Unit1-Part B

Physical Layer :
Guided Media, Unguided
Media

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 The Physical Layer
Foundation on which other layers build
• Properties of wires, fiber, wireless limit what the network
can do

Key problem is to send (digital) bits using only (analog)

signals
• This is called modulation

Physical Layer Issues:

• Media: wires, fiber, satellites, radio
• Signal propagation: bandwidth, attenuation, noise
• Modulation: how bits are represented as voltage signals2
 Abstract Model of a Physical Link

• Bit rate: bits/sec depends on the channel’s bandwidth

• Delay: how long does it take a bit to get to the end?

• Error rate: what is the probability of a bit flipping?

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Bandwidth-Delay Product:

• Storage capacity of a channel is: bit rate x delay

• Example:
• 100 Mbps 5000-km fiber, delay = 50 msec
• In 50 msec we can pump out 5 million bits
• So the fiber can store 5 million bits in 5000 km
• 1 km holds 1000 bits so a bit is 1 meter long
• At 200 Mbps, a bit is 0.5 m long

Signal Propagation over a Wire

• The signal has a finite propagation speed (2/3 c)

• The signal is attenuated per km

• Frequencies above a cutoff are strongly reduced

• Noise is added to the signal 4

Physical Layer - Transmission Media

▪ Transmission media is any thing that can carry information

from source to destination.
▪ Transmission media are located below the physical layer
and controlled by physical layer.
▪ Transmission media is usually free space, metallic cable, or
fiber optic.

Figure Transmission medium and

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physical layer
Types of Transmission Media

▪ GUIDED MEDIA
▪ UNGUIDED MEDIA

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Guided Transmission (Wires & Fiber) Media
▪ Guided media, are those that provide a conduit from one
device to another, include twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable,
and fiber-optic cable.
▪ A signal traveling along any of these media is directed and
contained by physical limits of the medium.
▪ Different types of guided media used are:
• Reality check
− Physical transport of storage media ( Magnetic Media)
• Wires:
− Twisted pairs
− Coaxial cable
− Power lines
• Fiber Cables

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 Magnetic Media
The most common way to transport data from one computer to
another is to write them onto magnetic tape or removable
media (e.g: CDs, DVDs etc.,.). Physically transport the tape or
disks to the destination machine and read them back in again.
❖ 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.

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Twisted-Pair Cable

▪ It consists of two insulated copper wires typically of 1mm thick.

▪ One is used to carry signal , other is used only as ground reference.
The receiver uses the difference between two.
▪ The wires are twisted together in a helical form. Twisting is done
because two parallel wires constitute a fine antenna.
▪ When the wires are twisted, the waves from different twists cancel
out i.e., noise or crosstalk, so the wire radiates less effectively. Thus
by twisting the pairs, a balance is maintained.
▪ For example, suppose one wire is close to noise and other
is farther , in the next twist the reverse is true.
▪ Twisting make both wire are equally affected by external
influences.

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P.T.O…….
Applications:
▪ The most common application of the twisted pair is in the
LANs and telephone line system.
▪ Twisted pairs can run for several kilometers without
amplification, but for longer distances repeaters are
needed.
▪ Twisted pairs can be used for transmitting either analog
or digital signals.
Types of Twisted Pairs:
– Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP)
– Shielded twisted-pair (STP)

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P.T.O…….
Types of Twisted Pair Wires:
• STP = Shielded Twisted Pair

• UTP = Unshielded Twisted Pair

- Cat 3: Home telephone lines (Gently twisted together. Four
such pairs are grouped in a plastic sheath to protect the wires
and keep them together)
- Cat 5:Fast Ethernet (100Mbps) ( Similar to Cat 3, but more
twists per centimeter, results in less crosstalk, better-quality
signal over longer distance. Suitable for high speed computer
communication.)
- Cat 5e: Gigabit Ethernet (1 Gbps)
- Cat 6: 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10 Gps) up to 100 m
- Cat 6A: Better quality Cat 6
- Cat 7: Includes shielding (not in common Example
use) of Four
Pair Twisted Pair

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P.T.O…….
Twisted Pair Wire Characteristics:

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P.T.O…….
Link Terminology:
Simplex link
• Only one fixed direction at all times; not common

Half-duplex link
• Both directions, but not at the same time, e.g., senders take turns on a
wireless channel

Full-duplex link
• Used for transmission in both directions at once, e.g., use different
twisted pairs for each direction
UTP connectors:
The most common UTP connector is RJ45 (where RJ stands for Registered
Jack)

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P.T.O…….
Performance:
▪ To measure performance of twisted pair is to compare
attenuation versus frequency and distance.
▪ It can pass a wide-range of frequencies.
▪ With increasing frequency, the attenuation (in dB/km), sharply
increases with frequencies above 100kHz.
▪ The gauge is the measure of thickness of the wire.

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Coaxial Cable
▪ Coaxial cable carries signals of higher frequency ranges than those in twisted-pair.
▪ It has better shielding than twisted pairs. It can span longer distances at higher
speeds.
▪ It consists of a stiff copper wire as core, surrounded by an insulating material.
▪ The insulator is encased by a cylindrical conductor know an closely –woven braided
mesh.
▪ The outer conductor is covered in a protective plastic sheath.

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P.T.O…….
Coaxial Cables Standards:
Coaxial cables are categorized by
RG (Radio Government) ratings.
RG number denotes a unique set
of physical specifications like wire
gauge of the inner conductor, the
thickness and type of the inner
insulator, the construction of the
shield, and the size and type of
outer casing.
Each cable defined by an RG
Coaxial
rating is Cables
used forConnectors:
a specialized
To connect Coaxial cable to devices we need coaxial connectors.
function.
The most common connector is BNC (Bayonet Neill-Concelman)
connector.
The popular connectors are: BNC Connector (ex: Cable TV), BNC T
Connector (ex: In Ethernet Networks to branch a computer and other
device) and BNC Terminator (is used at the end of the cable to prevent
signal reflection).

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P.T.O…….
Coaxial cable performance:
The attenuation is much higher in
coaxial cable than in twisted pair.
It has a much higher bandwidth,
the signal weakens rapidly and
requires the frequent use of
repeaters.
The bandwidth depends on the
cable quality, length and signal to
noise ratio of the data signal.
Applications:
It is widely used for cable television and metropolitan area networks
(MAN).
It is used in analog telephone networks where a single coaxial network
can carry 10,000 voice signals.
It is also used in digital telephone networks, where a single coaxial cable
can carry digital data up to 600Mbps.
At present the coaxial cable in telephone networks has largely been
replaced with fiber optic cable.
Common application of coaxial cable is in traditional Ethernet LANs.
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Optical Fiber
▪ Optical transmission system has three key components: light
source, transmission medium and detector.
▪ A pulse of light indicates a 1 bit and the absence of light
indicates a 0 bit.
▪ The transmission medium is an ultra –thin fiber of glass.
▪ The detector generates an electrical pulse when light falls on it.

Light travels in straight line as long as it is moving through a single

uniform substance in unidirectional.
If a ray of light traveling through one substance suddenly enters
another substance of difference density, the ray change direction.

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P.T.O…….
Bending of light rays in the
Fiber Optic

Optical
fiber
Optical fiber use reflection to guide light through
a channel.
A glass or plastic core is surrounded by a
cladding of less dense glass or plastic.
Propagation Fiber
modes: Cables:

End View of Sheath

with three fibers 19
Single Fiber P.T.O…
Single-mode
It uses step index fiber.
A highly focused source of light limits the beams to a small range of
angles, all close to the horizontal.
Core so narrow (10um) light can’t even bounce around
Used with lasers for long distances, e.g., 100km

Multi-mode
It is named because multiple beams from a light source move through
the core in different paths.
In multimode step-index fiber, the density of the core remains
constant from the center to the edges. At the interface there is an abrupt
change due to a lower density, this alters the angle of the beams motion.
The step-index refers to the sudden change of these densities, which
contributes to the distortion of the signal as it passes through the fiber.

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P.T.O…
In multimode graded-index fiber, decreases the distortion of the signal
though the cable. A graded-index fiber is one with varying densities.
Density is highest at the center of the core and decreases gradually at its
lowest at the edges.

Fiber
Sizes:
Optical fibers are defined by the ratio of the diameter to their core to the diameter of their
cladding, both expressed in micrometers.

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Construction of Fiber Optic Cable
The outer jacket is made of either PVC or
Teflon.
Inside the jacket are Kevlar strands to
strengthen the cable.
Kevlar is a strong material used in the
fabrication of bullet proof vests.
Below the Kevlar another plastic coating to
cushion the fiber.
The fiber is at the center of the cable, and it
consists of cladding and core.
Fiber-optic cable connectors
There are three types of connector for fiber-optic cable.
The SC (Subscriber Channel) connector is used for cable TV. It uses a push/
pull locking system.
The ST (Straight-top) connector is used for connecting cable to
networking devices. It uses a bayonet locking system and is more reliable
than SC.
MT-RJ is a connector that is the same size as RJ45.

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P.T.O…….
Performance of Optical fiber:
It is a plot between the attenuation
versus wavelength.
Attenuation is flatter than in the case
of twisted-pair cable and coaxial
cable.
The performance is such that we need
fewer repeaters when we use fiber-
optic cable.
Applications:
It is often found in backbone networks because of its wide bandwidth is
cost effective.
Some cable TV Companies use a combination of optical fiber and coaxial
cable thus creating a hybrid network. Optical fiber provides the
backbone structure while coaxial cable provides the connection to the
user premises. This is a cost-effective configuration since narrow
bandwidth requirement at the user end does not justify the use of optical
fiber.
Local Area Networks (LANs) like 100Base-FX network (Fast Ethernet)
and 1000Base-X also use fiber-optic cable.

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P.T.O…….
Advantages and Disadvantages of Fiber Optic:
▪ Advantages
➢ Higher bandwidth
➢ Less signal attenuation
➢ Immunity to electromagnetic interference (Noise resistance)
➢ Resistance to corrosive materials.
➢ Light weight
➢ Greater immunity to tapping.
▪ Disadvantages
➢ Installation and maintenance
➢ unidirectional light propagation.
➢ Cost

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Summary of Guided Media

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Unguided Media
▪ Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves without
using a physical conductor.
▪ This type of communication is often referred to as wireless
communication.

Figure: Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless

communication

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P.T.O…….
Earth Atmosphere
▪ Troposphere
▪ 30 miles from earth
▪ Air
▪ Cloud, wind, weather
▪ Jet plane travel
▪ Ionosphere
▪ Between troposphere and space
▪ Free electrically charged particles
Types of
Propagation:

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P.T.O…….
Ground Propagation
▪ Radio travels through the lowest portion of the
atmosphere
▪ VLF (in range of 3KHz – 10 KHz)
▪ Low attenuation
▪ Atmosphere noise (heat & electricity)
▪ For long-range radio navigation
▪ LF (in range of 30 KHz – 300 KHz)
▪ For long-range radio navigation
▪ Greater attenuation

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Sky Propagation
▪ Higher frequency radio waves
radiate
▪ upward into ionosphere where
they reflect back to earth.
▪ Allows greater distance with
lower output power

Line-of-sight Propagation

▪ Very high frequency signals

transmitted in straight
▪ lines from antenna to
antenna.
▪ Antenna must be directional 29
Characteristics of Unguided Media

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Wireless Transmission Waves

Radio Wave:
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
▪ Ranging from 3 KHz and 1 GHZ
▪ Omnidirectional, waves propagated in all directions
▪ Sender and receiver must not be aligned
▪ Propagate in sky mode
▪ With low frequencies can penetrate walls
▪ The radio wave band is relatively narrow
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 Microwave:
▪ Microwaves are used for unicast communication such as cellular
telephones, satellite networks, and wireless LANs
▪ Ranges from 1 and 300 GHz
➢ The can be narrowly focused
➢ A pair of antenna can be aligned without
▪ Characteristics
➢ Line-of-sight
➢ Repeaters are needed for long distances
➢ High frequency cannot penetrate walls
➢ Microwave band is relatively wide, therefore wider subbands can
be assigned, (higher data rate)

Unidirectional
antennas:

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Infrared:
Infrared signals can be used for short-range communication in
a closed area using line-of-sight propagation.
▪ Ranges from 300 GHz to 400 GHz
▪ Used for short range communication
▪ High frequency
▪ Cannot penetrate walls

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