3. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Transmission Media
A transmission medium can be broadly defined as Physical path between transmitter
and receiver
For example, the transmission medium for two people having a dinner conversation is
the air , For a written message, the transmission medium might be a mail carrier, a
truck, or an airplane
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4. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Transmission Media
Transmission media are actually located below the physical layer and are directly
controlled by the physical layer.
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Transmission Media
In data communications 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.
In telecommunications, transmission media can be divided into two broad categories:
guided and unguided.
In guided (wired)transmission media waves are guided along a solid medium such as copper
twisted pair, copper coaxial cable or optical fiber.
Unguided (wireless ) media provides a means for transmitting electromagnetic signals
through air but do not guide them
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6. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Transmission Media
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Twisted-pair cable
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Twisted Pair Cable
A twisted pair cable consists of two insulated copper wires arranged in a regular spiral
pattern.
Typically ,a number of pairs are bundled together into a cable by wrapping them in a tough
protective sheath.
What is the need for twisting and why not just put two wires as it is?
The need for twisting arises because of a phenomenon called crosstalk.
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9. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Why Twisting ?
Twisting decreases crosstalk interference between adjacent pairs in a cable
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
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.
This results in a difference at the receiver. By twisting the pairs, a balance is maintained
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10. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Why Twisting ?
Tighter twisting provides much better performance , but also increases cost
For example, suppose in one twist, one wire is closer to the noise source and the other is
farther; in the next twist, the reverse is true
This means that the receiver, which calculates the difference between the two, receives no
unwanted signals. The unwanted signals are mostly canceled out.
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11. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Twisted Pair Category
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12. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Twisted Pair Category
There are several categories of twisted pair of wire.
Cat 1 cable has very low bandwidth and we can send data at the rate of about 100 Kbps it
is commonly used for analog transmission and primarily used in telephone systems
telephone networks.
Cat 2 cable has a lower bandwidth less than 2 MHz and you can use data rate of up to 2
Mbps. It can be used for analog transmission as well as for low bandwidth digital signal
transmission.
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13. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Twisted Pair Category
Cat 3 which has a bandwidth of 16 MHz allows data rates of 10 Mbps and this
can be used not only for analog data communication but it is also commonly
used for digital data communication Particularly it is used in Local Area
Networks
Cat 4 has 20 MHz bandwidth with data rate of 20 Mbps. It is also primarily
used in digital data transmission, digital signal transmission and commonly
used in Local Area Networks.
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14. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Twisted Pair Category
Category 5 having bandwidth of 100 MHz and has 100 Mbps. It also uses digital data
transmission particularly in Local Area Networks.
Category 6 and category 7 are also available nowadays.
The two commonly used categories are Cat 3 (Up to 16MHz) and Cat 5 (Up to 100MHz )
Cat 3 has 3-4 twists per ft ,Cat 5 has 3-4 twists per inch
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15. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Twisted Pair Wires
Two varieties
STP (shielded twisted pair)
the pair is wrapped with metallic foil or braid to insulate the pair from electromagnetic
interference
UTP (unshielded twisted pair)
each wire is insulated with plastic wrap, but the pair is encased in an outer covering
CS/IS 465 - Data Communications and Networks 15
16. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
UTP and STP
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UTP connector
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21. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Coaxial Cable
Coaxial cable carries signals of higher frequency ranges than those in twisted- pair cable
It 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
The outer conductor is also enclosed in an insulating sheath, and the whole cable is
protected by a plastic cover
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22. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Coaxial Cable
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23. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Coaxial Cable
bandwidth of up to 500 MHz
much less susceptible to interference than twisted pair
high attenuation rate makes it expensive over long distance - more repeaters – especially for
digital signaling at higher data rates
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24. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Coaxial Cable
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Coaxial Cable
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Common Applications
Television distribution
cable TV applications , the television signal that is coming to your house from cable TV uses
coaxial cable.
Local Area Network
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28. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Fiber Optic Cable
An optical fiber is a thin flexible medium capable of conducting an optical ray.
It is made of ultra pure fused silica, glass fiber or even plastic
Used by private companies in implementing local data networks
require a light source with injection laser diode (ILD) or light-emitting diodes (LED)
It has a cylindrical shape and consists of three concentric sections the core, the cladding
and the jacket.
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Fiber Optic Cable
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Fiber Optic Cable
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Fiber Optic Cable
The core consists of very thin stance of fibers made of glass or
plastic.
The cladding part is also made of glass or plastic but with a
different refractive index
Then the jackets surround one or a bundle of cladded fibers.
Usually you have 4, 6 , 8 or 16 optical fiber cables as normally it
is used in pairs and for data transmission in both directions
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Fiber Optic Cable
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How Optical Fiber Works
Light travels in a straight line as long as it is moving through a single uniform substance.
If a ray of light traveling through one substance suddenly enters another substance (of a
different density), the ray changes direction
This concept of reflection is used by Fiber-Optic Cable to to guide light through a channel
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How Optical Fiber Works
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How Optical Fiber Works
As the previous figure shows, if the angle of incidence is less than the critical angle, the
ray refracts and moves closer to the surface
If the angle of incidence is equal to the critical angle, the light bends along the interface
If the angle is greater than the critical angle, the ray reflects (makes a turn) and travels
again in the denser substance.
The critical angle is a property of the substance, and its value differs from one substance to
another.
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Advantage of Optical Fiber
Optical fiber provides higher bandwidth leading to greater capacity (2Gbps over tens of
kilometers )
Small in size and very light in weight as it is not a metal
Very low attenuation.
resistance to corrosive material
Immune to electromagnetic interference (very suitable for outdoor applications, outdoor
cabling)
It has greater repeater spacing compared to either twisted pair or coaxial cable.
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Disadvantages of Optical Fiber
Installation and maintenance (adding additional nodes is difficult)
Unidirectional light propagation. Propagation of light is unidirectional. If we need
bidirectional communication, two fibers are needed.
Cost. The cable and the interfaces are relatively more expensive than those of other guided
media.
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Guided Media Comparison
Point-to-Point Characteristics
Transmission Rate Bandwidth Repeaters
Medium Mbps MHz km .
Twisted Pair 100 3.5 2-6
Coaxial 500 500 1-10
Optical Fiber 200000 200000 10-50
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39. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS
Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical conductor.
This type of communication is often referred to as wireless communication.
Signals are normally broadcast through free space and thus are available to anyone who has
a device capable of receiving them.
Unguided signals can travel from the source to destination in several ways: ground
propagation, sky propagation, and line-of-sight propagation
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40. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Wireless Transmission waves
Broadly , the electromagnetic spectrum used for wireless communication is
divided into three parts
Radio waves , Microwaves and Infrared
Transmission and reception are achieved by means of antennas
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Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless
communication
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Electromagnetic Spectrum
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Wireless Transmission
Directional (higher frequencies)
transmitting antenna puts out focused beam
transmitter and receiver must be aligned
Omnidirectional (lower frequencies)
signal spreads out in all directions
can be received by many antennas
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45. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
• Radio waves are used for multicast communications,
such as radio and television, and paging systems.
• They can penetrate through walls.
• Highly regulated. Use omni-directional antennas
Radio Waves
46. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
• Microwaves are used for unicast
communication such as cellular telephones,
satellite networks, and wireless LANs.
• Higher frequency ranges cannot penetrate
walls.
• Use directional antennas - point to point line of
sight communications.
Microwaves
47. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Unidirectional antennas
48. Bayero University , Kano CSC7307 Computer Communication & Networks
Infrared
Infrared signals can be used for short-range communication
in a closed area using line-of-sight propagation.
Wavelength 900 nm
Up to 2 Mbps
Does not penetrate walls
no licensing required
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7.49
Wireless Channels - Interference
Are subject to a lot more errors than guided media
channels.
Interference is one cause for errors, can be circumvented
with high SNR.
The higher the SNR the less capacity is available for
transmission due to the broadcast nature of the channel.
Channel also subject to fading and no coverage holes.
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Propagation Methods
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7.51
Bands
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Comparison of Transmission Media