IT2006

Data Connections
A hardware interface is an architecture used to interconnect two (2) devices together. It includes the design of the plug
and socket, the type, and the number and purpose of the wires and the electrical signals that are passed across them.

Characteristics of Interface Standards

• De facto standard – it is something that is used so widely that it is considered a standard for a given
application although it has no official status.
• Composition – it is the whole content of an entity of an interface standard.
o Electrical component deals with voltages, line capacitance, and other electrical issues.
o Mechanical component deals with items such as the connector or plugs description.
o Functional component deals with the function of each pin used in an interface.
o Procedural component describes how the circuits are used to perform an operation.

Examples of Interfaces
• Universal Serial Bus (USB) - It is a digital interface that uses a standardized connector
(plug) for all serial and parallel type devices which provides a digital interface and
known for being hot-pluggable. Hot plugging (hot swapping) is the ability to add and
remove devices to a computer system while the computer is running and have the
operating system automatically recognize the change.
• Fire Wire – It is a type of interconnection between peripheral devices (such as wireless
modems and high-speed digital video cameras) and a microcomputer. This digital
interface that is capable of supporting transfer speeds of up to 3.2 Gbps.
• Thunderbolt – It is currently found on Apple laptops and provides a 10-Gbps connection
to peripheral devices. It uses the same connector as the already existing Mini
DisplayPort and uses an already existing protocol called PO Express.

• Lightning - It is an 8-pin connector in which it can be found as the primary connector on

the newer versions of Apple's iPhone as well as Apple devices such as the iPad.

• SCSI - SCSI, which stands for Small Computer System Interface is a technique for
interfacing a computer to high-speed devices such as hard disk drives, tape drives, CDs,
and DVDs. SCSI was designed to support devices of a more permanent nature such as
high-performance workstations and network servers.
• InfiniBand – This interface is used due to its high-speed connection that is mostly found
in networks that require large amounts of peripheral storage. It can carry multiple
channels of data at the same time up to 2.5 billion bits (2.5 gigabits) per second (single
data rate), 5 gigabits per second (double data rate), and 10 gigabits per second (quad
data rate); and it can address (interconnect) thousands of devices using both copper
wire and fiber-optic cables.

• Fibre Channel is like InfiniBand in that it too is a serial, high-speed network that
connects a computer to multiple input/output devices. Fibre Channel also supports data
transfer rates up to billions of bits per second, but it can support the interconnection of
up to 126 devices only.

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Data Link Connections

• Asynchronous connection - a single character, or byte of data, is the unit of transfer between the sender and
receiver. The sender prepares a data character for transmission, transmits that character with irregular timing,
and then begins preparing the next data character for transmission.
• Synchronous connection - the unit of transmission is a sequence of characters. This sequence of characters
may be thousands of characters in size with regular timing sent.
• Isochronous connection - a special kind of data link connection used to support various types of real-time
applications such as streaming voice, video, and music.

Data Transmission Factors

The data transmission capabilities of various media vary differently depending upon the various factors.
• Bandwidth - refers to the data-carrying capacity of a channel or medium. Higher bandwidth communication
channels support higher data rates.
• Radiation - refers to the leakage of signal from the medium due to undesirable electrical characteristics of the
medium.
• Noise Absorption - refers to the susceptibility of the media to external electrical noise that can cause
distortion of the data signal.
• Attenuation - refers to the loss of energy as signal propagates outwards. The amount of energy lost depends
on frequency. Radiations and physical characteristics of media contribute to attenuation.

Bandwidth and Throughput

• Bandwidth is the measurement of the ability of an electronic communications device or system to send and
receive information. There are two terms:
o Hertz - Bandwidth in hertz is the range of frequencies contained in a composite signal or the range of
frequencies a channel can pass.
▪ For example, we can say the bandwidth of a subscriber telephone line is 4 kHz. It refers to the range
of frequencies in a composite signal or the range of frequencies that a channel can pass.
𝑩𝑾 = 𝒇𝑯 − 𝒇𝑳 Example: A given signal has frequencies of
Wherein: 635 MHz and 7000Mhz. Determine the
𝐵𝑊 – Bandwidth (Hz) bandwidth of the signal.
𝑓𝐻 – Highest Frequency 𝐵𝑊 = 7000 𝑀ℎ𝑧 − 635 𝑀ℎ𝑧
𝑓𝐿 – Lowest Frequency 𝐵𝑊 = 6365 𝑀ℎ𝑧
o Bits per Seconds - The term bandwidth can also refer to the number of bits per second that a channel, a
link, or even a network can transmit.
▪ For example, one can say the bandwidth of a Fast Ethernet network (or the links in this network) is a
maximum of 100 Mbps. It refers to the speed of bit transmission in a channel or link.
• Throughput is the amount of data that enters and goes through a system. In layman’s term, it is a measure of
how fast we can actually send data through a network.
Example:
1. A network with a bandwidth of 10 Mbps can pass 𝑻 = 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 × 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒅 (𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒔)
12000 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑠 × 10000 𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑠
only an average of 12,000 frames per minute with 𝑇=
each frame carrying an average of 10,000 bits. What 60 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠
𝑇 = 2 𝑀𝑏𝑝𝑠
is the throughput of this network?
2. There is a data that has a file size of 46 𝑀𝑏 with a.)
an ethernet overhead of 10 𝑀𝑏. Find the following if 𝐵𝑊 = 46 𝑀𝑏 + 10 𝑀𝑏
there is an amount of data loss of 28 𝑀𝑏𝑝𝑠 due to 𝐵𝑊 = 56 𝑀𝑏
errors and acknowledgments. b.)
a.) Total amount of data to be transferred 𝑻 = 𝑩𝑾 − 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔
b.) Throughput 𝑇 = 56 − 28
𝑇 = 28 𝑀𝑏𝑝𝑠

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Latency
• It is a measure of delay. It measures the time it takes for data to get to its destination across the network.
𝑳𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 = 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 + 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 + 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒈 + 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒚
o Propagation time measures the time required for a bit to travel from the source to the destination.
o Transmission time measures the time how long a message will pass in channel corresponding with
the bandwidth.
o Queuing time measures the time needed for each intermediate or end device to hold the message
before it can be processed.
o Processing delay measures how data is processed through or from links.

Examples:
1. What are the propagation time and the transmission 2. What are the propagation time and the transmission
time for a 2.5 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑜𝑏𝑦𝑡𝑒 message (an email) if the time for a 5𝑀𝐵 message (an image) if the bandwidth of
bandwidth of the network is 1 𝐺𝑏𝑝𝑠? Assume that the the network is 1 𝑀𝑏𝑝𝑠? Assume that the distance
distance between the sender and the receiver is between the sender and the receiver is 12,000 𝑘𝑚 and
12,000 𝑘𝑚 and that light travels at 2.4 × 108 𝑚/𝑠. that light travels at 2.4 × 108 𝑚/𝑠.
12,000 × 1,000
12,000 × 1,000 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = = 50 𝑚𝑠
2.4 × 108
𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = = 50 𝑚𝑠 5,000,000 × 8
2.4 × 108 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = = 40 𝑠
2,500 × 8 106
𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = = 2 × 10−5 𝑚𝑠
109
3. What is the latency of the network if there is an impeding propagation time of 50𝑚𝑠 and a transmission time of
0.020 𝑚𝑠 when added the queuing time of 0.75 𝑚𝑠 and a processing delay of 2 𝑚𝑠?
𝐿𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 = 50 𝑚𝑠 + 0.020 𝑚𝑠 + 0.75 𝑚𝑠 + 2𝑚𝑠 = 50.77𝑚𝑠

Bit Rate and Baud Rate

• Bit Rate is the amount of data (number of bits) that can be transmitted per second. Bit rate is closer to
bandwidth, but it is often per host or source to destination devices.
• Baud Rate refers to the number of signal or symbol changes that occur per second. A symbol is one of several
voltage, frequency, or phase changes.
𝟏 Wherein:
𝑺=𝑵× 𝑆 – Baud Rate (bits per second) 𝑟 – number of data bits per signal element
𝒓
𝒓 = 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝟐 𝑳 𝑁 – Bit Rate (bits) 𝐿 – number of signal elements

Examples:
1. An analog signal carries 4 bits per signal 2. An analog signal has a bit rate of 8000 𝑏𝑝𝑠 and a baud rate of
element. Find the bit rate if 1000 signal 1000 𝑏𝑎𝑢𝑑. How many data elements are carried by each signal
elements are sent per second. element? How many signal elements do we need?
1
𝑆=𝑁× 1 𝑁
𝑟
𝑁 = 𝑆 × 𝑟 = 1000 × 4 𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑠 = 4000 𝑏𝑎𝑢𝑑 𝑆=𝑁× 𝑟=
𝑟 𝑆 𝑟 = log 2 𝐿
𝑁 8000 𝑏𝑝𝑠 𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝐿 = 2𝑟 = 28 = 256
𝑟= = =8
𝑆 1000 𝑏𝑎𝑢𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑢𝑑

Data Transfer Technique

• In a switched network, data is transferred from source to destination through a series of intermediate switching
nodes. Data passes through a subset of the network nodes.
o Circuit switching involves establishing a path from source to destination before the commencement of
communication. The path is dedicated to the source-destination pair for the duration of the
communication session.

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o Packet switching involves organizing data in blocks called packets that are sent in a store-and-forward
manner without prior establishment of the communication path. By store-and-forward, we mean that
when a node receives a packet, it stores the packet and checks it for errors.
• In a broadcast network, a transmission from a source is received by all nodes in the network. A broadcast network
ensures that all the nodes in the network see the transmitted data.

References:
Frenzel, L. (April 27, 2012). What’s the Difference Between Bit Rate and Baud Rate? [Web Article]. Retrieved on April 23,
2020 from https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/communications/article/21802272/whats-the-
difference-between-bit-rate-and-baud-rate
Ibe, O. (2018). Fundamentals of Data Communication Networks [1st ed.]. US: Wiley.
Kurose, F., et. al. (2017). Computer Networking – A Top-Down Approach [7th ed.]. NY: Pearson.
Media Access Methods. (n.d.). In Mysolutionguru.com. [Web Article]. [Web Content]. Retrieved on April 23, 2020
https://www.mysolutionguru.com/ps/media-access-methods/112
Sklar, B. (2017). Digital Communications – Fundamentals and Applications [2nd ed.]. NJ: Prentice Hall.
Speidel, J. (2019). Introduction to Digital Communications. Switzerland: Springer Nature.

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