway.
 Twisted Pairs

Category 5 UTP cable with four twisted pairs

Coaxial Cable

A coaxial cable
 Power Lines

A network that uses household electrical wiring.

 Fiber Optics (1)

Three examples of a light ray from inside a

silica fiber impinging on the air/silica boundary
at different angles.
 Fiber Optics (2)

Light trapped by total internal reflection.

Transmission of Light Through Fiber

Attenuation of light through fiber

in the infrared region
Fiber Cables (1)

Views of a fiber cable

 Fiber Cables (2)

A comparison of semiconductor diodes

and LEDs as light sources
 Wireless Transmission

• The Electromagnetic Spectrum

• Radio Transmission
• Microwave Transmission
• Infrared Transmission
• Light Transmission
The Electromagnetic Spectrum (1)

The electromagnetic spectrum and

its uses for communication
The Electromagnetic Spectrum (2)

Spread spectrum and ultra-wideband

(UWB) communication
 Radio Transmission (1)

In the VLF, LF, and MF bands, radio waves follow the curvature
of the earth
 Radio Transmission (2)

In the HF band, they bounce off the ionosphere.

The Politics of the Electromagnetic
Spectrum

ISM and U-NII bands used in the

United States by wireless devices
 Light Transmission

Convection currents can interfere with laser communication

systems. A bidirectional system with two lasers is pictured here.
Communication Satellites

• Geostationary Satellites
• Medium-Earth Orbit Satellites
• Low-Earth Orbit Satellites
• Satellites Versus Fiber
 Communication Satellites

Communication satellites, some properties, including: altitude

above earth, round-trip delay time, number of satellites for
global coverage.
Geostationary Satellites (1)

The principal satellite bands

Geostationary Satellites (2)

VSATs using a hub.

Low-Earth Orbit Satellites (1)

The Iridium satellites form six necklaces

around the earth.
Low-Earth Orbit Satellites (2)

Relaying in space.
Low-Earth Orbit Satellites (3)

Relaying on the ground

Digital Modulation and Multiplexing

• Baseband Transmission
• Passband Transmission
• Frequency Division Multiplexing
• Time Division Multiplexing
• Code Division Multiplexing
Baseband Transmission

Line codes: (a) Bits, (b) NRZ, (c) NRZI,

(d) Manchester, (e) Bipolar or AMI.
Clock Recovery

4B/5B mapping.
 Passband Transmission (1)

(a) A binary signal. (b) Amplitude shift keying.

(c) Frequency shift keying. (d) Phase shift keying.
Passband Transmission (2)

(a) QPSK. (b) QAM-16. (c) QAM-64.

Frequency Division Multiplexing (1)

Gray-coded QAM-16.
Frequency Division Multiplexing (2)

Frequency division multiplexing. (a) The original bandwidths.

(b) The bandwidths raised in frequency.
(c) The multiplexed channel.
Frequency Division Multiplexing (3)

Orthogonal frequency division

multiplexing (OFDM).
Time Division Multiplexing

Time Division Multiplexing (TDM).

 Code Division Multiplexing (1)

(a) Chip sequences for four stations.

(b) Signals the sequences represent
 Code Division Multiplexing (2)

(a) Six examples of transmissions.

(b) Recovery of station C’s
The Public Switched Telephone Network

• Structure of the telephone system

• Politics of telephones
• Local loop: modems, ADSL, and fiber
• Trunks and multiplexing
• Switching
Structure of the Telephone System (1)

(a) Fully interconnected network.

(b) Centralized switch.
(c) Two-level hierarchy.
Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
Structure of the Telephone System (2)

A typical circuit route for a long-distance call.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Structure of the Telephone System (3)

Major Components
1. Local loops analog twisted pairs to houses, businesses).
2. Trunks (digital fiber optic links between switching offices).
3. Switching offices (calls are moved from one trunk to
another).

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 The Politics of Telephones

The relationship of LATAs, LECs, and IXCs. Circles are LEC

switching offices. Hexagons belong to
IXC whose number is in it.
Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Telephone Modems

Use of both analog and digital transmission for computer -to-

computer call. Conversion done by modems and codecs.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Digital Subscriber Lines (1)

Bandwidth versus distance over Category 3

UTP for DSL.
Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Digital Subscriber Lines (2)

Operation of ADSL using discrete

multitone modulation.
Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Digital Subscriber Lines (3)

A typical ADSL equipment configuration.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Fiber To The Home

Passive optical network for Fiber To The Home.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Time Division Multiplexing (1)

The T1 carrier (1.544 Mbps).

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Time Division Multiplexing (2)

Multiplexing T1 streams into higher carriers

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 SONET/SDH (1)

Two back-to-back SONET frames.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 SONET/SDH (2)

SONET and SDH multiplex rates.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
Wavelength Division Multiplexing

Wavelength division multiplexing

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
Circuit Switching/Packet Switching (1)

(a) Circuit switching. (b) Packet switching.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
Circuit Switching/Packet Switching (2)

Timing of events in (a) circuit switching,

(b) packet switching
Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Circuit Switching/Packet Switching (3)

A comparison of circuit-switched and packet-switched networks.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Mobile Telephone System

• First-Generation (1G) Mobile Phones Analog Voice

• Second-Generation (2G) Mobile Phones Digital Voice
• Third-Generation (3G) Mobile Phones Digital Voice + Data

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Advanced Mobile Phone System

(a) Frequencies are not reused in adjacent cells.

(b) To add more users, smaller cells can be used.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
GSM—The Global System for Mobile
Communications (1)

GSM mobile network architecture.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
GSM—The Global System for Mobile
Communications (2)

GSM uses 124 frequency channels, each of which uses an

eight-slot TDM system.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
GSM—The Global System for Mobile
Communications (3)

A portion of the GSM framing structure.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Digital Voice and Data (1)

Basic services intend by IMT-2000 network

• High-quality voice transmission.
• Messaging (replacing email, fax, SMS, chat).
• Multimedia (music, videos, films, television).
• Internet access (Web surfing, incl. audio, video).

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Digital Voice and Data (2)

Soft handoff (a) before, (b) during, and (c) after.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Cable Television

• Community antenna television

• Internet over cable
• Spectrum allocation
• Cable modems
• ADSL versus cable

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Community Antenna Television

An early cable television system

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Internet over Cable (1)

Cable television

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Internet over Cable (2)

The fixed telephone system.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Spectrum Allocation

Frequency allocation in a typical

cable TV system used for Internet access.
Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 Cable Modems

Typical details of the upstream and downstream

channels in North America.

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011
 End

Chapter 2

Computer Networks, Fifth Edition by Andrew Tanenbaum and David Wetherall, © Pearson Education-Prentice Hall, 2011