Data Communications & Computer Networks

Transmission Media

0. Overview
Guided wire (solid medium) Unguided wireless (air) Characteristics and quality determined by medium and signal For guided, the medium is more important For unguided, the bandwidth produced by the antenna is more important Key concerns are data rate and distance

Design Factors
Bandwidth
Higher bandwidth gives higher data rate

Transmission impairments
Attenuation limits distance

Interference
May result in signal distortion for both guided and unguided media

Number of receivers
In guided media More receivers (multi-point) introduce more attenuation

Electromagnetic Spectrum

1. Guided Transmission Media

Electromagnetic waves are guided along a solid medium such as
Twisted Pair Coaxial cable Optical fiber

For guided transmission media, capacity depends on

Distance Whether the medium is point-to-point or multipoint

Transmission Characteristics of Guided Media

Frequency Range Twisted pair (with loading) Twisted pairs (multi-pair cables) Coaxial cable Optical fiber 0 to 3.5 kHz Typical Attenuation 0.2 dB/km @ 1 kHz 0.7 dB/km @ 1 kHz 7 dB/km @ 10 MHz 0.2 to 0.5 dB/km Typical Delay 50 s/km Repeater Spacing 2 km

0 to 1 MHz

5 s/km

2 km

0 to 500 MHz 186 to 370 THz

4 s/km 5 s/km

1 to 9 km 40 km

Note:

1 1 1 1

kHz (kilo Herz) = 103 Hz MHz (Mega Herz) = 106 Hz GHz (Giga Hetz) = 109 Hz THz (Tera Herz) = 1012 Hz

1 1 1 1

ms (milli second) = 10-3 s s (micro second) = 10-6 s ns (nano second) = 10-9 s ps (pico second) = 10-12 s

Twisted Pair

Twisting reduces crosstalk interference between adjacent pairs in a cable Neighbouring pairs in a bundle typically have different twist lengths to reduce crosstalk Wire thickness 0.4mm 0.9mm

Twisted Pair - Applications

Most common medium Telephone network
Between house and local telephone exchange (subscriber loop)

Within buildings
For digital signaling to private branch exchange (PBX)

For local area networks (LAN)

10Mbps or 100Mbps

Twisted Pair - Pros and Cons

Cheap Easy to work with Low data rate (usually up to 100Mbps, although some 1Gbps networks have been developed using twisted pair cabling) Short range (up to a few km)

Twisted Pair - Transmission Characteristics

Analog
Amplifiers every 5km to 6km

Digital
Use either analog or digital signals repeater every 2km or 3km

Limited distance Limited bandwidth (1MHz) Limited data rate (100Mbps) Susceptible to interference and noise
Because of easy coupling with electromagnetic fields Eg. impulse noise, 50Hz pick-up energy from AC power lines

Near End Crosstalk

Coupling of signal from one pair to another Coupling takes place when transmit signal entering the link couples back to receiving pair i.e. near transmitted signal is picked up by near receiving pair

Unshielded and Shielded TP

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
Ordinary telephone wire Cheapest Easiest to install Suffers from external electromagnetic interference

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)

Metal braid or sheathing that reduces interference Better performance at higher data rates More expensive Harder to handle (thick, heavy)

UTP Categories
Cat 3
up to 16MHz Voice grade found in most offices Twist length of 7.5 cm to 10 cm

Cat 4
up to 20 MHz

Cat 5
up to 100MHz Commonly pre-installed in new office buildings Twist length 0.6 cm to 0.85 cm More expensive but better performance than Cat 3 UTP cables

Cat 5E (Enhanced) see tables Cat 6 Cat 7

Comparison of Shielded and Unshielded Twisted Pair

Attenuation (dB per 100 m) Frequency (MHz) Category 3 UTP Category 5 UTP 150-ohm STP

1 4 16 25 100 300

2.6 5.6 13.1

2.0 4.1 8.2 10.4 22.0

1.1 2.2 4.4 6.2 12.3 21.4

Twisted Pair Categories and Classes

Category 3 Class C Category 5 Class D Category 5E Category 6 Class E Category 7 Class F

Bandwidth

16 MHz UTP 0.7

100 MHz UTP/FTP 1

100 MHz UTP/FTP 1.2

200 MHz UTP/FTP 1.5

600 MHz SSTP 2.2

Cable Type

Link Cost (Cat 5 =1)

UTP = Unshielded Twisted Pair FTP = Foil Twisted Pair SSTP = Shielded Screen Twisted Pair

Coaxial Cable
Outer sheath Insulation

Inner conductor

Braid

Outer conductor

Outer conductor is braided shield Inner conductor is solid metal Separated by insulating material Covered by padding

Coaxial Cable - Applications

Most versatile medium Television distribution
Arial to TV Cable, Satellite TV

Long distance telephone transmission

Can carry 10,000 voice calls simultaneously Being replaced by fiber optic

Short distance computer systems links Local Area Networks

Coaxial Cable - Transmission Characteristics

Better performance than twisted pair
Superior frequency characteristics Much less susceptibility to interference and crosstalk

For Analogue signals

Amplifiers needed every few km Much less distance for higher frequencies Up to 1GHz of bandwidth

For Digital signals

Repeater needed every about 1 km Less distance for higher data rates

Optical Fiber

Glass Core Plastic Cover

Glass Cladding Plastic Jacket

Bundled Optical Fibers

Optical Fiber - Applications

Long-haul trunks in telephone networks
Circuit lengths of about 1500 km 20.000 to 60.000 voice channels

Metropolitan trunks
Circuit lengths of about 12km May have 100.000 voice channels in a trunk group

Rural exchange trunks

Circuit lengths of 40 160 km Typically fewer than 5.000 voice channels

Subscriber loops
Fiber to the business, fiber to the home in the near future

LANs
Support 100s and 1000s of stations at rates of about 10Gbps

Optical Fiber - Transmission Characteristics

Act as wave guide for 1014 to 1015 Hz
Portions of infrared and visible spectrum

Types of light sources in fiber optic systems

Light Emitting Diode (LED)
Cheaper Wider operating temperature range Last longer

Injection Laser Diode (ILD)

More efficient Greater data rate

Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)

Optical fiber operation (1)

How light travels in a fiber optic cable
The source of light is usually a Light Emitting Diode (LED) or a LASER. The light source is placed at one end of the optical fiber Light that hits the glass core of the fiber at a certain angle, known as the critical angle, is transmitted down through it by total internal reflection. The detector, which is placed at the other end of the fiber, is usually a Photo Diode and it generates an electrical pulse when light falls on it.
Glass Core Critical Angle

Diagram of Total Internal Reflection

Optical fiber operation (2)

Hence by attaching a light source on one end of an optical fiber and a detector at the other end, we have a unidirectional data transmission system (Simplex) The light source would accepts an electrical signal, converts and transmits it as light pulses The detector at the far end reconverts the light pulses into an electrical signal to be then interpreted as 1 or a 0 The typical response time of the photodiode when light falls on it is 1 nanosecond. This limits the data rate to 1Gbps Higher data rates and longest distances require LASER sources

Optical Fiber Transmission Modes

Advantages of Fiber Optic over Copper Cable

Greater capacity
Data rates of hundreds of Gbps

Smaller size & weight

1000 twisted pair cables 1 km long = 800kg 2 optical fiber cables 1km approx = 100kg allows transfer of more data

Lower attenuation and greater repeater spacing

repeaters are needed every 100km rather than every 5km for copper

Electromagnetic isolation
Photons of light in a fiber do not affect each other as they have no electrical charge and they are not affected by stray photons outside the fiber In the case of copper, electrons move through the cable and these are affected by each other and by electrons outside the cable

Better security
Difficult to tap

Disadvantages of Fiber Optic over Copper Cable

Fiber technology is relatively new and certain new skills are required in handling it Optical transmission in a fiber is one way only (Simplex)
if you want two way communication, then you must use two fibers or else use two frequency bands on the one fiber

Fiber optic cables and network interface cards to connect a computer to the fiber are an order of magnitude more expensive than their corresponding copper cable equivalents

Attenuation in Guided Media

Twisted Pair cable

Optical fiber

twisted pair

coaxial

Optical fiber

Co-axial cable

Composite graph

2. Wireless Transmission
Three frequency ranges are of interest
30 MHz to 1 GHz
Radio range Omnidirectional applications Broadcast radio and TV

2 GHz to 40 GHz
Microwave range Highly directional Point to point Satellite communications

300 GHz 200 THz

Infrared range Point-to-point and multipoint applications within confined areas (rooms)

Antennas
Electrical conductor (or a system of conductors) used to radiate or collect electromagnetic energy For transmission of a signal
Radio frequency energy from transmitter is converted to electromagnetic energy by the antenna and radiated into surrounding environment

For reception of a signal

Electromagnetic energy collected by the antenna is converted into electrical energy and fed into the receiver

In two-way communication the same antenna is often used for both transmission and reception

Radiation Pattern
An antenna radiates power in all directions but does not perform equally well in all directions Performance of an antenna is characterized by its radiation pattern
graphical representation of its radiation properties as a function of space coordinates

Isotropic antenna is (theoretical) point in space

Radiates in all directions equally Gives spherical radiation pattern

Parabolic Reflective Antenna

Used for terrestrial and satellite microwave A source placed at the focus of the parabola will produce waves reflected from parabola in parallel to axis
Creates (theoretical) parallel beam of light/sound/radio

Very directional
On reception, signal is concentrated at focus, where detector is placed Requires rigid mounting for precise alignment

Parabolic Reflective Antenna

Dish diameter

Antenna Gain (1)

Antenna Gain is a measure of directionality of antenna Defined as the power output (in a particular direction) compared with that produced by an isotropic antenna Measured in decibels (dB) Results in loss in power in another direction Effective area relates to antenna size and shape

Antenna Gain (2)

Relationship between antenna gain and effective area G = (4p? e)/?2 = (4p f 2 ? e)/c2 where
Example 1:
effective area of an ideal isotropic antenna is ?2/4p, with a power gain of 1 effective area of a parabolic antenna with a face area of A is 0.56A, with a power gain of approximately 7A/?2

G = antenna gain,
f = carrier frequency, ? = carrier wavelength,

Ae = effective area=0.56A c = speed of light (~3x108 m/s) A=area of parabolic antenna=pr2

Example 2:
For a parabolic reflective antenna with a diameter of 2m, operating at 12 GHz, what is the effective area and the antenna gain? Solution: The area of the antenna is A = pr2=p m2, since r=diameter/2, so Ae=0.56p. Wavelength ?=c/f = (3x108)/(12x109) = 0.025m. G=(7A)/? 2 = 7p/(0.025)2 = 35,186 Hence, GdB=10log10(35,186)= 45.46 dB

Terrestrial Microwave
Parabolic dish Focused beam Tranceivers must be within line-of-sight Applications
Long-haul telecommunications as an alternative to coaxial or optical fiber Short point-to-point links Cellular systems

Satellite Microwave
Satellite is a relay station Satellite receives on one frequency, amplifies or repeats signal and transmits on another frequency Requires geo-stationary orbit
Stationary with respect to the satellite position over the Earth s A height of 35,863km above Equator

Applications
Television Long-distance telephone Private business networks

Satellite Point to Point Link

Satellite Broadcast Link

Broadcast Radio
Omni-directional FM radio UHF and VHF television Line of sight Suffers from multipath interference
Reflections

Infrared
Modulate non-coherent infrared light Tranceivers must be within line of sight (or reflection from a light-coloured surface) Blocked by walls
Security and interference problems encountered in microwave systems are not present

e.g. TV remote control, IRD port

3. Wireless Propagation
Signal travels along three routes
Ground wave
Follows contour of earth Up to 2MHz AM radio

Sky wave
Amateur radio, CB radio and international broadcasts (BBC world service, Voice of America) Signal reflected from ionosphere layer of upper atmosphere (Actually refracted)

Line of sight
Above 30Mhz May be further than optical line of sight due to refraction More in section 4

Ground Wave Propagation

Sky Wave Propagation

Line of Sight Propagation

Refraction
Velocity of electromagnetic wave is a function of density of material
~3 x 108 m/s in vacuum, less in anything else

As wave moves from one medium to another, its speed changes

Causes bending of direction of wave at boundary Towards more dense medium

Index of refraction (refractive index) is

Sin(angle of incidence)/sin(angle of refraction) Varies with wavelength

May cause sudden change of direction at transition between media May cause gradual bending if medium density is varying
Density of atmosphere decreases with height Results in bending towards earth of radio waves

Optical and Radio Horizons

4. Line of Sight Transmission

Free space loss
Signal disperses with distance Greater for lower frequencies (longer wavelengths)

Atmospheric Absorption
Water vapour and oxygen absorb radio signals Water greatest at 22GHz, less below 15GHz Oxygen greater at 60GHz, less below 30GHz Rain and fog scatter radio waves Better to get line of sight if possible Signal can be reflected causing multiple copies to be received May be no direct signal at all May reinforce or cancel direct signal

Multipath

Refraction
May result in partial or total loss of signal at receiver

Free space loss

For any type of wireless communication the signal disperses with distance
An antenna with a fixed area will receive less power farther it is from the transmitting antenna This form of attenuation is Free space loss

Free space loss can be expressed in terms of the ratio of the radiated power, Pt to the power Pr received by an antenna Pt/Pr = (4pd)2/?2 = (4p f d)2/c2
where Pt = signal power at tx antenna, ? = carrier wavelength Pr = signal power at rx antenna, f = carrier frequency, c = speed of light (~3x108 m/s) d = propagation distance between antennas

In decibels: LdB = 10 log10 (Pt/Pr) = -20log(?) + 20log(d) + 21.98 dB

Free Space Loss

Multipath Interference

Required Reading
W. Stallings Chapter 4

Exercises (1)
1. A telephone line is known to have a loss of 20dB. The input signal power is measured as 0.5W and the output noise level is measured as 4.5W. Using this information calculate the output signal-to-noise ratio in dB. Suppose that data are stored on 1.4MByte floppy disks that weigh 25g each. Suppose than an airliner carries 10 tons of these disks at a speed of 1000km/h over a distance of 5000 km. What is the data transmission rate in bits per second of this system? Show that doubling the transmission frequency or doubling the distance between transmitting and receiving antennas attenuates the power received by 6dB.

2.

3.

Exercises (2)
4. A microwave transmitter has an output of 0.1W at 2GHz. Assume that this transmitter is used in a microwave communication system where the transmitting and receiving antennas are parabolas, each 1.2m in diameter. a) What is the effective area of each antenna? b) What is the gain of each antenna in decibels? Some people may receive radio signals in metal fillings in their teeth. Suppose you have one metal filling that is 2.5mm long that acts as a radio antenna. That is, it is equal in length to one-half the wavelength. What frequency do you receive? What is the length of an antenna one-half wavelength long for sending radio at 300 Hz?

5.

6.

Solutions (1)
Q1. A telephone line is known to have a loss of 20dB. The input signal power is measured as 0.5W and the output noise level is measured as 4.5W. Using this information calculate the output signal-to-noise ratio in dB. A1. The loss is Pin/Pout=20dB 10 log10(Pin/Pout)=20 => Pin/Pout=100. Given that Pin=0.5W then Pout=0.005W SNRdB=10 log (S/N)= 10 log10(Pout/N)= 10log10(0.005/4.5x10-6)= 30.45dB Q2. Suppose that data are stored on 1.4MByte floppy disks that weigh 25g each. Suppose than an airliner carries 10 tons of these disks at a speed of 1000km/h over a distance of 5000 km. What is the data transmission rate in bits per second of this system? A2. Number of 1.4MByte disks =10 tons/25g = 10,000 kg/0.025 = 400,000 Total capacity is 1.4MBytes x 400,000 disks x 8 bits = 4,480,000 Mbits For a speed of 1000km/h over a distance of 5000 km means that it takes 5 hours = 18,000 seconds for the airliner to take the disks to destination. So, transmission rate = 4,480,000 Mbits/ 18,000 seconds = 248.9 Mbps

Solutions (2)
Q3. Show that doubling the transmission frequency or doubling the distance between transmitting and receiving antennas attenuates the power received by 6dB. A3. Assume that tx and rx antennas are d1 meters apart at a frequency f1. Then (Pt/Pr)1 = (4pd1)2/?12 = (4p f1 d1)2/c2 If f1 is doubled, i.e. f2=2f1, and d1 is constant, then (Pt/Pr)2 = (4pd1)2/?22 = (4p f2 d1)2/c2 = (4p 2f1 d1)2/c2 = 4 x(4p f1 d1)2/c2 = 4(Pt/Pr)1, In decibels, difference is 10log10 [(Pt/Pr)2 / (Pt/Pr)1 ] = 10log10 4 = 6 dB Similarly, if d3=2d1, and f1 is constant, then (Pt/Pr)3 = (4pd3)2/?12 = (4p2d1)2/?12 = 4 (4pd1)2/?12 In decibels, difference is 10log10 [(Pt/Pr)3 / (Pt/Pr)1 ] = 10log10 4 = 6 dB

Solutions (3)
Q4. A microwave transmitter has an output of 0.1W at 2GHz. Assume that this transmitter is used in a microwave communication system where the transmitting and receiving antennas are parabolas, each 1.2m in diameter. a) What is the effective area of each antenna? b) What is the gain of each antenna in decibels? A4. a) The area of the parabolic antennas is A = p r2, where r=diameter/2, so Ae=0.56A =0.56 p (0.6)2=0.36 p = 0.633 m2. b) Wavelength ?=c/f = (3x108)/(2x1012) = 0.15 m. G= (4p? e)/?2 = (4p x 0.633)/(0.15)2 = 353.7 Hence, GdB=10log10(353.7)= 25.5 dB

Solutions (4)
Q5. Some people may receive radio signals in metal fillings in their teeth. Suppose you have one metal filling that is 2.5mm long that acts as a radio antenna. That is, it is equal in length to one-half the wavelength. What frequency do you receive? A5. ?/2=0.0025 => ?=0.005 C=?f => f=c/? = 3x108 /5x10-3 = 60 GHz Q6. What is the length of an antenna one-half wavelength long for sending radio at 300 Hz? A6. ?=c/f = 3x108/300 = 106 m = 1000 km So, antenna length=?/2 = 500 km