INTRODUCTION TO DATA COMMUNICATIONS

In Data Communications, data generally are defined as information that is stored in digital form.
Data communication is the process of transferring digital information between two or more points.
Information is defined as the knowledge or intelligence. Data communications can be summarized
as the transmission, reception, and processing of digital information. For data communications to
occur, the communicating devices must be part of a communication system made up of a
combination of hardware (physical equipment) and software (programs).
The effectiveness of a data communications system depends on four fundamental characteristics:
delivery, accuracy, timeliness, and jitter.
1. Delivery: The system must deliver data to the correct destination. Data must be received by
the intended device or user and only by that device or user.
2. Accuracy: The system must deliver the data accurately. Data that have been altered in
transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.
3. Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data delivered late are useless.
In the case of video and audio, timely delivery means delivering data as they are produced, in
the same order that they are produced, and without significant delay. This kind of delivery is
called real-time transmission.
4. Jitter: Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. It is the uneven delay in the
delivery of audio or video packets.
A data communications system has five components:
1. Message: The message is the information (data) to be communicated. Popular forms of
information include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and video.
2. Sender: The sender is the device that sends the data message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset, video camera, and so on.
3. Receiver: The receiver is the device that receives the message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset, television, and so on.
4. Transmission medium: The transmission medium is the physical path by which a message
travels from sender to receiver. Some examples of transmission media include twisted-pair
wire, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, and radio waves.
5. Protocol: A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. It represents an
agreement between the communicating devices.

Standards Organizations for Data Communications

An association of organizations, governments, manufacturers and users form the standards
organizations and are responsible for developing, coordinating and maintaining the standards. The
intent is that all data communications equipment manufacturers and users comply with these
standards. The primary standards organizations for data communication are:
 International Standard Organization (ISO)
ISO is the international organization for standardization on a wide range of subjects. It is comprised
mainly of members from the standards committee of various governments throughout the world. It
is even responsible for developing models which provides high level of system compatibility,
quality enhancement, improved productivity and reduced costs. The ISO is also responsible for
endorsing and coordinating the work of the other standards organizations.
 International Telecommunications Union-Telecommunication Sector (ITU-T)
ITU-T is one of the four permanent parts of the International Telecommunications Union based in
Geneva, Switzerland. It has developed three sets of specifications: the V series for modem
interfacing and data transmission over telephone lines, the X series for data transmission over public
digital networks, email and directory services; the I and Q series for Integrated Services Digital
Network (ISDN) and its extension Broadband ISDN. ITU-T membership consists of government
authorities and representatives from many countries and it is the present standards organization for
the United Nations.
 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
IEEE is an international professional organization founded in United States and is comprised of
electronics, computer and communications engineers. It is currently the world’s largest professional
society with over 200,000 members. It develops communication and information processing
standards with the underlying goal of advancing theory, creativity, and product quality in any field
related to electrical engineering.
 American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
ANSI is the official standards agency for the United States and is the U.S voting representative for
the ISO. ANSI is a completely private, non-profit organization comprised of equipment
manufacturers and users of data processing equipment and services. ANSI membership is comprised
of people form professional societies, industry associations, governmental and regulatory bodies,
and consumer goods.
 Electronics Industry Association (EIA)
EIA is a non-profit U.S. trade association that establishes and recommends industrial standards. EIA
activities include standards development, increasing public awareness, and lobbying and it is
responsible for developing the RS (recommended standard) series of standards for data and
communications.
 Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)
TIA is the leading trade association in the communications and information technology industry. It
facilitates business development opportunities through market development, trade promotion, trade
shows, and standards development. It represents manufacturers of communications and information
technology products and also facilitates the convergence of new communications networks.
 Internet Architecture Board (IAB)
IAB earlier known as Internet Activities Board is a committee created by ARPA (Advanced
Research Projects Agency) so as to analyze the activities of ARPANET whose purpose is to
accelerate the advancement of technologies useful for U.S military. IAB is a technical advisory
group of the Internet Society and its responsibilities are:
a. Oversees the architecture protocols and procedures used by the Internet.
b. Manages the processes used to create Internet Standards and also serve as an appeal board for
complaints regarding improper execution of standardization process.
c. Responsible for administration of the various Internet assigned numbers
d. Acts as a representative for Internet Society interest in liaison relationships with other
organizations.
e. Acts as a source of advice and guidance to the board of trustees and officers of Internet
Society concerning various aspects of internet and its technologies.
DATA TRANSMISSION MODES
Communication between two devices can be simplex, half-duplex, full-duplex or full/full duplex.
Simplex mode (SX):
In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way street. Only one of the two
devices on a link can transmit; the other can only receive. Keyboards and traditional monitors are
examples of simplex devices. The keyboard can only introduce input; the monitor can only accept
output. The simplex mode can use the entire capacity of the channel to send data in one direction.
Half-Duplex mode (HDX):
In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same time. When one
device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa. In a half-duplex transmission, the
entire capacity of a channel is taken over by whichever of the two devices is transmitting at the
time. Walkie-talkies and CB (citizens band) radios are both half-duplex systems. The half-duplex
mode is used in cases where there is no need for communication in both directions at the same time;
the entire capacity of the channel can be utilized for each direction.
Full-Duplex mode (FDX):
In full-duplex both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously. The full-duplex mode is like a
two way street with traffic flowing in both directions at the same time. In full-duplex mode, signals
going in one direction share the capacity of the link: with signals going in the other direction. One
common example of full-duplex communication is the telephone network. When two people are
communicating by a telephone line, both can talk and listen at the same time. The full-duplex mode
is used when communication in both directions is required all the time. The capacity of the channel,
however, must be divided between the two directions.

Full/full duplex mode:

In full/full duplex (F/FDX) mode, transmission is possible in both directions at the same time but
not between the same two stations (i.e. station 1 transmitting to station 2, while receiving from
station 3). F/FDX is possible only on multipoint circuits. Postal system can be given as a person can
be sending a letter to one address and receive a letter from another address at the same time.
NETWORKS
A network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes) connected by communication links. A node
can be a computer, printer, or any other device capable of sending and/or receiving data generated
by other nodes on the network.
Network Criteria
A network must be able to meet a certain number of criteria. The most important of these are
performance, reliability, and security and transmission rate.
1. Performance:
Performance can be measured in many ways, including transit time and response time. Transit time
is the amount of time required for a message to travel from one device to another. Response time is
the elapsed time between an inquiry and a response. The performance of a network depends on a
number of factors, including the number of users, the type of transmission medium, the capabilities
of the connected hardware, and the efficiency of the software.
2. Reliability:
Network reliability is measured by the frequency of failure, the time it takes a link to recover from a
failure, and the network's robustness in a catastrophe.
3. Security:
Network security issues include protecting data from unauthorized access, protecting data from
damage and development, and implementing policies and procedures for recovery from breaches
and data losses.
Network Components, Functions, and Features
The major components of a network are end stations, applications and a network that will support
traffic between the end stations. Computer networks all share common devices, functions, and
features, including servers, clients, transmission media, shared data, shared printers and other
peripherals, hardware and software resources, network interface card (NIC), local operating system
(LOS) and the network operating system (NOS).
 Servers: Servers are computers that hold shared files, programs and the network operating
system. Servers provide access to network resources to all the users of the network and
different kinds of servers are present. Examples include file servers, print servers, mail
servers, communication servers etc.
 Clients: Clients are computers that access and use the network and shared network
resources. Client computers are basically the customers (users) of the network, as they
request and receive service from the servers.
 Shared Data: Shared data are data that file servers provide to clients, such as data files,
printer access programs, and e-mail.
 Shared Printers and other peripherals: these are hardware resources provided to the
users of the network by servers. Resources provided include data files, printers, software, or
any other items used by the clients on the network.
 Network interface card: Every computer in the network has a special expansion card
called network interface card (NIS), which prepares and sends data, receives data, and
controls data flow between the computer and the network. While transmitting, NIC passes
frames of data on to the physical layer and on the receiver side, the NIC processes bits
received from the physical layer and processes the message based on its contents.
 Local operating system: A local operating system allows personal computers to access
files, print to a local printer, and have and use one or more disk and CD drives that are
located on the computer. Examples are MS-DOS, PC-DOS, UNIX, Macintosh, OS/2,
Windows 95, 98, XP and Linux.
 Network operating system: the NOS is a program that runs on computers and servers that
allows the computers to communicate over a network. The NOS provides services to clients
such as log-in features, password authentication, printer access, network administration
functions and data file sharing.
Network Models
Computer networks can be represented with two basic network models: peer-to-peer client/server
and dedicated client/server. The client/server method specifies the way in which two computers can
communicate with software over a network.
Peer-to-peer client/server network: Here, all the computers share their resources, such as hard
drives, printers and so on with all the other computers on the network. Individual resources like disk
drives, CD-ROM drives, and even printers are transformed into shared, collective resources that are
accessible from every PC. Unlike client-server networks, where network information is stored on a
centralized file server PC and made available to tens, hundreds, or thousands client PCs, the
information stored across peer-to-peer networks is uniquely decentralized. Because peer-to-peer
PCs have their own hard disk drives that are accessible by all computers, each PC acts as both a
client (information requestor) and a server (information provider). The peer-to-peer network is an
appropriate choice when there are fewer than 10 users on the network, security is not an issue and
all the users are located in the same general area.
The advantages of peer-to-peer over client-server NOSs include:
 No need for a network administrator
 Network is fast/inexpensive to setup & maintain
 Each PC can make backup copies of its data to other PCs for security
 Easiest type of network to build, peer-to-peer is perfect for both home and office use
Dedicated client/server network: Here, one computer is designated as server and the rest of the
computers are clients. Dedicated Server Architecture can improve the efficiency of client server
systems by using one server for each application that exists within an organization. The designated
servers store all the networks shared files and applications programs and function only as servers
and are not used as a client or workstation. Client computers can access the servers and have shared
files transferred to them over the transmission medium. In some client/server networks, client
computers submit jobs to one of the servers and once they process the jobs, the results are sent back
to the client computer.
In general, the dedicated client/server model is preferable to the peer-to-peer client/server model for
general purpose data networks.

PHYSICAL STRUCTURES
TYPES OF CONNECTIONS: A network is two or more devices connected through links. A
link is a communications pathway that transfers data from one device to another. There are two
possible types of connections: point-to-point and multipoint.
 Point-to-Point
A point-to-point connection provides a dedicated link between two devices. The entire capacity of
the link is reserved for transmission between those two devices. Most point-to-point connections use
an actual length of wire or cable to connect the two ends, but other options, such as microwave or
satellite links, are also possible. When you change television channels by infrared remote control,
you are establishing a point-to-point connection between the remote control and the television's
control system.
 Multipoint
A multipoint (also called multidrop) connection is one in which more than two specific devices
share a single link. In a multipoint environment, the capacity of the channel is shared, either
spatially or temporally. If several devices can use the link simultaneously, it is a spatially shared
connection. If users must take turns, it is a timeshared connection.
NETWORK TOPOLOGY:
In computer networking, topology refers to the layout of connected devices, i.e. how the computers,
cables, and other components within a data communications network are interconnected, both
physically and logically. The physical topology describes how the network is actually laid out, and
the logical topology describes how the data actually flow through the network. Two most basic
topologies are point-to-point and multipoint. A point-to-point topology usually connects two
mainframe computers for high-speed digital information. There are four basic topologies possible:
mesh, star, bus, and ring.
 Mesh: In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-point link to every other
device. The term dedicated means that the link carries traffic only between the two devices it
connects. To find the number of physical links in a fully connected mesh network with n
nodes, we first consider that each node must be connected to every other node. Node 1 must
be connected to n - I nodes, node 2 must be connected to n – 1 nodes, and finally node n must
be connected to n - 1 nodes. We need n(n - 1) physical links. However, if each physical link
allows communication in both directions (duplex mode), we can divide the number of links
by 2. In other words, we can say that in a mesh topology, we need n(n -1)/2 duplex-mode
links. To accommodate that many links, every device on the network must have n – 1
input/output ports to be connected to the other n - 1 stations.

Advantages:
1. The use of dedicated links guarantees that each connection can carry its own data load, thus
eliminating the traffic problems that can occur when links must be shared by multiple
devices.
2. A mesh topology is robust. If one link becomes unusable, it does not incapacitate the entire
system.
3. There is the advantage of privacy or security. When every message travels along a dedicated
line, only the intended recipient sees it. Physical boundaries prevent other users from gaining
access to messages.
4. Point-to-point links make fault identification and fault isolation easy. Traffic can be routed to
avoid links with suspected problems. This facility enables the network manager to discover
the precise location of the fault and aids in finding its cause and solution.
Disadvantages:
1. Disadvantage of a mesh are related to the amount of cabling because every device must be
connected to every other device.
2. Installation and reconnection are difficult.
3. The sheer bulk of the wiring can be greater than the available space (in walls, ceilings, or
floors) can accommodate.
4. The hardware required to connect each link (I/O ports and cable) can be prohibitively
expensive.
  Star: In a star topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point link only to a central
controller, usually called a hub. The devices are not directly linked to one another. Unlike a
mesh topology, a star topology does not allow direct traffic between devices. The controller
acts as an exchange: If one device wants to send data to another, it sends the data to the
controller, which then relays the data to the other connected device.
Advantages:
1. A star topology is less expensive than a mesh topology. In a star, each device needs only one
link and one I/O port to connect it to any number of others.
2. Easy to install and reconfigure.
3. Far less cabling needs to be housed, and additions, moves, and deletions involve only one
connection: between that device and the hub.
4. Other advantage includes robustness. If one link fails, only that link is affected. All other
links remain active. This factor also lends itself to easy fault identification and fault isolation.
As long as the hub is working, it can be used to monitor link problems and bypass defective
links.
Disadvantages:
The biggest disadvantage of the star topology is its dependency on a single point, the hub. If the hub
goes down, the whole system is dead. Although a star requires far less cable than a mesh, each node
must be linked to a central hub. For this reason, often more cabling is required in a star than in some
other topologies (such as ring or bus).

 BUS: A bus topology is multipoint. One long cable acts as a backbone to link all the
devices in a network. Nodes are connected to the bus cable by drop lines and taps. A drop
line is a connection running between the device and the main cable. A tap is a connector that
either splices into the main cable or punctures the sheathing of a cable to create a contact
with the metallic core. As a signal travels along the backbone, some of its energy is
transformed into heat. Therefore, it becomes weaker and weaker as it travels farther and
farther. For this reason there is a limit on the number of taps a bus can support and on the
distance between those taps.
Advantages:
Advantages of a bus topology include ease of installation. Backbone cable can be laid along the
most efficient path, and then connected to the nodes by drop lines of various lengths. In this way, a
bus uses less cabling than mesh or star topologies. In a star, for example, four network devices in
the same room require four lengths of cable reaching all the way to the hub. In a bus, this
redundancy is eliminated. Only the backbone cable stretches through the entire facility. Each drop
line has to reach only as far as the nearest point on the backbone.
Disadvantages:
Disadvantages include difficult reconnection and fault isolation. A bus is usually designed to be
optimally efficient at installation. It can therefore be difficult to add new devices. Signal reflection
at the taps can cause degradation in quality. This degradation can be controlled by limiting the
number and spacing of devices connected to a given length of cable. Adding new devices may
therefore require modification or replacement of the backbone. In addition, a fault or break in the
bus cable stops all transmission, even between devices on the same side of the problem. The
damaged area reflects signals back in the direction of origin, creating noise in both directions.

 RING: In a ring topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point connection with only
the two devices on either side of it. A signal is passed along the ring in one direction, from
device to device, until it reaches its destination. Each device in the ring incorporates a
repeater. When a device receives a signal intended for another device, its repeater regenerates
the bits and passes them along.
Advantages:
1. A ring is relatively easy to install and reconfigure. Each device is linked to only its
immediate neighbors (either physically or logically). To add or delete a device requires
changing only two connections. The only constraints are media and traffic considerations
(maximum ring length and number of devices).
2. In addition, fault isolation is simplified.
3. Generally in a ring, a signal is circulating at all times. If one device does not receive a signal
within a specified period, it can issue an alarm. The alarm alerts the network operator to the
problem and its location.
Disadvantages:
Unidirectional traffic can be a disadvantage. In a simple ring, a break in the ring (such as a disabled
station) can disable the entire network. This weakness can be solved by using a dual ring or a switch
capable of closing off the break. Ring topology was prevalent when IBM introduced its local-area
network Token Ring. Today, the need for higher-speed LANs has made this topology less popular.

Hybrid topology: This topology (sometimes called mixed topology) is simply combining two or
more of the traditional topologies to form a larger, more complex topology. Main aim is being able
to share the advantages of different topologies.
Classification of network
One way to categorize the different types of computer network designs is by their scope or scale.
Common examples of area network types are:
 LAN - Local Area Network
 WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network
 WAN - Wide Area Network
 MAN - Metropolitan Area Network
 SAN - Storage Area Network, System Area Network, Server Area Network, or sometimes
Small Area Network
 CAN - Campus Area Network, Controller Area Network, or sometimes Cluster Area
Network
 PAN - Personal Area Network
 DAN - Desk Area Network
Local Area Networks (LAN)
Local area networks, generally called LANs, are privately-owned networks within a single building
or campus of up to a few kilometers in size. They are widely used to connect personal computers
and workstations in company offices and factories to share resources (e.g., printers) and exchange
information. LANs are distinguished from other kinds of networks by three characteristics:
 size,
 transmission technology
 topology
LANs are restricted in size, which means that the worst-case transmission time is bounded and
known in advance. Knowing this bound makes it possible to use certain kinds of designs that would
not otherwise be possible. It also simplifies network management. LANs may use a transmission
technology consisting of a cable to which all the machines are attached, like the telephone company
party lines once used in rural areas. Traditional LANs run at speeds of 10Mbps to 100Mbps, have
low delay (microseconds or nanoseconds), and make very few errors. Newer LANs operate at up to
10Gbps.
Advantages of LAN include;
 Share resources efficiently
 Individual workstation might survive network failure if it doesn’t rely upon others
 Component evolution independent of system evolution
 Support heterogeneous hardware/software
 Access to other LANs and WANs
 High transfer rates with low error rates
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
A metropolitan area network, or MAN, covers a city. The best-known example of a MAN is the
cable television network available in many cities. This system grew from earlier community antenna
systems used in areas with poor over-the-air television reception. In these early systems, a large
antenna was placed on top of a nearby hill and signal was then piped to the subscribers' houses.
At first, these were locally-designed, ad hoc systems. Then companies began jumping into the
business, getting contracts from city governments to wire up an entire city. The next step was
television programming and even entire channels designed for cable only. Often these channels
were highly specialized, such as all news, all sports, all cooking, all gardening, and so on. But from
their inception until the late 1990s, they were intended for television reception only. Cable
television is not the only MAN. Recent developments in high-speed wireless Internet access
resulted in another MAN, which has been standardized as IEEE 802.16.
Wide Area Network (WAN)
A wide area network, or WAN, spans a large geographical area, often a country or continent. It
contains a collection of machines intended for running user (i.e., application) programs. These
machines are called as hosts. The hosts are connected by a communication subnet, or just subnet for
short. The hosts are owned by the customers (e.g., people's personal computers), whereas the
communication subnet is typically owned and operated by a telephone company or Internet service
provider. The job of the subnet is to carry messages from host to host, just as the telephone system
carries words from speaker to listener. Separation of the pure communication aspects of the network
(the subnet) from the application aspects (the hosts), greatly simplifies the complete network design.
In most wide area networks, the subnet consists of two distinct components: transmission lines and
switching elements. Transmission lines move bits between machines. They can be made of copper
wire, optical fiber, or even radio links. In most WANs, the network contains numerous transmission
lines, each one connecting a pair of routers. If two routers that do not share a transmission line wish
to communicate, they must do this indirectly, via other routers. When a packet is sent from one
router to another via one or more intermediate routers, the packet is received at each intermediate
router in its entirety, stored there until the required output line is free, and then forwarded. A subnet
organized according to this principle is called a store-and-forward or packet-switched subnet.
Nearly all wide area networks (except those using satellites) have store-and-forward subnets. When
the packets are small and all the same size, they are often called cells. The principle of a packet-
switched WAN is so important. Generally, when a process on some host has a message to be sent to
a process on some other host, the sending host first cuts the message into packets, each one bearing
its number in the sequence. These packets are then injected into the network one at a time in quick
succession. The packets are transported individually over the network and deposited at the receiving
host, where they are reassembled into the original message and delivered to the receiving process.
Not all WANs are packet switched. A second possibility for a WAN is a satellite system. Each
router has an antenna through which it can send and receive. All routers can hear the output from
the satellite, and in some cases they can also hear the upward transmissions of their fellow routers to
the satellite as well. Sometimes the routers are connected to a substantial point-to-point subnet, with
only some of them having a satellite antenna. Satellite networks are inherently broadcast and are
most useful when the broadcast property is important.
Global area network: A GAN provides connections between countries around the entire globe.
Internet is a good example and is essentially a network comprised of other networks that
interconnect virtually every country in the world. GANs operate from 1.5Mbps to 100Gbps and
cover thousands of miles.
Campus Area Network: a network spanning multiple LANs but smaller than a MAN, such as on a
university or local business campus.
Storage Area Network: connects servers to data storage devices through a technology like Fibre
Channel.
System Area Network: links high-performance computers with high-speed connections in a cluster
configuration. It is also known as Cluster Area Network.
Building backbone: It is a network connection that normally carries traffic between departmental
LANs within a single company. It consists of a switch or router to provide connectivity to other
networks such as campus backbones, enterprise backbones, MANs, WANs etc
Camus backbone: it is a network connection used to carry traffic to and from LANs located in
various buildings on campus. It normally uses optical fiber cables for the transmission media
between buildings and operates at relatively high transmission rates.
Enterprise networks: It includes some or all of the above networks and components connected in a
cohesive and manageable fashion.

Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)

International standard organization (ISO) established a committee in 1977 to develop architecture
for computer communication and the OSI model is the result of this effort. In 1984, the Open
Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model was approved as an international standard for
communications architecture. The term ―open‖ denotes the ability to connect any two systems
which conform to the reference model and associated standards. The OSI model describes how
information or data makes its way from application programmes (such as spreadsheets) through a
network medium (such as wire) to another application programme located on another network. The
OSI reference model divides the problem of moving information between computers over a network
medium into SEVEN smaller and more manageable problems. The seven layers are:

The lower 4 layers (transport, network, data link and physical —Layers 4, 3, 2, and 1) are concerned
with the flow of data from end to end through the network. The upper three layers of the OSI model
(application, presentation and session—Layers 7, 6 and 5) are orientated more toward services to the
applications. Data is encapsulated with the necessary protocol information as it moves down the
layers before network transit.
As with any layered architecture, overhead information is added to a PDU in the form of headers
and trailers. Each layer provides a service to the layer above it in the protocol specification. Each
layer communicates with the same layer’s software or hardware on other computers.
Physical Layer (the physical layer is responsible for transmitting individual bits from one node to
the next)
The physical layer is the lowest layer of the OSI hierarchy and coordinates the functions required to
transmit a bit stream over a physical medium. It also defines the procedures and functions that
physical devices and interfaces have to perform for transmission occur. The physical layer specifies
the type of transmission medium and the transmission mode (simplex, half duplex or full duplex)
and the physical, electrical, functional and procedural standards for accessing data communication
networks.

Transmission media defined by the physical layer include metallic cable, optical fiber cable or
wireless radio-wave propagation. The physical layer also includes the carrier system used to
propagate the data signals between points in the network. The carrier systems are simply
communication systems that carry data through a system using either metallic or optical fiber cables
or wireless arrangements such as microwave, satellites and cellular radio systems.
Data-link Layer {the data link layer is responsible for transmitting frames from one node to the
next}
The data link layer transforms the physical layer, a raw transmission facility, to a reliable link and is
responsible for node-to-node delivery. It makes the physical layer appear error free to the upper
layer (network klayer).
The data link layer packages data from the physical layer into groups called blocks, frames or
packets. If frames are to be distributed to different systems on the network, the data link layer adds a
header to the frame to define the physical address of the sender (source address) and/or receiver
(destination address) of the frame. The data-link layer provides flow-control, access-control, and
error-control.
Network Layer {is responsible for the delivery of individual packets from the source host to the
destination host}
The network layer provides details that enable data to be routed between devices in an environment
using multiple networks, sub-networks or both. This is responsible for addressing messages and data
so they are sent to the correct destination, and for translating logical addresses and names (like a
machine name FLAME) into physical addresses. This layer is also responsible for finding a path
through the network to the destination computer.
The network layer provides the upper layers of the hierarchy with independence from the data
transmission and switching technologies used to interconnect systems. Networking components that
operate at the network layer include routers and their software.

Transport Layer {is responsible for delivery of a message from one process to another}
The transport layer controls and ensures the end-to-end integrity of the data message propagated
through the network between two devices, providing the reliable, transparent transfer of data
between two endpoints. The Transport layer responsibilities include, message routing, segmenting,
error recovery and two types of basic services to an upper-layer protocol: connection oriented and
connectionless. The transport layer is the highest layer in the OSI hierarchy in terms of
communications and may provide data tracking, connection flow control, sequencing of data, error
checking, and application addressing and identification.

Session Layer {responsible for dialog control and synchronization}

Session layer, sometimes called the dialog controller provides mechanism for controlling the
dialogue between the two end systems. It defines how to start, control and end conversations (called
sessions) between applications. Session layer protocols provide the logical connection entities at the
application layer. These applications include file transfer protocols and sending email. Session
responsibilities include network log-on and log-off procedures and user authentication. Session
layer characteristics include virtual connections between applications, entities, synchronization of
data flow for recovery purposes, creation of dialogue units and activity units, connection parameter
negotiation, and partitioning services into functional groups.

Presentation Layer {responsible for translation, compression, and encryption}

The presentation layer provides independence to the application processes by addressing any code
or syntax conversion necessary to present the data to the network in a common communications
format. It specifies how end-user applications should format the data. The presentation layer
translated between different data formats and protocols. Presentation functions include data file
formatting, encoding, encryption and decryption of data messages, dialogue procedures, data
compression algorithms, synchronization, interruption, and termination.

Application Layer {responsible for providing services to the user}

The application layer is the highest layer in the hierarchy and is analogous to the general manager of
the network by providing access to the OSI environment. The applications layer provides distributed
information services and controls the sequence of activities within and application and also the
sequence of events between the computer application and the user of another application. The
application layer communicates directly with the user’s application program. User application
processes require application layer service elements to access the networking environment. The
service elements are of two types: CASEs (common application service elements) satisfying
particular needs of application processes like association control, concurrence and recovery. The
second type is SASE (specific application service elements) which include TCP/IP stack, FTP,
SNMP, Telnet and SMTP.
Data Communication Circuits
The underlying purpose of a digital communications circuit is to provide a transmission path
between locations and to transfer digital information from one station (node, where computers or
other digital equipment are located) to another using electronic circuits. Data communications
circuits utilize electronic communications equipment and facilities to interconnect digital computer
equipment. Communication facilities are physical means of interconnecting stations and are
provided to data communications users through public telephone networks (PTN), public data
networks (PDN), and a multitude of private data communications systems.
The following figure shows a simple two-station data communications circuit. The main
components are:
Source: This device generates the data to be transmitted; examples are mainframe computer,
personal computer, workstation etc. The source equipment provides a means for humans to enter
data into system.
Transmitter: A transmitter transforms and encodes the information in such a way as to produce
electromagnetic signals that can be transmitted across some sort of transmission system. For
example, a modem takes a digital bit stream from an attached device such as a personal computer
and transforms that bit stream into an analog signal that can be handled by the telephone network.
Transmission medium: The transmission medium carries the encoded signals from the
transmitter to the receiver. Different types of transmission media include free-space radio
transmission (i.e. all forms of wireless transmission) and physical facilities such as metallic and
optical fiber cables.
Receiver: The receiver accepts the signal from the transmission medium and converts it into a
form that can be handled by the destination device. For example, a modem will accept an analog
signal coming from a network or transmission line and convert it into a digital bit stream.
Destination: Takes the incoming data from the receiver and can be any kind of digital equipment
like the source.

Serial and Parallel Data Transmission

There are two methods of transmitting digital data namely parallel and serial transmissions. In
parallel data transmission, all bits of the binary data are transmitted simultaneously. For example, to
transmit an 8-bit binary number in parallel from one unit to another, eight transmission lines are
required. Each bit requires its own separate data path.
All bits of a word are transmitted at the same time. This method of transmission can move a
significant amount of data in a given period of time. Its disadvantage is the large number of
interconnecting cables between the two units. For large binary words, cabling becomes complex and
expensive. This is particularly true if the distance between the two units is great. Long multiwire
cables are not only expensive, but also require special interfacing to minimize noise and distortion
problems. Serial data transmission is the process of transmitting binary words a bit at a time.
Since the bits time-share the transmission medium, only one interconnecting lead is required.
While serial data transmission is much simpler and less expensive because of the use of a single
interconnecting line, it is a very slow method of data transmission. Serial data transmission is useful
in systems where high speed is not a requirement. Parallel communication is used for short-distance
data communications and within a computer, and serial transmission is used for long-distance data
communications.
ALTERNATE PROTOCOL SUITES
The protocols other than OSI that are in wide spread used are TCP/IP and the Cisco three layer
hierarchical model.
TCP/IP PROTOCOL SUITE
The U.S. Department of Defense (D.o.D) created the TCP/IP reference model because it wanted a
network that could survive any conditions, even a nuclear war. Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) {commonly known as internet suite} model is a set of
communication protocols that allow communication across multiple diverse networks. TCP/IP is a
hierarchical protocol comprised of either three or four layers. The three-layer version of TCP/IP
contains the network, transport and application layers. The four layer version specifies the host to
network layer.

The designers of TCP/IP felt that the higher level protocols should include the session and
presentation layer details. They simply created an application layer that handles high-level
protocols, issues of representation, encoding, and dialog control. The TCP/IP combines all
application-related issues into one layer, and assures this data is properly packaged for the next
layer.
The TCP/IP transport layer deals with the quality-of-service issues of reliability, flow control, and
error correction. One of its protocols, the transmission control protocol (TCP), provides excellent
and flexible ways to create reliable, well-flowing, low-error network communications. TCP is a
connection-oriented protocol. The other protocol is User Datagram Protocol (UDP) which is a
connection less protocol.
The purpose of the Internet layer is to send source packets from any network on the internetwork
and have them arrive at the destination independent of the path and networks they took to get there.
The specific protocol that governs this layer is called the Internet protocol (IP). Best path
determination and packet switching occur at this layer. The network access layer also called the
host-to-network layer is concerned with all of the issues of physically delivering data packets using
frames or cells.
Differences between OSI and TCP/IP
1. TCP/IP combines the presentation and session layer issues into its application layer
2. TCP/IP combines the OSI data link and physical layers into one layer
3. TCP/IP appears simpler because it has fewer layers
4. TCP/IP protocols are the standards around which the Internet developed, so the TCP/IP
model gains credibility just because of its protocols. In contrast, typical networks aren't built
on the OSI protocol, even though the OSI model is used as a guide.
CISCO THREE LAYER MODEL
Cisco has defined a hierarchical model known as the hierarchical internetworking model.
This model simplifies the task of building a reliable, scalable, and less expensive hierarchical
internetwork because rather than focusing on packet construction; it focuses on the three functional
areas, or layers, of your network.
Core layer: This layer is considered the backbone of the network and includes the high-end
switches and high-speed cables such as fiber cables. This layer of the network does not route traffic
at the LAN. In addition, no packet manipulation is done by devices in this layer.
Rather, this layer is concerned with speed and ensures reliable delivery of packets.
Distribution layer: This layer includes LAN-based routers and layer 3 switches. This layer ensures
that packets are properly routed between subnets and VLANs in your enterprise.
This layer is also called the Workgroup layer. It also provides policy-based network connectivity,
including:
 Packet filtering (firewalling): Processes packets and regulates the transmission of packets
based on its source and destination information to create network borders.
 QoS: The router or layer 3 switches can read packets and prioritize delivery, based on
policies set.
 Access Layer Aggregation Point: The layer serves the aggregation point for the desktop layer
switches.
 Control Broadcast and Multicast: The layer serves as the boundary for broadcast and
multicast domains.
 Application Gateways: The layer allows you to create protocol gateways to and from
different network architectures.
 The distribution layer also performs queuing and provides packet manipulation of the
network traffic.
Access layer: This layer includes hubs and switches. This layer is also called the desktop layer
because it focuses on connecting client nodes, such as workstations to the network.
This layer ensures that packets are delivered to end user computers. At the access layer, you can:
1. Enable MAC address filtering: It is possible to program a switch to allow only certain
systems to access the connected LANs.
2. Create separate collision domains: A switch can create separate collision domains for each
connected node to improve performance.
3.
4. Handle switch bandwidth: You can move data from one network to another to perform load
balancing.
The benefits of the Cisco hierarchical model include:
1. High Performance: You can design high performance networks, where only certain layers are
susceptible to congestion.
2. Efficient management & troubleshooting: Allows you to efficiently organize network
management and isolate causes of network trouble.
3. Policy creation: You can easily create policies and specify filters and rules.
4. Scalability: You can grow the network easily by dividing your network into functional areas.
5. Behavior prediction: When planning or managing a network, the model allows you determine
what will happen to the network when new stresses are placed on it.

METALLIC CABLE TRANSMISSION MEDIA

The transmission medium is the physical path between transmitter and receiver in a data
transmission system. It is included in the physical layer of the OSI protocol hierarchy. 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.
Transmission media can be generally categorized as either unguided or guided.
Guided Transmission Media uses a "cabling" system (or some sort of conductor) that guides the
data signals along a specific path. The data signals are bound by the "cabling" system.
Guided Media is also known as Bound Media. The conductor directs the signal propagating down it.
Only devices physically connected to the medium can receive signals propagating down a guided
transmission medium. Examples of guided transmission media are copper wire and optical fiber.

Unguided Transmission Media consists of a means for the data signals to travel but nothing to
guide them along a specific path. The data signals are not bound to a cabling media and as such are
often called Unbound Media. Unguided transmission media are wireless systems. Signals
propagating down an unguided transmission medium are available to anyone who has a device
capable of receiving them.
A physical facility is one that occupies space and has weight as opposed to wireless media such as
earth’s atmosphere or a vacuum and includes metallic cables and optical cables. Metallic
transmission lines includes open-wire, twin-lead, and twisted-pair copper wire as well as coaxial
cable, and optical fibers include plastic- and glass-core fibers encapsulated in various kinds of
cladding materials.
Metallic Transmission Lines
A transmission line is a metallic conductor system used to transfer electrical energy from one point
to another using electrical current flow. It is two or more electrical conductors separated by a
nonconductive insulator (dielectric). It can be of varied lengths varying from few inches to several
thousand miles. It can be used to propagate dc or low frequency ac and also very high frequencies
such as microwave radio-frequency signals.
Metallic Transmission Line Types
All data communications systems and computer networks are interconnected to some degree with
cables, which form the most important part of the transmission medium transporting signals
between computers.
Parallel-Conductor Transmission Lines
Parallel-wire transmission lines are comprised of two or more metallic conductors separated by a
nonconductive insulating material called a dielectric. Common dielectric materials include air,
rubber, polyethylene, paper, mica, glass and Teflon. The most common parallel conductor
transmission lines are open-wire, twin lead and twisted pair, including unshielded twisted pair
(UTP) and shielded twisted pair (STP).
Open-Wire Transmission Lines: These are two-wire parallel conductors, closely spaced and
separated by air. Nonconductive spacers are placed at periodic intervals not only for support but also
to keep the distance between the conductors constant. TEM wave propagates in the air between the
conductors, which acts as dielectric. The main advantage is its simple construction.

Since no shielding is present, the radiation losses are high and cable is susceptible to picking up
signals through mutual induction, which produces crosstalk. The primary usage is in standard voice-
grade telephone applications.
Twin lead: Twin-lead is essentially the same as open-wire transmission line except that the spacers
between the two conductors are replaced with a continuous solid dielectric ensuring the uniform
spacing along the entire cable.
It is mainly used to connect televisions to rooftop antennas. Common dielectric materials used with
twin-lead cable are Teflon and polyethylene.
Twisted-pair transmission lines: A twisted-pair (TP) transmission line is formed by twisting two
insulated conductors around each other. Usually, a number of pairs of these wires are put together
into a cable. The cable may contain more than a hundred pairs of wires for long-distance
communications. Twisted-pair wires are the most common media in a telephone network. These
wires support both analog and digital signals and can transmit the signal at a speed of 10 Mbps over
a short distance. The twisting of wires with different twisting lengths reduces the effect of cross talk
and low-frequency interference.

Twisted-pair transmission lines are also the transmission medium of choice for most local area
networks because twisted-pair cable is simple to install and relatively independent when compared
to coaxial and optical fiber cables.
The two basic types of twisted-pair transmission lines specified are unshielded twisted pair (UTP)
and shielded twisted pair (STP).
Unshielded twisted-pair: An UTP cable consists of two copper wires where each wire is separately
encapsulated in PVC (polyvinyl chloride) insulation. Bandwidth can be improved by controlling the
number of twists per foot and also the manner in which multiple pairs are twisted around each other.
The minimum number of twists for UTP cable is two per foot.

UTPs are cheaper, more flexible, and easier to install. They provide enough support for telephone
systems and are not covered by metal insulation. They offer acceptable performance for a long-
distance signal transmission, but as they are non-insulated, they are affected by cross talk,
atmospheric conditions, electromagnetic interference, and adjacent twisted pairs, as well as by any
noise generated nearby.
The majority of the telephone twisted pairs is unshielded and can transmit signals at a speed of
10Mbps.
The Electronic Industries Association (EIA) has developed standard to grade UTP cable by quality;
Category 1 as the lowest quality and category 6 as the highest quality.
 Category 1: The basic twisted-pair cabling used in telephone systems. This level of quality
is fine for voice but inadequate for data transmission.
 Category 2: This category is suitable for voice and data transmission of up to 2Mbps.
 Category 3: This category is suitable for data transmission of up to 10 Mbps. It is now the
standard cable for most telephone systems. At least three twist per feet
 Category 4: This category is suitable for data transmission of up to 20Mbps.
 Category 5: This category is suitable for data transmission of up to 100Mbps.
  Category 6: CAT- 6 is recently proposed cable type comprised of four pairs of wire capable
of operating at transmission rates of up to 400Mbps.
Advantages of UTP are its easy to terminate, installation costs are less and more lines can be run through
the same wiring ducts.
Disadvantage of UTP is that it is a bit noisy and prone to interference.

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Cable: STP cable is a parallel two-wire transmission line consisting
of two copper conductors separated by a solid dielectric material. The wires and dielectric are
enclosed in a conductive-metal sleeve called a foil. If the sleeve is woven into a mesh, it’s called
braid.
The metal casing prevents the penetration of electromagnetic noise. Materials and manufacturing
requirements make STP more expensive than UTP but less susceptible to noise.

Plenum Cable: Plenum cables are the electrical or telecommunication cables (or wires) which are
installed in environmental air spaces in the interior of many commercial and residential buildings. It
is common practice to route communication cables and the like for computers, data devices, and
alarm systems through plenums in building constructions. If a fire occurs in a building which
includes plenums or risers, the non-fire retardant plenum construction would enable the fire to
spread very rapidly throughout the entire building.
Typically plenum data cables have two or more pairs of insulated conductors in a common jacket.
The insulation can be made of several types of flame retardant insulation. A plenum is defined as a
compartment or chamber to which one or more air ducts are connected and which forms part of the
air distribution system of the structure. Plenum cables have a plurality of twisted pair conductors
surrounded by a jacket. The twisted pairs generally all have the same twist or substantially the same
twist. A typical and widely used flame retardant insulation for conductors in data plenum cables is
fluorinated ethylene-propylene.
Category 5 plenum cable made of jacketed twisted pairs of insulated conductors has to satisfy a
number of electrical requirements set by the EIA/TIA specification 568A.
Coaxial (Concentric) Transmission Lines
Because of the advent of modern UTP and STP twisted pair cables, coaxial cable is seen very less in
computer networks, but still has very high importance in analog systems, such as cable television
distribution networks. The basic coaxial cable consists of a center conductor surrounded by a
dielectric material (insulation), then a concentric (uniform distance from the center) shielding, and
finally a rubber environmental protection outer jacket. A coaxial cable with one layer of foil
insulation and one layer of braided shielding is referred to as dual shielded and if two layers of foil
insulation and two layers of braided metal shielding are present, it’s called quad shielding.

Two basic types of coaxial cables are present: rigid air filled and solid flexible. Rigid air-filled
cables are relatively expensive and are tough to maintain. Coaxial cables are capable of operating at
higher bit rates than their parallel-wire counterparts, very secure than twisted-pair cable, can be used
over long distances, immune to external radiation and radiate little themselves. Disadvantages of
coaxial transmission lines are their poor cost-to-performance ratio, low reliability, and high
maintenance.
The RG numbering system used with coaxial cables refers to cables approved by U.S. Department
of Defense (DoD).

To connect coaxial cable to devices, it is necessary to use coaxial connectors. The most common
type of connector is the Bayone-Neill-Concelman, or BNC, connectors. BNC connectors are
sometimes referred to as bayonet mount, as they can be easily twisted on or off.
There are three types: the BNC connector, the BNC T connector, the BNC terminator.
Applications include cable TV networks, and some traditional Ethernet LANs like 10Base-2, or 10-Base5.
OPTICAL FIBER TRANSMISSION MEDIA
An optical communications system is one that uses light as the carrier of information. They use
glass or plastic fiber cables to contain the light waves and guide them in a manner similar to the way
EM waves are guided through a metallic transmission media.
Optical Fiber Communications System Block Diagram

The three primary building blocks are transmitter, receiver and the optical fiber cable. The
transmitter is comprised of a voltage-to-current converter, a light source, and source-to-fiber
interface. The fiber guide is the transmission medium, which is either an ultrapure glass or a plastic
cable. The receiver includes a fiber-to-interface, a photodetector, and a current-to-voltage converter.
Optical Fiber Construction

There are two basic types of fiber-optic cable. The difference is whether the fiber is free to move
inside a tube with a diameter much larger than the fiber or is inside a relatively tightfitting jacket.
They are referred to as loose-tube and tight-buffer cables.
Both methods of construction have advantages
 Loose-tube cables—all the stress of cable pulling is taken up by the cable’s strength members
and the fiber is free to expand and contract with temperature
 Tight-buffer cables are cheaper and generally easier to use
Advantages of Optical Fiber Cables
1. Wider bandwidth and greater information capacity: The light wave occupies the
frequency range between 2×1012Hz to 37×1012Hz. This makes the information carrying
capability of fiber optic cables is much higher.
2. Immunity to crosstalk: Since fiber optic cables use glass and plastic fibers, which are
nonconductors of electrical current, no magnetic field is present. No magnetic induction
means no crosstalk.
3. Immunity to static interference: As optical fiber cables are non-conductors, they are immune
to electromagnetic interference (EMI) caused by lightning, electric motors, relays,
fluorescent lights and other electrical noise sources.
4. Environmental immunity: Optical fibers are more immune to environmental extremes. They
can operate over large temperature variations and are also not affected by corrosive liquids
and gases.
5. Safety and convenience: As only glass and plastic fibers are present, no electrical currents or
voltages are associated with them. Also they can be used around any volatile liquids and
gasses without worrying about their causing explosions or fires.
6. Lower transmission loss: Fiber optic cables offers less signal attenuation over long
distances. Typically, it is less than 1 dB/km
7. Security: Optical fibers are more secure as they are almost impossible to tap into because
they do not radiate signals. No ground loops exist between optical fibers hence they are more
secure.
8. Durability and reliability: Optical cables last longer and are more reliable than metallic
facilities because fiber cables have a higher tolerance to changes in environmental conditions
and are immune to corrosive materials.
9. Economics: Cost of optical fiber cables is same as metallic cables. Fiber cables have less loss
and require fewer repeaters, which in turn require lower installation and overall system costs.
Disadvantages of Optical Fiber Cables
1. Interfacing costs: As optical cables need to be connected standard electronic facilities
requiring expensive interfaces
2. Strength: Optical cables have lower tensile strength than coaxial cable. They need an extra
coating of Kevlar and also a protective jacket of PVC. Glass fiber is also fragile making them
less attractive in case of hardware portability is required
3. Remote electrical power: Occasionally, electrical power needs to be provided to remote
interfaces, which cannot be accomplished using optical cables
 4. Losses through bending: Bending the cable causes irregularities in the cable dimensions,
resulting in loss of signal power. Also, optical cables are prone to manufacture defects
causing an excessive loss of signal power.
5. Specialized tools, equipment and training: Special tools are required to splice and repair
cables and special test equipment are needed to make
Electromagnetic Spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation.
The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic
radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object. The frequency spectrum extends from the
subsonic frequencies (a few hertz) to cosmic rays (1023Hz). The light frequency spectrum can be
divided into three general bands.
 Infrared: The band of frequencies that is too high to be seen by the human eye with
wavelengths ranging between 770nm and 106nm. Optical fibers generally operate in infrared
band.
 Visible: The band of light frequencies to which the human eye will respond with wave
lengths ranging between 390nm and 770nm. This band is visible to human eye.
 Ultraviolet: The band of light frequencies, that is too low to be seen by the human eye with
wave lengths ranging between 10nm and 390nm.