Transmission media

Transmission media can be divided into: Guided - Twisted pair cables - Coaxial cables - Fiber optic cables Unguided - Radio waves - Microwaves - Infrared

Twisted Pair

UTP

STP

TP Cables Cat 1 : telephone lines Cat 2 : up to 4 Mbps Cat 3 : up to10 Mbps Cat 4 : up to 16 Mbps Cat 5 : up to 100 Mbps Cat 5e : up to 125 Mbps Cat 6 : up to 200 Mbps Cat 7 : up to 600 Mbps

Unshielded vs Shielded TP
unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) ordinary telephone wire cheapest easiest to install suffers from external EM interference shielded Twisted Pair (STP) metal braid that reduces interference more expensive harder to handle (thick, heavy) in a variety of categories

Coaxial Cable

Up to 600 Mbps

Standards: RG 59 : For TV signals RG 58 : For thin Ethernet RG 11 : For thick Ethernet

Fiber-Optic

Glass or plastic core Greater capacity data rates of hundreds of Gbps Smaller size & weight Lower attenuation Electromagnetic resistance Greater repeater spacing 10s of km at least

Can use several different light sources: - Light Emitting Diode (LED) cheaper, wider operating temp range, lasts longer - Injection Laser Diode (ILD) more efficient, has greater data rate

Types of Fiber-Optic
Multimode Step index (about 50 micron core) Earliest fiber-optic systems Signal spreads out over short distances (up to ~500m) Inexpensive Multimode Graded index Reduces the spreading problem by changing the refractive properties of the fiber to refocus the signal Can be used over distances of up to about 1000 meters Single mode (about 5 micron core) Transmits a single direct beam through the cable Signal can be sent over many kilometers Expensive (requires lasers; difficult to manufacture)

Optical Fiber Transmission Modes

Wavelength range in nm: 820-900, 1280-1350, 1528-1620

Unguided Media: Wireless

Wireless Transmission Frequencies

2GHz to 40GHz microwave highly directional point to point satellite 30MHz to 1GHz omnidirectional broadcast radio 3 x 1011 to 2 x 1014 infrared local

Propagation Methods

Terrestrial Microwave
Used for long haul telecommunications and short point-topoint links Requires fewer repeaters but line of sight Uses a parabolic dish to focus a narrow beam onto a receiver antenna 1-40GHz frequencies Higher frequencies give higher data rates Main source of loss is attenuation distance, rainfall Loss: 4d 2 L = 10 log( ) db

Satellite Microwave
Satellite is relay station Receives on one frequency, amplifies or repeats signal and transmits on another frequency eg. uplink 5.925-6.425 GHz & downlink 3.7-4.2 GHz Typically requires geo-stationary orbit height of 35,784km spaced at least 3-4 apart Typical uses television long distance telephone private business networks global positioning

Orbital comparison for satellite communications applications

Factors Used in Media Selection

Type of network LAN, WAN, or Backbone Cost Always changing; depends on the distance Transmission distance Short: up to 300 m; medium: up to 500 m Security Wireless media is less secure Error rates Wireless media has the highest error rate (interference) Transmission speeds Constantly improving; Fiber has the highest

Media Summary

Infrared Spectrum for infrared virtually unlimited Possibility of high data rates Infrared spectrum unregulated Equipment inexpensive and simple Reflected by light-colored objects Ceiling reflection for entire room coverage Doesnt penetrate walls More easily secured against eavesdropping Less interference between different rooms