Chapter One

Data Communication Basics

Data Communication and Computer

Networks
CS Year 2– R/E/W
 DATA COMMUNICATIONS
• When we communicate, we are sharing information.
• This sharing can be local or remote. Between individuals,
local communication usually occurs face to face, while remote
communication takes place over distance.
 The term telecommunication, which includes telephony,
telegraphy, and television, means communication at a
distance (tele is Greek for “far”).
 The word data refers to information presented in whatever
form is agreed upon by the parties creating and using the
data.
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The effectiveness of a data communications system depends on four
fundamental characteristics.
1. Delivery. The system must deliver data to the correct destination.
Data must be received by the intended device or user and only by
that device or user.

2. Accuracy. Data that have been altered in transmission and left

uncorrected are unusable.

3. Timeliness. Data delivered late are useless. In the case of video and
audio, timely delivery means delivering data as they are produced,
in the same order that they are produced, and without significant
delay. This kind of delivery is called real-time transmission.

4. Jitter. Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. It is the
uneven delay in the delivery of audio or video packets. For example,
let us assume that video packets are sent every 30 ms. If some of the
packets arrive with 30-ms delay and others with 40-ms delay, an
3 uneven quality in the video is the result.
Communication Basics
 Data communications are the exchange of data between two devices via some

form of transmission medium such as a wire cable or air.

 It includes :

 Writing and talking

 Nonverbal communication (such as facial expressions, body language or gestures)

 Visual communication (the use of images or pictures such as painting, photography,

video or film)
 Electronic Communication such as telephone calls, electronic mail, cable television,

satellite broadcasts.

 For data communications to occur, the communicating devices must be part of a

communication system made up of a combination of hardware (physical

equipment) and software (programs).
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Five components of data communication
[Link]: is the information (data) to be communicated. Popular forms of information

include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and video.

[Link]: is the device that sends the data message. It can be a computer, workstation,

telephone handset, video camera, and so on.

[Link]: is the device that receives the message. It can be a computer, workstation,
telephone handset, television, and so on.
[Link] medium: is the physical path by which a message travels from sender to

receiver. Some examples of transmission media include twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable,
fiberoptic cable, and radio waves.
[Link]: is a set of rules that govern data communications. It represents an agreement

between the communicating devices. Without a protocol, two devices may be connected but
not communicating, just as a person speaking French cannot be understood by a person
who speaks only Japanese.

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 Serial vs. parallel communications
In serial communications
A single bit will be transferred at a time using
the communication channel
Bits will be reassembled at the destination
In parallel communications
Multiple bits (eg. Eight bits) will be transferred
at a time
Needs multiple (parallel) communication
channels
Mostly used by computer peripherals like older
6 printers,
Contd.

7
Definitions
The word data refers to information presented in
whatever form is agreed upon by the parties creating and
using the data.
Signal: the electrical wave that is used to represent the
data.
It Can be analog or digital signal
Data communications (Transmission) are the exchange
of data between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as a wire cable or wireless
media using appropriate signal.
Network is a system in which a number of independent
computers are linked together to share data and
8 peripherals, such as hard disks and printers (more in the
Transmission Methods
 Packet and Circuit switching
1. Circuit switching
- The whole message is sent from the source to destination
without being divided into packet.
-involves setting up a series of intermediate nodes, in order
to propagate the sending node's data to the receiving node.
-In such a situation, the communication line can be likened to a
dedicated communication pipe.
-In such cases, a circuit made of communication lines between
the sending node and receiving node is reserved at the time of
communication, so that data can be sent over it; the circuit is
freed again when transmission is complete.
-In particular, it is the method used by the public switched
telephone network (PSTN). By reserving a telephone line
between two speakers, the network can ensure the best data
transfer performance possible. For voice communication, it is
essential that the line not be cut while the signal is being
transmitted. Example: Early Telephone system
2. Packet switching
- The message first divided into manageable packet at
source before being transmitted. The packet assembled
at destination.
- involves splitting information into data packets, transmitted
separately by intermediate nodes and reassembled when
they reach the final recipient.
- When sending data with packet switching, the data to be
transmitted is split into data packets (this is called
segmentation) and then sent separately over the network.
- The network nodes are free to determine each packet's route
individually, based on their routing table.
- The packets sent in this manner can take different routes,
and are reassembled when they arrive at the recipient node.
Data Representation Techniques
The type of data to be transmitted can be in the form of
text, audio, and video in the form of electrical signal,
radio, laser, or other radiated energy source.
Data can be analog or digital
The term analog data refers to information that is
continuous; digital data refers to information that has
discrete states.
Example: analog clock (with second, minute and hour
hands) and digital clock

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Analog and digital signals
An analog signal has infinitely many levels of intensity

over a period of time.

As the wave moves from value A to value B, it passes

through and includes an infinite number of values along

its path.
A digital signal, on the other hand, can have only a

limited number of defined values.

Although each value can be any number, it is often as
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simple as 1 and 0.
Analog Signals
 Are Continuous wave that carries information by
altering the characteristics of waves.
 Analogue means that the original information is
retransmitted to the receiver/listener without any
manipulation.
 Here the signal can take on any value (within the
limits set by the recording equipment and the
transmitter).
 It measures rather than counts
 For instance, Voice and all sounds are analog,
traveling to human ears in the forms of waves.
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Contd.

 Radio, telephone and recording equipment historically have been

analog, but they are beginning to change –due to large to computers to

the other types of signals-digitals
 The disadvantage of analogue signals is that any 'noise', interference,

added to the signal at any point cannot be removed from the audio
signal and this degrades the audio quality of the signal or causes 'hiss'.
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Digital Signals

 are a discrete series of pulses - either high or low - on or off -

sometimes expressed as binary code 1s and 0s.

 It counts but not measures

 Discrete pluses of data transmission rather than continues wave

 More prevalent in computer based devices

 Flashing light and telegraph message are traditional examples of

on-off pluses, although not in binary code.

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Contd.
The advantage of digital signals is that

1. they are much less likely to be degraded by interference (noise).

2. also it is possible to send a lot more information digitally (e.g.
more television channels) than using analogue technology.
3. They can be transmitted effectively along fibre optic cables. (on -
light signal, off - no light signal) and these are cheaper to
manufacture than copper wiring and can cope with multiple
signals without interference between them.
4. They can be sent directly to computers which use digital systems

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themselves.
Contd.

 The signals from a satellite are digital. They use a system called

'packet switching' which is the same as used in computer networks

and for the internet. This system is particularly effective for dealing

with noise elimination.

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Contd.
Which of the following signals are Analog and which are Digital?

 Volume control on a radio

 Traffic lights

 Motor bike throttle

 Water tap

 Dimmer switch

 Light switch

 In Music on a CD

18  Music on a tape
Modes of data transmission
There are 3 different transmission modes characterized

according to the direction of the exchanges:

1. A simplex connection is a connection in which the data

flows in only one direction, from the transmitter to the

receiver.
 This type of connection is useful if the data do not

need to flow in both directions (for example, from

your computer to the printer or from the mouse to
19 your computer...).
 Contd.
2. A half-duplex connection (sometimes called an alternating connection or semi-

duplex) is a connection in which the data flows in one direction or the other, but not

both at the same time.

 With this type of connection, each end of the connection transmits in turn.

 This type of connection makes it possible to have bidirectional

communications using the full capacity of the line.

 In a half-duplex transmission, the entire capacity of a channel is taken over by whichever of

the two devices is transmitting at the time.

 Walkie-talkies and CB (citizens band) radios are both half-duplex systems.

 The half-duplex mode is used in cases where there is no need for communication in both

directions at the same time; the entire capacity of the channel can be utilized for each
20 direction.
Contd.
3. Full-Duplex: In full-duplex mode (also called duplex), both stations can

transmit and receive simultaneously

 The full-duplex mode is like a two-way street with traffic flowing in both directions at the

same time.

 In full-duplex mode, signals going in one direction share the capacity of the link: with

signals going in the other direction.

 This sharing can occur in two ways: Either the link must contain two physically separate

transmission paths, one for sending and the other for receiving; or the capacity of the

channel is divided between signals travelling in both directions.

 One common example of full-duplex communication is the telephone network. When two

people are communicating by a telephone line, both can talk and listen at the same time.

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 The full-duplex mode is used when communication in both directions is required all the
Contd.

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Signal Encoding techniques

 Digital data:- information that has discrete states

 Analog Data:- information that is continuous

 Digital Signal:- can have only a limited number of defined values.

 Although each value can be any number, it is often as simple as 1 and 0.

 Analog signal:- has infinitely many levels of intensity over a period of time.

 As the wave moves from value A to value B, it passes through and

includes an infinite number of values along its path.

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Contd.

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Assignment #1a
 Describe the following digital signal encoding formats (which format is used by

Ethernet?)

1. Non return-to-Zero-Level (NRZ-L): is a data encoding scheme in which a negative

voltage is used to represent binary one and a positive voltage represent binary zero. No

transition(no return to zero)

2. Non return to Zero Inverted (NRZI): the sequence voltage is meaningless.

3. Bipolar-AMI: use more than two levels

4. Pseudoternary

5. Manchester

6. Differential Manchester
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26
 DIGITAL DATA, ANALOG SIGNALS

 The most familiar use of this transformation is for transmitting

digital data through the public telephone network.

 The telephone network was designed to receive, switch, and

transmit analog signals in the voice- voice frequency range of

about 300 to 3400 Hz.

 digital devices are attached to the network via a modem

(modulator-demodulator), which converts digital data to analog

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 Digital Data to Analog Signal Encoding Techniques

 Modulation involves operation on one or more of the three

characteristics of a carrier signal: amplitude, frequency, and phase.

 Accordingly, there are three basic encoding or modulation

techniques for transforming digital data into analog signals
1. Amplitude-shift keying (ASK)

2. Frequency-shift keying (FSK)

3. Phase-shift keying (PSK)

Assignment #1b
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29
 Multiplexing
 In data communication, there might be a need to share a single

media for multiple communication (media/bandwidth

sharing) in order to utilize the available bandwidth wisely to

achieve specific goals.

 Sharing of a single media (fiber, coaxial, microwave,..) is

known as multiplexing.

 Whenever the bandwidth of a medium linking two devices is

greater than the bandwidth needs of the devices, the link can be
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shared.
Contd.
 Multiplexing is the set of techniques that allows the

(simultaneous) transmission of multiple signals across a

single data link.

 As data and telecommunications use increases, so does

traffic.

 In the above figure, there are n inputs to a multiplexer. The

31 multiplexer is connected by a single data link to a demultiplexer.
 Contd.
 The link is able to carry n separate channels of data.
 The multiplexer combines (multiplexes) data from the n input
lines and transmits over a higher capacity data link.
 The demultiplexer accepts the multiplexed data stream, separates
(demultiplexes) the data according to channel, and delivers them
to the appropriate output lines.
 There are three types of Multiplexing

Multiplexing

FREQUENCY- STATISTICAL
TIME - DIVISON
DIVISON MULTIPLEXIN
MULTIPLEXING
32 MULTIPLEXING G
 Frequency-division Multiplexing (FDM)
 FDM is a signal transmission technology in which multiple signals

can simultaneously be transmitted over the same line or channel.

 Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) can be used in both wired

and wireless networking for transmitting large amounts of data at

high speeds.

 FDM is the simplest and oldest form of multiplexing in wireless

networking technology.

 Frequency division multiplexing involves simultaneously transmitting

33 multiple signals on different frequencies.

 Contd.
 These different frequencies, called channels, share non-overlapping

portions of the total frequency band being used.

 Signals from different data sources are fed into a multiplexer that

modulates each signal and transmits them at different frequencies.

 These signals are then transmitted over the wire or through wireless

communication and are separated at the destination into individual

data signals using a demultiplexer.

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 FD Multiplexing Vs. FD Demultiplexing Example

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 Time-division multiplexing (TDM)
 A multiplexing method for transmitting multiple data streams in a

single communication path.

 In TDM, the data from different input channels is divided into

fixed-length segments and then combined in round-robin fashion into

a single output data stream, which can then be transmitted over a

single channel transmission system and demultiplexed at the

destination location.

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 The segments can be created by the multiplexer itself or can be
Contd.
 TDM is a digital multiplexing technique for combining several low-rate

digital channels into one high-rate one.

 One weakness in TDM is that if an input channel does not have anything

important to carry for a time, empty segments are inserted into the output
stream anyway. For example, if channel A is not transmitting data, one-
third of the output channel is not being used. You can overcome this
weakness by using a more sophisticated multiplexing technique called
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statistical multiplexing.
 Contd.
 For example, if input streams A, B, and C are divided into segments as
shown here:
A: A1, A2, A3,...
B: B1, B2, B3,...
C: C1, C2, C3,...
the output stream will look like this:
MUX(ABC) A1, B1, C1, A2, B2, C2, A3, B3, C3,...

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Statistical Multiplexing
 It is a multiplexing technique that allows information from a number of

channels to be combined for transmission over a single channel.

 Statistical multiplexing dynamically allocates bandwidth to each channel on

an as-needed basis. This is in contrast to time-division multiplexing (TDM)

techniques, in which quiet devices use up a portion of the multiplexed data
stream, filling it with empty packets. Statistical multiplexing allocates
bandwidth only to channels that are currently transmitting. It packages the
data from the active channels into packets and dynamically feeds them into
the output channel, usually on a FIFO (first in, first out) basis, but it’s also
able to allocate extra bandwidth to specific input channels.
 Statistical multiplexing is sometimes referred to as statistical time-division

39 multiplexing (STDM)
 Data Transmission : Error Detection and
Correction

 Errors in transmitted data can occur for a variety of reasons.

1. Some errors are due to equipment failure.

2. Some errors are due dispersion in optical fibers (i.e. light

pulses spread out).

3. Some errors are due to attenuation (loss of signal power

over a line).

4. Most errors are due to thermal noise that occurs naturally

on the line.
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 Dealing with Equipment Failure

 The more pieces of equipment that your signal needs to pass through,

the more likely it is that you’ll have a failure.

Transmitter Modem Switch Switch Modem Receiver

 Fewer intermediate devices or more reliable devices will reduce the

probability of failure.

 Redundant devices can also reduce the probability of failure by taking

over from other devices when they fail.

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 Dispersion

 Dispersion mainly occurs in optical fibers.

 A light pulse is made of billions of photons.

 Each photon follows a slightly different path as it bounces along

the optical fiber.

 A crisp light pulse will eventually spread out and overlap with other

pulses.
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 Attenuation

 Attenuation is the reduction in the power of a signal as it is

transmitted.

 Attenuation is a problem because the signal eventually loses

so much power that it becomes difficult to distinguish it

from the thermal noise in the background

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 Dealing With Errors
 We need to build systems that are resilient to errors in data.

 There is no way to guarantee that all bits will be sent uncorrupted.

 One way to cope with this is to detect errors and request that

corrupted data should be retransmitted.

 Detecting errors cannot be guaranteed either.

 We can at least make it extremely unlikely that errors will go undetected.

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 Errors in Data
 Data is sent in the form of binary numbers.

 The binary numbers consist bites - which are either 0 or 1.

 There are four possible ways that noise can affect a bit:

 If a bit is 0, the noise can affect it so it stays 0 – no error

 If a bit is 0, the noise can change it to 1- error

 If a bit is 1, the noise can affect it so it stays 1 - no error

 if a bit is 1, the noise can change it to 0- error

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 Pure Noise

 If the noise is overwhelming then (with some surprise

perhaps) we will still receive half the bits correctly.

 The problem is that there is no way of telling which bits

are correct and which bits are not.

 The data is no better than if we generated the bits

randomly.
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 Detecting Errors
 Usually, noise levels are fairly low and most of the bits are received correctly by the

receiver.

 The question is, how can the receiver know when an error has occurred?

 Because errors occur randomly, there is no way of knowing with complete

certainty if the data is correct.

 The best we can do is detect most errors.

 We could try sending the data twice and comparing the two transmissions to see

where the errors are.

 This is inefficient, particularly if all we want to know if there is an error in a

particular block of data.


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Even when we detect an error, the next question is: what to do about it?
Parity Checking (Vertical Redundancy Check (VRC))

 One of the most common ways of checking to see if an error occurs is to

count the bits in a character to see if there is an even or odd number.

 Before transmission, an extra bit (parity bit) is appended to the

character to force the number of bits to be even (or odd).

 If the received character does not have an even (or odd) number of bits

then an error must have occurred.

 Both the sender and receiver must know which form of parity to use.

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Contd.
A character such as 0110001 would be transmitted as:
Odd Parity: 01100010 (There are an odd number of 1s)
Even Parity: 01100011 (There are an even number of 1s)

Parity checking will detect a single error in a character but not

double errors.
8 bits including parity
7 bits of data
(count of 1 bits) Even odd

0000000 (0) 00000000 (0) 10000000 (1)

1010001 (3) 11010001 (4) 01010001 (3)
1101001 (4) 01101001 (4) 11101001 (5)
49 1111111 (7) 11111111 (8) 01111111 (7)
Hamming Distance
 The Hamming distance between two bit patterns is the

number of dissimilar bits.

 It measures the minimum number of substitutions required to

change one string into the other, or the number of errors that
transformed one string into the other.

 For example, the Hamming distance between 01000001 (‘A’)

and 01000011 (‘C’) is 1 because there is only one dissimilar

bit.

50 One error in the wrong place can turn an ‘A’ into a ‘C’.
 Hamming Distance

 The Hamming distance between 01000001 (‘A’) and

01000010 (‘B’) is 2 because there are two dissimilar bits.

 It would take two errors in the wrong place to turn an ‘A’ into

a ‘B’.

 Adding a parity bit ensures that there is at least a Hamming

distance of 2 between any two code words.

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 Checksum

 Another simple way of checking if there has been an error

in a block of data is to find a checksum.

 Imagine we send the data 121, 17, 29 and 47. Adding

these numbers up, we get 214.

 We actually send 121,17,29,47 and 214.

 The receiver can total up the first numbers and compare it

to the last one.

 A difference means an error has occurred.
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 Contd.

Typically pairs of bytes are joined to make 16 bit numbers. It

is these 16 bit numbers that are totaled to make the checksum.

If the checksum becomes larger than 65535 (the largest

possible 16 bit number) then the carried bits are discarded.

Checksums are common but not particularly good at catching

errors. Later errors can easily hide earlier ones.

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 Cyclic Redundancy Code (CRC)
A far more effective way of detecting errors in a block of

data is to use a Cyclic Redundancy Code.

In CRC, a number is mathematically calculated for a packet

by its source computer, and then recalculated by the

destination computer.
If the original and recalculated versions at the destination

computer differ, the packet is corrupt and needs to be resent

or ignored.

54
 Contd.
The mathematical procedure for performing a CRC is specified

by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and

involves applying a 16-bit polynomial to the data being
transmitted by the packet for packets of 4 KB of data or less, or
a 32-bit polynomial for packets larger than 4 KB.
The results of this calculation are appended to the packet as a

trailer. The receiving station applies the same polynomial to the

data and compares the results to the trailer appended to the
packet. Implementations of Ethernet use 32-bit polynomials to

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calculate their CRC.