Transmission Media

Transmission medium and physical layer

Transmission Media

Two major classes

Conducted or guided media

Use a conductor such as a wire or a fiber optic cable to move the signal from sender to receiver

Wireless or unguided media

Use radio waves of different frequencies and do not need a wire or cable conductor to transmit signals

Classes of transmission media

Guided Media

Twisted-Pair Cable Coaxial Cable Fiber-Optic Cable

Twisted Pair Wires

Consists of two insulated copper wires (typically about 1mm thick) arranged in a regular spiral pattern to minimize the electromagnetic interference between adjacent pairs. Often used at customer facilities and also over distances to carry voice as well as data communications. Used for transmitting either analog or digital signals. Low frequency transmission medium.

Twisted-pair cable

Twisted Pair Wires

Category 3 UTP

data rates of up to 10mbps are achievable Standard cable for most telephone systems
data rates of up to 100mbps are achievable more tightly twisted than Category 3 cables more expensive, but better performance Used in LAN.

Category 5 UTP

Twisted Pair

(a) Category 3 UTP. (b) Category 5 UTP.

Twisted Pair Advantages

Twisted-pair cable is used in telephone lines for voice and data communications. Adequate performance, inexpensive and readily available. Flexible and light weight. Easy to work with and install.

Twisted Pair Disadvantages

Susceptibility to interference and noise. Attenuation problem

For analog, repeaters needed every 5-6km For digital, repeaters needed every 2-3km

Relatively low bandwidth (3000Hz).

Coaxial Cable (or Coax)

Carries the signal of high frequency ranges than twisted pair cable. Bandwidth of up to 400 MHz. Coaxial cable has the following layers (starting from the center): a metallic rod-shaped inner conductor (copper wire), an insulator covering the rod, a metallic outer conductor (shield), an insulator covering the shield, and a plastic cover. Also known as co-ax or coax.

Coaxial cable

Classification:
Following are some coaxial cable commonly used in networking.

50 ohm (commonly used for digital transmission.) 75 ohm (commonly used for analog transmission and cable TV.)

Transmission rate is 10 mbps.

Coax Advantages

Easy to install Coaxial cable is used in cable TV networks and traditional Ethernet LANs. Higher bandwidth

400 to 600Mhz

Easy to handle and relatively inexpensive as compared to fiber optic cables. Since it is shielded can span a longer distances at higher data rates. Excellent noise immunity. Much less susceptible to interference than twisted pair.

Coax Disadvantages

High attenuation rate makes it expensive over long distance. Distance is limited. Bulky. Higher cost compared to twisted pair. Harder to work with & cable easily get damaged.

Fiber Optic Cable

Fiber-optic cables are composed of a glass or plastic inner core surrounded by cladding, all encased in an outside jacket. Fiber-optic cables carry data signals in the form of light. The signal is propagated along the inner core by reflection.

Relatively new transmission medium used by telephone companies in place of long-distance trunk lines.
Also used by private companies in implementing local data communications networks. Require a light source with injection laser diode (ILD) or lightemitting diodes (LED).

Fiber Optic Layers

consists of three concentric sections

plastic jacket

glass or plastic fiber core cladding

The core is surrounded by glass cladding with a lower index of refraction than the core, to keep all the light in the core. Next comes a thin plastic jacket to protect the cladding.

Fiber Optic Advantages

Higher transmission rate of 100Mbps. It supports voice, video and data. Greater capacity (bandwidth of up to 2 Gbps). Smaller size and lighter weight. No corrosion. Immunity to environmental interference (Noise immunity.) Highly secure , it is almost impossible to tap into a fiber cable. Safe and easy installation.

Fiber Optic Disadvantages

Expensive over short distance Unidirectional Requires highly skilled installers Adding additional nodes is difficult Maintenance and repairing cost is high. Limited physical arc of cable i.e bend it too much and it will break.

Wireless Transmission

The Electromagnetic Spectrum Radio Transmission Microwave Transmission Infrared and Millimeter Waves Lightwave Transmission

Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless communication

Wireless (Unguided Media) Transmission

Transmission and reception are achieved by means of an antenna. Directional

Transmitting antenna puts out focused beam Transmitter and receiver must be aligned

Omnidirectional

Signal spreads out in all directions Can be received by many antennas

Unidirectional antennas

Omnidirectional antennas

1] Radio Waves
Radio waves are used for multicast communications, such as radio and television, and paging systems.

It can travel long distance and penetrate building easily. These are omnidirectional. In VLF,LF,MF bands, radio waves follows ground. In HF and VHF bands, the ground waves tends to be absorbed by the earth.

Radio Transmission

(a) In the VLF, LF, and MF bands, radio waves follow the curvature of the earth. (b) In the HF band, they bounce off the ionosphere.

Bands
Band VLF LF MF HF VHF UHF SHF EHF Range 330 KHz 30300 KHz 300 KHz3 MHz 330 MHz 30300 MHz 300 MHz3 GHz 330 GHz 30300 GHz Propagation Ground Ground Sky Sky Application Long-range radio navigation Radio beacons and navigational locators AM radio Citizens band (CB), ship/aircraft communication

Sky and line-of-sight

Line-of-sight Line-of-sight Line-of-sight

VHF TV, FM radio

UHF TV, cellular phones, paging, satellite Satellite communication Long-range radio navigation

Propagation of radio waves:1)

Surface: In this the radio wave travel through the lowest portion of the atmosphere, hugging the earth. LOS : Very high frequency signal are transmitted in straight line directly from antenna to antenna. Space: Utilizes satellite relays in place of atmospheric refraction. A broadcast signal is received by an orbiting satellite, which rebroadcast the signal to the intended receiver back on the earth.

2)

3)

Propagation methods

2] Terrestrial Microwave Transmission

Microwaves are used for communication such as cellular telephones, satellite networks, and wireless LANs.

Uses the radio frequency spectrum, commonly from 1 to 300 Ghz. Transmitter is a parabolic dish, mounted as high as possible Used by common carriers as well as by private networks Do not follow the curvature of the earth and requires unobstructed line of sight transmission between source and receiver Antennas at transmitter and receiver must be aligned (LOS) Does not penetrate through objects Curvature of the earth requires stations (called repeaters) to be ~30 miles apart

Microwave Transmission Advantages

No cabling needed between sides Wide bandwidth Multichannel transmissions

Microwave Transmission Applications

Telecommunications service for both voice and television transmission Short point-to-point links between buildings for closed-circuit TV or a data link between LANs

Microwave Transmission Disadvantages

Line of sight requirement Expensive towers and repeaters Subject to interference such as passing airplanes and rain

3] Infrared and millimeter waves

Infrared signals can be used for short-range communication in a closed area using lineof-sight propagation. The remote controls used on televisions, VCR, and stereos all use infrared communication.

Advantages:
They are relatively directional, relatively cheap, and easy to build. The infra red system in one room of a building will not interfere with a similar system in adjacent room Security against eavesdropping is better than that of radio system This is suitable for indoor wireless LAN

Disadvantages:
They do not pass through solid objects.

4] Lightwave Transmission

It is used for connecting two LANs in two buildings via lasers mounted on their roof tops. Convection currents can interfere with laser communication systems. Optical signaling using lasers is unidirectional, so each building needs its own laser and its own photodetector.

A bidirectional system with two lasers is pictured here.

Heat from the sun during the day time caused convection currents to rise up from the roof of the building.

Advantages:

This offer very high bandwidth . It is relatively easy to install unlike microwaves.

Disadvantages:
Laser beams cannot penetrate rain or thick fog.