NAME: R.

NESAN

CLASS: XII

SUBJECT: COMPUTER SCIENCE

CHAPTER 10 : COMPUTER NETWORKS – I

 TOPIC
TRANSMISSION MEDIA

TWISTED PAIR CABLE

TYPES OF TWISTED PAIR CABLES

COAXIAL CABLE

OPTICAL FIBRES
 TRANSMISSION
MEDIA
BY TRANSMISSION MEDIA OR
COMMUNICATION CHANNELS OF
NETWORK, IT IS MEANT THAT THE
CONNECTING CABLES OR
CONNECTING MEDIA ARE BEING
TALKED ABOUT THE CABLES THAT
CONNECT TWO OR MORE
WORKSTATIONS ARE THE
COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
TRANSMISSION MEDIA
WE CAN GROUP THE COMMUNICATION
MEDIA IN TWO CATEGORIES GUIDED
MEDIA AND UNGUIDED MEDIA. THE
GUIDED MEDIA INCLUDE CABLES AND
UNGUIDED MEDIA INCLUDE WAVES
THROUGH AIR WATER OR VACUUM THE
BASIC TYPES OF CABLES (I.E., GUIDED
MEDIA) ARE BEING DISCUSSED BELOW.
THE UNGUIDED MEDIA (MICROWAVES,
RADIOWAVES AND SATELLITES) ARE
ALSO BEING DISCUSSED
 NOTE
WE CAN GROUP THE
COMMUNICATION MEDIA IN
TWO CATEGORIES GUIDED
MEDIA AND UNGUIDED MEDIA
THE GUIDED MEDIA INCLUDE
CABLES AND UNGUIDED MEDIA
INCLUDE WAVES THROUGH
AIR, WATER OR VACUUM
 TWISTED PAIR CABLE
THE MOST COMMON FORM OF WIRING
IN DATA COMMUNICATION
APPLICATION IS THE TWISTED PAIR
CABLE IT CONSISTS OF TWO
IDENTICAL WIRES WRAPPED
TOGETHER IN A DOUBLE HELIX.
PROBLEMS CAN OCCUR DUE TO
DIFFERENCES IN THE ELECTRICAL
CHARACTERISTICS BETWEEN THE PAIR
(E.G., LENGTH, RESISTANCE,
CAPACITANCE)
TWISTED PAIR
CABLE
DIFFERENT TYPES AND CATEGORIES
OF TWISTED-PAIR CABLE EXIST, BUT
THEY ALL HAVE TWO THINGS IN
COMMON

* THE WIRES COME IN PAIRS

* THE PAIRS OF WIRES ARE TWISTED

AROUND EACH OTHER.
TWISTED PAIR CABLE
THE TWISTING OF WIRES REDUCES
CROSSTALK, WHICH IS THE BLEEDING
OF A SIGNAL FROM ONE WIRE TO
ANOTHER AND WHICH CAN CORRUPT
SIGNAL AND CAUSE NETWORK
ERRORS. THE TWISTING OF THE
WIRES NOT ONLY PROTECTS THE
SIGNAL FROM INTERNAL CROSSTALK,
BUT IT ALSO PROTECTS IT FORM
OTHER EXTERNAL FORMS OF SIGNAL
INTERFERENCE ISCALLED CROSSTALK.
 THE MAIN ADVANTAGES OF
TWISTED PAIR CABLE
(I) IT IS SIMPLE, EASY TO INSTALL AND
MAINTAIN.

(II) IT IS PHYSICALLY FLEXIBLE.

(III) IT HAS A LOW WEIGHT.

(IV) IT CAN BE EASILY CONNECTED.

(V) IT IS VERY INEXPENSIVE.

DISADVANTAGES OF TWISTED PAIR CABLE
DESPITE HAVING SUCH ADVANTAGES, THE DATA
TRANSMISSION CHARACTERISTICS OF TWISTED PAIR CABLE
ARE NOT SO GOOD. THE MAJOR DISADVANTAGES ARE

(1) BECAUSE OF HIGH ATTENUATION, IT IS INCAPABLE

CARRYING A SIGNAL OVER LONG DISTANCES WITHOUT THE
USE OF REPEATERS

(II) ITS LOW BANDWIDTH CAPABILITIES MAKE IT

UNSUITABLE FOR BROADBAND APPLICATIONS

(III) IT SUPPORTS MAXIMUM DATA RATES 1 MBPS WITHOUT

CONDITIONING AND 10 MBPS WITH CONDITIONING.
TYPES OF TWISTED PAIR
CABLES
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF TWISTED
PAIR CABLES AVAILABLE THESE ARE:

(I) UNSHIELDED TWISTED PAIR (UTP)

CABLE

(II) SHIELDED TWISTED PAIR (STP)

CABLE
UNSHIELDED
TWISTED PAIR
(UTP) CABLE.
UTP CABLING IS USED FOR VARIETY OF
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS. IT IS
AVAILABLE IN FOLLOWING RIGHT
CATEGORIES

THE UTP CABLES CAN HAVE MAXIMUM

SEGMENT LENGTH OF 100 METRES
 SHIELDED TWISTED PAIR (STP)
CABLE
THIS TYPE OF CABLES COMES WITH
SHIELDING OF THE INDIVIDUAL PAIRS OF
WIRES, WHICH FURTHER PROTECTS IT FROM
EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE. BUT THESE ALSO
LIKE UI CAN HAVE MAXIMUM SEGMENT
LENGTH OF 100 METERS. THE ADVANTAGE OF
STP OVER UTP IS THAT IT OFFERS GREATER
PROTECTION FROM INTERFERENCE AND
CROSSTALK DUE TO SHIELDING BUT IT IS
DEFINITELY HEAVIER AND COSTLIER THAN
UTP AND REQUIRES PROPER GROUNDING AT
 COAXIAL CABLE
THIS TYPE OF CABLE CONSISTS OF A SOLID WIRE
CORE SURROUNDED BY ONE OR MORE FOIL OR WIRE
SHIELDS EACH SEPARATED BY SOME KIND OF
PLASTIC INSULATOR. THE INNER CORE CARRIES THE
SIGNAL, AND THE SHIELD PROVIDES THE GROUND.
THE COAXIAL CABLE HAS HIGH ELECTRICAL
PROPERTIES AND IS SUITABLE FOR HIGH SPEED
COMMUNICATION. WHILE IT IS LESS POPULAR THAN
TWISTED PAIR, IT IS WIDELY USED FOR TELEVISION
SIGNALS. IN THE FORM OF (CATV) CABLE, OF
TRANSPORTING MULTI-CHANNEL CATV) CABLE, IT
PROVIDES A CHEAP MEANS TELEVISION SIGNALS
AROUND METROPOLITAN AREAS. IT IS ALSO USED
BY LARGE CORPORATIONS IN BUILDING SECURITY
SYSTEMS.
 COAXIAL CABLE
THE DATA TRANSMISSION
CHARACTERISTICS OF COAXIAL
CABLE ARE CONSIDERABLY BETTER
THAN THOSE OF TWISTED PAIR.
THIS OPENS THE POSSIBILITY OF
USING IT AS THE BASIS FOR A
SHARED CABLE NETWORK, WITH
PART OF THE BANDWIDTH BEING
USED FOR DATA TRAFFIC.
COAXIAL CABLE
ADVANTAGES OF COAXIAL CABLE
(1) THE DATA TRANSMISSION CHARACTERISTICS OF
COAXIAL CABLES ARE CONSIDERABLY BETTER
THAN THOSE OF TWISTED-PAIR CABLES.

(II) THE COAXIAL CABLES CAN BE USED AS THE

BASIS FOR A SHARED CABLE NETWORK. (III) THE
COAXIAL CABLES CAN BE USED FOR BROADBAND
TRANSMISSION TE, SEVERAL CHANNELS CAN BE

TRANSMITTED SIMULTANEOUSLY (AS WITH CABLE

TV).

(IV) OFFER HIGHER BANDWIDTHS-UPTO 400 MBPS.

DISADVANTAGES OF
COAXIAL CABLE

(1) EXPENSIVE COMPARED TO

TWISTED PAIR CABLES.

(II) THE COAXIAL CABLES ARE NOT

COMPATIBLE WITH TWISTED PAIR
CABLES.
TYPES OF COAXIAL CABLE
THE TWO MOST COMMONLY USED TYPES OF COAXIAL CABLE
ARE THICKNET AND THINNET.

(I) THICKNET. THIS FORM OF COAXIAL CABLE IS THICKER

THAN THINNET. THE THICKNET COAXIAL CABLE SEGMENTS
(WHILE JOINING NODES OF A NETWORK) CAN BE UPTO 500
METERS LONG.

(II) THINNET. THIS FORM OF COAXIAL CABLE IS THINNER AND

IT CAN HAVE MAXIMUM SEGMENT LENGTH OF 185 METRES
I.E., USING THIS CABLE, NODES HAVING MAXIMUM DISTANCE
OF 185 METRES CAN BE JOINED.
 OPTICAL FIBER
OPTICAL FIBERS CONSIST OF THIN STRANDS OF
GLASS OR GLASS LIKE MATERIAL WHICH ARE SO
CONSTRUCTED THAT THEY CARRY LIGHT FROM A
SOURCE AT ONE END OF THE FIBER TO A DETECTOR
AT THE OTHER END. THE LIGHT SOURCE USED ARE
EITHER LIGHT EMITTING DIODES (LEDS) OR LASER
DIODES (LDS), THE DATA TO BE TRANSMITTED IS
MODULATED ONTO THE LIGHT BEAM USING
FREQUENCY MODULATION TECHNIQUES. THE SIGNALS
CAN THEN BE PICKED UP AT THE RECEIVING END AND
DEMODULATED. THE BANDWIDTH OF THE MEDIUM IS
POTENTIALLY VERY HIGH. FOR LEDS, THIS RANGES
BETWEEN 20 AND 150 MBPS AND HIGHER RATES ARE
POSSIBLE USING LDS
 OPTICAL FIBERS
THE FIBER CABLE CONSISTS OF
THREE PIECES (1) THE CORE, I.E.,
THE GLASS OR PLASTIC THROUGH
WHICH THE LIGHT TRAVELS (1) THE
CLADDING, WHICH IS A COVERING
OF THE CORE THAT REFLECTS LIGHT
BACK TO THE CORE, AND THE (III)
PROTECTIVE COATING, WHICH
PROTECTS THE FIBER CABLE FROM
HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT
FIBER OPTIC CABLE
ADVANTAGES OF OPTICAL FIBERS
(I) IT IS IMMUNE TO ELECTRICAL AND
MAGNETIC INTERFERENCE I.E., NOISE
IN ANY FORM BECAUSE THE
INFORMATION IS TRAVELLING ON A
MODULATED LIGHT BEAM AND NOT
ON AN ELECTRIC SIGNAL.

(II) IT IS HIGHLY SUITABLE FOR

HARSH INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS
 ADVANTAGES OF OPTICAL
FIBERS
(III) IT GUARANTEES SECURE TRANSMISSION
AND HAS A VERY HIGH TRANSMISSION
CAPACITY

(IV) FIBER OPTIC CABLES CAN BE USED FOR

BROADBAND TRANSMISSION WHERE SEVERAL
CHANNELS (I.E., BANDS OF FREQUENCY) ARE
HANDLED IN PARALLEL AND WHERE IT IS
ALSO POSSIBLE TO MIX DATA TRANSMISSION
CHANNELS WITH CHANNELS FOR TELESCOPE,
GRAPHICS, TV AND SOUND
DISADVANTAGES OF OPTICAL FIBERS

(1) INSTALLATION PROBLEM. FIBER OPTIC CABLES

ARE QUITE FRAGILE AND MAY NEED SPECIAL CARE
TO MAKE THEM SUFFICIENTLY ROBUST FOR AN
OFFICE ENVIRONMENT.

(II) CONNECTING EITHER TWO FIBERS TOGETHER

OR A LIGHT SOURCE TO A FIBER IS A DIFFICULT
PROCESS

(III) BECAUSE OF NOISE IMMUNITY, OPTICAL

FIBERS ARE VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO TAP. IN
ORDER TO INCEPT THE SIGNAL, THE FIBER MUST
BE CUT AND A DETECTOR INSERTED
FIBERS
(IV) LIGHT CAN REACH THE RECEIVER
OUT OF PHASE.

(V) FIBER OPTIC CABLES ARE MORE

DIFFICULT TO SOLDER.

(VI) THEY ARE THE MOST EXPENSIVE OF

ALL THE CABLES.
TYPES OF FIBER OPTIC CABLES
FIBER OPTIC CABLE CAN BE EITHER
SINGLE MODE THAT SUPPORTS A
SEGMENT LENGTH OF UPTO 5 KM AND
BANDWIDTH: OF UPTO 10 GBPS OR
MULTIMODE WITH A SEGMENT LENGTH
OF UPTO 1 KM AND BANDWIDTH UPTO
100 GBPS

SINGLE MODE FIBER DISTANCE IS MUCH

LONGER THAN THAT OF MULTIMODE
FIBER BUT MULTIMODE FIBER CABLES
 N K
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