Transmission Media

Guided - Magnetic media

Twisted Pair Coaxial Cable OFC Here Medium more important than the signal

Unguided(Air act as medium)

Microwave Link Infrared Here Signal more important than the medium

Design Factors
Bandwidth
Higher bandwidth gives higher data rate

Transmission impairments
Attenuation

Interference Number of receivers

In guided media More receivers (multi-point) introduce more attenuation (need more amplifies or repeaters)

Spectrum for telecommunications

Magnetic Media
One of the most common ways to transport data from one computer to another is to write them onto magnetic tape or removable media (e.g., recordable DVDs), physically transport the tape or disks to the destination machine, and read them back in again. It is often more cost effective, especially for applications in which high bandwidth or cost per bit transported is the key factor.

Twisted Pair
For many applications an on-line connection is needed Two insulated copper wires in a spiral Twisting is done because two parallel wires constitute a fine antenna. When the wires are twisted, the waves from different twists cancel out, so the wire radiates less effectively Number of pairs are bundled together Twisting decreases crosstalk

Twisted Pair Types

Twisted pair cabling comes in several varieties, two of which are important for computer networks. Category 3 twisted pairs consist of two insulated wires gently twisted together. Four such pairs are typically grouped in a plastic sheath to protect the wires and keep them together. Prior to about 1988, most office buildings had one category 3 cable running from a central wiring closet on each floor into each office. This scheme allowed up to four regular telephones or two multiline telephones in each office to connect to the telephone company equipment in the wiring closet.

Twisted Pair Types

Starting around 1988, the more advanced category 5 twisted pairs were introduced. They are similar to category 3 pairs, but with more twists per centimeter, which results in less crosstalk and a better-quality signal over longer distances, making them more suitable for high-speed computer communication. Up-and-coming categories are 6 and 7, which are capable of handling signals with bandwidths of 250 MHz and 600 MHz, respectively (versus a mere 16 MHz and 100 MHz for categories 3 and 5, respectively). All of these wiring types are often referred to as UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair).

Twisted-pair cable

UTP and STP cables

Twisted Pair Application

Most common form for analog and digital Used in telephone system Subscriber loops
From a persons home to the local office of the phone company

LANS
10Mbps with newer at 100Mbps

Long Distance
4 Mbps ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network

Twisted Pair Disadvantage

Digital
Repeaters required every 2 3 kilometers

Analog
Amplifiers required every 5-6 kilometers Bandwidth of 250KHz, carry a few voice channels

Compared to optical and coax twisted pair is limited in bandwidth, distance, and data rate

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

Coaxial Cable
Another common transmission medium is the coaxial cable It has better shielding than twisted pairs, so it can span longer distances at higher speeds. Two kinds of coaxial cable are widely used. -One kind, 50-ohm cable, is commonly used when it is intended for digital transmission from the start. -The other kind, 75-ohm cable, is commonly used for analog transmission and cable television but is becoming more important with the advent of Internet over cable.

 Hollow outer cylindrical conductor surrounding a single view

Coaxial Cable

Coaxial Cable Application

Part of long distance telephone network With FDM can carry over 10,000 voice channels Most versatile of mediums, used for TV, long distance telephone,and LANS Traditional Ethernet LANs Transmits both analog and digital signals

Coaxial Cable Advantages

Frequency characteristics superior to twisted pair
Less susceptible to noise

For long distance

Amplifiers needed every few kilometers

Moderately high data rate

Optical fiber
Thin, flexible light passing material made from glass or plastic Grouped into cables

Side view of a single fiber.

End view of a sheath with three fibers

Optical fiber Characteristics

Better than coaxial cable or twisted pair Data rates of 2Gbps over 10s of Km Light weight good for buildings Lower attenuation than coax or twisted Not effected by extreme electromagnetic fields
Crosstalk and impulse

Very difficult to tap good security Applications

Long Haul trunks, metro trunks, rural exchange trunks, more recently beginning to displace twisted pair in subscriber loops and in LANS

Optical Fiber Characteristics

Operates in range 10**14 to 10**15 Hz
Infrared and visible spectrum

Multimode
Variety of angles of light will reflect and propogate

Single Mode
Radius of the core = order of a wavelength Only single angle passes Superior performance

Two different light sources both emit light when voltage applied
LED Light Emitting Diode less costly, longer life ILD - Injection Laser Diode greater data rate

Optical Fiber Disadvantage

Sophisticated plants are required for manufacturing optical fibers
The initial cost incurred is high

Joining the OFC is difficult

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

Sky wave
Amateur radio, 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

Figure 7.18 Propagation methods

Radio Transmission
Radio waves are easy to generate, can travel long distances, and can penetrate buildings easily, so they are widely used for communication Both indoors and outdoors. Radio waves also are omnidirectional, meaning that they travel in all directions from the source, so the transmitter and receiver do not have to be carefully aligned physically

Omnidirectional antenna

Radio Transmission
In the VLF, LF, and MF bands, radio waves follow the ground. These waves can be detected for perhaps 1000 km at the lower frequencies, less at the higher ones. AM radio broadcasting uses the MF band, which is why the ground waves from Boston AM radio stations cannot be heard easily in New York. Radio waves in these bands pass through buildings easily, which is why portable radios work indoors. The main problem with using these bands for data communication is their low bandwidth

Radio Transmission
In the HF and VHF bands, the ground waves tend to be absorbed by the earth. However, the waves that reach the ionosphere, a layer of charged particles circling the earth at a height of 100 to 500 km, are refracted by it and sent back to earth, Under certain atmospheric conditions, the signals can bounce several times. Amateur radio operators (hams) use these bands to talk long distance. he military also communicate in the HF and VHF bands.

Radio Transmission

In the VLF, LF, and MF bands, radio waves follow the curvature of the earth

In the HF band, they bounce off the ionosphere

Microwave Transmission
Above 100 MHz, the waves travel in nearly straight lines and can therefore be narrowly focused. Concentrating all the energy into a small beam by means of a parabolic antenna (like the familiar satellite TV dish) gives a much higher signal-tonoise ratio, But the transmitting and receiving antennas must be accurately aligned with each other.

Unidirectional antennas

Microwave Transmission
In addition, this directionality allows multiple transmitters lined up in a row to communicate with multiple receivers in a row without interference, provided some minimum spacing rules are observed. Before fiber optics, for decades these microwaves formed the heart of the long-distance telephone transmission system

Microwave Transmission
Narrow beam line of sight on towers to avoid obstacles Series of towers for long distance Applications:
Long haul telephone Voice and TV Short point to point between buildings

Main Source of loss

Attentuation especially with rainful Repeaters or amplifiers 10 to 100km Interference with overlapping bands

Satellite Microwave
It is essentially a microwave relay station Uplink
Receives transmission on one frequency

Downlink
Transmits on a second frequency

Operates on a number of frequency bands known as transponders Point to Point

Ground station to satellite to ground station

Multipoint
Ground station to satellite to multiple receiving stations

Satellite Microwave
Satellite orbit
35,784 Km, to match earth rotation Stays fixed above the transmitter/receiver station as earth rotates

Satellites need to be separated by distance

Avoid interference

Applications
TV, long distance telephone, private business networks

Optimum frequency range

1 10 GHz Below 1GHz results in noise, above 10GHz results in severe attenuation

Satellite Point to Point Link

Satellite Broadcast Link

Microwave Transmission
Advantages of Microwave link -Less maintainence as compared to cable . -Repeaters can be used to reduce effect of noise .

.Disadvantages of Microwave link

-The transmission is affected by the thunderstorms and other atmospheric phenomenon

Infrared
Unguided infrared and millimeter waves are widely used for short-range communication Transceivers must be within line of sight of each other or via reflection Does not penetrate walls like microwave No frequency allocation or licensing