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DATA COMMUNICATION AND NETWORKS

You communicate every day in different ways or form such as via the telephone, cell phone the
internet and so on but do you really stop to think about what exactly is involved in the
communication process? Let us now look at the terms associated with data communication and
networks.
Terms Associated with Data Communication and Networks
Communication this is the process of transmitting data from one person or device to another.
Data Communication this is the process of transmitting data and information over a
communication medium such as telephone line, coaxial cable, fibre optic cable, or microwave,
from a computer to a user or from a user to another.
Network this is a set of computers and peripherals such as printers, plotters, disk drives and
modems that are linked together on a permanent basis so that they can communicate and share
resources and information. This could mean two computers on a desk or thousands of computers
across the globe, as in the case of the internet.
Types of Networks
Local Area Network (LAN) a LAN describes a group of microcomputers or other workstations
connected on one site, such as a school or a block of offices for the exchange of information.
Generally, one or more computers act as a server for the purpose of sharing peripherals such as
hard disks, printers, tape backup, etc. The computers are usually connected by cables using one
of a given topologies. The most commonly used topologies are Bus, Star and Ring.
Wide Area Network (WAN) a WAN is similar to a LAN, but geographically spread over a
wider area. A typical example of a WAN is the internet, linking thousands of computers,
workstations and networks across the globe. The different segments of the WAN are connected
by a wide variety of communication media and devices (microwave, satellites, cables, telephone
lines, modems), depending on the distance between the different segments of the WAN.
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) this is a smaller version of a WAN that spans a town or
city.
Types of Transmission Media (Cable/Wired Media)
This refers to the physical materials along which data travels from one point to another. The
media used is dependent on the distance, speed and volume of data to be transmitted. For
computers that are linked by cables there are three choices: Twisted pair, Coaxial cable and
Fiber-optic cables. For communication over long distances microwave and satellite transmission
are used.

Coaxial cables this cable consists of a conductive cylindrical shield with a central wire or solid
core held together by an insulating material. These are the cables connected to your cable
television provider and one media used to connect computers in a local area network. They tend
to be faster and more expensive. They are used when voice and video transmission are necessary
or when large amount of data are to be transmitted.

Advantages

Not capable of interference

Transmission is fast
Can accommodate digital and analog signals

Disadvantages

Heavy an bulky

Fibre-Optic Cable this cable is made up of tiny threads of glass tubes about the size of a
human hair. Large volumes of data can be transmitted at the speed of light through these glass
tubes. Fibre-optic cables are extremely thin cables through which light, which is used to transmit
data passes. It also allows extremely fast and accurate transmission of large volumes of data. It
will become the communication medium of large volumes of data. It will become a
communication medium of choice replacing coaxial cables and telephone lines, if not already,
and possibly even satellite and microwave transmissions.

Advantages

Smaller and lighter

No interference
Able to bend light around corner

Disadvantages

Expensive
Hard to install and modify

Twisted Pair this is two insulated copper wires twisted around each other to reduce induction
(thus interference) from one wire to the other. The twists or lays are varied in length to reduce the
potential for signal interference between pairs. They are cheap and relatively slow so they are
usually used where the volume of data transmitted is small or where speed is not critical.

Advantages

The telephone network links the entire world; therefore data can be transmitted to almost
any place in the world.
Cheap

Disadvantages

Subject to interference

TYPES OF WIRELESS MEDIA

A wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is wireless and is commonly
associated with a telecommunication network whose interconnections between nodes is
implemented without the use of wires. Wireless telecommunications networks are generally
implemented with some type of remote information transmission system that uses
electromagnetic waves, such as radio waves. Examples include:
(1)

Satellite this is man-made equipment that orbits around the earth

or the moon. It acts as a relay station in outer space. It accepts
signals beamed to it from a point on earth and then reflects the
signal to another point. It can transmit data that includes text,
voice, pictures and video.
Advantage
No distance limitation
Disadvantages

(2)

Very expensive to set up

Not suitable for rapid exchange of data, because delays occur when data are sent
thousands of miles up into space.

Microwave These are very high frequency signals that can be

transmitted through space. In this communication channel the
medium is not a solid substance but air, itself.
Advantages
Travels at the speed of light
Transmits both analog and digital signal
Disadvantage
Cannot travel around bend

(3)

Infra-red this is a wave of light that is in the area beyond the visible part of the colour
spectrum. While it is invisible to the human eye infrared is often used to enhance
visibility when using night vision devices.

TYPES OF WIRELESS NETWORK TECHNOLOGY

Bluetooth
Bluetooth is an open wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances
from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks. It can connect
several devices, overcoming problems of synchronization.

Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi)

This is a trademark of the Wi-Fi group for certified products based on
the IEEE 802.11 standards (which is an organization dealing with local
area networks and metropolitan area networks). This certification
warrants interoperability between different wireless devices. Wi-Fi is
used by most personal computer operating systems, many video game
consoles, laptops, smart phones, printers, and other peripherals.
Hotspot
A hotspot is a physical location that offers internet access over a wireless
LAN through the use of a shared internet connection and a single router.
A router is a device in computer networking that
forwards data packets to their destinations, based on
their addresses.

Modem
The term modem is short for modulator demodulator and is an electronic device that
can convert digital signals into analog signals and vice versa. For example, a modem at
one computer converts the digital signals produced by the computer to analog signal for
transmission along a telephone line. The speed of a modem is measured in bits per
second (bps). The process of converting digital signal to analog is called modulation,
whereas the process of converting analog signal to digital signal is called demodulation.
Different Types of Modem

There
are
some
other
terms
associated with communication of which you may have heard before such as bandwidth. This
term you might have heard as it relates to communicating via a cell phone. Let us now examine
such terms.
Bandwidth
This is a data transmission rate, that is; the maximum amount of information (bits/second) that
can be transmitted along a channel.
Types of Bandwidth
Broadband this is the bandwidth that includes microwave, satellites, coaxial cable and
fibre optic channels. It describes a technology that provides bandwidth that is greater
than that provided by ordinary telephone lines, that is, greater than 64 kilobits per second.
It is used for very high-speed computers whose processors communicate directly with
each other. The greater the bandwidth the greater the data carrying capacity.
Narrowband this is a term used to describe data that is transmitted at a slow speed
(just over 10 characters per second) for example, telegraphed transmission.
Voiceband this is the bandwidth of a standard telephone line and is used often for
microcomputer transmission; the bps is between 110 and 9600.
Communication Modes
The three basic transmission modes or directions are:
Simplex this is where data is transmitted in one direction. An example in computing is
the interface between the keyboard and the computer, in that, key codes need only be sent
from the keyboard to the computer system.
Half Duplex this channel can send and receive data but not at the same time. An
example of this would be the use of a Walkie Talkie. Only one end transmits at a time,
the other receives.

Duplex this is where data can travel in both directions simultaneously. There is no
need to switch from transmit to receive mode as in half duplex. It is like a two-way
bridge on a two lane highway.

Other means of transmission

Point to Point transmission this is a direct link between two objects (such as
computers) in a network.
Broadcast this is the transmission of data to all connected stations simultaneously.