TRANSMISSION

MEDIAS
TRANSMISSION MEDIA
• Transmission media is a means by which a
communication signal is carried from one system
to another
• A transmission medium can be defined as
anything that can carry information from a source
to a destination.
• The transmission medium is usually free space or
a cable.
Figure Transmission medium and physical layer
Data Transmission Capabilities
The data transmission capabilities of various Medias vary
differently depending upon the various factors. These factors are:

1. Bandwidth. It refers to the data carrying capacity of a channel or

medium.
2. Radiation. It refers to the leakage of signal from the medium due
to undesirable electrical characteristics of the medium.
3. Noise Absorption. It refers to the resistance of the media to
external electrical noise that can cause distortion of data signal.
4. Attenuation. It refers to loss of energy as signal propagates
outwards.
Figure Classes of transmission media
 GUIDED MEDIA
• Guided Transmission media uses a cabling system that guides the
data signals along a specific path.
• Guided media also known as Bounded media, which are those that
provide a channel from one device to another, include twisted-pair
cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable.
• Out of these twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable transport signals in the
form of electric signals and fiber-optic cable transport signals in the
form of light.
• Types:
1. Twisted-Pair Cable
2. Coaxial Cable
3. Fiber-Optic Cable
 Twisted Pair Cable
•Twisted-pair consists of copper core wires surrounded by an insulator.
•Two wires are twisted together to form a pair, and the pair forms the circuit that can transmit
data.
•A cable is a bundle of one or more twisted pairs surrounded by another insulator and twisted
together.
•One of the wires is used to carry signals to the receiver, and the other is used only as a ground
reference.
•Twisting reduces interference
•Cheap medium , flexible and light weight, easy to work with and install
•Commonly used for communications within buildings and in telephone networks
•The twisting prevents interference problems, but must be maintained all the way to the
connection points.
 Types of Twisted Pair Cable
•Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) is common in a
telephone network.
•Shielded twisted-pair (STP) provides protection
against external crosstalk by using braided metal
shielding.
Figure Twisted-pair cable
Types of Twisted Pair Cable

Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable (UTP)

&
Shielded Twisted Pair Cable (STP
Types of Twisted Pair Cable
 Unshielded Twisted Pair Connector
•The standard connector for unshielded twisted pair cabling is an
RJ-45 connector.
•looks like a large telephone-style connector.
•A slot allows the RJ-45 to be inserted only one way.
•RJ stands for Registered Jack, implying that the connector follows a
standard borrowed from the telephone industry. This standard
designates which wire goes with each pin inside the connector.
Figure 7.5 UTP connector
Unshielded Twisted Pair

The following summarizes the features of UTP cable:

1. Speed and throughput—10 to 1000 Mbps
2. Average cost per node—Least expensive
3. Media and connector size—Small
4. Maximum cable length—100 m (short)
Categories of Twisted-Pair
•The EIA/TIA 568 specification standardizes the installation of
wiring.
•It applies to all UTP wiring schemes that work with Ethernet
10Base-T, token-ring, Private Branch Exchange (PBX), Integrated
Services Digital Network (ISDN).
Categories of Twisted-Pair

Category Speed Use

1 1 Mbps Voice Only (Telephone Wire)

2 4 Mbps LocalTalk & Telephone (Rarely used)

3 10 Mbps 10BaseT Ethernet

4 16 Mbps Token Ring (Rarely used)

5 100 Mbps (2 pair) 100BaseT Ethernet

5e 1,000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet

6 1,000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet

6a 10,000 Mbps 10 gigabit (experimental)

7 10,000 Mbps 10 gigabit (experimental)

Categories of Twisted-Pair

Category 1: Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cable that is suited for voice but not data. Most telephone
cable installed before 1983 is Category 1 cable. Not widely used anymore.

Category 2: UTP cable certified for data transmissions up to 4 Mbits/second. Similar to IBM Cabling
System Type 3 and is commonly installed as modern telephone cable. This cable has four twisted pairs.

Category 3: UTP that supports 10-Mbits/sec transmission rates and is required for token-ring (4
Mbits/sec) and 10-Mbits/sec Ethernet 10Base-T.

Category 4: UTP certified for 16 Mbits/sec transmission rates and is the lowest grade acceptable for 16
Mbits/sec token-ring. The cable has four pairs.

Category 5: Defines 100-ohm, four-wire twisted-pair UTP copper cable that can transmit data at 100
Mbits/sec to support technologies such as Fast Ethernet and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), if
installed according to specifications. The cable is low-capacitance and exhibits low crosstalk. However,
all components must be Category 5 compliant; therefore, older modular connectors and jacks are not
suitable for Category 5 installations.
Category 6—Typically, Category 6 cable consists of four pairs of 24 American Wire Gauge (AWG) copper
wires. Category 6 cable is currently the fastest standard for UTP.
Shielded Twisted-Pair Cable
•Shielded twisted-pair (STP) cable combines the techniques of shielding,
cancellation, and wire twisting.
•Each pair of wires is wrapped in a metallic foil.
•The four pairs of wires then are wrapped in an overall metallic braid or foil,
usually 150-ohm cable.
•As specified for use in Ethernet network installations, STP reduces electrical
noise both within the cable (pair-to-pair coupling, or crosstalk) and from
outside the cable
•STP usually is installed with STP data connector, which is created especially
for the STP cable. However, STP cabling also can use the same RJ connectors
that UTP uses.
Shielded Twisted-Pair Cable

The following summarizes the features of STP cable:

1. Speed and throughput—10 to 100 Mbps
2. Average cost per node—Moderately expensive
3. Media and connector size—Medium to large
4. Maximum cable length—100 m
UTP Wiring Standards

•UTP, cable and shows how many pairs the UTP Cat5,
Cat5e & Cat6 cables consists of the color coding they
follow
•The different wiring standard that exist
1. T-586A
2. T-586B
• plus the pin number designations for both standards.
Wiring the UTP cables

•T-568A and T-568B

•that differ only in which color coded pairs are connected
•pair 2 and 3 are reversed.
•Both work equally well, as long as you don't mix them!
•If you always use only one version, you're OK, but if you
mix A and B in a cable run, you will get crossed pairs!
Pin Number Designations for T568B

Note that the odd pin numbers are always the white
with stripe color (1,3,5,7). The wires connect to RJ-45
8-pin connectors as shown below:
Color Codes for T568B

Pin Color Pair Name

1 white/orange (pair 2) TxData +
2 orange (pair 2) TxData -
3 white/green (pair 3) RecvData+
4 blue (pair 1)
5 white/blue (pair 1)
6 green (pair 3) RecvData-
7 white/brown (pair 4)
8 brown (pair 4)
Pin Number Designations for T568A

The T568A specification reverses the orange and green

connections so that pairs 1 and 2 are on the centre 4
pins, which makes it more compatible with the telco
voice connections. (Note that in the RJ-11 plug pairs 1
and 2 are on the centre 4 pins.) T568A goes:
Color Codes for T568A

Pin Color Pair Name

1 white/green (pair 3) RecvData+
2 green (pair 3) RecvData-
3 white/orange (pair 2) TxData +
4 blue (pair 1)
5 white/blue (pair 1)
6 orange (pair 2) TxData -
7 white/brown (pair 4)
8 brown (pair 4)
kinds of Ethernet cables
There are Three kinds of Ethernet cables you can make,
Straight Through, Crossover and Rollover.

STRAIGHT THROUGH Ethernet cables are the standard cable used for almost all
purposes. The most common application for a straight through cable is a connection
between a PC and a hub/switch.
•To connect Different type of Devices
kinds of Ethernet cables
There are two kinds of Ethernet cables you can make,
Straight Through, Crossover and Rollover..

CROSSOVER CABLES - The purpose of a Crossover Ethernet cable is to directly

connect one computer to another computer (or device) without going through a
router, switch or hub.
•To connect Same type of Devices
kinds of Ethernet cables
There are two kinds of Ethernet cables you can make,
Straight Through, Crossover and Rollover..
ROLLOVER CABLE: have opposite Pin assignments on each end of the cable or in
other words it is "rolled over".
Pin 1 of connector A would be connected to Pin 8 of connector B.
Pin 2 of connector A would be connected to Pin 7 of connector B and so on.
Rollover cables, sometimes referred to as Yost cables are most commonly used to
connect to a devices console port to make programming changes to the device. E.g
Router, Switches
•To Configure Console base Devices
Coaxial cable
Coaxial cable consists of 2 conductors.
• The inner conductor is contained inside the insulator with the other conductor weaves
around it providing a shield.
• An insulating protective coating called a jacket covers the outer conductor.
• The outer shield protects the inner conductor from outside electrical signals.
• The distance between the outer conductor (Shield) and inner conductor plus the type
of material used for insulating the inner conductor determine the cable properties. The
excellent control of the impedance characteristics of the cable allow higher data rates to
be transferred than twisted pair cable.
Coaxial cable Standards
Categorized by their radio government (RG) ratings.
Each RG number denotes
• a unique set of physical specifications, including
the 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 the outer casing.

Table Categories of coaxial cables

Coaxial cable Connectors
To connect coaxial cable to devices, we need coaxial connectors.
The most common type of connector used today is the
Bayone-Neill-Concelman (BNC),
•The BNC connector,
•The BNC T connector,
•The BNC terminator.
1. The BNC connector is used to connect the end of the cable to a device, such as a
TV set.
2. The BNC T connector is used in Ethernet networks
3. The BNC terminator is used at the end of the cable
Coaxial cable Features
The following summarizes the features of coaxial cables:
•Thick-net and Thin-net Cable
•Speed and throughput—10 to 10000Mbps
•Average cost per node—Inexpensive
•Media and connector size—Medium
•Maximum cable length—500 m
•to connect home video equipment
•to be common for implementing computer networks,
•Long Distance telephone networks
•Cable TV
Fiber Optic cable
An optical fiber is a
•flexible,
•transparent fiber made of glass (silica) or plastic,
•slightly thicker than a human hair.
•It can function as a waveguide, or “light pipe”,
• to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber.
•Refraction and Reflection
Fiber Optic cable
Core, Cladding, Coating
An optical fiber is made of three sections:
•The core carries the light signals
•The cladding keeps the light in the core
•The coating protects the cladding

How an Optical Fiber Works

•An Optical Fiber works on the principle of Total Internal Reflection
•Light rays are reflected and guided down the length of an optical fiber.
Fiber Optic cable
Fiber optic cable functions as a "light guide," guiding the light
introduced at one end of the cable through to the other end. The
light source can either be a light-emitting diode (LED)) or a laser.

•an equivalent length of copper cable cost less per foot but not
in capacity.
•Fiber optic cable connectors and the equipment needed to
install them are still more expensive than their copper
counterparts.
Fiber Optic cable Characteristics
• SPEED: Fiber optic networks operate at high speeds - up into the gigabits
• BANDWIDTH: large carrying capacity
• DISTANCE: Signals can be transmitted farther without needing to be
"refreshed" or strengthened.
• RESISTANCE: Greater resistance to electromagnetic noise such as radios, motors
or other nearby cables.
• MAINTENANCE: Fiber optic cables costs much but less to maintain.
Types Fiber Optic cable
There are three types of fiber optic cable
1. single mode,
2. multimode and
3. plastic optical fiber (POF).
Fiber Optic cable Connectors
1. The subscriber channel (SC) connector is used for cable TV. It uses a push/pull locking
system.
2. The straight-tip (ST) connector is used for connecting cable to networking devices. It
uses a bayonet locking system and is more reliable than SC.
3. MT-RJ is a connector that is the same size as RJ45.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Optical Fiber
Advantages
• Higher bandwidth.
• Less signal attenuation.
• Fiber-optic transmission distance is significantly greater than that of other guided
media.
• A signal can run for 50 km without requiring regeneration.
• We need repeaters every 5 km for coaxial or twisted-pair cable.
• Electromagnetic noise cannot affect fiber-optic cables.
• Glass is more resistant to corrosive materials than copper
• Light weight
Disadvantages
• Difficult Installation and maintenance.
• Require expertise that is not yet available everywhere.
• Unidirectional light propagation. Propagation of light is unidirectional. If we need
bidirectional communication, two fibers are needed.
• Cost. The cable and the interfaces are relatively more expensive.
UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS
• Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves without
using a physical conductor.
• This type of communication is often referred to as
wireless communication.
• Signals are normally broadcast through free space and
thus are available to anyone who has a device capable of
receiving them.
• Also known as Unbound Transmission Media
Types of UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS

Unguided Media

Radio Infrared
Microwaves
waves waves
Figure Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless communication
Types of UNGUIDED MEDIA

Radio Transmission
MicroWave Transmission
Satellite Communication
Mobile Communications
Infrared waves
Figure Propagation methods

Unguided signals can travel from the source to destination in several ways
Ground Propagation

•In ground propagation, radio waves

travel through the lowest portion of the
atmosphere, hugging the earth.
•These low-frequency signals emit in all
directions from the transmitting antenna
and follow the curvature of the planet.
•Distance depends on the amount of
power in the signal
Sky Propagation

•sky propagation, higher-frequency

radio waves radiate upward into
the ionosphere.
•reflected back to earth
• This type of transmission allows
for greater distances.
line-of-sight Propagation

•In line-of-sight propagation, very

high-frequency signals are
transmitted in straight lines directly
from antenna to antenna.
•Antennas must be directional,
facing each other
Bands
•Electromagnetic spectrum defined as radio waves
and microwaves is divided into eight ranges, called
bands
•each regulated by government authorities.

•These bands are rated from very low frequency

(VLF) to extremely high frequency (EHF).
Table Bands
Radio waves Transmission
•The Radio waves have frequencies between 3khz and1Ghz
•Radio waves are Omni direction
•Radio waves can penetrate buildings easily, so that are
widely use for communication both indoors outdoors.
•They also absorbed by rains
•At high frequency, radio wave tends to travel in straight line
and bounces off the obstacles.
HOW THEY WORKS
Transmition
•The signal is guided to an antenna via a guided medium
•Antenna radiates electromagnetic energy into the Medium
Reception
•Antenna picks up electromagnetic waves from the
surrounding medium.
Application of Radio Waves

•Radio waves are used for multicast communications,

such as radio and television, cordless phones.
•They can penetrate through walls.
•Highly regulated. Use omni directional antennas
 Micro waves Transmission
•Micro waves electromagnetic waves having frequency between 1 GHZ
and 300 GHZ.
•There are two types of micro waves data communication system :
•terrestrial and satellite
•Micro waves are widely used for one to one communication between
sender and receiver, cellular phone, satellite networks and in wireless
LANs.
•Microwaves are unidirectional.
•Microwave propagation is line-of-sight
•towers that are far apart need to be very tall
•Repeaters are often needed for long distance communication.
•microwaves cannot penetrate walls
Micro waves Transmission

Advantages of Microwave Transmission

Used for long distance telephone communication
Carries 1000’s of voice channels at the same time
Disadvantages of Microwave Transmission
It is Very costly
Micro waves Transmission

Two Types of Microwave transmission.

1. Terrestrial Microwave
2. Satellite Microwave
Micro waves Transmission
Terrestrial Microwave
For increasing the distance served by terrestrial microwave,
repeaters can be installed with each antenna .
The signal received by an antenna can be converted into
transmittable form and relayed to next antenna as shown in
below figure.
It is an example of telephone systems all over the world
Unidirectional antennas

Two types of antennas are used for microwave communications:

the parabolic dish and the horn antena
 Micro waves Transmission
Satellite Microwave
This is a microwave relay station which is placed in outer space.
The satellites are launched either by rockets or space shuttles carry them.
These are positioned 3600KM above the equator with an orbit speed that exactly
matches the rotation speed of the earth.
As the satellite is positioned in a geo-synchronous orbit, it is stationery relative to
earth and always stays over the same point on the ground.
This is usually done to allow ground stations to aim antenna at a fixed point in
the sky.
 Micro waves Transmission
Satellite Microwave
 Micro waves Transmission
Satellite Microwave
Advantages of Satellite Microwave :
Transmitting station can receive back its own transmission and check whether the satellite
has transmitted information correctly.
A single microwave relay station which is visible from any point.
large amount of data can be communicated from one country to another.
Disadvantages of Satellite Microwave :
Satellite manufacturing cost is very high
Cost of launching satellite is very expensive
Transmission highly depends on whether conditions, it can go down in bad weather
 Infrared Waves Transmission
•Electromagnetic waves having frequencies from 300 GHz to 400 THz are called IR
waves or Infrared waves.
•IR waves are used for short range communication and use line of sight propagation.
•Infrared waves cannot pass through solid objects, like walls and be easily contained in
a room.
•They are cheap, easy to build and do not require any government license to use
them.
•Used in mobiles, keyboards, mice, PCs, and printers