COMPUTER NETWORKING

ET 6312

Unit III

Transmission Media
 Introduction
 We definitely need transmission media to conduct signals
from the source to the destination
 The media can be wired or wireless
 Data is transmitted through electromagnetic signals which
can be electrical or optical pulses
 Transmission media are actually located below the physical
layer and are directly controlled by the physical layer
 We could say that transmission media belong to layer zero
 Introduction
 No network can function without a transmission medium
because there would be no connection between the
transmitting elements

Transmission medium and physical layer

 Introduction
 A transmission medium is anything that can carry information
from a source to a destination
 For example, the transmission medium for two people having
a dinner conversation is the air
 In telecommunications, transmission media can be divided
into two broad categories: guided media and unguided media
 Guided transmission 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 conduit from one device to another
 The three guided media commonly used for data transmission are
twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable
 Twisted-pair and coaxial cable use metallic (copper) conductors
that accept and transport signals in the form of electric current
 Optical fiber is a cable that accepts and transports signals in the
form of light
 Twisted-Pair Cable
 A twisted pair consists of two insulated copper wires
arranged in a regular spiral pattern
 A twisted pair consists of two conductors, each with its own
plastic insulation, twisted together
 This helps to reduce crosstalk, which is the interference
between signals on different cables
 One of the wires is used to carry signals to the receiver, and
the other is used only as a ground reference
 Twisted-Pair Cable
 Twisted pair cables are most effectively used in a system
that uses a balanced line method of transmission
 Twisted pair comes in two varieties: shielded and
unshielded
 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
 UTP cable is a medium that is composed of pairs of wires
 UTP is the most common twisted-pair cable used in
communications
 Each of the eight individual copper wires in UTP cable is
covered by an insulating material
 UTP cable relies solely on the cancellation effect produced
by the twisted wire pairs to limit signal degradation caused
by electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency
 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
 To reduce crosstalk between the pairs in UTP cable, the
number of twists in the wire pairs varies
 UTP cable must follow precise specifications governing
how many twists or braids are permitted per meter (3.28
feet) of cable
 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
Categories
 UTP cables come in various categories, each with different
specifications for bandwidth and maximum data transfer
rates
 Commonly used types of UTP cabling are as follows:
 CAT 1: Designed for voice applications, typically used in
telephone wiring

• It can handle frequencies up to 750 kHz and supports

data transfers of around 1 Mbps
 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
Categories
 CAT 2: Another voice-grade cable, supporting up to 1 MHz
and data speeds of 4 Mbps

• Used for early data transmission but largely obsolete

today
 CAT 3: Considered the first true data-grade UTP cable

• Cat 3 supports up to 16 MHz and is suitable for

10BASE-T Ethernet, offering speeds of 10 Mbps
 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
Categories
 CAT 4: An improvement over Cat 3, supporting
frequencies up to 20 MHz

• Used in some early 100BASE-T Ethernet

applications
 CAT 5: A widely used category, supporting up to
100 MHz and capable of handling 100BASE-TX
Fast Ethernet with speeds of 100 Mbps
 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
Categories
 CAT 5e: An enhanced version of Cat 5, offering better
performance in reducing crosstalk

• It maintains the same frequency range but provides more

reliable data transmission for Fast Ethernet
 CAT 6: Supports up to 250 MHz and is suitable for Gigabit
Ethernet (1000BASE-T) with speeds of 1 Gbps

• Offers improved cable construction for better signal

quality
 UTP Categories
 CAT 6a: An upgrade to Cat 6, supporting up to 500 MHz and
reaching speeds of 10 Gbps over short distances
 CAT 7: A shielded twisted-pair cable designed for frequencies
up to 600 MHz

• Offers superior performance for 10 Gbps Ethernet but is less

common due to higher cost and installation complexity
 CAT 8: The latest category, supporting up to 2 GHz and capable
of handling 40 Gbps Ethernet over short distances
• Primarily used in data centers for high-bandwidth applications
 Choosing the Right UTP Category
 Network Speed: Match the cable category to the desired network
speed (e.g., Cat 5e for 100 Mbps Ethernet, Cat 6 for Gigabit Ethernet)
 Futureproofing: Consider future network upgrades and choose a
category that can accommodate higher speeds if needed
 Cable Length: Higher category cables generally perform better over
longer distances
 Cost: Balance the cost of the cable with your network's needs. Cat 5e
is a good balance for basic networks, while Cat 6 is recommended for
futureproofing and Gigabit Ethernet
 Shielded Twisted Pair(STP)
 This cable has a metal foil or braided-mesh covering which
encases each pair of insulated conductors
 Electromagnetic noise penetration is prevented by metal
casing
 Although metal casing improves the quality of cable by
preventing the penetration of noise or crosstalk, it is bulkier
and more expensive
 It is faster the unshielded and coaxial cable
 It is more expensive than coaxial and unshielded twisted pair
Shielded Twisted Pair(STP)
 Twisted Pair Cable Connectors
 Twisted pair cable is the most commonly used type of cable
within today’s structured network cabling systems
 The two main types of connectors associated with this
network cabling are the RJ-11 and RJ-45 connectors
 The RJ simply stands for Registered Jack while the numbers
11 and 45 relate to a number of the interface standard
 These two types of connectors are fairly similar and are
made of plastic with thin metal pins
 Twisted Pair Cable Connectors
 RJ-11 consists two conductors and a standard six-position
connection within it
 The RJ-11 was in the past the choice of connector used
when installing telephone applications within both
commercial and residential properties
 The RJ-45 is an eight-wire connector used commonly to
connect computers onto a local-area network (LAN),
especially Ethernets
 Twisted Pair Cable Connectors
 Both the RJ-11 and RJ-45 connectors come in two versions
to accommodate both stranded and solid conductors

Female RJ-45
Male RJ-45
Twisted Pair Cable Connectors
 Twisted Cable Wiring Standards
 If you look at the end of a standard UTP cable you
will see four pairs of differently colored wires that
are either; green, orange, blue, or brown
 Within each pair, one is a solid color whilst the
other has white stripes
 These cables can be wired in two different ways
and they are called T-568A and T-568B
Twisted Cable Wiring Standards

568A 568B
1.White/green 1.White/Orange
2.Green 2.Orange
3.White/Orange 3.White/Green
4.Blue 4.Blue
5.White/Blue 5.White/Blue
6.Orange 6.Green
7.White/Brown 7.White/Brown
8.Brown 8.Brown
 Coaxial Cable
 Coaxial cable are dual-conductor cables with a shared inner
conductor in the core of the cable protected by an insulation
layer and the outer conductor surrounding the insulation
 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
 Coaxial Cable
 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 or
impedance
 The excellent control of the impedance characteristics of the
cable allow higher data rates to be transferred than twisted
pair cable
 Coaxial Cable

Coaxial Cable Connectors

 The most common type of connector used today is the Bayonet
Neill-Concelman (BNC) connector
 Figure below shows three popular types of these connectors
Coaxial Cable
 Coaxial Cable Application
 Coaxial cables are commonly used in television
transmissions
 Coaxial cable was widely used in analog telephone
networks where a single coaxial network could
carry 10,000 voice signals
 Digital telephone networks where a single coaxial
cable could carry digital data up to 600 Mbps
 Fiber-Optic Cable
 Optical fiber consists of thin glass fiber that can carry
information at frequencies in the visible light spectrum
 The typical optical fiber consists of a very narrow strand of
glass called the cladding
 Typically cladding has a diameter of 125 minors
 Coating the cladding is a protective coating consisting of
plastic, it is called the jacket
 Fiber-Optic Cable
 The device generating the message has it in electromagnetic
form (electrical signal); this has to be converted into light
(i.e. optical signal) to send it on optic fiber cable
 The process of converting light to electric signal is done on
the receiving side
 Supports transmission rates of hundreds of megabits per
second over several kilometers
 Fiber-Optic Cable
 This is the most ideal cable for data transmission because it
can accommodate extremely high bandwidths and has few
problems with electromagnetic interference that coaxial
cables suffer from
 It is good for security, because it is difficult to tap an optical
fiber cable
Fiber-Optic Cable
 Types of Optical Fiber
 Optical fibers are classified based on Material, Number of
modes and Refractive index profile

Optical fibers based on modes or mode types

 Mode is the one which describes the nature of propagation
of electromagnetic waves in a wave guide
 Based on the number of modes that propagates through the
optical fiber, they are classified as
 Single mode fibers
 In a fiber, if only one mode is transmitted through it, then it
is said to be a single mode fiber
 The core diameter is almost equal to the wave length of the
emitted light so that it propagates along a single path
 Single-mode fiber is best designed for longer transmission
distances, making it suitable for long-distance telephony
and multichannel television broadcast systems
 The diameter of single-mode fiber is very small compared
 Multimode fiber
 In multimode fiber numerous modes or light rays are carried
simultaneously through the waveguide
 Modes result from the fact that light will only propagate in
the fiber core at discrete angles within the cone of
acceptance
 This fiber type has a much larger core diameter, compared
to single-mode fiber, allowing for the larger number of
modes
Optical fibers based on refractive index
 Step-index; Core and Cladding material has uniform but
different refractive index

• The reflective walls of the fiber move the light pulses to

the receiver
 Graded Index; Core material has variable index as a
function of the radial distance from the center

• acts to refract the light toward the center of the fiber by

variations in the density
 Fiber-Optic Cable Connectors
 The subscriber channel (SC) connector is used for cable TV

• It uses a push/pull locking system

 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
 MT-RJ is a connector that is the same size as RJ45
Fiber-Optic Cable Connectors
 Advantages
 Higher bandwidth; Fiber-optic cable can support
dramatically higher bandwidths (and hence data rates) than
either twisted-pair or coaxial cable
 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

 Advantages
 Immunity to electromagnetic interference; Electromagnetic
noise cannot affect fiber-optic cables
 Resistance to corrosive materials; Glass is more resistant to
corrosive materials than copper
 Light weight; Fiber-optic cables are much lighter than
copper cables
 Greater immunity to tapping; Fiber-optic cables are more
immune to tapping than copper cables. Copper cables create
 Disadvantages
 Installation and maintenance; Fiber-optic cable is a relatively new
technology
• Its 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
than those of other guided media
 Factors to be considered while choosing
guided transmission medium
 Speed: How fast data needs to be transmitted

• Twisted-pair cable can support speeds of up to 10

gigabits per second (Gbps), coaxial cable can support
speeds of up to 100 Gbps, and fiber optic cable can
support speeds of up to 1 terabit per second (Tbps)
 Cost: Twisted-pair cable is the least expensive type of
guided media, followed by coaxial cable and then fiber
optic cable
 Distance: How far the data needs to travel

• Twisted-pair cable can be used for distances of up to 100

meters, coaxial cable can be used for distances of up to
500 meters, and fiber optic cable can be used for
distances of up to 100 kilometers or more
 Security: Fiber optic cable is the most secure type of guided
media because it is very difficult to tap into
 Interference: Fiber optic cable is immune to electromagnetic
interference, while twisted-pair cable and coaxial cable are
susceptible to interference
 Wireless Transmission Medium
 Unguided media transport data without using a physical
conductor
 This type of communication is often referred to as wireless
communication
 Before understanding the different types of wireless
transmission medium, let us first understand the ways in
which wireless signals travel
 These signals can be sent or propagated in the following
three ways:
 Ground-wave propagation
 Ground-wave propagation, also sometimes called surface
wave propagation, is a way radio waves travel through the
lowest portion of the atmosphere hugging the earth
 These low-frequency signals emanate in all directions from
the transmitting antenna and follow the curvature of the
planet allowing signals to reach beyond the horizon
 Distance depends on the amount of power in the signal: The
greater the power, the greater the distance
 Applications
 AM radio broadcasting: Ideal for local and regional coverage
due to good range at lower frequencies
 Navigation systems: LF radio beacons used for marine and
aeronautical navigation
 Short-range communication: Used in some walkie-talkie
applications and radio control systems
 Sky-wave propagation
 Sky-wave propagation, also known as ionospheric
propagation or skip, is a method of transmitting radio waves
upward into the ionosphere (the layer of atmosphere where
particles exist as ions) where they are reflected back to
earth.
 This type of transmission allows for greater distances with
lower output power.
 Applications
 International shortwave broadcasting: Enables radio broadcasts to
reach distant locations across the globe
 Military communication: Used for long-range military
communication, particularly in situations where direct line-of-
sight is not possible
 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, and either
tall enough or close enough together not to be affected by
the curvature of the earth
 Works best at high frequencies (microwave, UHF, VHF)
because they travel more like straight lines with minimal
bending
 Applications
 Satellite communication: Signals travel between satellites and
Earth stations with a clear line of sight
 Microwave applications: Used for high-bandwidth data
transmission like point-to-point links, cellular networks (base
stations), and Wi-Fi
 Radar and navigation systems: Relies on line-of-sight for
accurate signal transmission and reflection
line-of-sight propagation
 Radio waves
 Electromagnetic wave ranging in frequencies between 3
KHz and 1GHz are normally called radio waves
 Radio waves are omni-directional when an antenna
transmits radio waves they are propagated in all directions
 This means that sending and receiving antenna do not have
to he aligned
 A sending antenna can send waves that can be received by
any receiving antenna
 Radio waves
 Radio waves particularly those waves that propagate in sky
mode, can travel long distances
 This makes radio waves a good candidate for long-distance
broadcasting such as AM radio
 Radio waves particularly those of low and medium
frequencies can penetrate walls
• It is an advantage because; an AM radio can receive
signals inside a building
 Microwaves
 Electromagnetic waves having frequencies between 1 and
300 GHz are called microwaves
 Microwaves are unidirectional; when an antenna transmits
microwaves they can be narrowly focused
 This means that the sending and receiving antennas need to
be aligned
 The unidirectional property has an obvious advantage
• A pair of antennas can be aligned without interfering
with another pair of aligned antennas
 Microwaves
 Microwaves propagation is line-of-sight
 Towers that are far apart need to be very tall, other blocking
obstacles do not allow two short towers to communicate
using microwaves, Repeaters are often needed for long
distance communication very high frequency microwaves
cannot penetrate walls
 Parabolic dish antenna and horn antenna are used for this
means of transmission
 Infrared
 Infrared signals with frequencies ranges from 300 GHz to 400
GHz can be used for short range communication
 Infrared signals, having high frequencies, cannot penetrate
walls
 Infrared transmission in one room cannot be affected by the
infrared transmission in another room
 Infrared band, has an excellent potential for data transmission
 Transfer digital data is possible with a high speed with a very
high frequency
That’s all for today