Unit 2

Unit – II Computer Networks Transmission Media
GUIDED TRANSMISSION MEDIA:

The purpose of the physical layer is to transport bits from one machine to another. Various physical media
can be used for the actual transmission. Each one has its own properties in terms of bandwidth, delay,
cost, and ease of installation and maintenance. Media are roughly grouped into guided media, such as
copper wire and fiber optics, and unguided media, such as terrestrial wireless, satellite, and lasers through
the air.
Magnetic Media:
1. 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. Although this method is not as sophisticated as
using a geosynchronous communication satellite, it is often more cost effective, especially for
applications in which high bandwidth or cost per bit transported is the key factor.
2. An industry-standard Ultrium tape can hold 800 gigabytes. A box 60 × 60 × 60 cm can hold about
1000 of these tapes, for a total capacity of 800 terabytes, or 6400 terabits (6.4 petabits). The effective
bandwidth of this transmission is 6400 terabits/86,400 sec, or a bit over 70 Gbps. If the destination is
only an hour away by road, the bandwidth is increased to over 1700 Gbps. The cost of an Ultrium tape
is around $40 when bought in bulk. A tape can be reused at least 10 times, so the tape cost is maybe
$4000 per box per usage.
Note: The bandwidth characteristics of magnetic tape are excellent, the delay characteristics are poor.
Transmission time is measured in minutes or hours, not milliseconds.
Twisted Pairs:
1. A twisted pair consists of two insulated copper wires, typically about 1 mm thick. The wires are
twisted together in a helical form, just like a DNA molecule. 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. A signal is usually carried as the difference in voltage between the
two wires in the pair. This provides better immunity to external noise because the noise tends to affect
both wires the same, leaving the differential unchanged.
2. Twisted pairs can be used for transmitting either analog or digital information. The bandwidth
depends on the thickness of the wire and the distance traveled, but several megabits/sec can be
achieved for a few kilometers in many cases. Due to their adequate performance and low cost, twisted
pairs are widely used.
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3. Twisted-pair cabling comes in several varieties. The garden variety deployed in many office buildings
is called Category 5 cabling, or ‘‘Cat 5.’’ A category 3 twisted pair consists 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. This arrangement is shown in Fig. 2.1.
Fig 2.1: Category 5 UTP cable with four twisted pairs.

4. Different LAN standards may use the twisted pairs differently. For example, 100-Mbps Ethernet uses
two (out of the four) pairs, one pair for each direction. To reach higher speeds, 1-Gbps Ethernet uses
all four pairs in both directions simultaneously; this requires the receiver to factor out the signal that is
transmitted locally.
5. Cat 5 replaced earlier Category 3 cables with a similar cable that uses the same connector, but has
more twists per meter. More twists result in less crosstalk and a better-quality signal over longer
distances, making the cables more suitable for high-speed computer communication, especially 100-
Mbps and 1-Gbps Ethernet LANs.
6. Category 6 and Category 7 are the new models. These categories have more stringent specifications
to handle signals with greater bandwidths. Some cables in Category 6 and above are rated for signals
of 500 MHz and can support the 10-Gbps links that will soon be deployed.
7. All the above wiring types are referred to as UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) as they consist simply
of wires and insulators. In contrast to these, Category 7 cables have shielding on the individual twisted
pairs, as well as around the entire cable (but inside the plastic protective sheath). Shielding reduces the
susceptibility to external interference and crosstalk with other nearby cables to meet demanding
performance specifications.
Coaxial Cable:
1. Coaxial Cables are the other common transmission medium. In short known as “coax” or pronounced
as “co-ax”. It has better shielding and greater bandwidth than unshielded twisted pairs, so it can span
longer distances at higher speeds.

2. Two kinds of coaxial cables are widely used. They are:

a. 50 ohm Cable: It is commonly used when it is intended for digital transmission from the start.
b. 75 ohm Cable: It is commonly used for analog transmission and cable television.
3. A coaxial cable consists of a stiff copper wire as the core, surrounded by an insulating material. The
insulator is encased by a cylindrical conductor, often as a closely woven braided mesh. The outer
conductor is covered in a protective plastic sheath. A cutaway view of a coaxial cable is shown in fig
2.2.
Fig 2.2: A coaxial Cable

4. The construction and shielding of the coaxial cable give it a good combination of high bandwidth and
excellent noise immunity. The bandwidth possible depends on the cable quality and length. Modern
cables have a bandwidth of up to a few GHz. Coaxial cables used to be widely used within the
telephone system for long-distance lines but have now largely been replaced by fiber optics on long-
haul routes.
Fiber Optics:
1. Fiber optics is used for long-haul transmission in network backbones, high speed LANs and high-
speed Internet access such as FttH (Fiber to the Home). An optical transmission system has three key
components:
a. The light source: a pulse of light indicates a 1 bit and the absence of light indicates a 0 bit.
b. The transmission: The transmission medium is an ultra-thin fiber of glass.
c. The detector: The detector generates an electrical pulse when light falls on it.
2. By attaching a light source to one end of an optical fiber and a detector to the other, unidirectional data
transmission system is established that accepts an electrical signal, converts and transmits it by light
pulses, and then reconverts the output to an electrical signal at the receiving end.
3. The above transmission system would leak light and be useless in practice. When a light ray passes
from one medium to another, for example, from fused silica to air—the ray is refracted (bent) at the

silica/air boundary, as shown in Fig. 2.3(a). Here a light ray incident on the boundary at an angle 1
emerging at an angle 1 . The amount of refraction depends on the properties of the two media.
4. For angles of incidence above a certain critical value, the light is refracted back into the silica; none of
it escapes into the air. Thus, a light ray incident at or above the critical angle is trapped inside the -
fiber, as shown in Fig. 2.2(b), and can propagate for many kilometers with virtually no loss.
Fig 2.2 a) Three examples of a light ray from inside a silica fiber impinging on the air/silica boundary at different angles. (b) Light
trapped by total internal reflection.
5. The sketch of Fig. 2.2(b) shows only one trapped ray, but since any light ray incident on the boundary
above the critical angle will be reflected internally, many different rays will be bouncing around at
different angles. Each ray is said to have a different mode, so a fiber having this property is called a
multimode fiber.
6. However, if the fiber’s diameter is reduced to a few wavelengths of light the fiber acts like a wave
guide and the light can propagate only in a straight line, without bouncing, yielding a single-mode
fiber. Single-mode fibers are more expensive but are widely used for longer distances. Currently
available single-mode fibers can transmit data at 100 Gbps for 100 km without amplification.
Transmission of Light through Fiber:
Optical fibers are made of glass, which, in turn, is made from sand. Glass transparent enough to be useful
for windows was developed during the Renaissance. The attenuation of light through glass depends on the
wavelength of the light. It is defined as the ratio of input to output signal power. For the kind of glass used
in fibers, the attenuation is shown in Fig. 2.3 in units of decibels per linear kilometer of fiber.

Fig 2.3: Attenuation of light through fiber in the infrared region

Three wavelength bands are most commonly used at present for optical communication. They are centered
at 0.85, 1.30, and 1.55 microns, respectively. All three bands are 25,000 to 30,000 GHz wide. The 0.85-
micron band was used first. It has higher attenuation and so is used for shorter distances, but at that
wavelength the lasers and electronics could be made from the same material (gallium arsenide). The last
two bands have good attenuation properties (less than 5% loss per kilometer). The 1.55-micron band is
now widely used with erbium-doped amplifiers that work directly in the optical domain.
Fiber Cables:
Fiber optic cables are similar to coax, except without the braid. Figure 2.4(a) shows a single fiber viewed
from the side. At the center is the glass core through which the light propagates. In multimode fibers, the
core is typically 50 microns in diameter, about the thickness of a human hair. In single-mode fibers, the
core is 8 to 10 microns.
Fig 2.4 (a) Side view of a single fiber, (b) End view of a sheath with three fibers
The core is surrounded by a 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. Fibers are typically grouped in
bundles, protected by cladding. Fibers are typically grouped in bundles, protected by an outer sheath.
Figure 2.4(b) shows a sheath with three fibers.

Fibers can be connected in three different ways:

 First, they can terminate in connectors and be plugged into fiber sockets. Connectors lose about
10 to 20% of the light, but they make it easy to reconfigure systems.
 Second, they can be spliced mechanically. Mechanical splices just lay the two carefully cut ends
next to each other in a special sleeve and clamp them in place. Alignment can be improved by
passing light through the junction and then making small adjustments to maximize the signal.
 Third, two pieces of fiber can be fused (melted) to form a solid connection. A fusion splice is
almost as good as a single drawn fiber, but even here, a small amount of attenuation occurs.
Two kinds of light sources are typically used to do the signaling:
 LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes)
 Semiconductor Lasers
These two have different properties as shown below:
Fig 2.5: A comparison of semiconductor diodes and LEDs as light source
THE THEORETICAL BASIS FOR DATA COMMUNICATION

Information can be transmitted on wires by varying some physical property such as voltage or current. By
representing the value of this voltage or current as such as voltage or current. By representing the value of
this voltage or current as a single-valued function of time, f(t), we can model the behavior of the signal
and analyze it mathematically.
Fourier Analysis:
In the early 19th century, the French mathematician Jean-Baptiste Fourier proved that any reasonably
behaved periodic function, g(t) with period T, can be constructed as the sum of a (possibly infinite)
number of sines and cosines:
………………………. (2-1)

Where f = 1/T is the fundamental frequency, a n and bn are the sine and cosine amplitudes of the nth
harmonics (terms), and c is a constant. Such decomposition is called a Fourier series. From the Fourier
series, the function can be reconstructed. That is, if the period, T, is known and the amplitudes are given,
the original function of time can be found by performing the sums of Eq. (2-1).
A data signal that has a finite duration, which all of them do, can be handled by just imagining that it
repeats the entire pattern over and over forever (i.e., the interval from T to 2T is the same as from 0 to T,
etc.).
The a n amplitudes can be computed for any given g(t) by multiplying both sides of Eq. (2-1) by sin(2πkft
) and then integrating from 0 to T. Since
Only one term of the summation survives: a n . The bn summation vanishes completely. Similarly, by
multiplying Eq. (2-1) by cos(2πkft ) and integrating between 0 and T, we can derive bn . By just integrating
both sides of the equation as it stands, we can find c. The results of performing these operations are as
follows:
Bandwidth Limited Signals:

The relevance of all of this to data communication is that real channels affect different frequency signals
differently.
For example: the transmission of the ASCII character ‘‘b’’ encoded in an 8-bit byte. The bit pattern that
is to be transmitted is 01100010. The left-hand part of Fig. 2.6 (a) shows the voltage output by the
transmitting computer.

The Fourier analysis of this signal yields the coefficients:
The root-mean-square amplitudes, a n2  bn2 for the first few terms as shown on the right hand side of the
fig (a). The squares of these values are proportional to the energy transmitted at the corresponding
frequency.
No transmission facility can transmit signals without losing some power in the process. If all the Fourier
components were equally diminished, the resulting signal would be reduced in amplitude but not distorted.
Unfortunately, all transmission facilities diminish different Fourier components by different amounts, thus
introducing distortion. Usually, for a wire, the amplitudes are transmitted mostly undiminished from 0 up
to some frequency fc [measured in cycles/sec or Hertz (Hz)], with all frequencies above this cutoff
frequency attenuated. The width of the frequency range transmitted without being strongly attenuated is
called the bandwidth.
The bandwidth is a physical property of the transmission medium that depends on the construction,
thickness, and length of a wire or fiber. Filters are often used to further limit the bandwidth of a signal.
802.11 wireless channels are allowed to use up to roughly 20 MHz.
Signals that run from 0 up to a maximum frequency are called baseband signals. Signals that are shifted
to occupy a higher range of frequencies are called pass-band signals.
The Maximum Data Rate of a Channel:

In 1942, an AT&T Engineer, Henry Nyquist, realized that even a perfect channel has a finite transmission
capacity. He derived an equation expressing a maximum data rate for a finite bandwidth noiseless channel.
In 1948, Claude Shannon carried Nyquist work further and extended to the case of a channel subject to
random noise.
Nyquist proved that if an arbitrary signal has been run through a low-pass filter of bandwidth B, the
filtered signal can be completely reconstructed by making only 2B (exact) samples per second. Sampling
the line faster than 2B times per second is pointless because the higher-frequency components that such
sampling could recover have already been filtered out. If the signal consists of V discrete levels, Nyquist’s
theorem states:
If random noise is present, the situation deteriorates rapidly. The amount of thermal noise present is
measured by the ratio of the signal power to the noise power, called the SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio). If
we denote the signal power by “S” and the noise power by “N”, then signal-to-noise ratio is S/N. the ratio
is expressed on a log scale as the quantity 10 log10 S /N because it can vary over a tremendous range. The
units of this log scale are called decibels (dB), with ‘‘deci’’ meaning 10 and ‘‘bel’’ chosen to honor
Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone. An S /N ratio of 10 is 10 dB, a ratio of 100 is 20 dB,
a ratio of 1000 is 30 etc.
Shannon’s major result is that the maximum data rate or capacity of a noisy channel whose bandwidth is
B Hz and whose signal-to-noise ratio is S/N is given by:
Shannon’s result was derived from information-theory arguments and applies to any channel subject to
thermal noise.
DIGITAL MODULATION AND MULTIPLEXING
Wires and wireless channels carry analog signals such as continuously varying voltage, light intensity, or
sound intensity. To send digital information, we must devise analog signals to represent bits. The process
of converting between bits and signals that represent them is called digital modulation.
In general there are two types of schemes that are being used. They are:
 Baseband Transmission: In this the signal occupies frequencies from zero up to a maximum
that depends on the signaling rate. It is common for wires

 Passband Transmissions: In this the schemes that regulate the amplitude, phase or frequency of
a carrier signal to convey bits are used. In this the signal occupies a band of frequencies around
the frequency of the carrier signal.
Baseband Multiplexing:
The most straightforward form of digital modulation is to use a positive voltage to represent a 1 and a
negative voltage to represent a 0. For an optical fiber, the presence of light might represent a 1 and the
absence of light might represent a 0. This scheme is called NRZ (Non-Return-to-Zero).
Once sent, the NRZ signal propagates down the wire. At the other end, the receiver converts it into bits by
sampling the signal at regular intervals of time. This signal will not look exactly like the signal that was
sent. It will be attenuated and distorted by the channel and noise at the receiver. To decode the bits, the
receiver maps the signal samples to the closest symbols. For NRZ, a positive voltage will be taken to
indicate that a 1 was sent and a negative voltage will be taken to indicate that a 0 was sent.
More complex schemes can convert bits to signals. These schemes are called line codes. The below
diagram represents the line code:
Fig 2.6: Line codes: (a) Bits, (b) NRZ, (c) NRZI, (d) Manchester, (e) Bipolar or AMI
Bandwidth Efficiency:
With NRZ, the signal may cycle between the positive and negative levels up to every 2 bits (in the case of
alternating 1s and 0s). This means that we need a bandwidth of at least B/2 Hz when the bit rate is B
bits/sec. Bandwidth is often a limited resource, even for wired channels, Higher-frequency signals are
increasingly attenuated, making them less useful, and higher-frequency signals also require faster
electronics.

The strategy for using limited bandwidth more efficiently is to use more than two signaling levels. By
using four voltages, for instance, we can send 2 bits at once as a single symbol. The rate at which the
signal changes are then half the bit rate, the required bandwidth is reduced. Some definitions are:
 Symbol Rate: It is defines as the rate at which the signal changes is called symbol rate. The
older name for the symbol rate is the baud rate.
 Bit Rate: it is the symbol rate multiplied by the number of bits per symbol.
Clock Recovery:
For all schemes that encode bits into symbols, the receiver must know when one symbol ends and the next
symbol begins to correctly decode the bits. With NRZ, in which the symbols are simply voltage levels, a
long run of 0s or 1s leaves the signal unchanged. After a while it is hard to tell the bits apart, as 15 zeros
look much like 16 zeros unless you have a very accurate clock.
One strategy is to send a separate clock signal to the receiver, but it is wasteful for most network links
since if we had another line to send a signal we could use it to send data. The alternative here is to mix the
clock signal with the data signal by XORing them together so that no extra line is needed. The results are
shown in Fig. 2.6(d). When the clock is XORed with the 0 level it makes a low-to-high transition that is
simply the clock. This transition is a logical 0. When it is XORed with the 1 level it is inverted and makes
a high-to-low transition. This transition is a logical 1. This scheme is called Manchester encoding and
was used for classic Ethernet.
Drawback of Manchester Encoding:
The downside of Manchester encoding is that it requires twice as much bandwidth as NRZ because of the
clock. To overcome this, well known code 4B/5B is used. Every 4 bits is mapped into a 5-bit pattern with
a fixed translation table. The five bit patterns are chosen so that there will never be a run of more than
three consecutive 0s. The mapping is shown in Fig. 2.6.1. This scheme adds 25% overhead, which is
better than the 100% overhead of Manchester encoding. Since there are 16 input combinations and 32
output combinations, some of the output combinations are not used.

Fig 2.6.1: 4B/5B Mapping

Balanced Signals:
Signals that have as much positive voltage as negative voltage even over short periods of time are called
balanced signals. They average to zero, which means that they have no DC electrical component. The
lack of a DC component is an advantage because some channels, such as coaxial cable or lines with
transformers, strongly attenuate a DC component due to their physical properties. Also, one method of
connecting the receiver to the channel called capacitive coupling passes only the AC portion of a signal.
In either case, if we send a signal whose average is not zero, we waste energy as the DC component will
be filtered out.
A straightforward way to construct a balanced code is to use two voltage levels to represent a logical 1,
(say +1 V or −1 V) with 0 V representing a logical zero. To send a 1, the transmitter alternates between
the +1 V and −1 V levels so that they always average out. This scheme is called bipolar encoding. In
telephone networks it is called AMI (Alternate Mark Inversion), building on old terminology in which a
1 is called a ‘‘mark’’ and a 0 is called a ‘‘space.’’ An example is given in Fig. 2-6(e).
Pass Band Transmission:

Digital modulation is accomplished with passband transmission by regulating or modulating a carrier
signal that sits in the passband. We can modulate the amplitude, frequency, or phase of the carrier signal.
Each of these methods has a corresponding name:
 ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying): In this, two different amplitudes are used to represent 0 and 1.
An example with a nonzero and a zero level is shown in Fig. 2.7(b). More than two levels can be
used to represent more symbols.

 FSK (Frequency Shift Keying): In this, two or more different tones are used. The example in
Fig. 2.7(c) uses just two frequencies.
 PSK (Phase Shift Keying): In the simplest form of PSK (Phase Shift Keying), the carrier wave
is systematically shifted 0 or 180 degrees at each symbol period. Because there are two phases, it
is called BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying). ‘‘Binary’’ here refers to the two symbols, not that
the symbols represent 2 bits. An example is shown in Fig. 2.7(c).
 QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying)A better scheme that uses the channel bandwidth more
efficiently is to use four shifts, e.g., 45, 135, 225, or 315 degrees, to transmit 2 bits of
information per symbol. This version is called QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying).
Fig 2.7: (a) Binary Signal, (b) Amplitude Shift keying, (c) Frequency Shift keying, (d) Phase Shift keying
The above schemes can be combines and use more levels to transmit more bits per symbol. Only one of
frequency and phase can be modulated at a time because they are related, with the frequency being the rate
of change of phase over time. Usually amplitude and phases are modulated in combination. Three
examples are shown in the following fig 2.7.1. In this it provides a legal amplitude and phase
combinations of each symbol. In fig 2.7.1(a) equidistant dots are presented at 45, 135, 225, and 315
degrees. The phase of a dot is indicated by the angle a line from it to the origin makes the positive x-axis.
This figure is representation of QPSK.

Fig 2.7.1: (a) QPSK (b) QAM-16 (c) QAM-64

The above kind of diagram is called the constellation diagram. If figure 2.7.1(b) a modulation scheme with
a denser constellation. Sixteen combinations of amplitudes and phases are used, so the modulation scheme
can be used to transmit 4 bits per symbol. It is called QAM-16 (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation).
The figure 2.7.1(c) is denser modulation scheme with 64 different combinations, so 6 bits can be
transmitted per symbol. It is called QAM-64
Multiplexing:
Channels are often shared by multiple signals. It is much more convenient to use a single wire to carry
several signals than to install a wire for every signal. This kind of sharing is called multiplexing. It can be
accomplished in several different ways. Some methods are: time, frequency, and code division
multiplexing
Time Division Multiplexing:
An alternative to FDM is TDM (Time Division Multiplexing). Here, the users take turns (in a round-
robin fashion), each one periodically getting the entire bandwidth for a little burst of time. An example of
three streams being multiplexed with TDM is shown in Fig. 2.8. Bits from each input stream are taken in a
fixed time slot and output to the aggregate stream. This stream runs at the sum rate of the individual
streams. For this to work, the streams must be synchronized in time. Small intervals of guard time
analogous to a frequency guard band may be added to accommodate small timing variations.
Fig 2.8: Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)

TDM is used widely as part of the telephone and cellular networks. To avoid one point of confusion, let us
be clear that it is quite different from the alternative STDM (Statistical Time Division Multiplexing).
The prefix ‘‘statistical’’ is added to indicate that the individual streams contribute to the multiplexed
stream not on a fixed schedule, but according to the statistics of their demand. STDM is packet switching
by another name.
SYNCHRONOUS Time Division Multiplexing:
In synchronous TDM, each input connection has an allotment in the output even if it is not sending data.
In synchronous TDM, the data flow of each input connection is divided into units, where each input
occupies one input time slot. A unit can be 1 bit, one character, or one block of data. Each input unit
becomes one output unit and occupies one output time slot. The duration of an output time slot is n times
shorter than the duration of an input time slot. It is shown in the following figure 2.8.1:
Fig 2.8.1: Synchronous Time Division Multiplexing

In synchronous TDM, a round of data units from each input connection is collected into a frame. If we
have n connections, a frame is divided into n time slots and one slot is allocated for each unit, one for each
input line. Time slots are grouped into frames. A frame consists of one complete cycle of time slots, with
one slot dedicated to each sending device. In a system with n input lines, each frame has n slots, with each
slot allocated to carrying data from a specific input line. The data rate of the link is n times faster, and the
unit duration is n times shorter.
Interleaving:
TDM can be visualized as two fast-rotating switches, one on the multiplexing side and the other on the de-
multiplexing side. The switches are synchronized and rotate at the same speed, but in opposite directions.
On the multiplexing side, as the switch opens in front of a connection, that connection has the opportunity
to send a unit onto the path. This process is called interleaving. On the de-multiplexing side, as the switch
opens in front of a connection, that connection has the opportunity to receive a unit from the path.

Fig 2.8.2: Interleaving
STDM (Statistical Time Division Multiplexing):

In synchronous TDM, each input has a reserved slot in the output frame. This can be inefficient if some
input lines have no data to send. In statistical TDM, slots are dynamically allocated to improve
bandwidth efficiency. When an input line has a slot's worth of data to send, it is given a slot in the output
frame. The number of slots in each frame is less than the number of input lines. The multiplexer checks
each input line in round robin fashion; it allocates a slot for an input line if the line has data to send;
otherwise, it skips the line and checks the next line.
Addressing:
In statistical TDM, a slot needs to carry data as well as the address of the destination. In statistical
multiplexing, there is no fixed relationship between the inputs and outputs because there are no reassigned
or reserved slots. We need to include the address of the receiver inside each slot to show where it is to be
delivered.
FIG 2.8.2: Synchronous and Statistical TDM
Slot Size:

Since a slot carries both data and an address in statistical TDM, the ratio of the data size to address size
must be reasonable to make transmission efficient.
No Synchronization Bit:
There is another difference between synchronous and statistical TDM, but this time it is at the frame level.
The frames in statistical TDM need not be synchronized, so we do not need synchronization bits.
Bandwidth:
In statistical TDM, the capacity of the link is normally less than the sum of the capacities of each channel.
The designers of statistical TDM define the capacity of the link based on the statistics of the load for each
channel.
Frequency Division Multiplexing:
FDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing) is an analog technique that can be applied when the bandwidth
of a link (in hertz) is greater than the combined bandwidths of the signals to be transmitted. The signals do
not overlap with each other’s bandwidth range, because the signals are modulated on different carrier
frequencies. The channels can be separated by strips of unused bandwidth-guard bands-to prevent signals
from overlapping. Based on the channel bandwidth, the number of sub channels is limited. FDM is used in
radio and TV broadcasting. FDM to be an analog multiplexing technique; however, this does not mean
that FDM cannot be used to combine sources sending digital signals. A digital signal can be converted to
an analog signal before FDM is used to multiplex them. FDM is an analog multiplexing technique that
combines analog signals.
Multiplexing Process:
 Each source generates a signal of a similar frequency range.
 Inside the multiplexer, these similar signals modulate different carrier frequencies (F1, F2, and
F3).
 The resulting modulated signals are then combined into a single composite signal that is sent out
over a media link that has enough bandwidth to accommodate it.

Fig 2.9: FDM Multiplexing

DE -Multiplexing Process:
 The de-multiplexer uses a series of filters to decompose the multiplexed signal into its
constituent component signals.
 The individual signals are then passed to a demodulator that separates them from their carriers
and passes them to the output lines.
Fig 2.9.1: FDM DE-Multiplexing

Applications of FDM:
 Common application of FDM is Cable television.
 A very common application of FDM is AM and FM radio broadcasting.
 Coaxial cable can carry many multiplexed channels.
 Another application is the first generation cellular telephones.
Advantages of FDM:
 In FDM system users can be added to the system by simply adding another pair of transmitter
modulator and receiver demodulators.
 A large number of signals (channels) can be transmitted simultaneously.

 FDM does not need synchronization between its transmitter and receiver for proper operation.
 Demodulation of FDM is easy.
 It supports full duplex information flow which is required by the most of the applications.
Advantages of FDM:
 The communication channel must have a very large bandwidth.
 Inter modulation distortion takes place, a problem for one user can sometimes affect others.
 Large number of modulators and filters are required.
 FDM suffers from the problem of crosstalk.
 The initial cost is high.
Implementation:
 FDM can be implemented very easily. In many cases, such as radio and television broadcasting,
there is no need for a physical multiplexer or de-multiplexer. As long as the stations agree to
send their broadcasts to the air using different carrier frequencies, multiplexing is achieved.
Code Division Multiplexing:
It’s a third kind of multiplexing that works in a completely different way than FDM and TDM. CDM
(Code Division Multiplexing) is a form of spread spectrum communication in which a narrowband
signal is spread out over a wider frequency band. This can make it more tolerant of interference, as well as
allowing multiple signals from different users to share the same frequency band. Because code division
multiplexing is mostly used for the latter purpose it is commonly called CDMA (Code Division Multiple
Access).
CDMA allows each station to transmit over the entire frequency spectrum all the time. Multiple
simultaneous transmissions are separated using coding theory. In CDMA, each bit time is subdivided into
“m” short intervals called chips. Typically, there are 64 or 128 chips per bit. Each station is assigned a
unique m-bit code called a chip sequence. For pedagogical purposes, it is convenient to use a bipolar
notation to write these codes as sequences of −1 and +1. We will show chip sequences in parentheses.
To transmit a 1 bit, a station sends its chip sequence. To transmit a 0 bit, it sends the negation of its chip
sequence. No other patterns are permitted. Thus, for m = 8, if station A is assigned the chip sequence (−1
−1 −1 +1 +1 −1 +1 +1), it can send a 1 bit by transmitting the chip sequence and a 0 by transmitting (+1
+1 +1 −1 −1 +1 −1 −1). It is really signals with these voltage levels that are sent, but it is sufficient for us
to think in terms of the sequences.

In fig 2.10 (a) and (b) the chip sequence assigned to four examples stations and signals that they represent
are shown. Each station has its own unique chip sequence.
Fig 2.10 (a) Chip Sequence for four stations. (b) Signals the sequence represents (c) Six examples of transmissions (d)
Recovery of station C’s signal
Let S be the symbol to indicate the m-chip vector for station S, and S for its negation. All chip sequences
are pair-wise orthogonal, by which we mean that the normalized inner product of any two distinct chip
sequences, S and T (written as S T), is 0. It is known how to generate such orthogonal chip sequences
using a method known as Walsh codes. In mathematical terms, orthogonality of the chip sequences can be
expressed as follows:
Note: if S T = 0, then S T is also 0. The normalized inner product of any chip sequence with itself is 1:
This follows because each of the m terms in the inner product is 1, so the sum is m. Also note that S .S = -
1.
During each bit time, a station can transmit a 1 (by sending its chip sequence), it can transmit a 0 (by
sending the negative of its chip sequence), or it can be silent and transmit nothing. When two or more
stations transmit simultaneously, their bipolar sequences add linearly. For example, if in one chip period
three stations output +1 and one station outputs −1, +2 will be received. One can think of this as signals
that add as voltages superimposed on the channel: three stations output +1 V and one station outputs −1 V,
so that 2 V is received. For instance, in Fig. 2.9(c) there are six examples of one or more stations

transmitting 1 bit at the same time. In the first example, C transmits a 1 bit, so we just get C’s chip
sequence. In the second example, both B and C transmit 1 bits, so we get the sum of their bipolar chip
sequences, namely:
To recover the bit stream of an individual station, the receiver must know that station’s chip sequence in
advance. It does the recovery by computing the normalized inner product of the received chip sequence
and the chip sequence of the station whose bit stream it is trying to recover. If the received chip sequence
is S and the receiver is trying to listen to a station whose chip sequence is C, it just computes the
normalized inner product, .
To make the decoding process more concrete, six examples in Fig. 2.9(d) are represented. Suppose that the
receiver is interested in extracting the bit sent by station C from each of the six signals S1 through S6. It
calculates the bit by summing the pair-wise products of the received S and the C vector of Fig. 2.9(a) and
then taking 1/8 of the result (since m = 8 here). The examples include cases where C is silent, sends a 1
bit, and sends a 0 bit, individually and in combination with other transmissions.
In principle, given enough computing capacity, the receiver can listen to all the senders at once by running
the decoding algorithm for each of them in parallel.

Unit 2

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Unit 2

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Unit – II Computer Networks Transmission Media

GUIDED TRANSMISSION MEDIA:

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Fig 2.1: Category 5 UTP cable with four twisted pairs.

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2. Two kinds of coaxial cables are widely used. They are:

Fig 2.2: A coaxial Cable

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Fig 2.3: Attenuation of light through fiber in the infrared region

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Fibers can be connected in three different ways:

Fig 2.5: A comparison of semiconductor diodes and LEDs as light source

THE THEORETICAL BASIS FOR DATA COMMUNICATION

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Bandwidth Limited Signals:

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The Fourier analysis of this signal yields the coefficients:

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Fig 2.6.1: 4B/5B Mapping

Pass Band Transmission:

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Fig 2.7.1: (a) QPSK (b) QAM-16 (c) QAM-64

Fig 2.8: Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)

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Fig 2.8.1: Synchronous Time Division Multiplexing

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Fig 2.8.2: Interleaving

STDM (Statistical Time Division Multiplexing):

FIG 2.8.2: Synchronous and Statistical TDM

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Fig 2.9: FDM Multiplexing

Fig 2.9.1: FDM DE-Multiplexing

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