1

Faculty of
Computer and
Information
Sciences
Information Technology
Department
 Co mpute r Ne two rks
Fundame ntals
IT 221 T

Le c ture 3:Phys ic al Laye r

Chapte r 3 and Chapte r 7
 Outlines
3.1.1 ANALOG AND DIGITAL
3.1.2 Analog and Digital Signals
3.1.3 Periodic and Nonperiodic Signals
3.2 PERIODIC ANALOG SIGNALS
3.2.1 Sine Wave
3.2.3 Wavelength
3.2.3 Time and Frequency Domain
3.2.4 Composite Signals
3.2.5 Bandwidth
3.3 Digital Signals
3.3.1 Bit Rate
3.3.2 Bit Length
3.3.3 Digital Signal as a Composite Analog Signal
3.3.4 Transmission of Digital Signals
3.4 TRANSMISSION IMPAIRMENT
3.4.1 Attenuation
3.4.2 Distortion
3.4.3 Noise
3.5 DATA RATE LIMITS
3.5.1 Noiseless Channel: Nyquist Bit Rate
3.5.2 Noisy Channel: Shannon Capacity
3.5.3 Using Both Limits
3.6 PERFORMANCE
3.6.1 Bandwidth - capacity of the system
3.6.2 Throughput - no. of bits that can be pushed through
3.6.3 Latency (Delay) - delay incurred by a bit from start to finish
 Outlines
7.Transmission Media
7.1 INTRODUCTION
7-2 GUIDED MEDIA
7.2.1 Twisted-Pair Cable
7.2.2 Coaxial cable
7.2.3 Fiber Optic Cable
7- 3 UNGUIDED MEDIA – wireless
7.3.1 Radio Wave
7.3.2 Microwave
7.3.3 Infrared
Physical Layer

The main function is to move data in the

form of electromagnetic signals across
transmission medium.

1.5
3.1.1 ANALOG AND DIGITAL
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.
Analog data take on continuous values. Digital data take
on discrete values.

Topics discussed in this section:

3.1.2 Analog and Digital Signals
3.1.3 Periodic and Nonperiodic Signals

1.6
3.6
3.1.2 Analog and Digital Signals

• Signals can be analog or digital.

• Analog signals can have an infinite number of values in a range.
• Digital signals can have only a limited
number of values.

1.7
3.7
 3.1.3 Periodic and Nonperiodic

• A periodic signal completes a pattern within a measurable time

frame, called a period, and repeats that pattern over subsequent
identical periods.
• A nonperiodic signal changes without exhibiting a pattern
• or cycle that repeats over time.
• Analog and Digital can be periodic or non periodic

In data communications, we commonly use

periodic analog signals and nonperiodic digital signals.
• Periodic analog signals ( because they need less bandwidth).

• nonperiodic digital signals ( because they can represent variation in

data)
1.8
3.8
3.2 PERIODIC ANALOG SIGNALS

• Periodic analog signals can be classified as simple or

composite.
• A simple periodic analog signal, a sine wave, cannot be
decomposed into simpler signals.
• A composite periodic analog signal is composed of multiple
sine waves.

Topics discussed in this section:

 3.2.1 Sine Wave
 3.2.3 Wavelength
 3.2.3 Time and Frequency Domain
 3.2.4 Composite Signals
 3.2.5 Bandwidth

1.9
3.9
Sine Wave is the most fundamental form of a periodic analog signal.

Figure 3.3: A sine wave

Three parameters:
the peak amplitude, the frequency, and the phase.

1.10
3.10
3.2.1 Sine Wave: Peak Amplitude
• Peak amplitude it is the absolute value of the highest intensity. It is normally
measured in volts.

1.11
3.11
3.2.1 Sine Wave: Periods and Frequency

Frequency (Hertz Hz) and period (second)

are the inverse of each other.

• Frequency: it refers to the number of periods in 1 s. It is formally expressed in

Hertz (Hz).
• Period : is the amount of time, in seconds, a signal needs to complete one cycle
(the completion of one full pattern).

1.12
3.12
3.2.1 Sine Wave: Periods and Frequency

1.13
3.13
3.2.1 Sine Wave: Periods and Frequency Units

103 10−3
10−3 103
103 10−3
10−3 103
X X X X
103 10−3
10−3 103
103 10−3 10−3 103

1.14
3.14
1.15
 3.2.1 Sine Wave: Periods and Frequency Example:
Example 3.3
The power we use at home has a frequency of 60 Hz. The period of this sine
Wave?
1/60 = 0.0166 second

Example 3.4
Express a period of 100 ms in microseconds.

= 100x10^3 = 10^5 microseconds

Example 3.5
The period of a signal is 100 ms. What is its frequency in kilohertz?
=1/100 = 0.01 KHz
Or
100 ms = .1 s, F=1/.1 = 10 Hz => F=10x10^-3 = .01 KHz

1.16
3.16
3.2.1 Sine Wave: more about Frequency:

•Frequency is the rate of change with respect to time.

•Change in a short span of time means high frequency.

•Change over a long span of time means low frequency

• If a signal does not change at all, its frequency is zero.

• If a signal changes instantaneously, its frequency is infinite
(unbounded)

1.17
3.17
3.2.2 Sine Wave: Phase

1.A sine wave with a phase 0° is not

shifted.

2.A sine wave with a phase 90° is

shifted to the left by ¼cycle.

3.A sine wave with a phase 180° is

shifted to the left by ½ cycle.

Phase describes the position of the waveform relative to

time 0.

•It is measured in degree or radian

1.18
3.18
3.2.3 Sine Wave: Wavelength

Wavelength = (propagation speed) X period

Wavelength =propagation speed / frequency

wavelength is the distance a simple signal can travel in one period.

use wavelength to describe the transmis- sion of light in an optical fiber.
• light is propagated with a speed of 3 × 10^8 m/s.
1.19
3.19
3.2.4 Time and Frequency Domains:

1.20
3.20
• time-domain plot shows changes in signal amplitude with respect to time
• frequency-domain plot show the relationship between amplitude and frequency
• The advantage of the frequency domain is that we can immediately see the
values of the frequency and peak amplitude

1.21
• Time and Frequency Domains:

• A complete sine wave in the time domain can be represented by one single spike in
the frequency domain
1.22
3.22
3.2.5 Composite signals

• A single-frequency sine wave is not useful in data

communications We need to send a composite signal, a
signal made of many simple sine waves.

• According to Fourier analysis, any composite signal is a

combination of simple sine waves with different
frequencies, amplitudes, and phases.

1.23
3.23
3.2.5 Composite signals
If the composite signal is periodic, the decomposition gives a series of
signals with discrete frequencies.

1.24
3.24
3.2.5 Composite signals
If the composite signal is nonperiodic, the decomposition gives a
combination of sine waves with continuous frequencies.

1.25
3.25
3.2.6 Bandwidth
• The bandwidth of a composite signal is the difference between the
highest and the lowest frequencies contained in that signal.

1.26
3.26
3.2.6 Bandwidth Example
• Example 3.10
If a periodic signal is decomposed into five sine waves with frequencies
of 100, 300, 500, 700,and 900 Hz, what is its bandwidth? Draw the
spectrum, assuming all components have a maximum amplitude of 10 V.

1.27
3.27
3.2.6 Bandwidth Example
• Example 3.11
A periodic signal has a bandwidth of 20 Hz. The highest frequency is 60
Hz. What is the lowest frequency? Draw the spectrum if the signal
contains all frequencies of the same amplitude of 10 V.

• Example 3.12
A nonperiodic composite signal has a bandwidth of 200 kHz, with a
middle frequency of140 kHz and peak amplitude of 20 V. The two
extreme frequencies have an amplitude of 0. Draw the frequency domain
of the signal.

1.28
3.28
3.3 Digital Signals
In addition to being represented by an analog signal,
information can also be represented by a digital signal. For
example, a 1 can be encoded as a positive voltage and a 0 as zero
voltage. A digital signal can have more than two levels. In this
case, we can send more than 1 bit for each level.

Topics discussed in this section:

 3.3.1 Bit Rate
 3.3.2 Bit Length
 3.3.3 Digital Signal as a Composite Analog Signal
 3.3.4 Transmission of Digital Signals

1.29
3.3 Digital Signals

1.30
3.3 Digital Signals
Example 3.16
A digital signal has eight levels. How many bits are needed per
level? We calculate the number of bits from the formula

• Number of bits per level =log2 8 =3

Each signal level is represented by 3 bits.

1.31
3.3.1 Bit Rate and Bit Interval
3.3.2 Bit Length
• Most digital signals are nonperiodic.
• frequency and period are not appropriate.
• Another terms instead of :
Frequency  bit rate
Period bit interval(bit duration)
Bit rate: number of bits per second bps
Bit interval= 1/bit rate
Bit length = propagation speed x Bit interval

1.32
• Example 3.18

Assume we need to download text documents at the rate of 100 pages per minute.
What is the required bit rate of the channel?

Solution A page is an average of 24 lines with 80 characters in each line. If we

assume that one character requires 8bits

The bit rate is=100x24x80x8/60=25.6Kbps

1.33
3.3.3 Digital Signal as a Composite Analog Signal

Figure 3.18 The time and frequency domains of periodic and nonperiodic digital signals

1.34
3.3.4 Transmission of Digital Signals
We can transmit a digital signal by using one of two different
approach :

1. Baseband transmission
2. Broadband transmission

1.35
 1. Baseband transmission

Means sending a digital signal over a channel without

changing the digital signal to an analog signal
Figure 3.19 Baseband transmission

Base band transmission required a low-pass

channel (channel with a B-W that starts from zero)

3.36
Figure 3.21 Baseband transmission using a dedicated medium

Note
Baseband transmission of a digital signal that preserves the shape of the
digital signal is possible only if we have a low-pass channel with an
infinite or very wide bandwidth.

3.37
 2. Broadband Transmission (modulation)

Means changing the digital signal to an analog signal for

transmission. Modulation use a band-pass channel
(a channel with a B-W that doesn't start from Zero). This
type of channel is more available than a low-pass channel.

Figure 3.24 Bandwidth of a bandpass channel

3.38
Note
If the available channel is a bandpass channel, we cannot
send the digital signal directly to the channel;
we need to convert the digital signal to an analog signal
before transmission.

An example of broadband transmission using modulation

is the sending of computer data through a telephone
subscriber line using converter as modem.

3.39
Figure 3.25 Modulation of a digital signal for transmission on a bandpass channel

3.40
3-4 TRANSMISSION IMPAIRMENT
Signals travel through transmission media, which are
not perfect. The imperfection causes signal
impairment. This means that the signal at the
beginning of the medium is not the same as the signal
at the end of the medium. What is sent is not what is
received. Three causes of impairment are attenuation,
distortion, and noise.

Topics discussed in this section:

 3.4.1 Attenuation
 3.4.2 Distortion
 3.4.3 Noise
1.41
Figure 3.26 Causes of impairment

1.42
3.4.1 Attenuation – a loss of energy
when Signal travels through a medium, it losses some of its energy in
overcoming the resistance of the medium. To compensate for this loss,
amplifiers are used to amplify the signal.

Figure 3.27 Attenuation

Decibel (dB): Measure the relative power(attenuation)

dB=10 log10 P2 / P1 P1 - input signal
P2 - output signal
1.43
Example 3.26
Suppose a signal travels through a transmission medium and its
power is reduced to one-half. This means that P2 is (1/2)P1. In
this case, the attenuation (loss of power) can be calculated as?

3.44

1.44
 3.4.2 Distortion

Distortion : means that signal changes its form or shape.

Each signal component has its own propagation speed through the medium and
therefore ,its own delay in arriving final destination.

Figure 3.27 Attenuation

Figure 3.29 Distortion

1.45
 3.4.3 Noise
• Thermal noise: is the random motion of electrons in a wire
which creates an extra signal not originally sent by the
transmitter
• Induced noise: Comes from sources such as motors and
appliances.
• Crosstalk noise: Is the effect of one wire on the other.
• Impulse Noise: is a spike ( a signal with high energy in a very
short time) that comes from power lines, lighting and so on.

Figure 3.30 Noise

1.46
 Signal-to-Noise Ratio
SNR: ratio between signal power to the noise power

o A high SNR: means the signal is less corrupted by noise

o A low SNR: means the signal is more corrupted by noise.
SNR can be described in db units: SNR db=10 log10 SNR

47

Figure 3.31 Two cases of SNR: a high SNR and a low SNR
1.47
Example 3.31:

The power of a signal is 10 mW and the power of the noise is 1

μW; what are the values of SNR and SNRdB ?

1.48
 3-5 DATA RATE LIMITS
A very important consideration in data communications is how
fast we can send data, in bits per second, over a channel. Data
rate depends on three factors:
1. The bandwidth available
2. The level of the signals we use
3. The quality of the channel (the level of noise)

Topics discussed in this section:

 3.5.1 Noiseless Channel: Nyquist Bit Rate
 3.5.2 Noisy Channel: Shannon Capacity
 3.5.3 Using Both Limits
1.49
3.49
 3.5.1 NOISELESS CHANNEL: NYQUIST BIT RATE

50
Theoretical Maximum bit rate(bps) = 2 x bandwidth x log2 L
where L: No. of signal levels used to represent data

Example 3.33:
Consider a noiseless channel with a bandwidth of 3 KHz
transmitting a signal with two signal levels. The maximum
bit rate/ troughput can be calculated as:

1.50
Example 3.36:
We need to send 265 kbps over a noiseless channel with a
bandwidth of 20 kHz. How many signal levels do we need?

•Since this result is not a power of 2, we need to either increase the number of levels or
reduce the bit rate.
•If we have 128 levels, the bit rate is 280 Kbps.
•If we have 64 levels, the bit rate is 240 Kbps.
•Since we want to send 265 kbps then we need 128 levels

1.51
 3.5.2 Noisy Channel: Shannon Capacity

Shannon’s theorem gives the capacity of a system in the

presence of noise.
Capacity(bps) = Bandwidth log2(1 + SNR)

Example 3.38:
A telephone line normally has a bandwidth of 3000 Hz. The
signal-to-noise ratio is usually 3162. For this channel the capacity
is calculated as?

1.52
3.5.3 Using Both Limits

The Shannon capacity gives us the upper limit;

the Nyquist formula tells us how many signal levels we need.

1.53
3-6 PERFORMANCE

One important issue in networking is the performance

of the network—how good is it?

Topics discussed in this section:

 3.6.1 Bandwidth - capacity of the system
 3.6.2 Throughput - no. of bits that can be pushed through
 3.6.3 Latency (Delay) - delay incurred by a bit from start to
finish

1.54
3.54
 3.6.1 Bandwidth

In networking, we use the term bandwidth in two

contexts:

❏The first, bandwidth in hertz, refers to the range

of frequencies in a composite signal or the range of
frequencies that a channel can pass.

❏The second, bandwidth in bits per second, refers

to the speed of bit transmission in a channel or link.

1.55
3.55
 3.6.2 Throughput

Is a measure of how fast we can actually send data through a

network.

 The bandwidth is potential measurement of a link; the

throughput is an actual measurement of how fast we can send
data.
 Throughput less than Bandwidth

Example 3.44:
A network with bandwidth of 10 Mbps can pass only an
average of 12,000 frames per minute with each frame
carrying an average of 10,000 bits. What is the throughput
of this network?
Throughput = (120000 × 10000)/60 = 2 Mbps
1.56
3.56
 3.6.3 Latency (Delay)
Latency defines how long it takes for an entire
message to completely arrive at the destination from
the time the first bit is sent out from the source

Latency (Delay) =
propagation time + transmission time+ queuing
time + processing time

1.57
3.57
 3.6.3 Latency (Delay): Propagation Time

• It is the time required for a bit to travel from the

source to the destination

• Propagation speed depend on the medium and on the

frequency of the signal

1.58
3.58
 3.6.3 Latency (Delay): Transmission Time

• It is the time required for transmission of a

message .

• It depends on the size of the message and the

bandwidth of the channel.

1.59
3.59
 3.6.3 Latency (Delay): Queuing Time

• It is the time needed for each end device to hold

the message before it can be processed.

• It changes with the load imposed on the network,

if there is heavy traffic on the network , the
queuing time increases.

1.60
3.60
1.61
 7.Transmission Media
• A transmission media defined as anything that carry information between
a source to a destination
• Located below the physical layer and are directly controlled by the
physical layer

1.62
 7.1 INTRODUCTION

GUIDED media Unguided media

transport electromagnetic wave without using
provide conduct from one device to another using
physical conductor
physical conductor
signal broadcast through free space
example :twisted pair ,coaxial cable ,optical fiber ex:radio wave microwave infrared wave
1.63
 7-2 GUIDED MEDIA

Guided media, which are those that provide a conduit

from one device to another, include twisted-pair cable,
coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable.

Twisted –pair cables and coaxial cable:

use metallic (copper) conductors that transport signals in
the form of electric current
Optical fiber :
transport signals in the form of the light

1.64
 7.2.1 Twisted-Pair Cable

Figure 7.3 Twisted-pair cable

• One of the wire used to carry signal and the other as a

ground. The receiver uses the difference between the two.
• Twisting the pair of wire balance the effect of unwanted
signal and reduce it.

1.65
 7.2.2 Coaxial cable

Figure 7.7 Coaxial cable

• Coax cable carries signals of higher frequency ranges than
those in Twisted pair cable because the two media are
constructed quite differently.

• The outer conductor serves both as a shield against noise and as

second conductor, which complete the circuit

1.66
 7.2.3 Fiber Optic Cable
• Is made of glass or plastic and transmit signals in the form of light.
• Light travels in a straight line as long as it is moving through a single
uniform substance. If a ray of light traveling through one substance enters
another substance of different density , the ray change direction as shown:

Figure 7.10 Bending of light ray

1.67
 7.2.3 Fiber Optic Cable

Fiber Optical : uses reflection to guide light through a

channel. A glass or plastic core is surrounded by a
cladding of less dense glass or plastic.

Figure 7.11 Optical fiber

1.68
Advantages of optical fiber
1- Higher bandwidth.
2- Less signal attenuation.. We need repeaters every 5 km for coaxial or twisted-
pair cable.
3- Immunity to electromagnetic interference. Electromagnetic noise cannot affect
fiber-optic cables.
4- Resistance to corrosive materials. Glass is more resistant to corrosive materials
than copper.
5-Light weight. Fiber-optic cables are much lighter than copper cables.
6-Greater immunity to tapping.

Disadvantages of optical fiber

1- Installation and maintenance..
2- Unidirectional light propagation.
3- Cost.

1.69
 Twisted pair Coaxial cable Optical fiber
Application 1-usedin analog 1- found at backbone
1-Twisted-pair cables are used in telephone networks networks
telephone lines to provide voice
and data channels. *digital telephone *The SONET network
networks *Some cable TV
2-The DSL lines that are used by companies
the telephone companies

transform Electric signal Electric signal Light signal

1.70
 7- 3 UNGUIDED MEDIA - wireless

• Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves

without using a physical conductor.
• Signals are normally broadcast through free space
and thus are available to anyone who has a device
capable of receiving them.

1.71
Ground propagation Sky propagation Line of sight propagation
freq below 2MHz Frequency from 2 to 30 MHz Frequency above 30Mhz
low-frequency signals higher-frequency radio waves Point to point communication
emanate in all directions radiate upward into the .very high-frequency signals
from the transmitting ionosphere are transmitted in straight lines
antenna and follow the directly from antenna to
curvature of the planet antenna. Antennas must be
directional,

Application Example : BBC world service, BC Example : Satellite TV

Example : AM radio citizen band

1.72
7- 3 UNGUIDED MEDIA - wireless

7.3.1 Radio Wave

7.3.2 Microwave
7.3.3 Infrared

1.73
7.3.1 Radio Wave

Radio waves are used for multicast

communications, such as radio and
television, and paging systems. They can
penetrate through walls.
Use omnidirectional antennas

Figure 7.19
Omnidirectional
antenna
1.74
 Radio wave
Frequency range 3 KHz to 1 GHz
Directivity Not line of sight
Penetrate wall Penetrate wall
Omnidirectional (When an antenna transmits radio waves, they are
antenna propagated in all directions.)

communication multicast
application AM ,FM radio and television, and paging systems
Susceptible to interference by other antennas using same frequency or
Disadvantage band

Ideal for long-distance broadcasting

Advantage

1.75
 7.3.2 Microwave

Microwaves are used for unicast communication

such as cellular telephones, satellite networks,
and wireless LANs.
Higher frequency ranges
cannot penetrate walls.
Use directional antennas –
point to point line of sight communications.

Two types of antennas parabolic dish and the

horn
1.76
 Microwave
Frequencies between 1 and 300 GHz
Frequency range

Directivity point to point line of sight communications

cannot penetrate walls.
Penetrate wall

Unidirectional. Narrow focus requires sending and receiving antennas to be aligned.

antenna

communication Unicast communication

cellular telephones, satellite networks,
application and wireless LANs.

cannot penetrate walls. This characteristic can be a disadvantage if receivers are

Disadvantage
inside buildings.

Advantage Higher frequency ranges , high data rate 1.77

1.78
7.3.3 Infrared

Infrared signals can be used for short-range

communication in a closed area using line-of-
sight propagation.

1.79
 Infrared waves
Frequencies between 300 GHz and 400 THz.
Frequency range
Requires line-of-sight propagation
Directivity

High frequencies cannot penetrate walls.

Penetrate wall

Infrared signals can be used for short-range communication

communication

cannot use for long-range communication or outside a building due to sun’s rays
Disadvantage

prevents interference between systems in adjacent rooms.

Advantage

1.80
 Reference

Behrouz A. Forouzan” Data communications and

Networking , 5th Ed

Chapte r 3 (entire chapte r)

Chapte r 7 (page #185 - #205)
THANK YOU