Network Transmission Media and Transmission Protocols

There are three characteristic ways in which data can be transmitted or

received. These are simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex. Simplex allows
transmission of data in only one direction. Half-duplex allows transmission
in both directions, but in only one direction at any one moment in time.
Full-duplex allows transmission in both directions simultaneously.
There are three ways in which data bits can be transmitted: baseband,
broadband and synchronous data transmission. Baseband transmissionis
when bits are transmitted as square waves. Broadband is when data is
encoded into analogue waves using the complete range of possible
frequencies available.
Broad band provides a much faster rate.
Synchronous data transmission is used when there is a regular transmission
of bits to be transmitted. The data bits are transmitted continuously in large
blocks. Between the blocks of data, synchronising characters (SYN
characters) are transmitted.
It is often necessary to transmit data
intermittently, for example from a keyboard. This is known as asynchronous
data transmission. This can be performed one character at a time. A
character can be coded as 8 bits. Preceding the data bits will be a start bit,
then eight bits followed by a stop bit. When no data is being transmitted the
signal transmitted represents a 0. This ensures that the first signal received
is always a change from 0 to 1. This change in voltage can be used to start
the clock of the receiving device. The receiver will then read the 8 data bits.
The stop bit ensures that the next start bit will be recognized. In some
instances two stop bits may be used. This is needed with electromechanical
devices to ensure that everything had stopped before another start bit is
received.
Error Checking
With the transmission of data error detection is very important. Four
methods used are echo check, parity bits, check sums, and cyclic redundancy
checks (CRC). Echo check involves the data that are being transmitted
being returned to the sender. The sender then checks that the returned data is
the same as the data that was transmitted. Parity bits can be attached to
every message sent in order to ensure that the data is received correctly. A
parity bit is computed by adding up the ones. It the total is odd, then the
parity bit is one. This method is limited as it can only check for single bit
errors. Check sums can be added to each message. For instance it could be

a simple sum of all the ones transmitted. Cyclic redundancy checks involves
the calculation of a polynomial check sum that is added to each message.
This is very efficient at establishing almost all errors that can occur.
In some situations error correcting is needed. The hamming code for
example can not only detect errors but correct them. However these require
a lot of additional overhead so they are not so popular. Data compression
and data encryption might also be necessary.
Data can be transmitted in two main ways: Packet switching and circuit
switching. Packet switching transmit data in packets (datagrams) that will
contain the destination address, senders address, and a packet number (used
to reassemble messages that have been split up to fit into packets). Packets
are sent individually through the network. The role of the node is to direct
each packet individually. At times some channels may become busy and the
nodes are intelligent enough to direct these packets around these busy routes.
This means that packets may arrive out of sequence and may be reassembled
by the receiver.
Circuit switching systems use a different approach to routing. The system
uses special packets known as virtual circuit set up packets. This packet is
sent through the network to set up a virtual circuit. Once a virtual circuit has
been created it acts as a single channel through the network and packets can
be sent along it. Virtual circuits cannot benefit from routing packets around
the congestion but the receiver will not need to reassemble messages as the
packets will arrive in the correct order.
Network transmission media may be wired or wireless. What ever medium
is used to transmit data, it travels in the form of bits. For example if the
medium is wire, the sender will generate one voltage to represent 1 and
another voltage to represent 0. The rate of voltage changes is called the
baud. Bit rate is the number of bits that can be transmitted per time period.
In some instances the baud rate and the bit rate could be the same. However
in instances where each change in voltage is used to represent two bits then
the bit rate would be twice the baud rate.
When a signal is transmitted along a wire it is reluctant to travel as a square
wave. Waves naturally form sine waves (analogue signals). All media are
capable of transmitting a set of waves that have a range of frequencies. The
frequency of a wave is the rate at which the wave repeats itself. The range

of frequency is known as the bandwidth. The wider the bandwidth the more
data that can be transmitted. Therefore a normal telephone has a low
bandwidth while a optical fibre has a very high bandwidth.
Multiplexing and concentrating are two methods commonly used to make
networks more efficient when there is channel sharing. Multiplexing uses
multiplexers, which are devices used to collect data from several channels
and send them over a single channel. On the receiving end they receive they
separate the transmissions to their original order for processing.
Concentration is the process by which if it is necessary to connect more
devices than a communication channel can handle at a time. It uses a
concentrator, which is a device that stores data in a buffer for later
transmission. Many multiplexers also provide concentration.
Wired Transmission Media
The main types of wired transmission media are Open wires, coaxial,
twisted pair and fiber-optic cables. Open wires, coaxial, and twisted pair
cables are all examples of copper wires that transit electronically, fiber-optic
cables on the other hand uses light.
Data can be transmitted along wire serially or in parallel. Data are normally
transmitted in the form of bits that follow each other along a single wire.
This is called data transmission. If we lay a number of wires alongside each
other in parallel it is possible to transmit several bits at a time. Another wire
will contain the synchronizing signal which is used to tell the receiving
device that data should be present. Parallel transmission would appear to
allow faster transmission, but there is a problem. Data do not travel at the
same speed along the wires. As a result you could have bits arriving at
different times. This is referred to as a skew. Therefore to prevent data
being misinterpreted only use this for short periods. Parallel cables are more
expensive because of the extra wires. They can be faster than serial, but can
only be used over short distances. An example of a parallel interface is the
printer port.
Coaxial Cable
Coaxial cable consists of a single wire surrounded by an insulating material
and a metal sheath or tube for protection, for example television cable.
There are two basic types: baseband and broad band. Baseband coaxial

cables carry between 1 and 50 million bits per second. Multiple devices can
use this channel by combining their signals through a multiplexer, which is a
device that allows two or more devices to share a common communication
channel. Broadband carry multiple analog signals together at once at speeds
of between 20 and 50 million bits per second. Broadband is the more
expensive of the two categories.
Since extensive wire cable networks already exist that are easier and cheaper
than the other systems, wire cable systems remain the most popular. The
technology to transmit data along these lines are standardized, thus reducing
compatibility
issues.
One disadvantage is that data has to be transmitted in analog form.
Therefore additional hardware to convert to digital but this also slows down
transmission. Another disadvantage is that it is difficult to link users who
are separated by long distances or by natural barriers such as mountains or
large bodies of water.
Twisted Pair Cable
Twisted pair cables are literally two copper wires twisted around each other.
Each wire is wrapped in a protective coating. There are two main types:
shielded and unshieled. Since it is used in telegraph and telephone lines, it is
the most common type of data communication channel today.
Fiber-Optic Cable
Fiber-optic cables provide some of the fastest data transfer rates possible,
several billion bits per second. Fiber optic cables do not suffer from electromagnetic interference, since it transmit using light. Unlike wire cables or
microwave, fibre- optic channels transmit data in digital form. Light
impulses travel through clear, flexible tubing thinner than a human hair.
Hundreds of tubes can fit in the space of a single wire cable. They are very
reliable and transmit at very high speeds with few or no errors. They do
however require repeaters to read and boost the light signal strength over
long distances.
Wireless Transmission Media

Wireless transmission medias include infra-red, microwave, radio waves,

laser beams and satellites.
Infra-red
Are types of beams that are used to link machines within the building. This
saves having to have the cables below the floor or round the walls. It is like
the remote control for your television. One unit controls the data sent to
others in similar ways.
Radio Waves
Radio networks had become popular and had huge implications for both
businesses and educational institutions. If you had a portable computer and
your school had a radio-based network then you would be able to connect
from anywhere in the school, provided it is within range of the radio
receiver.
Laser Beams
Lasers beams (coherent light beams) can be used to transmit data between
two different sites, for example two buildings. The distance between the two
buildings can be up to a maximum of 20km, but is usually considerably less
since the quality of data communications can be adversely affected by the
weather.
Microwave
Microwave signals are transmitted through the atmosphere rather than
through wire cables, in much the same way as radio and television.
However microwave must be sent in straight lines as they cannot bend
around corners or follow the curvature of the earth. Thus microwave
stations must be located every 30 miles. These transmission stations redirect
and boosts the signals.
Satellites
Satellites direct microwave signals over large, geographically dispersed
areas too. A communication satellite is a device placed in an orbit around
the earth that receives, amplifies and then transmits signals. Microwave
signals are sent from a transmitter station to an earth station (using satellite

dishes) and then are beamed to an orbiting satellite. Transmissions to the

satellite are called uplinks. Then they are amplified and beamed on a
different frequency back to another earth station if a direct line of sight is
possible. When direct transmissions are not possible, the signal is
transmitted to another satellite that does have a direct line of sight to an earth
station. Transmission from a satellite to an earth station is called a down
link. Only three satellites placed in geosynchronous orbit (seemingly
stationary to the earth) are required to sent a signal anywhere on earth.
Compared with wire cables microwave has a much lower error rate and is
more reliable. Because there is no physical connection between the sending
and receiving systems, communication can be made over longer distances
and rougher terrains. One disadvantage however is the high cost of ground
stations and satellites to support a microwave system.
There are multiple transmission protocols that could be used: Transmission
Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol (TCP/IP); File Transfer Protocol (FTP);
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP); Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP); Webcast Protocol and Open System Interconnection (OSI) model.
A protocol is simply another name for rule. Many rules apply to data
transmission and it is only possible for two devices that share the same
protocol.
A protocol may be the signals that are sent to ensure that the receiving
device is ready to receive data when they arrive. If parallel transmission is
used, in the instance of the printer it would have additional control wires to
allow the computer and the printer to communicate with each other. This
type of communication is known as handshaking. Another protocol is the
speed of transmission. In order for serial transmission to be successful the
receiving device must be set to receive data at the same bit rate as the
sending device.
Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
TCP/IP has similar protocols that implement layers 3 and 4 of the OSI
model. IP provides the internet protocol and TCP provides the transport
layer. It manages the transmission of data by breaking it up into packets. It
was first defined in 1974, and later in 1985. some design consideration in
this model were: the ability to connect multiple networks in a seamless way;
the ability to remain intact as long as the source and destination machines

are functioning; and also flexibility as applications with divergent

requirements wee envisioned. It consisted of four layers: the host-tonetwork or physical layer; the internet layer; the transport layer; and the
application layer.
Host-to-Network or Physical Layer
This layer is a bit of a void as not much is said about it. Basically all it says
is that the host is to connect to the network using some protocol so it can
send IP packets to it. Since it is not defined, it varies from host to host and
from network to network.
Internet Layer
Is the linchpin that holds the entire system together. Its job is to allow any
host to interject packets into any network and have them travel
independently to the destination, on a potentially different network. The
packets may arrive in a different order from which they were sent and it is
the job of the higher layer to put them back together.
Transport Layer
This layer is above the internet layer and is designed to allow peer entities
on the source and destination hosts to carry on a conversation. It is a reliable
connection oriented protocol that allows a byte stream originating from one
machine to be delivered error free to any other machine on the internet. It
fragments the incoming byte stream into discrete messages and passes each
one to the internet layer. At the destination, the receiving TCP process,
reassembles the messages into the output stream. TCP also handles control
flow to ensure that a fast sender cannor swamp a slow receiver with more
messages than it can handle.
A second protocol in this layer is the User Datagram Protocol (UDP),which
is an unreliable, connectionless protocol for applications that do not want to
TCP sequence control and wish to provide their own. It is widely used for
one shot, client server type request reply queries and applications in which
prompt delivery is more important than accurate delivery.
Application Layer

On top of the transport layer is the application layer. It contains all other
higher layer protocols. This included the earlier virtual terminal (TELNET),
file transfer protocol (FTP), electronic mail (SMTP).
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
FTP is the standard method of transmitting files across the internet.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
SMTP is an international standard for email.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
HTTP applies to a set of computers that provide information in a
standardized form known as the World Wide Web.
Webcast Protocol
As well as providing text pages the World Wide Web now has webcast
servers that provide continuously updated data including streaming and
video.
OSI

TCP/IP

Application

Application

Presentation
Sessions
Transport

Transport

Network

Internet

Data Link

Host to
Network

Physical
TELNET

FTP

SMTP

TCP

DNS

UDP
IP

ARPANET

SATNET

Packet

Radio

LAN

Open System Interconnection (OSI) model

The International Standards Organisation has produced a seven layer model
for open systems intercommunication. This is to allow computers of
different origins to connect together. The concept is that suppliers can
produce hardware or software to implement any of the seven layers and that
other suppliers can provide the other layers. A layered model in this form is
called a protocol stack. The seven layers are physical, data link, network,
transport, session, presentation, and application. At each layer additional
information is added to allow the service to be provided. The physical layer
is standards for electrical connections, bit rates, etc. Data link layer provides
error correction. Network layer provides routing through the network.
Transport layer provides naming facilities and error correction for internetwork communication. Session layer establishes and maintain sessions
dialogues (e.g. login session, file transfer sessions). Presentation layer does
data transformation (e.g. ASCII to Unicode), data encryption and
compression, etc. Application layer provides network applications such as
data transfer, messaging, operating system functions, etc.