DATA

COMMUNICATION &
PROTOCOLS

PROF. ENG. HAFEZ M.S. ABDEL-WAHAB

SPRING 2024
Modern University
for Technology & Information
Faculty of Computers & AI

DATA
COMMUNICATION &
PROTOCOLS

PROF. ENG. HAFEZ M.S. ABDEL-WAHAB

SPRING 2024
 Modern University for Technology & Information
Faculty of Computers and Artificial intelligence
Quality Assurance Unit

‫رؤ ـﺔ ﻠ ﺔ اﻟ ﺎﺴ ﺎت واﻟ ﺎء اﻻﺼ ﺎﻋﻲ‬

‫اً ﻓﻲ ﻤ ﺎل ﻋﻠ م اﻟ ﺎﺴ‬ ‫ﺎً ﻤ‬ ‫ﺘ ﻌﻰ ﻠ ﺔ اﻟ ﺎﺴ ﺎت واﻟ ﺎء اﻻﺼ ﺎﻋﻲ ﻷن ﺘ ن ﺼ ﺤﺎً ﺘﻌﻠ ﺎً و‬
‫ﻋﻠﻰ ﻞ ﻤ‬ ‫اﻟ ﺎﻓ ﺔ واﻟ‬ ‫ﻤ ﺘ ﻘ‬ ‫اﻟ دة اﻟﻌﺎﻟ ﺔ ﺎ‬ ‫وﺘ ﻟ ﺠ ﺎ اﻟ ﻌﻠ ﻤﺎت ﻌ ﻞ وﻓﻘﺎً ﻟ ﻌﺎﯿ‬
.‫ﺎت اﻟ ﻠ ﺔ واﻹﻗﻠ ﺔ واﻟﻌﺎﻟ ﺔ‬ ‫اﻟ‬

The Faculty of Computers and Artificial Intelligence aims to be a pioneer

educational institution and research center in the field of Computer Science and
Information Technology. This makes it possible to achieve competition and
uniqueness at the local, regional, and international levels.

‫رﺴﺎﻟـﺔ ﻠ ﺔ اﻟ ﺎﺴ ﺎت واﻟ ﺎء اﻻﺼ ﺎﻋﻲ‬

‫ﻗﺎدر ﻋﻠﻰ‬ ‫ﺨ ﻤﺎت ﺘﻌﻠ ﺔ أﻛﺎد ﺔ ﺘ د إﻟﻰ ﺨ ﺞ ﻤ‬ ‫ﺘﻠ م ﻠ ﺔ اﻟ ﺎﺴ ﺎت واﻟ ﺎء اﻻﺼ ﺎﻋﻲ ﺒ ﻘ‬
‫ﻊ‬ ‫اﻟ ﺎﻓ ﺔ ﻤ ﻠ ﺎً وﻗﻠ ﺎً وﻋﺎﻟ ﺎً وﻋﻠﻰ ﻔﺎءة ﻋﺎﻟ ﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻤ ﺎﻻت اﻟ ﺎﺴ ﺎت وﺘ ﻟ ﺠ ﺎ اﻟ ﻌﻠ ﻤﺎت و‬
‫ﻪ‬ ‫ﻌﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻤ ﺎل ﺘ‬ ‫رات اﻟ‬ ‫ﻬﺎرات وأﺨﻼ ﺎت ﻤﻬ ﺔ ر ﻌﺔ وﻗﺎدر ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟ ﻌﻠ اﻟ اﺘﻲ ﻟ اﻛ ﺔ اﻟ‬
‫ﺔ اﻟﻘ ﻤ ﺔ واﻻرﺘﻘﺎء ﺎﻟ ﺔ اﻟ ﻠ ﺔ و ﺠ اء‬ ‫اﻟ‬ ‫وﺨ ﻤﺎت ﺘ ر ﺔ واﺴ ﺎرﺔ ﻟ ﻘ‬ ‫ﺘﻌﻠ ﻤ‬ ‫وﺘﻘ‬
.‫ﻟ ﺠ ﺎ اﻟ ﻌﻠ ﻤﺎت‬ ‫وﺘ‬ ‫ث اﻟﻌﻠ ﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻤ ﻠﻒ ﻤ ﺎﻻت ﻋﻠ م اﻟ ﺎﺴ‬ ‫اﻟ‬

The Faculty of Computers and Artificial Intelligence committed to:

Providing academic educational services that lead to a distinguished graduate capable
of competing locally, regionally, internationally, and highly qualified in the field of
computers and information technology. In addition, graduates will have high
professional skills and ethics and will be capable of self-learning to cope with rapid
developments in his/her field of specialization. Providing continuous education,
training and consulting services to achieve national development and improve the
local environment. Conducting scientific research in various fields of computer
science and information technology.
 Modern University for Technology & Information
Faculty of Computers and A.I

Course Specifications
CS 241: Data Communication & Protocols

A- Affiliation
Relevant Programme: Computer Science - BSc program.
Information System - BSc program
Department offering the program: Computer Science Department.
Department offering the course: Computer Science Department.
Date of Specification Approval: 19th February 2018

B- Basic information

Title: Data Communication & Protocols Code: CS 241

Pre-requisite: Mathematical Analysis II / Linear Algebra II
Level: 2 Semester: Spring
Lectures: 2 H Credit Hours: 3H Tutorial/Practical: 2 H

C- Professional information
This course will cover the principles of Data Communications & their
protocols, applications, standards, and their usage. This includes: (1) Data
communication overview: Data communication model, Data communication
Networking. An example configuration. Protocol concepts & Architecture.
(2) Data Transmission: Concepts & terminology. Analog & Digital Data
Transmission. Transmission Impairments. Channel Capacity. Decibels &
Signal Strength. (3) Guided & Wireless Transmission: Guided & Unguided
Transmission Media. Wireless Propagation. Line-Of-Sight Transmission.
(4) Signal Encoding Techniques: Digital Data to Digital Signal conversion
(encoding). Digital Data to Analog Signal conversion (Modulation). Analog
Data to Digital Signal conversion (PCM & DM). (5) Digital Data
Communication Technique: Asynchronous & Synchronous Transmission.
Types of Errors. Error Detection. Error Correction. Line configurations.
Interfacing. (6) Multiplexing: Frequency Division Multiplexing.
Synchronous Time Division Multiplexing. Statistical Time Division
Multiplexing. Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line. xDLS

CS241 – Data Communication & Protocols – Course Specification Page 1 of 6

 Modern University for Technology & Information
Faculty of Computers and A.I

1-Course Learning Objectives:

Data Communication & protocols have become an essential
background and context for the concept of computer networks. This
course aims to give an understanding of the principles of data
communication, which is the perquisite to the course CS341 Computer
networks. It will cover the principle of Data communications & their
protocols, applications, standards, and their usage. The course deals with
the fundamental concepts of signal, medium, and encoding, reliability
and efficiency. Error detection and correction in case of errors during
transmission is covered. A variety of multiplexing techniques are
explained to provide for efficient use of the medium. Transmission media
is discussed included guided and unguided media. Signal encoding
techniques are discussed. Data ink control protocols are studied.

2-Intended Learning Outcomes ( ILOS)

a- Knowledge and understanding:
On successful completion of the course, the student should demonstrate
knowledge and understanding of:
a1- The analog and digital signals and data. (A1)
a2- The concept of bandwidth, binary data, bits, and bytes (A3)
a3- The characteristics of the principal transmission media& factors
affecting the capacity of communication channel.(A4)
a4- Signal encoding techniques & Data Link control protocols.(A6)
a5- The principles of Multiplexing & channel usage. (A1, A2)

b- Intellectual Skills:
On successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:
b1- Recognize the history and evolution of modern computer-based
communication systems (wired & wireless). (B1)
b2- Carry out straightforward numerical relating to network and channel
capacity for a given application.(B2)
b3- Choose a suitable encoding technique for data communication (B3)
b4- Compare between alternative design approaches for channel usages
& multiplexing.(B4, B5)
c- Professional and Practical Skills:
On successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:
c1-Specify the practical implementation factors for signal design, data
rate & transmission bandwidth of a simple channel. (C2)

CS241 – Data Communication & Protocols – Course Specification Page 2 of 6

 Modern University for Technology & Information
Faculty of Computers and A.I

c2- Select, design, and implement the proper media for data
communication.(C!5)
c3- Use Nyquist's and the Shannon-Hartley Theorems to calculate the
Channel capacity & application to the PSTN and to modem design.
(C16)
c4- Use the error detection methods & their practical aspects.(C19)
c5- Use the major components of a data communication network:
multiplexers, concentrators, and repeaters. (C1)
d- General and Transferable Skills:
On successful completion of the course, the student should be able to:
d1- Discuss various data communication architectures and protocols.
(D1)
d2- Elaborate on differences Speed, distance, cost, and error rates of
various transmission media. Quantify the values of channel & signals
parameters. (D5)
d3- Work co-operatively in a group and share decision making .Develop
time management and organizational skills as evidence by the ability
to plan and implement efficient and effective modes of working.(D2)

Course Contribution in the program ILO'S

ILO'S program ILO'S
A Knowledge and understanding A1, A2, A3, A4, A6
B Professional and practical B1, B2, B3. B4, B5
skills
C Intellectual skills C1, C2, C15, C16, C19
D General and transferable skills D1, D2, D5

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 Modern University for Technology & Information
Faculty of Computers and A.I

3-Contents:
Topic Lect. Tut. /
Total
Pr.
1- Data communication overview
• Data Communication Model, Data 3 6 9
Communication Networking. An example
configuration
• Protocol concepts & Architecture
2- Data Transmission
• Concepts & terminology. Analog & Digital Data 6 6 12
Transmission.
• Transmission Impairments
• Channel Capacity
• Decibels & Signal Strength
3- Guided & Wireless Transmission
• Guided & Unguided Transmission Media 6 3 9
• Wireless Propagation. Line-Of-Sight Transmission
4- Signal Encoding Techniques
• Digital Data, Digital Signal & Digital Data, Analog 7 4 11
Signal
• Analog Data, Digital Signal
5- Digital Data Communication Technique
• Asynchronous & Synchronous Transmission 2 3 5
• Types of Errors. Error Detection. Error Correction
• Line configurations. Interfacing
6- Multiplexing
• FDM , Synchronous TDM 6 6 12
• Statistical Time Division Multiplexing
• Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line. xDLS
7- Circuit Switching & Packet Switching 1 1 2
8- Asynchronous Transfer Mode ATM 1 1 2
Total 30 30 60

CS241 – Data Communication & Protocols – Course Specification Page 4 of 6

 Modern University for Technology & Information
Faculty of Computers and A.I

4- Teaching and Learning and Assessment methods:

Teaching Learning Assessment Method

Methods Methods
Course IL O'S

Discussions and

Practical Exam
&Experiments

Written Exam
Modeling and
Presentations

Assignments
Term papers
Researching
and Reports
and Movies

Laboratory

Simulation
Tutorials
seminars

Problem

Quizzes
Lecture

solving
a1
Knowledge

a2
a3
a4
a5
b1
intellectual

b2
b3
b4
c1
c2
Applied

c3
c4
c5
d1
General

d2
d3

CS241 – Data Communication & Protocols – Course Specification Page 5 of 6

 Modern University for Technology & Information
Faculty of Computers and A.I

5- Assessment Timing and Grading:

Assessment method Timing Grade (Degrees)
Semester Work : seminars, Bi-Weekly 20%
quizzes assignment and reports
Mid-Term Exam 7-th Week 20%
Practical Exam Fifteen Week 0
Written Exam Sixteenth Week 60%
Total 100%

6- List of references
6.1- Course notes:
H.M.S. Abdel-Wahab, "Data Communication & Protocols: An
introduction", MTI Press, 2024

6.2- Required Books:

• W. Stallings. (2014) Data and Computer Communications.
10th Edition. Prentice Hall.

6.3- Recommended Books:

• B. Forouzan. (2013) Data Communications and Networking. 5th
Ed. McGraw Hill.
• Andrew S. Tanenbaum. (2010) Computer Networks. 5th Edition.
Pearson Education International, Prentice-Hall.
6.4- Periodicals, Web sites:
• Data Communications And Networking Web site:
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072515848/student_view0/

7- Facilities required for teaching and learning:

7.1 – White board and markers.
7.2 – Data show

Course coordinator: Prof. Eng. Hafez Salah Abdel-Wahab

Head of Department: Prof. Eng. Hanafy Ismael

CS241 – Data Communication & Protocols – Course Specification Page 6 of 6

 DATA COMMUNICATION & PROTOCOLS MTI – FACULTY OF COMPUTING

Prof. Eng. Hafez M.S Abdel-Wahab Page ii

 DATA COMMUNICATION & PROTOCOLS MTI – FACULTY OF COMPUTING

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: DATA COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING
OVERVIEW
1.1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.2 COMPONENTS OF DATA COMMUNICATION SYSTEM 2
1.3 PROTOCOLS 2
1.4 DATA COMMUNICATION MODEL 4
1.5 KEY COMMUNICATIONS TASKS 6
1.6 NETWORKS 7
1.7 BUILDING BLOCKS 8
1.8 SIMPLIFIED NETWORK ARCHITECTURE 9
1.9 INTERNET ARCHITECTURE 10
CHAPTER 2: DATA TRANSMISSION
2.1 CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGY 11
2.2 ANALOG AND DIGITAL DATA TRANSMISSION 21
2.3 TRANSMISSION IMPAIRMENTS 30
2.4 CHANNEL CAPACITY 34
2.5 PERFORMANCE 39
CHAPTER 3: GUIDED AND WIRELESS TRANSMISSION
3.1 INTRODUCTION 43
3.2 CLASSES OF TRANSMISSION MEDIA 43
3.3 TRANSMISSION CHARACTERISTICS OF GUIDED MEDIA 44
3.4 UNGUIDED TRANSMISSION MEDIA-WIRELESS 55
3.5 BROADCAST RADIO 63
3.6 WIRELESS PROPAGATION 65
3.7 LINE OF SIGHT PROPAGATION 67
3.8: LINE OF SIGHT TRANSMISSION 69
3.9 MULTIPATH INTERFERENCE 70
CHAPTER4: SIGNAL ENCODING TECHNIQUES
4.1 INTRODUCTION 73
4.2 DIGITAL DATA, DIGITAL SIGNALS 75
4.3 DIGITAL DATA, ANALOG SIGNALS 78
4.4 ANALOG DATA, DIGITAL SIGNALS 89
4.5 ANALOG DATA, ANALOG SIGNALS 115
4.6 REVIEW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 116
CHAPTER 5: ERROR DETECTION
5.1 TRANSMISSION MODES 121
5.2 DATA ERROR 123
5.4 ERROR DETECTION 126
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5.5 ERROR CORRECTION 134

CHAPTER 6: MULTIPLEXING
6.1 INTRODUCTION 135
6.2 FREQUENCY DIVISION MULTIPLEXING 136
6.3 TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING 141
6.4 STATISTICAL TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING 150
6.5 TDM OF ANALOG AND DIGITAL SOURCES 150
6.6 DIGITAL HIERARCHY 152
6.7 ASYMMETRICAL DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE 153
CHAPTER 7: REVIEW QUESTION & ASSIGNMENTS
7.1 REVIEW QUESTIONS WITH ANSWER 157
7.2 EXAMS SAMPLES 169
7.3 ASSIGNMENTS 179

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 CHAPTER 1
DATA COMMUNICATIONS
OVERVIEW

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Data communication refers to the exchange of data between a source and
a receiver via form of transmission media such as a wire cable. Data
communication is said to be local if communicating devices are in the same
building or a similarly restricted geographical area.
The meanings of source and receiver are very simple. The device that
transmits the data is known as source and the device that receives the
transmitted data is known as receiver. Data communication aims at the
transfer of data and maintenance of the data during the process but not the
actual generation of the information at the source and receiver.
The Figure below is an illustration of a simple data communication system.

Figure 1.1: Simple Data Communication System

The term data used to describe information; under whatever form of
words, you will be using.
A data communication system may collect data from remote locations
through data transmission circuits, and then outputs processed results to
remote locations. The different data communication techniques which are
presently in widespread use evolved gradually either to improve the data
communication techniques already existing or to replace the same with
better options and features. Then, there are data communication jargons to
contend with such as baud rate, modems, routers, LAN, WAN, TCP/IP,
ISDN, during the selection of communication systems. Hence, it becomes
 DATA COMMUNICATION & PROTOCOLS MTI – FACULTY OF COMPUTING

necessary to review and understand these terms and gradual development

of data communication methods.
Data Communications concerns the transmission of digital messages to
devices external to the message source. "External" devices are generally
thought of as being independently powered circuitry that exists beyond
the chassis of a computer or other digital message source. As a rule, the
maximum permissible transmission rate of a message is directly
proportional to signal power, and inversely proportional to channel noise.
It is the aim of any communications system to provide the highest
possible transmission rate at the lowest possible power and with the least
possible noise.

1.2 COMPONENTS OF DATA COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

A Communication system has following components:
1. Message: It is the information or data to be communicated. It can consist
of text, numbers, pictures, sound or video or any combination of these.
2. Sender: It is the device/computer that generates and sends that message.
3. Receiver: It is the device or computer that receives the message. The
location of receiver computer is generally different from the sender
computer. The distance between sender and receiver depends upon the
types of network used in between.
4. Medium: It is the channel or physical path through which the message
is carried from sender to the receiver. The medium can be wired like twisted
pair wire, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable or wireless like laser, radio
waves, and microwaves.
5. Protocol: It is a set of rules that govern the communication between the
devices.

1.3 PROTOCOLS
Both sender and receiver follow same protocols to communicate with each
other. See figure 1.2.
➢ For communications between entities in system
➢ Entities must speak same language
▪ Examples of entities (User applications-E-mail facilities-
Terminals)
▪ Systems (Computers-Terminals-Remote sensors)

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 DATA COMMUNICATION & PROTOCOLS MTI – FACULTY OF COMPUTING

Figure 1.2: Block Diagram Showing how protocol works

KEY ELEMENTS OF A PROTOCOL

➢ Syntax
▪ Data formats
▪ Signal levels
➢ Semantics
▪ Control information
▪ Error handling
➢ Timing
▪ Speed matching
▪ Sequencing
Note: Protocol Architecture will be discussed in Computer Network Course
A protocol performs the following functions:
1. Data sequencing. It refers to breaking a long message into smaller
packets of fixed size. Data sequencing rules define the method of
numbering packets to detect loss or duplication of packets, and to correctly
identify packets, which belong to same message.
2. Data routing. Data routing defines the most efficient path between the
source and destination.
3. Data formatting. Data formatting rules define which group of bits or
characters within packet constitute data, control, addressing, or other
information.
4. Flow control. A communication protocol also prevents a fast sender
from overwhelming a slow receiver. It ensures resource sharing and
protection against traffic congestion by regulating the flow of data on
communication lines.

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 DATA COMMUNICATION & PROTOCOLS MTI – FACULTY OF COMPUTING

5. Error control. These rules are designed to detect errors in messages and
to ensure transmission of correct messages. The most common method is
to retransmit erroneous message block. In such a case, a block having error
is discarded by the receiver and is retransmitted by the sender.
6. Precedence and order of transmission. These rules ensure that all the
nodes get a chance to use the communication lines and other resources of
the network based on the priorities assigned to them.
7. Connection establishment and termination. These rules define how
connections are established, maintained and terminated when two nodes of
a network want to communicate with each other.
8. Data security. Providing data security and privacy is also built into most
communication software packages. It prevents access of data by
unauthorized users.
9. Log information. Several communication software are designed to
develop log information, which consists of all jobs and data
communications tasks that have taken place. Such information may be used
for charging the users of the network based on their usage of the network
resources.

1.4 A COMMUNICATIONS MODEL

Following figure, Figure 1.3, presents a general model for Data
communication system. The model consists of the following components

Figure 1.3: Data Communication Model

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 DATA COMMUNICATION & PROTOCOLS MTI – FACULTY OF COMPUTING

a) Source: A source is an origin of message/data that is to be

communicated between the sender and receiver .the message may be of
text, In general, the natural information source is analog.

b) Transmitter: It is capable of transmitting information from source to

destination via a communication channel. It can be a computer, telephone,
mobile etc.

c) Transmission media: this is the path or communication link through

which data travels. It may be
I. Wired /Guided media
Example: twisted pair, co-axial cable, optical fiber.
II. Wireless /Unguided media
Example: RF waves, AM, FM, RADAR, etc.
While transmission through the channel, channel impairments are
introduced that cause error in the data. Channel impairments may
be noise, delay distortion, attenuation etc.

d) Receiver: it is capable of receiving information that is delivered from a

transmitter. The task of a receiver is to demote the modulated signal and
send to the destination.
e) Destination: Where the incoming data arrives.

e) Protocols: Protocols is the set of standard or rules that govern the data
communication system. It is an agreement between sender and receiver.
Data communication system model should undergo different protocols for
reliable and effective communication.
Figure below, Figure 1.4 shows the detail description of a simple
communication model. The transmitted signal s(t) presented to the medium
is subject to a number of impairments before it reaches the receiver. Thus,
the received signal r(t) may differ from s(t). The receiver will attempt to
estimate the original s(t), based on r(t) and its knowledge of the medium,
producing a sequence of bits g’(t). These bits are sent to the output personal
computer, where they are briefly buffered in memory as a block of bits (g’).
In many cases, the destination system will attempt to determine if an error
has occurred and, if so, cooperate with the source system to eventually
obtain a complete, error-free block of data. These data are then presented
to the user via an output device, such as a printer or screen. The message

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 DATA COMMUNICATION & PROTOCOLS MTI – FACULTY OF COMPUTING

as viewed by the user will usually be an exact copy of the original message
(m). Now consider a telephone conversation. In this case the input to the
telephone is a message (m) in the form of sound waves. The sound waves
are converted by the telephone into electrical signals of the same frequency.
These signals are transmitted without modification over the telephone line.
Hence the input signal g(t) and the transmitted signal s(t) are identical. The
signals (t) will suffer some distortion over the medium, so that r(t) will not
be identical to s(t). Nevertheless, the signal r(t) is converted back into a
sound wave with no attempt at correction or improvement of signal quality.
Thus, is not an exact replica of m. However, the received sound message is
generally comprehensible to the listener.

Figure 1.4: Detail description of Data Communication Model

1.5 KEY COMMUNICATIONS TASKS

1. Transmission system utilization: (e.g. signal multiplexing)
2. Interfacing : (how device interfaces to trans. system)
3. Signal generation: (form and intensity of signal)
4. Synchronization: (b/w transmitter and receiver)
5. Exchange management: (conventions for data xchg)
6. Error detection and correction: (bad data = useless)
7. Flow control: (prevent source overwhelming destination)
8. Addressing and routing : (how to identify and send there)
9. Recovery: (how to resume after a fault)
10. Message formatting: (how to form data for both ends)
11. Security: (restrict access, authenticate source, etc.)
12. Network management: (configure, monitor, manage)

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 DATA COMMUNICATION & PROTOCOLS MTI – FACULTY OF COMPUTING

1.6 NETWORKS
The number of computers in use worldwide is in the hundreds of trillion.
Moreover, the expanding memory and processing power of these
computers means that users can put the machines to work on new kinds of
applications and functions. Accordingly, the pressure from the users of
these systems for ways to communicate among all these machines is
irresistible. It is changing the way vendors think and the way all automation
products and services are sold. This demand for connectivity is manifested
in two specific requirements: the need for communications software,
which is previewed in the next section, and the need for networks.
One type of network that has become ubiquitous is the local area network
(LAN). Indeed, the LAN is to be found in virtually all medium- and large-
size office buildings. Furthermore, many offices need more than one such
network, with the attendant problems of interconnecting and managing a
diverse collection of networks, computers, and terminals.
There are many types of networks, describe in following paragraphs.
Wide Area Networks
Wide area networks generally cover a large geographical area, require the
crossing of public networks, and rely at least in part on circuits provided by
a common carrier
Circuit Switching In a circuit-switching network, a dedicated
communications path is established between two stations through the nodes
of the network. That path is a connected sequence of physical links between
nodes. On each link, a logical channel is dedicated to the connection. Data
generated by the source station are transmitted along the dedicated path as
rapidly as possible. At each node, incoming data are routed or switched to
the appropriate outgoing channel without delay. The most common
example of circuit switching is the telephone network.
Packet Switching A quite different approach is used in a packet-switching
network. In this case, it is not necessary to dedicate transmission capacity
along a path through the network. Rather, data are sent out in a sequence
of small chunks, called packets. Each packet is passed through the network
from node to node along some path leading from source to destination. At
each node, the entire packet is received, stored briefly, and then transmitted
to the next node. Packet-switching networks are commonly used for
terminal-to-computer and computer-to-computer communications.

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 DATA COMMUNICATION & PROTOCOLS MTI – FACULTY OF COMPUTING

Frame Relay Packet switching was developed at a time when digital long
distance transmission facilities exhibited a relatively high error rate
compared to today’s facilities. As a result, there is a considerable amount
of overhead built into packet-switching schemes to compensate for errors.
The overhead includes additional bits added to each packet to introduce
redundancy and additional processing at the end stations and the
intermediate switching nodes to detect and recover from errors.
ATM Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), sometimes referred to as cell
relay, is a culmination of developments in circuit switching and packet
switching. ATM can be viewed as an evolution from frame relay. The most
obvious difference between frame relay and ATM is that frame relay uses
variable-length packets, called frames, and ATM uses fixed-length
packets, called cells. As with frame relay,
Local Area Networks
As with WANs, a LAN is a communications network that interconnects a
variety of devices and provides a means for information exchange among
those devices
Wireless Networks
As was just mentioned, wireless LANs are common are widely used in
business environments. Wireless technology is also common for both wide
area voice and data networks. Wireless networks provide advantages in the
areas of mobility and ease of installation and configuration.

1.7 BUILDING BLOCKS

o Nodes: PC, special-purpose hardware…
▪ hosts
▪ hubs, edge switches, routing switches
▪ Links: twisted pair, coax cable, optical fiber…
▪ point-to-point
▪ multiple access

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 DATA COMMUNICATION & PROTOCOLS MTI – FACULTY OF COMPUTING

o Broadcast networks (e.g. bus and ring)

Switched Networks
A network can be defined recursively as...
➢ two or more nodes connected by a link, or
➢ two or more networks connected by two or more nodes

1.8 SIMPLIFIED NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

The following figures, Figure 1.5, show a simple network model
architecture.

Figure 1.5: Simple network model architecture.

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1.9 INTERNET ARCHITECTURE

Following figure present an example of Internet Elements configuration

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CHAPTER 2
DATA TRANSMISSION
2.1 CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGY
(a) Transmission Modes

Figure 2.1: Transmission Terminology: (a) Simplex, (b) Half Duplex

& (c) Full Duplex

Simplex Transmission

1. In simplex transmission, data flow only in one direction from the

sending device to the receiving device.
2. Simplex transmission is used only when the sending device does not
require a response from the receiving device.
3. Security systems and fire alarms that contain a sensor use simplex
transmission.
4. Example: Watching television

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Half-Duplex Transmission

1. In half-duplex transmission, data can flow in either direction --

from the sending device to the receiving device, and back -- but
only in one direction at a time.
2. Many fax machines, credit card verification systems, and
automatic teller machines use half-duplex transmission.
3. Example: Walkie Talkie
Full-Duplex Transmission

1. In full-duplex transmission, data can flow in both directions at

the same time.
2. A regular telephone line supports full-duplex transmission so
that both parties can talk at the same time.
3. Example: Telephone
Auto-sensing
A network interface card can operate in both half-duplex mode and full-duplex mode.
All modern NICs run in full-duplex mode. Some older NICs only support half-duplex.
Auto-sensing is a feature that allows a NIC to automatically detect whether the remote
NIC supports full-duplex.

Differences between simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex

Simplex Half-duplex Full-duplex

It provides one-way It provides two-way It provides two-way
communication. communication but one way communication at the same
at a time. time.
A device can only send data, A device can send and receive A device can send and
but it cannot receive data. data but one at a time. receive data at the same
time.
It utilizes less bandwidth It utilizes more bandwidth It utilizes more bandwidth
than half-duplex and full- than simplex but less than than simplex and half-
duplex. full-duplex. duplex.
It uses one channel to It also uses one channel to It uses two separate
transmit data. transmit data. channels to transmit data.
Keyboards and scanners are Hubs and old NICs are Switches and modern NICs
examples of simplex. examples of half-duplex. are examples of full-
duplex.

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● Terminology: Parallel Serial Transmission

Parallel transmission:
• Several bits sent at a time
• Higher throughput
• Requires a channel for
each bit

Serial transmission:
• Send one bit at a time
• Low data rate
• Requires additional timing
in order to recover original
information

● Terminology: Asynchronous & Synchronous Transmission

Methods used for timing serial data transmission where
synchronization of transmitter & receiver is needed.
Asynchronous transmission
Each byte of data is sandwiched between a start bot and one or
•
more stop bits.
• Inefficient except for low data rate sources.
Synchronous transmission
• Contiguous data frame transmitted in one go
• Reserved sync byte used for frame synchronization

(b) Frequency, Spectrum and Bandwidth

Time domain concepts
• Continuous signal: Various in a smooth way over time.
• Discrete signal
Maintains a constant level then changes to another level
• Periodic signal: Pattern repeated over time
• Aperiodic signal: Pattern not repeated over time.

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CONTINUOUS & DISCRETE SIGNALS

PERIODIC SIGNAL

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SINE WAVE

It is characterized by the following parameters:

• Peak Amplitude (A)
Maximum strength of signal – measured in volts.
• Frequency (f)
Rate of change of signal
Measured in Hertz (Hz) or cycle per second
Period = time for one repetition (T) = 1/f
• Phase ( )
Relative position in time

Wavelength ( )
• Distance occupied by one cycle
• Distance between two points of corresponding phase in two
consecutive cycles
• Assuming signal velocity C
• =CT
• f=C
• C = 3 * 108 m/s (speed of light in free space)

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Varying sine wave

Frequency Domain Concepts

• Signal usually made up of many frequencies
• Components are sine wave
• Can be shown (Fourier analysis) that any signa; is made up of
components sine waves
• Can plot frequency domain functions
• Any Periodic signal can be decomposed into a sum of sinusoidal
signals using Fourier series expansion

The component sinusoids are at frequencies that are multiple

(harmonics) of the basic frequency (Fundamental frequency) of
periodicity.

Even non-periodic Signal can be characterized in the Frequency Domain

using a continuous Spectrum of frequencies

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ADDITION OF FREQUENCY COMPONENTS

SPECTRUM & BANDWIDTH

• Spectrum: Range of frequencies contained in signal
• Absolute bandwidth: Width of the spectrum
• Effective bandwidth: Often just Bandwidth
Narrow band of frequencies containing most of the energy
• DC component - Component of zero frequency
The spectrum of a signal is the range of frequencies that it contains. For
the signal of Figure above, the spectrum extends from f to 3f. The absolute
bandwidth of a signal is the width of the spectrum. In this case the
bandwidth is 2f. Many signals, such as that of discrete wave, have an
infinite bandwidth. However, most of the energy in the signal is contained
in a relatively narrow band of frequencies. This band is referred to as the
effective bandwidth, or just bandwidth.

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FIGURE 2.3 SPECTRUM OF SIGNAL

SIGNAL WITH DC COMPONENT

Figure 2.4 Signal with dc Component

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Relationship Between Data Rate and Bandwidth

Indeed, it can be shown that the frequency components of the square wave
can be expressed as follows:

(1) This waveform has an infinite number of frequency components

(2) Hence, an infinite bandwidth.
However,
(1) The amplitude of the kth frequency component, is only l/k,
(2) So most of the energy in this waveform is in the first few frequency
components.
SO: What happens if we limit the bandwidth to just the first three
frequency components?
Example:
As you can see, the shape of the resulting waveform is reasonably close
to that of the original
square wave.

❖ Consider the case binary data is encoded into digital signal, and to be
transmitted by a transmission medium
❖ Digital signal contains an infinite bandwidth, but a real transmission
medium has a finite bandwidth, which can limit the data rate that can
be carried on the transmission medium
❖ Limited bandwidth creates distortions of the input signal, which
makes the task of interpreting the received signal more difficult
❖ The more limited bandwidth, the greater the distortion, and the
greater the potential for error by the receiver
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❖ The high the data rate of a signal, the greater is its effective
bandwidth
❖ The greater the bandwidth of a transmission system, the higher is the
data rate that can be transmitted
As seen in Figure 2.7, there is a direct relationship between data rate and
bandwidth: The higher the data rate of a signal, the greater is its required
effective bandwidth. Looked at the other way, the greater the bandwidth
of a transmission system, the higher is the data rate that can be
transmitted over that system.

Fig 2.7: Effect of bandwidth on a digital signal.

It is also clear that, if we think of the bandwidth of a signal as being
centered about some frequency, referred to as the center frequency, then
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the higher the center frequency, the higher the potential bandwidth and
therefore the higher the potential data rate. For example, if a signal is
centered at 2 MHz, its maximum potential bandwidth is 4 MHz

2.2 ANALOG AND DIGITAL DATA TRANSMISSION

Data is defined as entities that convey meaning, or information. Signals
are electric or electromagnetic representations of data. Signaling is the
physical propagation of the signal along a suitable medium.
Transmission is the communication of data by the propagation and
processing of signals.
• Data: Entities that convey meaning
• Signal: Electric or electromagnetic representations of data
• Transmission: Communication of data by propagation and
processing of signals
• Analog:
o Continuous values within some intervals (e.g. Sound, video)
o Speech bandwidth 100 Hz to 7 kHz
o Telephone bandwidth 300Hz to 3400 Hz
• Digital: Discrete Values (e.g. text, integers)
Acoustic Spectrum (Analog)

Figure 2.8 Acoustic Spectrum of Speech and Music

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Attenuation of Digital Signals

Figure 2.9: Attenuation effect on Digital Signals

Components of Speech
• Frequency range (of hearing) 20Hz-20kHz
• Speech 100Hz-7kHz
• Easily converted into electromagnetic signal for transmission
• Sound frequencies with varying volume converted into
electromagnetic frequencies with varying voltage
• Limit frequency range for voice channel
• 300-3400Hz
Conversion of Voice Input into Analog Signal

In this graph of a typical analog signal variation in amplitude and

frequency convey the gradation of loudness an pitch in speech or
music. Similar signal are used to transmit television pictures but with
much higher frequencies.
Video Components
• USA - 483 lines scanned per frame at 30 frames per second
• 525 lines but 42 lost during vertical retrace
• So 525 lines x 30 scans = 15750 lines per second
• 63.5 s per line
• 11 s for retrace, so 52.5 s per video line
• Max frequency if line alternates black and white
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• Horizontal resolution is about 450 lines giving 225 cycles of wave in

52.5 s
• Max frequency of 4.2MHz
Binary Digital Data
• From computer terminals etc.
• Two dc components
• Bandwidth depends on data rate

CONVERSION OF PC INPUT TO DIGITAL SIGNAL

User input at a PC is concerted into stream of binary digits (1’s and 0’s). In
the figure a digital binary one is represented by- D5 volts and a binary zero
one is represented by+D5 volts, The signal for each bit has a duration of
0.02 msec. giving a data rate of 50,000 bit per second (50 kpbs)
Data Rate = 1/(bit rate) = 1/(0.02 msec) = 1000x100/(2)
= 50000 bps.
As seen in figure below, we send 1 bit per level in part a of the figure and 2
bits per level in part b of the figure. In general, if a signal has L levels,
each level needs log2 L bits. For this reason, we can send log24 = bits in
part b.

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Figure 2.10: Two digital signals: one with two signal levels and the
other with four signal levels
Example 1
A digital signal has eight levels. How many bits are needed per level? We
calculate the number of bits from the following formula. Each signal level
is represented by 3 bits.
Number of bits per level = log28 = 3
Example 2
A digital signal has nine levels. How many bits are needed per level? We
calculate the number of bits by using the formula. Each signal level is
represented by 3.17 bits. However, this answer is
not realistic. The number of bits sent per level needs to be an integer as
well as a power of 2. For this example, 4 bits can represent one level.
Example 3
Assume we need to download text documents at the rate of 100 pages per
second. 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 8 bits, the bit rate is
Example 4
A digitized voice channel, as we will see later, is made by digitizing a 4-
kHz bandwidth analog voice signal. We need to sample the signal at twice
the highest frequency (two samples per hertz). We assume that each
sample requires 8 bits. What is the required bit rate?
Solution
The bit rate can be calculated as
2 x 4000 x 8= 5 64,000 bps = 64 kbps

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Example 5
What is the bit rate for high-definition TV (HDTV)?
Solution
HDTV uses digital signals to broadcast high quality video signals. The
HDTV screen is normally a ratio of 16 : 9 (in contrast to 4 : 3 for regular
TV), which means the screen is wider. There are
1920 by 1080 pixels per screen, and the screen is renewed 30 times per
second. Twenty-four bits represents one color pixel. We can calculate the
bit rate as:
1920 x 1080 x 30 x 24 = 1,492,992,000 1.5 Gbps
The TV stations reduce this rate to 20 to 40 Mbps through compression.

DATA AND SIGNALS

• Usually use digital signals for digital data and analog signals for
analog data
• Can use analog signal to carry digital data - Modem
• Can use digital signal to carry analog data - Compact Disc audio
Analog Signals Carrying Analog and Digital Data
Analog Signal: Represent data with continuously varying amplitude
wave
Digital signals: Represent data with sequence of voltage pulses
Analog Transmission
• Analog signal transmitted without regard to content
• May be analog or digital data
• Attenuated over distance
• Use amplifiers to boost signal
• Also amplifies noise
Digital Transmission
• Concerned with content
• Integrity endangered by noise, attenuation etc.
• Repeaters used
• Repeater receives signal
• Extracts bit pattern
• Retransmits

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• Attenuation is overcome
• Noise is not amplified

Figure 2.11: Digital Signal: Represent data with sequence of voltage

pluses

ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL TRANSMISSION

1. Noise Immunity: Digital signals are inherently less susceptible than
analog signals to interference caused by noise because with digital signals
it is not necessary to evaluate precise amplitude, frequency or phase.
Instead pulses are evaluated during the precise time interval and simple
determination is made whether the pulse is above or below a prescribed
reference level.
2. Multiplexing: Digital signals are better suited than analog signals for
processing and combining using a technique multiplexing.
3. Easy to Store: It is simple to store digital signals than analog signals.

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4. Resistant to additive Noise: Digital transmission systems are more

resistant to analog system to additive noise because they use signal
regeneration rather than signal amplification. Noise produced in
electronic circuit is additive, therefore S/N ratio deteriorates each time an
analog signal is amplified.
5. Used for Long Distance: Digital regenerators sample noisy signals and
then reproduce an entirely new digital signal with same S/N ratio as the
original transmitted signals. So digital transmitted signals can be
transported longer distance than analog signals.
6. Transmission errors can be detected easily: The transmission errors
can be detected and corrected more easily and accurately than is possible
with analog signals.
7. Privacy & Security: Communication can be kept “private” and
“secured” through the use of encryption.

DISADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL TRANSMISSION

1. More Bandwidth Requirement: The transmission of digitally
encoded original analog signal. BW is one of the important aspects of any
communication system because it is costly and limited.
2. Extra Circuitry for encoding and Decoding: Analog signals must be
converted to digital pulses prior to transmissions and converted back to
their original analog form at receiver, thus require additional circuitry for
encoding and decoding.
3. Require Synchronization: Digital transmissions require precise time
synchronization between the clocks in transmitter and receiver

SPEED AND CAPACITY OF A COMMUNICATION CHANNEL:

a) Data Rate and Bandwidth
Bandwidth
The range of frequencies contained in a composite signal is its
bandwidth. The bandwidth is normally a difference between two
numbers. For example, if a composite signal contains frequencies
between 1000 and 5000, its bandwidth is 5000 − 1000, or 4000.
Figure 2.11 shows the concept of bandwidth. The figure depicts two
composite signals, one periodic and the other nonperiodic. The
bandwidth of the periodic signal contains all integer frequencies

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between 1000 and 5000 (1000, 1001, 1002, . . .). The bandwidth of
the nonperiodic signals has the same range, but the frequencies are
continuous.

Figure 2.12: The bandwidth of periodic and nonperiodic composite signals

Example 6
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.
Solution
Let fh be the highest frequency, fl the lowest frequency, and B the
bandwidth. Then
B = fh - fl → 20 = 60 - fl
fl = 60 - 20 = 40 Hz
The spectrum contains all integer frequencies. We show this by a series of
spikes.

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Example 7
A nonperiodic composite signal has a bandwidth of 200 kHz, with a middle
frequency of 140 kHz and peak amplitude of 20 V. The two extreme
frequencies have an amplitude of 0. Draw the frequency domain of the
signal.
Solution

• Analog Communication:
o Bandwidth refers to the total capacity of a communication
channel
o The greater the bandwidth, the more data can be carried over a
given frequency range.
• Digital Communication
o Bandwidth refers to the amount of data that can be transferred
over a communication medium in a given period (Data Rate)
o Data Rates (bps) can vary from one type of channel to another.
b) Bandwidth-Throughput
Bandwidth is a measure of channel’s theoretical capacity. It describes
the amount of data a channel can support.
Throughput: Tells us what channel really achieves.

c) Channel impairments
• Signal received may differ from signal transmitted.
• Analog – degradation of signal quality
• Digital – bit errors
• Caused by:
o Attenuation and attenuation distortion
o Dispersion
o Delay Distortion
o Noise

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2.3 CHANNEL IMPAIRMENTS

1- Attenuation
• Signal Strength falls off with distance
• Measured in Decibels (dB) per km (dB/km)
• Depends on medium
• Received signal strength:
o Must be enough to be detected
o Must be sufficiently higher than noise to be received without error
• It is an increasing function with frequency received signal is
distorted.
Attenuation of Guided Medium

Figure 2.13: Attenuation for different media

To compensate for the loss due to attenuation, amplifiers are used to
amplify the signal. Figure below shows the effect of attenuation and
amplification.

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Attenuation = P2/P1

Variables P1 and P2 are the powers of a signal at points 1 and 2,

respectively.
In case of using voltage, because power is proportional to the square of the
voltage, the formula is dB = 20 log10 (V2/V1). In this text, we express dB
in terms of power.

Example 8
Suppose a signal travels through a transmission medium and its ower is
reduced to one-half. This means that P2 ½ P1. In this case, the
attenuation (loss of power) can be calculated as

10 log10 (P2/P1) = 10 log10 (½ P1/P2)= 10 log100.5

= 10(–0.3) = –3 dB
A loss of 3 dB (−3 dB) is equivalent to losing one-half the power.

Example 9
A signal travels through an amplifier, and its power is increased 10 times.
This means that P2 = 10P1. In this case, the amplification (gain of power)
can be calculated as
10 log10 (P2/P1) = 10 log10 (10 P1/P2)= 10 log1010
= 10(1) =10 dB
Example 10
One reason that engineers use the decibel to measure the changes in the
strength of a signal is that decibel numbers can be added (or subtracted)
when we are measuring several points (cascading)
instead of just two. Consider figure below a signal travels from point 1 to
point 4. The signal is attenuated by the time it reaches point 2. Between
points 2 and 3, the signal is amplified. Again, between
points 3 and 4, the signal is attenuated. We can find the resultant decibel
value for the signal just by adding the decibel measurements between each
set of points.

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In this case, the decibel value can be calculated as

dB = -3 + 7 - 3 = +1
2- Dispersion
• Signals spread as they travel
• Amount of spreading depend on frequency
•
3- Delay Distortion
• Propagation velocity varies with frequency
• Different frequency components arrive at different times
• Critical for digital data (signal component of bit position spill
into another bit position causing inter-symbol interference)
• Limiting the rate of transmission
•
4- Noise
• Addition signals inserted between transmitter and receiver (in
the media)
• Thermal
o Due to thermal agitation of electrons
o Uniformly distributed
o Also called White noise
• Radiation
o Caused by sunspots, cosmic background noises and other
phenomena in space,
o Troublesome for unguided media, e.g. radio transmission
• Intermodulation
Signals that are the sum and difference of original frequencies
sharing a medium
• Crosstalk
A signal from one line is picked up another
• Impulse
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o Irregular pulses or spikes (e.g. External electromagnetic

interference)
o Short duration
o High amplitude

EFFECT OF CHANNEL IMPAIRMENTS ON A DIGITAL SIGNAL

The following figures illustrates the effect of the impairments on digital
signal during transmission
Effect of Bandwidth on a Digital Signal (see figure 2.7)
Effect of Noise on a Digital Signal

Figure 2.14: Noise effect on a digital signal

Effect of Channel Impairments on a Digital Transmitted Data
Figure 2.14 shows the effect of the channel Impairments of the digital
signal. The major effect besides noise is the delay distortion an
attenuation. In this example 1 bit changed from 0 to 1 causing 1 error.

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2.4 CHANNEL CAPACITY

Two theoretical formulas were developed to calculate the data rate: one by
Nyquist for a noiseless channel, another by Shannon for a noisy channel.
• Data rate
o In bits per second
o Rate at which data can be communicated
• Bandwidth
o In cycles per second of Hertz
o Constrained by transmitter and medium

Figure 2.14: Channel Impairments effect on a digital Signal

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2.4.1 NOISELESS CHANNEL: NYQUIST BIT RATE

For a noiseless channel, the Nyquist bit rate formula defines the theoretical
maximum bit rate In this formula, bandwidth is the bandwidth of the
channel, M is the number of signal levels used to represent data, and
BitRate is the bit rate in bits per second.
If rate of signal transmission is 2B then signal with frequencies no greater
than B is sufficient to carry signal rate
Given bandwidth B, highest signal rate is 2B
Given binary signal, data rate supported by B Hz is 2B bps
Can be increased by using M signal levels

C= 2 B LOG2 M
EXAMPLE: TRANSMITTED SEQUENCE

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Example 11
Consider the same noiseless channel transmitting a signal with four signal
levels (for each level, we send 2 bits). The maximum bit rate (C, channel
capacity) can be calculated as

C = BitRate = 2 x 3000 x log24 = 12,000 bps

Example 12
We need to send 265 kbps over a noiseless channel with a bandwidth of
20 kHz. How many signal levels do we need?
Solution
We can use the Nyquist formula as shown:

265,000 = 2 x 20,000 x log2L -> log2L = 6.625

L = 26.625 = 98.7 levels
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.

2.4.2 NOISY CHANNEL: SHANNON CAPACITY

In reality, we cannot have a noiseless channel; the channel is always
noisy. In 1944, Claude Shannon introduced a formula, called the
Shannon capacity, to determine the theoretical highest data rate for a
noisy channel:
Capacity = bandwidth x log2(1 + SNR)
Notes:
• Faster data rate shortens each bit so burst of noise affects more bits
• At given noise level, high data rate means higher error rate
• Signal to noise ration (in decibels)
• SNRdb=10 log10 (signal-power/noise-power)
• Capacity C=B log2(1+SNR)
• Shannon’s law: describes a model for determining the maximum data
rate of a noise analog communication channel

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• Maximum data rate (MDR) [bps] of a noisy channel of bandwidth B

[Hz] and Signal-to-Noise ratio S/N [decibel] is given by equation
above.

Example 13
Consider an extremely noisy channel in which the value of the signal-to-
noise ratio is almost zero. In other words, the noise is so strong that the
signal is faint. For this channel the capacity C is calculated as
C = B log2 (1 + SNR) = B log2(1 + 0) = B log21 = B x 0 = 0
This means that the capacity of this channel is zero regardless of the
bandwidth. In other words, we cannot receive any data through this
channel.

Example 14
We can calculate the theoretical highest bit rate of a regular telephone
line. A telephone line normally has a bandwidth of 3000 Hz (300 to 3300
Hz) assigned for data communications. The signal-to-noise ratio is
usually 3162. For this channel the capacity is calculated as
C = B log2 (1 + SNR) = 3000 log2(1 + 3162)
= 3000 x 11.62 5 = 34,860 bps

This means that the highest bit rate for a telephone line is 34.860 kbps. If
we want to send data faster than this, we can either increase the
bandwidth of the line or improve the signal-to-noise ratio.

2.4.3 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)
NOTE:
Increasing the levels of a signal may reduce the reliability of the system.

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Example 15
Consider a noiseless channel with a bandwidth of 3000 Hz transmitting a
signal with two signal levels. The maximum bit rate can be calculated as:

BitRate = C = 2 x B log2 (2) = 2x 3000 log2( 2) = 6000 bps

Example 16
Consider the same noiseless channel transmitting a signal with four signal
levels (for each level, we send 2 bits). The maximum bit rate can be
calculated as:

BitRate = C = 2 x B log2 (M) = 3000 log2(4)

= 2x 3000 x 2 = 12,000 bps
Example 17
The signal-to-noise ratio is often given in decibels. Assume that SNRdB =
36 and the channel bandwidth is 2 MHz. The theoretical channel capacity
can be calculated as
SNRdB = 10 log10SNR -> SNR = 10SNRdB/10
SNR = 10 3.6 = 3981
C = B log2(1 + SNR) = 2 x 106 x log23982 = 24 Mbps

Example 18
For practical purposes, when the SNR is very high, we can assume that
SNR + 1 is almost the same as SNR. In these cases, the theoretical
channel capacity can be simplified to C = B x (SNRdB )/3
For example, we can calculate the theoretical capacity of the previous
example as
C = 2 MHz x (36 / 3) = 24 Mbps
IN PRACTICE, WE NEED TO USE BOTH METHODS TO FIND THE
LIMITS AND SIGNAL LEVELS. LET US SHOW THIS WITH AN
EXAMPLE.

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Example 19
We have a channel with a 1-MHz bandwidth. The SNR for this channel is
63. What are the appropriate bit rate and signal level?
Solution
First, we use the Shannon formula to find the upper limit.

C = B log2 (1 + SNR) = 106 log2(1 + 63)

• The Shannon formula gives us 6 Mbps, the upper limit.
• For better performance we choose something lower, 4 Mbps, for
example.
• Then we use the Nyquist formula to find the number of signal levels.
4 Mbps = 2 x 1 MHz x log2L -> L = 4
NOTE:
THE SHANNON CAPACITY GIVES US THE UPPER LIMIT; THE NYQUIST
FORMULA TELLS US HOW MANY SIGNAL LEVELS WE NEED.

2.5 PERFORMANCE
• One important issue in networking is the performance of the
network—how good is it?
• We discuss quality of service, an overall measurement of network
performance, in greater detail in throughout the course.
• Here, we introduce terms that we need for future chapters.
Example 20
The bandwidth of a subscriber line is 4 kHz for voice or data. The
bandwidth of this line for data transmission can be up to 56,000 bps using
a sophisticated modem to change the digital signal to analog.
Example 21
If the telephone company improves the quality of the line and increases
the bandwidth to 8 kHz, we can send 112,000 bps by using the same
technology as mentioned in Example 9.
Example 22
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?
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Solution
We can calculate the throughput as
Throughput = (12,000 x 10,000) / 60 = 2 Mbps
The throughput is almost one-fifth of the bandwidth in this case.
Example 23
What is the propagation time if the distance between the two points is
12,000 km? Assume the propagation speed to be 2.4 × 108 m/s in cable.
Solution
We can calculate the propagation time as

Propagation_time = (12,000 x 10,000) / (2.4 x 28) = 50 ms

The example shows that a bit can go over the Atlantic Ocean in only 50
ms if there is a direct cable between the source and the destination.
Example 24
What are the propagation time and the transmission time for a 2.5-kbyte
message (an e-mail) if the bandwidth of the network is 1 Gbps? Assume
that the distance between the sender and the receiver is 12,000 km and
that light travels at 2.4 × 108 m/s.
Solution
We can calculate the propagation and transmission time as shown on
the next slide:
Propagation_time = (12,000 x 1000) / (2.4 x 108) = 50 ms
Transmission_time = (2500 x 8) / 109 = 0.020 ms
Note that in this case, because the message is short and the bandwidth
is high, the dominant factor is the propagation time, not the
transmission time. The transmission time can be ignored.
Example 25
What are the propagation time and the transmission time for a 5-Mbyte
message (an image) if the bandwidth of the network is 1 Mbps? Assume
that the distance between the sender and the receiver is 12,000 km and
that light travels at 2.4 × 108 m/s.

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Solution
We can calculate the propagation and transmission times as shown:
Propagation_time = (12,000 x 1000) / (2.4 x 108) = 50 ms
Transmission_time = (5,000,000 x 8) /106 = 40 s
Note that in this case, because the message is very long and the
bandwidth is not very high, the dominant factor is the transmission
time, not the propagation time. The propagation time can be ignored.

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CHAPTER 3
TRANSMISSION MEDIA
3.1 INTRODUCTION
A number of design factors relating to the transmission medium and
the signal determine the data rate and distance:
• Bandwidth: All other factors remaining constant, the greater the
bandwidth of a signal, the higher the data rate that can be
achieved.
• Transmission impairments: Impairments, such as attenuation,
limit the distance. For guided media, twisted pair generally
suffers more impairment than coaxial cable, which in turn suffers
more than optical fiber.
• Interference: Interference from competing signals in
overlapping frequency bands can distort or wipe out a signal.
Interference is of particular concern for unguided media, but is
also a problem with guided media. For guided media,
interference can be caused by emanations from nearby cables.
For example, twisted pairs are often bundled together and
conduits often carry multiple cables. Interference can also be
experienced from unguided transmissions. Proper shielding of a
guided medium can minimize this problem.
• Number of receivers: A guided medium can be used to
construct a point-to-point link or a shared link with multiple
attachments. In the latter case, each attachment introduces some
attenuation and distortion on the line, limiting distance and/or
data rate.

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3.2 CLASSES OF TRANSMISSION MEDIA

Electromagnetic Spectrum

3.3 TRANSMISSION CHARACTERISTICS OF GUIDED MEDIA

For guided transmission media, the transmission capacity, in terms of
either data rate or bandwidth, depends critically on the distance and on
whether the medium is point-to-point or multipoint. Table 3.1 (shown
above) indicates the characteristics typical for the common guided media
for long-distance point-to-point applications; we defer a discussion of the
use of these media for LANs to Part Four. The three guided media
commonly used for data transmission are twisted pair, coaxial cable, and
optical fiber. We examine each of these in turn.

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A) Twisted Pair Cable

analog
◦ needs amplifiers every 5km to 6km
digital
◦ can use either analog or digital signals
◦ needs a repeater every 2-3km
limited distance
limited bandwidth (1MHz)
limited data rate (100MHz) [1Gbps for very Short Distance]
susceptible to interference and noise
Twisted pair comes in two varieties: unshielded and shielded.
Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) is ordinary telephone wire. Office buildings,
by universal practice, are prewired with excess unshielded twisted pair,
more than is needed for simple telephone support. This is the least
expensive of all the transmission media commonly used for local area
networks and is easy to work with and easy to install. However UTP is

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subject to external electromagnetic interference, including interference

from nearby twisted pair and from noise generated in the environment.
A way to improve the characteristics of this medium is to shield the twisted
pair with a metallic braid or sheathing that reduces interference. This
shielded twisted pair (STP) provides better performance at higher data
rates. However, it is more expensive and more difficult to work with than
unshielded twisted pair.
Twisted Pair cables come in a variety of categories. Originally most office
buildings were prewired with a type of 100-ohm twisted pair cable
commonly referred to as voice grade. Because voice-grade twisted pair was
already installed, it was an attractive alternative for use as a LAN medium,
and this use was recognized by the Electronic Industries Association
standard EIA-568, Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling
Standard, published in 1991. Unfortunately, the data rates and distances
achievable with voice-grade twisted pair are limited. As users migrated to
higher-performance workstations and applications, there was increasing
interest in providing LANs that could operate up to 100 Mbps over
inexpensive cable.
Unshielded vs Shielded TP
unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
◦ ordinary telephone wire
◦ cheapest
◦ easiest to install
◦ suffers from external EM interference
shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
◦ metal braid or sheathing that reduces interference
◦ more expensive
◦ harder to handle (thick, heavy)
in a variety of categories )see EIA-568(
Twisted Pair: UTP and STP cables

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UTP Categories

Category 3 Category 5 Category Category 6 Category 7

Class C Class D 5E Class E Class F
Bandwidth 16 MHz 100 MHz 100 MHz 200 MHz 600 MHz
Cable Type UTP UTP/FTP UTP/FTP UTP/FTP SSTP
Link Cost 0.7 1 1.2 1.5 2.2
(Cat 5 =1)

In response to the need to support higher

speeds, EIA-568-A was issued in 1995. The
new standard reflects advances in cable and
connector design and test methods. It covers
150-ohm shielded twisted pair and 100-ohm
unshielded twisted pair. EIA-568-A
recognizes three categories of UTP cabling:
Category 3: UTP cables and associated connecting hardware whose
transmission characteristics are specified up to 16 MHz
Category 4: UTP cables and associated connecting hardware whose
transmission characteristics are specified up to 20 MHz
Category 5: UTP cables and associated connecting hardware whose
transmission characteristics are specified up to 100 MHz

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UTP Connector- RJ45 Pin

UTP Performance

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B) Coaxial Cable
Coaxial cable, like twisted pair, consists of
two conductors, but is constructed
differently to permit it to operate over a
wider range of frequencies. It consists of a
hollow outer cylindrical conductor that
surrounds a single inner wire conductor.
The inner conductor is held in place by
either regularly spaced insulating rings or a solid dielectric material. The
outer conductor is covered with a jacket or shield. A single coaxial cable
has a diameter of from 1 to 2.5 cm. Coaxial cable can be used over longer
distances and support more stations on a shared line than twisted pair.
Coaxial cable is a versatile transmission medium, used in a wide variety of
applications, including:
• Television distribution - aerial to TV & CATV systems
• Long-distance telephone transmission - traditionally used for inter-
exchange links, now being replaced by optical fiber/microwave/satellite
• Short-run computer system links
• Local area networks

Categories of Coaxial Cable

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Coaxial Cable Performance

Coaxial Cable - Transmission Characteristics

Superior frequency characteristics to TP
Performance limited by attenuation & noise
Analog signals
◦ amplifiers every few km
◦ closer if higher frequency
◦ up to 500MHz
Digital signals
◦ repeater every 1km
◦ closer for higher data rates
Applications
◦ Television distribution
◦ Long-distance telephone transmission
◦ Short-run computer system links
◦ Local area networks
C) Optical fiber
An optical fiber is a thin (2 to 125 µm), flexible medium capable of guiding
an optical ray. Various glasses and plastics
can be used to make optical fibers. An
optical fiber cable has a cylindrical shape
and consists of three concentric sections: the
core, the cladding, and the jacket. The core
is the innermost section and consists of one
or more very thin strands, or fibers, made of
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glass or plastic; the core has a diameter in the range of 8 to 50 µm. Each
fiber is surrounded by its own cladding, a glass or plastic coating that has
optical properties different from those of the core and a diameter of 125
µm. The interface between the core and cladding acts as a reflector to
confine light that would otherwise escape the core. The outermost layer,
surrounding one or a bundle of cladded fibers, is the jacket. The jacket is
composed of plastic and other material layered for protection. .
Optical fiber already enjoys considerable use in long-distance
telecommunications, and its use in military applications is growing. The
continuing improvements in performance and decline in prices, together
with the inherent advantages of optical fiber, have made it increasingly
attractive for local area networking. Five basic categories of application
have become important for optical fiber: Long-haul trunks, Metropolitan
trunks, Rural exchange trunks, Subscriber loops & Local area networks.

Optical Fiber – Benefits

The following characteristics distinguish optical fiber from twisted
pair or coaxial cable:
Greater capacity - data rates of hundreds of Gbps
Smaller size & Lighter weight
Lower attenuation
Electromagnetic isolation
Greater repeater spacing - 10s of km at least
Optical Fiber – Applications
Five basic categories of application have become important for optical
fiber:
Long-haul trunks
1500 km in length and offer high capacity (typically 20,000 to 60,000
voice channels)
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Metropolitan trunks
◦ 12 km and may have as many as 100,000 voice channels in a trunk
group.
◦ Most facilities are installed in underground and are repeaterless
Rural exchange trunks
◦ Ranging from 40 to 160 km and link towns and villages
◦ Most of these systems have fewer than 5000 voice channels.
Subscriber loops
◦ full-service networks capable of handling not only voice and data,
but also image and video.
◦ The initial penetration of optical fiber in this application is for the
business subscriber, but fiber transmission into the home will begin to
appear (not very soon )
Local area networks
◦ Optical fiber networks that have a total capacity of 100 Mbps to 10
Gbps and can support hundreds or even thousands of stations in a
large office building or a complex of buildings
Optical Fiber Transmission Modes

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Figure shows the principle of optical fiber transmission. Light from a

source enters the cylindrical glass or plastic core. Rays at shallow angles
are reflected and propagated along the fiber; other rays are absorbed by the
surrounding material. This form of propagation is called step-index
multimode, referring to the variety of angles that will reflect. With
multimode transmission, multiple propagation paths exist, each with a
different path length and hence time to traverse the fiber. This causes signal
elements (light pulses) to spread out in time, which limits the rate at which
data can be accurately received. This type of fiber is best suited for
transmission over very short distances.
When the fiber core radius is reduced, fewer angles will reflect. By
reducing the radius of the core to the order of a wavelength, only a single
angle or mode can pass: the axial ray. This single-mode propagation
provides superior performance for the following reason. Because there is a
single transmission path with single-mode transmission, the distortion
found in multimode cannot occur. Single-mode is typically used for long-
distance applications, including telephone and cable television.
Finally, by varying the index of refraction of the core, a third type of
transmission, known as graded-index multimode, is possible. The higher
refractive index (discussed subsequently) at the center makes the light rays
moving down the axis advance more slowly than those near the cladding.
Rather than zig-zagging off the cladding, light in the core curves helically
because of the graded index, reducing its travel distance. The shortened
path and higher speed allows light at the periphery to arrive at a receiver at
about the same time as the straight rays in the core axis. Graded-index
fibers are often used in local area networks.
Frequency Utilization for Fiber Applications
Wavelength (in Frequency Band Fiber Type Application
vacuum) range Range (THz) Label
(nm)
820 to 900 366 to 333 Multimode LAN
1280 to 1350 234 to 222 S Single mode Various
1528 to 1561 196 to 192 C Single mode WDM
1561 to 1620 192 to 185 L Single mode WDM

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Optical fiber performance

Attenuation in Guided Media

Figure shows attenuation versus wavelength for the various types of

wired media we have discussed.
Left graph shows that attenuation for twisted pair is a very strong function
of frequency. As middle graph shows, coaxial cable has frequency
characteristics that are superior to those of twisted pair and can hence be
used effectively at higher frequencies and data rates. Right graph shows
the attenuation vs wavelength for a typical optical fiber. The unusual
shape of the curve is due to the combination of a variety of factors that
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contribute to attenuation. The two most important of these are absorption

and scattering, which is the change in direction of light rays after they
strike small particles or impurities in the medium.

3.4 UNGUIDED TRANSMISSION MEDIA: WIRELESS

Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves without using a
physical conductor. This type of communication is often referred to as
wireless communication.
Unguided transmission techniques commonly used for information
communications include broadcast radio, terrestrial microwave, and
satellite. Infrared transmission is used in some LAN applications. Three
general ranges of frequencies are of interest in our discussion of wireless
transmission.
Frequencies in the range of about 1 to 40 GHz are referred to as
microwave frequencies. At these frequencies, highly directional beams
are possible, and microwave is quite suitable for point-to-point
transmission. Microwave is also used for satellite communications.
Frequencies in the range of 30 MHz to 1 GHz are suitable for
omnidirectional applications. We refer to this range as the radio range.
Another important frequency range is the infrared portion of the
spectrum, roughly from 3 1011 to 2 1014 Hz. Infrared is useful to local
point-to-point and multipoint applications within confined areas, such as a
single room.
Wireless transmission waves

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Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless communication

3.4.2 Wireless Transmission

For unguided media, transmission and reception are achieved by means of
antenna.
(a) Directional
• Focused beam
• Careful alignment required
(b) Omnidirectional
• Signal Spread in all directions
• Can be received by many antennae.

Wireless Transmission Frequencies

2GHz to 40GHz
◦ Referred as microwave frequencies
◦ Highly directional beams @ these freq. Possible
◦ Suitable for point to point transmission
◦ Also used for satellite Communication
30MHz to 1GHz
◦ Suitable for Omni-directional applications
◦ Range referred as broadcast radio
3 x 1011 to 2 x 1014
◦ Infrared Portion of the spectrum
◦ Useful in local point to point links & multipoint applications
within a room

ANTENNAS
Electrical conductor used to radiate or collect electromagnetic energy
Transmission antenna
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◦ radio frequency energy from transmitter

◦ converted to electromagnetic energy by antenna
◦ radiated into surrounding environment
Reception antenna
◦ electromagnetic energy impinging on antenna
◦ converted to radio frequency electrical energy
◦ fed to receiver
Same antenna is often used for both purposes

RADIATION PATTERN
An important type of antenna is the parabolic reflective antenna, which
is used in terrestrial microwave and satellite applications. A parabola is
the locus of all points equidistant from a fixed line (the directrix) and a
fixed point (the
focus) not on the
line, as shown in
Figure above. If a
parabola is
revolved about
its axis, the
surface generated
is called a
paraboloid.
Paraboloid
surfaces are used
in headlights,
optical and radio
telescopes, and
microwave antennas because: If a source of electromagnetic energy (or
sound) is placed at the focus of the paraboloid, and if the paraboloid is a
reflecting surface, then the wave will bounce back in lines parallel to the
axis of the paraboloid; as shown in Figure above. In theory, this effect
creates a parallel beam without dispersion. In practice, there will be some
dispersion, because the source of energy must occupy more than one
point. The larger the diameter of the antenna, the more tightly directional
is the beam. On reception, if incoming waves are parallel to the axis of
the reflecting paraboloid, the resulting signal will be concentrated at the
focus.
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ANTENNA GAIN
Antenna gain is a measure of the directionality of an antenna. Antenna
gain is defined as the power output, in a particular direction, compared to
that produced in any direction by a perfect omnidirectional antenna
(isotropic antenna). For example, if an antenna has a gain of 3 dB, that
antenna improves upon the isotropic antenna in that direction by 3 dB, or
a factor of 2. The increased power radiated in a given direction is at the
expense of other directions. In effect, increased power is radiated in one
direction by reducing the power radiated in other directions. It is
important to note that antenna gain does not refer to obtaining more
output power than input power but rather to directionality.
A concept related to that of antenna gain is the effective area of an
antenna. The effective area of an antenna is related to the physical size of
the antenna and to its shape, as shown in equation below.

Measure of directionality of antenna

Power output in particular direction verses that produced by an
isotropic antenna
Measured in decibels (dB)
Results in loss in power in another direction
Effective area relates to size and shape

ANTENNA GAIN & EFFECTIVE AREA

The effective area of an antenna is related to the physical size of the antenna
and to its shape. The relationship between antenna gain and effective area is

G = 4 Ae / = 4 f Ae / C
2

where
G = antenna gain
Ae = effective area
f = carrier frequency
c = speed of light ( 3 * 108 m/s2
= carrier wavelength

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TERRESTRIAL MICROWAVE
The primary use for terrestrial microwave systems is in long haul
telecommunications service, as an alternative to coaxial cable or optical
fiber. The microwave facility requires far fewer amplifiers or repeaters than
coaxial cable over the same distance, (typically every 10-100 km) but
requires line-of-sight transmission. Microwave is commonly used for both
voice and television transmission. Another increasingly common use of
microwave is for short point-to-point links between buildings, for closed-
circuit TV or as a data link between local area networks.
The most common type of microwave antenna is the parabolic "dish”, fixed
rigidly to focus a narrow beam on a receiving antenna A typical size is
about 3 m in diameter. Microwave antennas are usually located at
substantial heights above ground level to extend the range between
antennas and to be able to transmit over intervening obstacles. To achieve
long-distance transmission, a series of microwave relay towers is used, and
point-to-point microwave links are strung together over the desired
distance.
Microwave transmission covers a substantial portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum, typically in the range 1 to 40 GHz, with 4-6 GHz
and now 11GHz bands the most common. The higher the frequency used,
the higher the potential bandwidth and therefore the higher the potential
data rate. As with any transmission system, a main source of loss is
attenuation, related to the square of distance. The effects of rainfall become
especially noticeable above 10 GHz. Another source of impairment is
interference.
Summary
Used for long haul telecommunications
and short point-to-point links
Requires fewer repeaters but line of sight
Use a parabolic dish (~3m) to focus a narrow beam onto a receiver
antenna
1-40GHz frequencies
Higher frequencies give higher data rates
Main source of loss is attenuation
◦ distance, rainfall
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also interference

LOSS/ATTEN. IN MICROWAVE
As with any transmission system, a main source of loss is attenuation.
For microwave (and radio frequencies), the loss can be expressed as
L = 10 log (4 d/ )2 dB

where d is the distance and is the wavelength, in the same units.

Loss varies as the square of the distance. In contrast, for twisted pair
and coaxial cable, loss varies logarithmically with distance (linear in
decibels).
Repeaters or amplifiers, then, may be placed farther apart for
microwave systems-10 to 100 km is typical.
Attenuation increases with rainfall, the effects of which become
especially noticeable above 10 GHz.
Another source of impairment is interference.
Typical Digital Microwave Performance

SATELLITE MICROWAVE
A communication satellite is, in effect, a microwave relay station. It is used
to link two or more ground-based microwave transmitter/receivers, known
as earth stations, or ground stations. The satellite receives transmissions on
one frequency band (uplink), amplifies or repeats the signal, and transmits
it on another frequency (downlink). A single orbiting satellite will operate
on a number of frequency bands, called transponder channels, or simply
transponders. The optimum frequency range for satellite transmission is
in the range 1 to 10 GHz. Most satellites providing point-to-point service

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today use a frequency bandwidth in the range 5.925 to 6.425 GHz for
transmission from earth to satellite (uplink) and a bandwidth in the range
3.7 to 4.2 GHz for transmission from satellite to earth (downlink). This
combination is referred to as the 4/6-GHz band, but has become saturated.
So the 12/14-GHz band has been developed (uplink: 14 - 14.5 GHz;
downlink: 11.7 - 12.2 GHz).
For a communication satellite to function effectively, it is generally
required that it remain stationary with respect to its position over the earth
to be within the line of sight of its earth stations. To remain stationary, the
satellite must have a period of rotation equal to the earth's period of
rotation, which occurs at a height of 35,863 km at the equator. Two
satellites using the same frequency band, if close enough together, will
interfere with each other. To avoid this, current standards require a 4°
spacing in the 4/6-GHz band and a 3° spacing at 12/14 GHz. Thus the
number of possible satellites is quite limited.
Among the most important applications for satellites are: Television
distribution, Long-distance telephone transmission, Private business
networks, and Global positioning.
Summary
Satellite is mW relay station
Receives on one frequency, amplifies or repeats signal and transmits
on another frequency
◦ eg. uplink 5.925-6.425 GHz & downlink 3.7-4.2 GHz
Typically requires geo-stationary orbit
◦ height of 35,784km
◦ spaced at least 3-4° apart
Typical uses
◦ Television
◦ Long distance telephone
◦ Private business networks
◦ Global positioning (GPS)
NOTES:
1. A single orbiting satellite will operate on a number of frequency bands,
called transponder channels, or simply transponders.
2. Optimum range for satellite transmission 1 to 10 GHz Because:

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• Frequency < 1 GHz substantial noise from natural sources

• Frequency > 10 GHz signals are attenuated by atmospheric
absorption an precipitation
3. Four common frequencies at which satellites transmit:
C-Band: 6 GHz uplink and 4 GHz downlink
Ku-Band: 14 GHz uplink and 12 GHz downlink
Ka-Band: 28 GHz uplink and 18 GHz downlink
V-Band: above 30 GHz

SATELLITE COMMUNICATION CONFIGURATIONS

(a) Satellite Point to Point Link
The satellite is being used to provide a
point-to-point link between two distant
ground-based antennas.

(b) Satellite Broadcast Link

The satellite provides
communications
between one ground-
based transmitter and a
number of ground-based
receivers.

VSAT Configuration
❖ Using some protocol, these stations share a satellite transmission
capacity for transmission to a hub station.
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❖ The hub station can exchange messages with each of the subscribers
as well as relay messages between subscribers.
VSAT = Very Small Aperture Terminal

Figure 3.7 Typical VSAT Configuration

3.5 BROADCAST RADIO

Radio is a general term used to encompass frequencies in the range of 3
kHz to 300 GHz. We are using the informal term broadcast radio to cover
the VHF and part of the UHF band: 30 MHz to 1 GHz. This range covers
FM radio and UHF and VHF television. This range is also used for a
number of data networking applications. The principal difference between
broadcast radio and microwave is that the former is omnidirectional and
the latter is directional. Thus broadcast radio does not require dish-shaped
antennas, and the antennas need not be rigidly mounted to a precise
alignment.
The range 30 MHz to 1 GHz is an effective one for broadcast
communications. Unlike the case for lower-frequency electromagnetic
waves, the ionosphere is transparent to radio waves above 30 MHz. Thus
transmission is limited to the line of sight, and distant transmitters will not
interfere with each other due to reflection from the atmosphere. Unlike the
higher frequencies of the microwave region, broadcast radio waves are less
sensitive to attenuation from rainfall. A prime source of impairment for
broadcast radio waves is multipath interference. Reflection from land,
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water, and natural or human-made objects can create multiple paths

between antennas, eg ghosting on TV pictures.
radio is 3kHz to 300GHz
use broadcast radio, 30MHz - 1GHz, for:
◦ FM radio
◦ UHF and VHF television
is Omnidirectional
still need line of sight
suffers from multipath interference
◦ reflections from land, water, other objects

INFRARED
Infrared communications is achieved using transmitters/receivers
(transceivers) that modulate noncoherent infrared light. Transceivers must
be within the line of sight of each other either directly or via reflection from
a light-colored surface such as the ceiling of a room.
One important difference between infrared and microwave transmission is
that the former does not penetrate walls. Thus the security and interference
problems encountered in microwave systems are not present. Furthermore,
there is no frequency allocation issue with infrared, because no licensing is
required.
Infrared Transmission

a) Directed-Point-to-Point
Required unobstructed line-of-sight connection between transmitter &
receiver.
b) Diffused

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A transmitter “floods” a specific area with strong infrared signal. The

light emitted is spread over a wide angle.

Summary
Modulate noncoherent infrared light
Line of sight medium (or reflection)
Operates between 100GHz – 100 THz
Blocked by walls
No licenses required
Typical uses
◦ TV remote control
◦ IRD port
◦ LANs within building

3.6 WIRELESS PROPAGATION

A signal radiated from an antenna travels along one of three routes: ground
wave, sky wave, or line of sight (LOS), as shown in Figure 3.8.
a) Ground Wave

Ground wave propagation more or less follows the contour of the earth
and can propagate considerable distances, well over the visual horizon.
This effect is found in frequencies up to about 2 MHz. Several factors
account for the tendency of electromagnetic wave in this frequency band
to follow the earth's curvature. One factor is that the electromagnetic
wave induces a current in the earth's surface, the result of which is to slow
the wavefront near the earth, causing the wavefront to tilt downward and
hence follow the earth's curvature. Another factor is diffraction, which is
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a phenomenon having to do with the behavior of electromagnetic waves

in the presence of obstacles. Electromagnetic waves in this frequency
range are scattered by the atmosphere in such a way that they do not
penetrate the upper atmosphere. The best-known example of ground wave
communication is AM radio.

b) Sky Wave
Sky wave propagation is used for amateur radio, CB radio, and
international broadcasts such as BBC and Voice of America. With sky
wave propagation, a signal from an earth-based antenna is reflected from
the ionized layer of the upper atmosphere (ionosphere) back down to
earth. Although it appears the wave is reflected from the ionosphere as if
the ionosphere were a hard reflecting surface, the effect is in fact caused
by refraction. Refraction is described subsequently. A sky wave signal
can travel through a number of hops, bouncing back and forth between
the ionosphere and the earth's surface, as shown in Figure 3.8b. With this
propagation mode, a signal can be picked up thousands of kilometers
from the transmitter.

c) Line Of Sight (LOS)

Above 30 MHz, neither ground wave nor sky wave propagation modes
operate, and communication must be by line of sight Figure 3.8c. For
satellite communication, a signal above 30 MHz is not reflected by the
ionosphere and therefore a signal can be transmitted between an earth
station and a satellite overhead that is not beyond the horizon. For
ground-based communication, the transmitting and receiving antennas

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must be within an effective line of sight of each other. The term effective
is used because microwaves are bent or refracted by the atmosphere. The
amount and even the direction of the bend depends on conditions, but
generally microwaves are bent with the curvature of the earth and will
therefore propagate farther than the optical line of sight. In this book, we
are almost exclusively concerned with LOS communications.

3.7 LINE OF SIGHT PROPAGATION

In this section, we extend the discussion to examine some impairments
specific to wireless line-of-sight transmission.
For any type of wireless communication, the signal disperses with
distance. Therefore, an antenna with a fixed area will receive less signal
power the farther it is from the transmitting antenna. For satellite
communication this is the primary mode of signal loss. Even if no other
sources of attenuation or impairment are assumed, a transmitted signal
attenuates over distance because the signal is being spread over a larger
and larger area. This form of attenuation is known as free space loss.
An additional loss between the transmitting and receiving antennas is
atmospheric absorption. Water vapor and oxygen contribute most to
attenuation. A peak attenuation occurs in the vicinity of 22 GHz due to
water vapor. At frequencies below 15 GHz, the attenuation is less. The
presence of oxygen results in an absorption peak in the vicinity of 60 GHz
but contributes less at frequencies below 30 GHz. Rain and fog
(suspended water droplets) cause scattering of radio waves that results in
attenuation.
For some wireless systems, there are obstacles in abundance. The signal
can be reflected by such obstacles so that multiple copies of the signal
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with varying delays can be received, resulting in multipath interference.

Depending on the differences in the path lengths of the direct and
reflected waves, the composite signal can be either larger or smaller than
the direct signal.
Radio waves are refracted (or bent) when they propagate through the
atmosphere. Normally, the speed of the signal increases with altitude,
causing radio waves to bend downward. However, on occasion, weather
conditions may lead to variations in speed with height that differ
significantly from the typical variations. This may result in a situation in
which only a fraction or no part of the line-of-sight wave reaches the
receiving antenna. The following represents the major problems with
LOS propagation:
Free space loss - loss of signal with distance
Atmospheric Absorption - from water vapour and oxygen absorption
Multipath - multiple interfering signals from reflections
Refraction - bending signal away from receiver

OPTICAL AND RADIO LINE OF SIGHT

With no intervening obstacles, the optical line of sight can be expressed
as:
𝑑 = 3.57 √ℎ
where d is the distance between an antenna and the horizon in kilometers
and h is the antenna height in meters. The effective, or radio, line of sight
to the horizon is expressed as (Figure 3.9)
𝑑 = 3.57 √𝐾 ℎ
where K is an adjustment factor to account for the refraction.

Figure 3.9 Optical and Radio Horizons

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A good rule of thumb is Thus, the maximum distance between two

antennas for LOS propagation is

𝑑 = 3.57 (√𝐾 ℎ1 + √𝐾 ℎ2)

where h1 and h2 are the heights of the two antennas.

EXAMPLE
The maximum distance between two antennas for LOS transmission if
one antenna is 100 m high and the other is at ground level is
𝑑 = 3.57 √𝐾 ℎ = = 3.57 √133 = 41 𝐾𝑚 =
Now suppose that the receiving antenna is 10 m high. To achieve the
same distance, how high must the transmitting antenna be? The result is
41 = 3.57 (√𝐾 ℎ1 + √13.3)
√𝐾 ℎ1 = 7.84
ℎ1 = 46.2 𝑚
This is a savings of over 50 m in the height of the transmitting antenna.
This example illustrates the benefit of raising receiving antennas above
ground level to reduce the necessary height of the transmitter.

3.8 LINE OF SIGHT TRANSMISSION

The free space loss is a form of attenuation, which can be express in terms
of the ratio of the radiated power to the power received by the antenna or,
in decibels, by taking 10 times the log of that ratio. For the ideal isotropic
antenna, free space loss is
𝑃𝑡 (4 𝜋 𝑑)2 (4 𝜋 𝑓 𝑑)2
= =
𝑃𝑟 𝜆2 𝐶2
Pt = Signal power at the transmitting antenna
Pr = Signal power at the receiving antenna
d = propagation distance between antennas
= wave-length
C = speed of light ( 3 x 108 m/s)

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where d and are in the same units (e.g. meters)

Figure 3.10: Free Space Loss

For other antennas, we must take into account the gain of the antenna,
which yields the following free space loss equation:
𝑃𝑡 (4 𝜋 𝑑)2 (𝜆 𝑑)2 (𝐶 𝑑)2
= = =
𝑃𝑟 𝐺𝑟 𝐺𝑡 𝜆2 𝐴𝑟 𝐴 𝑡 𝑓 2 𝐴𝑟 𝐴𝑡
Gt = gain of the transmitting antenna
Gr = gain of the receiving antenna
At = effective area of the transmitting antenna
Ar = effective area of the receiving antenna

3.9 MULTIPATH INTERFERENCE

Figure 3.11(shown below) illustrates in general terms the types of multipath
interference typical in terrestrial, fixed microwave and in mobile

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communications. For fixed microwave, in addition to the direct line of sight,

the signal may follow a curved path through the atmosphere due to refraction
and the signal may also reflect from the ground. For mobile communications,
structures and topographic features provide reflection surfaces.

Figure 3.11 Examples of Multipath Interference

ASSIGNMENT- PROGRAMMING
Design & Implement the LOS calculator.

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CHAPTER 4
SIGNAL ENCODING TECHNIQUES
4.1 INTRODUCTION
In data communication it is required to send information from one point
to another. This information needs to be converted to either a digital
signal or an analog signal for transmission. In this chapter, we discuss the
conversion to digital signals & the conversion to analog signals. Figure
4.1 shows the basic idea for bother conversion.

Figure 4.1 Encoding and Modulation Techniques

Fig 4.1 emphasizes the process involved in this. For digital signaling, a
data source g(t), which may be either digital or analog, is encoded into a
digital signal x(t). The basis for analog signaling is a continuous constant-
frequency fc signal known as the carrier signal. Data may be transmitted
using a carrier signal by modulation, which is the process of encoding
source data onto the carrier signal. All modulation techniques involve
operation on one or more of the three fundamental frequency domain
parameters: amplitude, frequency, and phase. The input signal m(t) may be
analog or digital and is called the modulating signal, and the result of
modulating the carrier signal is called the modulated signal s(t).

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4.1.1 ENCODING TECHNIQUES

Have already noted in Ch 2 that both analog and digital information can
be encoded as either analog or digital signals. There are 4 possible
encoding techniques:
Digital data, digital signals: simplest form of digital encoding of
digital data
Digital data, analog signal: A modem converts digital data to an
analog signal so that it can be transmitted over an analog medium
Analog data, digital signals: Analog data, such as voice and video,
are often digitized to be able to use digital transmission facilities
Analog data, analog signals: Analog data are modulated by a carrier
frequency to produce an analog signal in a different frequency band,
which can be utilized on an analog transmission system

4.1.2 DATA CONVERSION SCHEMES

(a) Digital Data Conversion

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(b) Analog Data Conversion

4.2 DIGITAL-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSION

Table 4.1 summarizes key terms; these should be clearer when we see an
example later in this section. What factors determine how successful the
receiver will be in interpreting the incoming signal? We saw in Chapter 3
that three factors are important: the signal to noise ratio (SNR), the data
rate, and the bandwidth. With other factors held constant, the following
statements are true:
• An increase in data rate increases bit error rate (BER).1
• An increase in SNR decreases bit error rate.
• An increase in bandwidth allows an increase in data rate.
Table 4.1: Key Data Transmission Terms
Term Units Definition
Data element Bits A single binary one or
zero
Data rate Bits per second The rate at which data
(bps) elements are transmitted
Digital: a voltage
pulse of constant
That part of a signal that
amplitude
occupies the shortest
Signal element Analog: a pulse of
interval of a signaling
constant
code
frequency, phase,
and amplitude
Signaling rate Signal
The rate at which signal
or modulation elements per
elements are transmitted
rate second (baud)

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The BER is the most common measure of error performance on a

data circuit and is defined as the probability that a bit is received in
error. It is also called the bit error ratio.

Figure 4.2: Line coding and decoding

Figure 4.3, below, shows the relation between data rate & Symbol rate &
their value

Figure 4.3: Signal element versus data element

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Example 1:
A signal is carrying data in which one data element is encoded as one
signal element ( r = 1). If the bit rate is 100 kbps, what is the average
value of the baud rate if c is between 0 and 1?
Solution
We assume that the average value of c is 1/2 . The baud rate is then
S = C x N x 1/r = ½ x 100,000 x 1/1 = 50,000 = 50 kbaud
NOTE
Although the actual bandwidth of a digital signal is infinite, the effective
bandwidth is finite.

Example 2:
The maximum data rate of a channel is Nmax = 2 × B × log2 L (defined
by the Nyquist formula). Does this agree with the previous formula for
Nmax?
Solution
A signal with L levels actually can carry log2L bits per level. If each level
corresponds to one signal element and we assume the average case (c =
1/2), then we have
1
𝑁𝑚𝑎𝑥 = x 𝐵 x 𝑟 = 2 x 𝐵 x 𝐿𝑜𝑔2 𝐿
𝐶
SYNCHRONIZATION EFFECT
For digital communication, the synchronization between the sender &
receiver is very critical. See next Figure 9 (Fig. 4.4) that demonstrates this
effect.
Example 3
In a digital transmission, the receiver clock is 0.1 percent faster than the
sender clock. How many extra bits per second does the receiver receive
if the data rate is 1 kbps? How many if the data rate is 1 Mbps?

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Figure 4.4: Effect of lack of synchronization

Solution
At 1 kbps, the receiver receives 1001 bps instead of 1000 bps.
1000 bits sent 1001 bits received 1 extra
bps
At 1 Mbps, the receiver receives 1,001,000 bps instead of 1,000,000 bps.
1,000,000 bits sent 1,001,000 bits received 1000 extra
bps

4.3 DIGITAL DATA, DIGITAL SIGNAL

Digital signal
A digital signal is a sequence of discrete, discontinuous voltage pulses.
Each pulse is a signal element. Binary data are transmitted by encoding
each data bit into signal elements. In the simplest case, there is a one-
to-one correspondence between bits and signal elements. More
complex encoding schemes are used to improve performance, by
altering the spectrum of the signal and providing synchronization
capability. In general, the equipment for encoding digital data into a
digital signal is less complex and less expensive than digital-to-analog
modulation equipment. To summarize, digital Signal is characterized
by: (see next Figure)
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• Discrete, discontinuous voltage pulses

• Each pulse is a signal element
• Binary data encoded into signal elements

Before discussing this further, we need to define some terms:

• UNIPOLAR: All signal elements have same sign
• POLAR: One logic state represented by positive voltage the other by
negative voltage
• DATA RATE: Rate of data (R) transmission in bits per second
• DURATION OR LENGTH OF A BIT: Time taken for transmitter to
emit the bit
• Modulation RATE
o Rate at which the signal level changes
o Measured in baud = signal elements per second
• MARK and SPACE: Binary 1 and Binary 0 respectively

INTERPRETING SIGNALS:
The tasks involved in interpreting digital signals at the receiver can be
summarized as follows. First, the receiver must know the timing of each
bit, knowing with some accuracy when a bit begins and ends. Second, the
receiver must determine whether the signal level for each bit position is
high (0) or low (1). These tasks can be performed by sampling each bit
position in the middle of the interval and comparing the value to a
threshold. Because of noise and other impairments, there will be errors. As
was shown in Chapter 2, three factors are important: the signal-to-noise
ratio, the data rate, and the bandwidth. With other factors held constant, the
following statements are true:
• An increase in data rate increases bit error rate (BER).
• An increase in SNR decreases bit error rate.
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• An increase in bandwidth allows an increase in data rate.

There is another factor that can be used to improve performance, and that is
the encoding scheme. The encoding scheme is simply the mapping from
data bits to signal elements. A variety of approaches have been tried. In
what follows, we describe some of the more common ones.
In summary, to interpret a digital signal we need to know:
(1) Timing of bits - when they start and end
(2) Signal levels
Factors affecting successful interpreting of signals
(1) Signal to noise ratio (2) Data rate (3) Bandwidth

4.2.1 COMPARISON OF ENCODING SCHEMES

Before describing the various encoding techniques, consider the
following ways of evaluating or comparing them:
SIGNAL SPECTRUM
Lack of high frequencies reduces required bandwidth
Lack of dc component allows ac coupling via transformer,
providing isolation
Concentrate power in the middle of the bandwidth
CLOCKING
Synchronizing transmitter and receiver
External clock
Sync mechanism based on signal
ERROR DETECTION
Can be built in to signal encoding
SIGNAL INTERFERENCE AND NOISE IMMUNITY
Some codes are better than others
COST AND COMPLEXITY
Higher signal rate (& thus data rate) lead to higher costs
Some codes require signal rate greater than data rate

4.2.2 ENCODING SCHEMES

(a) Nonreturn to Zero-Level (NRZ-L)
Two different voltages for 0 and 1 bits

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Voltage constant during bit interval (no transition i.e. no return to

zero voltage)
e.g. Absence of voltage for zero, constant positive voltage for one
More often, negative voltage for one value and positive for the
other

(b) Nonreturn to Zero Inverted (NRZI)

Nonreturn to zero inverted on ones
Constant voltage pulse for duration of bit
Data encoded as presence or absence of signal transition at
beginning of bit time
Transition (low to high or high to low) denotes a binary 1
No transition denotes binary 0
An example of differential encoding

NRZ pros and cons

Pros
o Easy to engineer
o Make good use of bandwidth
Cons
o dc component

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o Lack of synchronization capability

Used for magnetic recording
Not often used for signal transmission

Example:
A system is using NRZ-I to transfer 10-Mbps data. What are the
average signal rate and minimum bandwidth?
Solution
The average signal rate is S = N/2 = 500 kbaud.
The minimum bandwidth for this average baud rate is Bmin = S = 500
kHz.
(c) Multilevel Binary
Use more than two levels
❖ Bipolar-AMI
o zero represented by no line signal
o one represented by positive or negative pulse
o one pulses alternate in polarity
o No loss of sync if a long string of ones (zeros still a problem)
o No net dc component
o Lower bandwidth
o Easy error detection
❖ Pseudoternary
o One represented by absence of line signal
o Zero represented by alternating positive and negative
o No advantage or disadvantage over bipolar-AMI

Figure 4.4: Bipolar-AMI and Pseudoternary

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(d) Biphase Encoding

Manchester
o Transition in middle of each bit period
o Transition serves as clock and data
o Low to high represents one
o High to low represents zero
o Used by IEEE 802.3

Differential Manchester
o Midbit transition is clocking only
o Transition at start of a bit period represents zero
o No transition at start of a bit period represents one
o Note: this is a differential encoding scheme
o Used by IEEE 802.5

Figure 4.5: Polar biphase: Manchester and differential Manchester

schemes
Biphase Pros and Cons
Con
o At least one transition per bit time and possibly two
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o Maximum modulation rate is twice NRZ

o Requires more bandwidth
Pros
o Synchronization on mid bit transition (self clocking)
o No dc component
o Error detection (Absence of expected transition)

4.2.3 MODULATION RATE

Difference between data rate (expressed in bits per second) and
modulation rate (expressed in baud).
The data rate, or bit rate, is 1/Tb, where Tb = bit duration.
The modulation rate is the rate at which signal elements are generated.
Consider, for example, Manchester encoding. The minimum size signal
element is a pulse of one-half the duration of a bit interval. For a string
of all binary 0s or all binary 1s, a continuous stream of such pulses is
generated. Hence, the maximum modulation rate for Manchester is
2/Tb. This situation is illustrated in Figure 4.10, which shows the
transmission of a stream of binary 1s at a data rate of 1 Mbps using
NRZI and Manchester. In general,

where
D = modulation rate, baud
R = data rate, bps
M = number of different signal elements = 2L
L = number of bits per signal element

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Figure 4.10: A Stream of Binary 1s at 1 Mbps

Figure 4.11: Theoretical Bit Error Rate for Various Encoding Schemes

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4.2.4 SCRAMBLING
Use scrambling to replace sequences that would produce constant
voltage
Filling sequence
o Must produce enough transitions to sync
o Must be recognized by receiver and replace with original
o Same length as original
No dc component
No long sequences of zero level line signal
No reduction in data rate
Error detection capability

4.5.1 B8ZS
Bipolar With 8 Zeros Substitution
Based on bipolar-AMI
If octet of all zeros and last voltage pulse preceding was positive
encode as 000+-0-+
If octet of all zeros and last voltage pulse preceding was negative
encode as 000-+0+-
Causes two violations of AMI code
Unlikely to occur as a result of noise
Receiver detects and interprets as octet of all zeros

4.5.2 HDB3
High Density Bipolar 3 Zeros
Based on bipolar-AMI
String of four zeros replaced with one or two pulses

Polarity of the Number of bipolar pulses (ones)

preceding pulse since last substitution
Odd even
- ve 000- +00+
+ ve 000+ -00 -

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Figure 4.11: Encoding Rules for B8ZS and HDB3

Encoding Schemes (Example)

Figure below shows different encoding schemes They include:
• Nonreturn to Zero-Level (NRZ-L)
• Nonreturn to Zero Inverted (NRZI)
• Bipolar -AMI
• Pseudoternary
• Manchester
• Differential Manchester
• B8ZS
• HDB3

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4.2.5 SPECTRUM OF ENCODING TECHNIQUES

Figure 4.13: Spectrum of different Encoding Techniques

4.3 DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERSION

4.3.1 INTRODUCTION
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-
frequency range of about 300 to 3400 Hz. It is not at present suitable for
handling digital signals from the subscriber locations (although this is
beginning to change). Thus digital devices are attached to the network
via a modem (modulator-demodulator), which converts digital data to
analog signals, and vice versa.

Figure 4.14: Digital to Analog conversion & vis versa - Modems

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Modulation Techniques
Types of digital-to-analog conversion is summarized in figure below.

DIGITAL DATA, ANALOG SIGNAL

Analog Coding (Digital data analog-signals)
For transmitting digital data, specially for long distances.
In this technique the digital data is converted to analog signals.
This modulation have some advantages, such as:
▪ Higher frequency can give more efficient transmission
▪ Permits frequency division multiplexing (See later)
Main use is public telephone system
▪ has frequency range of 300Hz to 3400Hz
▪ use Modem (modulator-demodulator)
Encoding techniques (Modulation Techniques)
▪ Amplitude shift keying (ASK)
▪ Frequency shift keying (FSK)
▪ Phase shift keying (PSK)
NOTE:
❖ Bit rate is the number of bits per second. Baud rate is the
number of signal elements per second.
❖ In the analog transmission of digital data, the baud rate is
less than or equal to the bit rate.

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Example
An analog signal carries 4 bits per signal element. If 1000 signal
elements are sent per second, find the bit rate.
r = (# of bits per seconds)/ (# of signal Elements per second)
r=N/S
Solution
In this case, r = 4, S = 1000, and N is unknown. We can find the value of N
from
S = N /r → N = S x r = 1000 x 4 = 4000 bps
Example
An analog signal has a bit rate of 8000 bps and a baud rate of 1000 baud.
How many data elements are carried by each signal element? How many
signal elements do we need?
Solution
In this example, S = 1000, N = 8000, and r and L are unknown. We find
first the value of r and then the value of L.
S = N/r -→ r = N/S = 8000/1000 = 8 bits/baud
r = Log2 L → L = 2r = 28 = 256

4.3.2 ASK: AMPLITUDE SHIFT KEYING

Encode 0/1 by different carrier amplitudes usually have one
amplitude zero
susceptible to sudden gain changes
Inefficient
used for up to 1200bps on voice grade lines
very high speeds over optical fiber

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Figure 4.15: ASK

Binary amplitude shift keying

In data communications, we normally use full-duplex links with

communication in both directions. We need to divide the bandwidth into
two with two carrier frequencies, as shown in Figure below. The figure
shows the positions of two carrier frequencies and the bandwidths. The
available bandwidth for each direction is now 50 kHz, which leaves us with
a data rate of 25 kbps in each direction.

Figure 4.16: Bandwidth of full-duplex ASK used in Example above

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4.3.3 FREQUENCY SHIFT KEYING (BFSK & MFSK)

most common is binary FSK (BFSK)
two binary values represented by two different frequencies (near
carrier)
less susceptible to error than ASK
used for up to 1200bps on voice grade lines
high frequency radio even higher frequency on LANs using co-ax

Figure 4.17: Full-Duplex FSK Transmission on a Voice-Grade Line

MULTIPLE FSK - MFSK

Each signalling element represents more than one bit
More than two frequencies used
More bandwidth efficient
More prone to error
See Text book for Equations, Frequency allocations & Examples

where
fi = fc + (2i - 1 – M) fd
fd = the difference frequency
fc = the carrier frequency

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L = number of bits per signal element

M = number of different signal elements = 2L
Example 1:
With fc = 250 kHz, fd = 25 kHz, and M = 8 ( = 3 bits2), we have the
following frequency assignments for each of the eight possible 3-bit data
combinations:
f1 = 75 kHz 000 f2 = 125 kHz 001
f3 = 175 kHz 010 f4 = 225 kHz 011
f5 = 275 kHz 100 f6 = 325 kHz 101
f7 = 375 kHz 110 f8 = 425 kHz 111
This scheme can support a data rate of 1/T = 2Lfd = 150 kbps.

Example 2:
Figure 4.19 shows an example of MFSK with M = 4. An input bit stream of
20 bits is encoded 2 bits at a time, with each of the four possible 2-bit
combinations transmitted as a different frequency. The display in the figure
shows the frequency transmitted (y-axis) as a function of time (x-axis). Each
column represents a time unit Ts in which a single 2-bit signal element is
transmitted. The shaded rectangle in the column indicates the frequency
transmitted during that time unit.

Figure 4.18: MFSK Frequency Use (M = 4)

Example 3:
It is required to send data 3 bits at a time at a bit rate of 3 Mbps. The carrier
frequency is 10 MHz. Calculate the number of levels (different frequencies),
the baud rate, and the bandwidth.

Solution
We can have L = 23 = 8. The baud rate is S = 3 MHz/3 = 1000 Kbaud =
1 Mbaud. This means that the carrier frequencies must be 1 MHz apart
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(2Δf = 1 MHz). The bandwidth is B = 8 × 1 MHz = 8 MHz. Figure 5.8

shows the allocation of frequencies and bandwidth.

4.3.4 PHASE SHIFT KEYING

In phase shift keying, the phase of the carrier is varied to represent two or
more different signal elements. Both peak amplitude and frequency remain
constant as the phase changes. Today, PSK is more common than ASK or
FSK. However, we will see shortly that QAM, which combines ASK and
PSK, is the dominant method of digital-to-analog modulation.
▪ Phase of carrier signal is shifted to represent data
▪ Binary PSK
o two phases represent two binary digits
▪ Differential PSK
o phase shifted relative to previous transmission rather than some
reference signal

A) BINARY PSK – BPSK

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Figure 4.19: BPSf & DPSK

B) QUADRATURE PSK - QPSK

More efficient use if each signal element represents more than one bit, eg.
shifts of /2 (90o). Each element represents two bits. Split input data stream
in two & modulate onto carrier & phase shifted
carrier

Example
Find the bandwidth for a signal transmitting at 12 Mbps for QPSK. The
value of d = 0.
Solution
• For QPSK, 2 bits is carried by one signal element. This means that r
= 2.
• So the signal rate (baud rate) is S = N × (1/r) = 6 Mbaud.
• With a value of d = 0, we have B = S = 6 MHz.

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4.3.4 CONCEPT OF A CONSTELLATION DIAGRAM

Example
Show the constellation diagrams for an ASK (OOK), BPSK, and QPSK
signals.
Solution
Figure below shows the three constellation diagrams.

8-PSK
❖ Shifts of /4 (45o)
❖ Each element represents three bits

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4.3.5 QUADRATURE AMPLITUDE MODULATION

Quadrature amplitude modulation is a combination of ASK and PSK.
The same carrier wave is shifted by 90° and used for ASK modulation of the
lower binary stream. The two modulated signals are then added together and
transmitted. The transmitted signal can be expressed as follows:
S(t) = d1(t) cos 2 fct + d2(t) sin 2 fct
QAM used on asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) and some
wireless
combination of ASK and PSK & logical extension of QPSK
send two different signals simultaneously on same carrier frequency
use two copies of carrier, one shifted 90°
each carrier is ASK modulated
two independent signals over same medium
demodulate and combine for original binary output
Combination of phase-shift modulation & amplitude modulation
Each angle can have more than one amplitude
Uses eight phase changes & two amplitudes to create 16 different
signal changes

QAM Variants
Two level ASK
o each of two streams in one of two states
o four state system
o essentially QPSK

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Four level ASK

o combined stream in one of 16 states
o have 64 and 256 state systems
o improved data rate for given bandwidth but increased potential
error rate
Constellation diagrams for some QAMs
Figure below shows the 4 constellation diagrams for QAM.

4.3.6 PERFORMANCE OF DIGITAL TO ANALOG

MODULATION SCHEMES
Bandwidth
o ASK/PSK bandwidth directly relates to bit rate
o Multilevel PSK gives significant improvements
o FSK bandwidth related to data rate for lower frequencies
o At very high frequencies the offset of the modulated frequencies
dominate FSK
In presence of noise:
o bit error rate of PSK and QPSK are about 3dB superior to ASK and
FSK
o for MFSK & MPSK have tradeoff between bandwidth efficiency
and error performance
• Bandwidth of modulated signal (BT)
– MPSK
1+ r 1+ r
BT = R= R
L log 2 M

BT =
(1 + r )M R
– MFSK log 2 M
• L = number of bits encoded per signal element
• M = number of different signal elements
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• Bandwidth efficiency ― The ratio of data rate to transmission

bandwidth (R/BT)
• For MFSK, with the increase of M, the bandwidth efficiency is
decreased.
• For MPSK, with the increase of M, the bandwidth efficiency is
increased.

Tradeoff between bandwidth efficiency and error

performances: an increase in bandwidth efficiency results in an
increase in error probability.

PERFORMANCE: B.W. EFFICIENCY

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For a given signaling scheme, the bit error rate can be reduced by
increasing Eb/No, which can be accomplished by increasing the
bandwidth or decreasing the data rate-in other words, by reducing
bandwidth efficiency.

Figure 4.19: Bit error rate of various digital-to-analog encoding schemes.

B.W. Efficiency: Example
What is the bandwidth efficiency for FSK, ASK, PSK, and QPSK for a bit
error rate of 10-7 on a channel with an SIN of 12 dB?

For PSK, from the same figure we get:

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For FSK and ASK, from above Figure e get :

The result for QPSK must take into account that the baud rate D = R/2.
Thus,

• As the example above shows, ASK and FSK exhibit the same
bandwidth efficiency; PSK is better, and even greater improvement
can be achieved with multilevel signaling.
• It is worthwhile to compare these bandwidth requirements with those
for digital signaling. A good approximation is

where D is the modulation rate. For NRZ, D = R, and we have

Thus, digital signaling is in the same ballpark, in terms of bandwidth

efficiency, as ASK, FSK, and PSK. Significant advantage for analog
signaling is seen with multilevel techniques.

4.4 ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERSION

In this section we examine the process of transforming analog data into
digital signals. Analog data, such as voice and video, is often digitized
to be able to use digital transmission facilities. Strictly speaking, it
might be more correct to refer to this as a process of converting analog

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data into digital data; this process is known as digitization. Once analog
data have been converted into digital data, a number of things can
happen. The three most common are:
1. The digital data can be transmitted using NRZ-L. In this case, we
have in fact gone directly from analog data to a digital signal.
2. The digital data can be encoded as a digital signal using a code other
than NRZ-L. Thus an extra step is required.
3. The digital data can be converted into an analog signal, using one of
the modulation techniques discussed in Section 5.2.
The device used for converting analog data into digital form for
transmission, and subsequently recovering the original analog data from
the digital, is known as a codec (coder-decoder). In this section we
examine the two principal techniques used in codecs, pulse code
modulation and delta modulation.

4.4.1 DIGITIZING ANALOG DATA

Figure 4.20: Digitizing Analog Data

❖ Digitization is conversion of analog data into digital data which
can then:
➢ be transmitted using NRZ-L
➢ be transmitted using code other than NRZ-L
➢ be converted to analog signal
❖ Analog to Digital Conversion (ADC-A/D) done using a CODEC
(Coder-Decoder) [Devices to convert from analog to digital form
& to recover original form]
➢ Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)
➢ Delta Modulation (DM)
Figure 4.20 above illustrates the 3rd alternative, which shows voice
data that are digitized and then converted to an analog ASK signal.
This allows digital transmission in the sense defined before. The voice
data, because they have been digitized, can be treated as digital data,
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even though transmission requirements (eg. use of microwave) dictate

that an analog signal be used.

4.4.2 PULSE CODE MODULATION - PCM

The most common technique to change an analog signal to digital data
(digitization) is called pulse code modulation (PCM). A PCM encoder
has three processes, as shown in Figure 4.21.
PCM involves 3 steps
(1) Sampling
(2) Quantization
(3) Coding

Figure 4.21: PCM Block Diagram

SAMPLING THEOREM:
If a signal f(t) is sampled at regular intervals of time and at a rate
higher than twice the highest signal frequency, then the samples
contain all the information of the original signal. The function f(t)
may be reconstructed from these samples using a lowpass filter.
e.g. 4000Hz voice data, requires 8000 sample per sec
strictly have analog samples: Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM)
• so assign each a digital value

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Figure 4.22: Sampling

process & its
representation Time.

Figure 4.23: Quantization of a PAM signal

Figure 4.24: The 3 steps of digitization of a signal: sampling of the

signal, quantization of the amplitude, and binary encoding.

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Figures 4.22 & 4.23 show the sampling & Quantization Process. Figure
4.24 shows the three steps involved in the digitization process,
Example PCM a signal

QUANTIZATION ERROR & ITS EFFECT

➢ The difference between the original signal level & the Quantized
level is known as quantizing error or quantizing noise.
➢ It is function of # of quantization levels (i.e: # of bits)
➢ The signal-to-noise ratio for quantizing noise can be expressed as

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➢ Each additional bit used for quantizing increases SIN by 6 dB, which
is a factor of 4.

Example of a PAM & PCM showing the function of the Quantizer

PCM Example-2
Next Figure shows an example in which:
➢ The original signal is assumed to be bandlimited with a bandwidth of
B.
➢ PAM samples are taken at a rate of 2B, or once every Ts = (1/2B)
seconds.
➢ Each PAM sample is approximated by being quantized into one of 16
different levels. Each sample can then be represented by 4 bits.
➢ But because the quantized values are only approximations, it is
impossible to recover the original signal exactly.
➢ By using an 8-bit sample, which allows 256 quantizing levels, the
quality of the recovered voice signal is comparable with that achieved
via analog transmission.
➢ Note that this implies that a data rate of 8000 samples per second 8
bits per sample = 64 kbps is needed for a single voice signal.

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PCM Example-3
➢ By using an 8-bit sample, which allows 256 quantizing levels, the
quality of the recovered voice signal is comparable with that achieved
via analog transmission.
➢ Note that this implies that a data rate of 8000 samples per second 8
bits per sample = 64 kbps is needed for a single voice signal.

S/N = 6*8+1.8 = 49.8 dB

Quantization characteristics (Linear & Non-Linear)

TYPICAL COMPRESSION & EXPANSION (COMPANDER)

CHARACTERISTICS

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Non-Linear Coding

Typically, the PCM scheme is refined using a technique known as

nonlinear encoding, which means, in effect, that the quantization levels
are not equally spaced. The problem with equal spacing is that the mean
absolute error for each sample is the same, regardless of signal level.
Consequently, lower amplitude values are relatively more distorted. By
using a greater number of quantizing steps for signals of low amplitude,
and a smaller number of quantizing steps for signals of large amplitude, a
marked reduction in overall signal distortion is achieved, as shown in
Figure above.
Nonlinear encoding can significantly improve the PCM SNR ratio.
For voice signals, improvements of 24 to 30 dB have been achieved.
Companding
The same effect can be achieved by using uniform quantizing but
companding (compressing-expanding) the input analog signal.
Companding is a process that compresses the intensity range of a signal
by imparting more gain to weak signals than to strong signals on input.
At output, the reverse operation is performed. Next figure shows typical
Companding functions. Note that the effect on the input side is to
compress the sample so that the higher values are reduced with respect to
the lower values. Thus, with a fixed number of quantizing levels, more
levels are available for lower-level signals. On the output side, the

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compander expands the samples so the compressed values are restored to

their original values.

❖ The same effect can be achieved by using uniform quantizing but

companding (compressing-expanding) the input analog signal.
❖ Companding is a process that compresses the intensity range of a
signal by imparting more gain to weak signals than to strong signals
on input.
❖ At output, the reverse operation is performed.
❖ Figure given above, shows typical companding functions. Note that
the effect on the input side is to compress the sample so that the
higher values are reduced with respect to the lower values.

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❖ Thus, with a fixed number of quantizing levels, more levels are

available for lower-level signals. On the output side, the compander
expands the samples so the compressed values are restored to their
original values.

Example: Binary coding

4.4.3 DELTA MODULATION

➢ analog input is approximated by a staircase function
• can move up or down one level ( ) at each sample interval
➢ has binary behavior

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• since function only moves up or down at each sample interval

• hence can encode each sample as single bit
• 1 for up or 0 for down

Delta Modulation Example

Figure above shows an example where the staircase function is overlaid on

the original analog waveform. A 1 is generated if the staircase function is to
go up during the next interval; a 0 is generated otherwise. The transition (up
or down) that occurs at each sampling interval is chosen so that the staircase
function tracks the original analog waveform as closely as possible.
There are two important parameters in a DM scheme: the size of the step
assigned to each binary digit, , and the sampling rate. As the above figure
illustrates, must be chosen to produce a balance between two types of
errors or noise. When the analog waveform is changing very slowly, there
will be quantizing noise. This noise increases as is increased. On the other
hand, when the analog waveform is changing more rapidly than the staircase
can follow, there is slope overload noise. This noise increases as is
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decreased. It should be clear that the accuracy of the scheme can be improved
by increasing the sampling rate. However, this increases the data rate of the
output signal.
Delta Modulation Operation
(a) Transmission

Figure above illustrates the logic of the process, which is essentially a

feedback mechanism. For transmission, the following occurs: At each
sampling time, the analog input is compared to the most recent value of the
approximating staircase function. If the value of the sampled waveform
exceeds that of the staircase function, a 1 is generated; otherwise, a 0 is
generated. Thus, the staircase is always changed in the direction of the input
signal. The output of the DM process is therefore a binary sequence that can
be used at the receiver to reconstruct the staircase function. The staircase
function can then be smoothed by some type of integration process or by
passing it through a lowpass filter to produce an analog approximation of the
analog input signal.
(b) Reception

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Figure below illustrates the logic of the process, which is essentially a

feedback mechanism. For transmission, the following occurs: At each
sampling time, the analog input is compared to the most recent value of the
approximating staircase function. If the value of the sampled waveform
exceeds that of the staircase function, a 1 is generated; otherwise, a 0 is
generated. Thus, the staircase is always changed in the direction of the input
signal. The output of the DM process is therefore a binary sequence that can
be used at the receiver to reconstruct the staircase function. The staircase
function can then be smoothed by some type of integration process or by
passing it through a lowpass filter to produce an analog approximation of the
analog input signal.

PCM verses Delta Modulation

DM has simplicity compared to PCM
but has worse SNR
issue of bandwidth used
◦ eg. for good voice reproduction with PCM
want 128 levels (7 bit) & voice bandwidth 4khz

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need 8000 x 7 = 56kbps

data compression can improve on this
still growing demand for digital signals
◦ use of repeaters, TDM, efficient switching
PCM preferred to DM for analog signals

4.5 ANALOG-TO-ANALOG CONVERSION

ANALOG DATA, ANALOG SIGNAL (Self-Study)

modulate carrier frequency with analog data
why modulate analog signals?
◦ higher frequency can give more efficient transmission
◦ permits frequency division multiplexing (chapter 8)
types of modulation
◦ Amplitude
◦ Frequency
◦ Phase

❖ Analog data can be modulated by a carrier frequency to produce an

analog signal in a different frequency band, which can be utilized on
an analog transmission system. The basic techniques are amplitude
modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), and phase modulation
(PM).
❖ Modulation has been defined as the process of combining an input
signal m(t) and a carrier at frequency fc to produce a signal s(t)
whose bandwidth is (usually) centered on fc. For digital data, the
motivation for modulation should be clear: When only analog
transmission facilities are available, modulation is required to convert
the digital data to analog form. The motivation when the data are
already analog is less clear. After all, voice signals are transmitted
over telephone lines at their original spectrum (referred to as
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baseband transmission). There are two principal reasons for analog

modulation of analog signals:
• A higher frequency may be needed for effective transmission,
since for unguided transmission, it is virtually impossible to
transmit baseband signals;
• Modulation permits frequency division multiplexing, an
important technique explored in last chapter.

4.6 REVIEW EXAMPLES & QUESTIONS

Example-1
What is the SNRdB due to quantization if 8 quantization levels are
used?
Solution
We can use the formula to find the quantization. We have eight levels
and 3 bits per sample, so
SNRdB = 6.02(3) + 1.76 = 19.82 dB
Increasing the number of levels increases the SNR.

Example-2
A telephone subscriber line must have an SNR above 40dB. What is
the minimum number of bits per sample?
Solution
We can calculate the number of bits as
SNR dB = 6.02 n + 1.76 = 40 − n = 6.35
Telephone companies usually assign 7 or 8 bits per sample.

Example-3
We want to digitize the human voice. What is the bit rate, assuming 8
bits per sample?
Solution

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The human voice normally contains frequencies from 0 to 4000 Hz. So

the sampling rate and bit rate are calculated as follows:
Sampling rate = 4000 x 2 = 8000 sample/s
Bit Rate = 8000 x 0 = 64000 bps = 64 kbps

Example-4
The process of delta modulation

Review Questions & Answers

(1) Why do you need encoding of data before sending over a medium?
Ans: Suitable encoding of data is required in order to transmit signal
with minimum attenuation and optimize the use of transmission media
in terms of data rate and error rate.
(2) What are the four possible encoding techniques? Give examples.
Ans: The four possible encoding techniques are
a) Digital Data to Digital Signal; Example - Transmitter
b) Analog Data to Digital Signal; Example - Codec (Coder-Decoder)
c) Digital Data to Analog Signal; Example - Modem
d) Analog Data to Digital Signal; Example - Telephone
(3) Between RZ and NRZ encoding techniques, which requires higher
bandwidth and why?
Ans: RZ encoding requires more bandwidth, as it requires two signal
changes to encode one bit.
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(4) How does Manchester encoding differ from differential

Manchester encoding?
Ans: In the Manchester encoding, a low-to-high transition represents
a 1, and a high-to- low transition represents a 0. There is a transition
at the middle of each bit period, which serves the purpose of
synchronization and encoding of data.
In Differential Manchester, the encoding of a 0 is represented by the
presence of a transition at the beginning of a bit period, and a 1 is
represented by the absence of a transition at the beginning of a bit
period. In this case, the mid-bit transition is only used for
synchronization.
(5) How Manchester encoding helps in achieving better
synchronization?
Ans: In Manchester encoding, there is a transition in the middle of
each bit period and the receiver can synchronize on that transition.
Hence better synchronization is achieved.
(6) Why B8ZS coding is preferred over Manchester encoding for
long distance communication?
Ans: The B8ZS encoding is preferred over Manchester
encoding, because B8ZS encoding requires lesser bandwidth than
Manchester encoding.
(7) Why is it necessary to limit the band of a signal before performing
sampling?
Ans: It is necessary to limit the bandwidth of a signal before sampling
so that the basic requirement of sampling theorem, i.e. the sampling
rate should twice or more than twice the maximum frequency
component of the signal, is satisfied. This is known as Nyquist rate.
If it is violated, original signal cannot be recovered from the sampled
signal.
(8) Distinguish between PAM and PCM signals?
Ans: In order to convert Analog data to Digital signal, initially
sampling is done on the analog data by using Sample & Hold (S/H)
circuit. The output of the S/H circuit is known as PAM (Pulse
Amplitude Modulated) signal. The PAM signal is then converted to
PCM (Pulse Code Modulated) data by using a Analog-to-Digital (A/D)

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converter circuit. This digital data (PCM) is passed through an encoder

to generate PCM signal.
(9) What is quantization error? How can it be reduced?
Ans: To convert analog signal to digital signal, the analog signal is
first sampled and each of these analog samples must be assigned a
binary code. In other words, each sample is approximated by being
quantized into some binary codes. As the quantized values are only
approximations, it is impossible to recover the original signal exactly.
Error due to this quantization is known as quantization error.
Quantization error can be minimized by using non-linear encoding.
(10) Explain how and in what situation DPCM performs better than
PCM
Ans: DPCM performs better when the input is slowly changing, as
in case of a voice signal.
Problems
P1. Assume a stream of ten 1’s. Encode the stream using the following
schemes:
NRZ-I, AMI, Manchester, Differential Manchester.
How many transitions (vertical lines) are there for each scheme.
P2. Consider a stream of binary data consisting of a long sequence of 1s,
followed by a zero, followed by a long sequence of 1s. Preceding bit
and level is indicated within parentheses. Draw the waveforms for
NRZI (high), AMI (1 as negative voltage), and pseudo-ternary (0 as
negative voltage).
P4. The AMI waveform representing a sequence 0100101011 is
transmitted over a noisy channel. The received waveform with a
single error is shown in the following page. Locate the error with
justification.

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CHAPTER 5
ERROR DETECTION
5.1: TRANSMISSION MODES
The transmission of binary data across a link can be accomplished in
either parallel or serial mode. In parallel mode, multiple bits are sent with
each clock tick. In serial mode, 1 bit is sent with each clock tick. While
there is only one way to send parallel data, there are three subclasses of
serial transmission: asynchronous, synchronous, and isochronous.

Figure 5.1: Data transmission and modes

The main differences between Parallel Transmission & Serial
Transmission has been explained in details in section 2.1. Here, we
explain the serial transmission mode in details.
Asynchronous and Synchronous Transmission
• Timing problems require a mechanism to synchronize the transmitter
and receiver
• Two solutions
o Asynchronous
o Synchronous
(a) Asynchronous Transmission
❖ In asynchronous transmission, we send 1 start bit (0) at the beginning
and 1 or more stop bits (1s) at the end of each byte. There may be a
gap between each byte.
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❖ Asynchronous here means “asynchronous at the byte level,” but the

bits are still synchronized;
their durations are the same.

Figure 5.2: Asynchronous transmission

• Data transmitted on character at a time
o 5 to 8 bits
• Timing only needs maintaining within each character
• Resynchronize with each character
Asynchronous - Behavior
• In a steady stream, interval between characters is uniform (length of
stop element)
• In idle state, receiver looks for transition 1 to 0
• Then samples next seven intervals (char length)
• Then looks for next 1 to 0 for next char
Advantages
• Simple
• Cheap
• Overhead of 2 or 3 bits per char (~20%)
• Good for data with large gaps (keyboard)
(b) Synchronous Transmission
In synchronous transmission, we send bits one after another without start
or stop bits or gaps. It is the responsibility of the receiver to group the
bits.

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Figure 5.3: Synchronous transmission

Synchronous - Bit Level
• Block of data transmitted without start or stop bits
• Clocks must be synchronized
• Can use separate clock line
o Good over short distances
o Subject to impairments
• Embed clock signal in data
o Manchester encoding
o Carrier frequency (analog)
Synchronous - Block Level
• Need to indicate start and end of block
• Use preamble and postamble
o e.g. series of SYN (hex 16) characters
o e.g. block of 11111111 patterns ending in 11111110
• More efficient (lower overhead) than async

5.2: DATA ERRORS

➢ Data can be corrupted during transmission.
➢ Some applications require that errors be detected and corrected.
➢ Let us first discuss some issues related, directly or indirectly, to error
detection and correction.
5.2.1 Type of Errors
An error occurs when a bit is altered between transmission and
reception

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(1) Single-bit error

In a single-bit error, only 1 bit in the data unit has changed.
• One bit altered
• Adjacent bits not affected
• White noise

Figure 5.4: Single-bit error

(2) Burst error

A group of bits in which two successive erroneous bits are always
separated by less than a given number x of correct bits. The last erroneous
bit in the burst and the first erroneous bit in the following burst are
accordingly separated by x correct bits or more.
Burst error of length 8

Figure 5.5: Burst error

• Length B
• Contiguous sequence of B bits in which first last and any
number of intermediate bits in error
• Impulse noise
• Fading in wireless

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• Effect greater at higher data rates (Note that the effects of burst
errors are greater at higher data rates.)

Figure 5.6: Burst & Single bit errors

Probability of error calculation
Assume that data are transmitted as one or more contiguous sequences of
bits, called frames. We define these probabilities with respect to errors in
transmitted frames:
Pb: Probability that a bit is received in error; also known as the bit error
rate (BER)
P1: Probability that a frame arrives with no bit errors
P2: Probability that, with an error-detecting algorithm in use, a frame
arrives with one or more undetected errors
P3: Probability that, with an error-detecting algorithm in use, a frame
arrives with one or more detected bit errors but no undetected bit errors
First consider the case in which no means are taken to detect errors. Then
the probability of detected errors (P3) is zero. To express the remaining
probabilities, assume the probability that any bit is in error (Pb) is constant
and independent for each bit. Then we have

where F is the number of bits per frame.

o In words, the probability that a frame arrives with no bit errors
decreases when the probability of a single bit error increases
o Also, the probability that a frame arrives with no bit errors decreases
with increasing frame length; the longer the frame, the more bits it
has and the higher the probability that one of these is in error.

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Example 5.1
o A defined objective for ISDN (integrated services digital network)
connections is that the BER on a 64-kbps channel should be less than
10-6 on at least 90% of observed 1-minute intervals.
o Suppose now that we have the rather modest user requirement that on
average one frame with an undetected bit error should occur per day
on a continuously used 64-kbps channel, and let us assume a frame
length of 1000 bits.
o The number of frames that can be transmitted in a day comes out to
5.529 * 106, which yields a desired frame error rate of P2 = 1/(5.529 *
106) = 0.18 * 10-6. But if we assume a value of Pb of 10-6, then P1 =
(0.999999)1000 = 0.999 and therefore P2 = 10-3, which is about three
orders of magnitude too large to meet our requirement.

5.3 ERROR DETECTION

Error Detection Process

Figure 5.7: Error Detection Process

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Figure 5.7 shows in general how the process of error detection is done. On
the transmission end, each k-bit block of data is mapped into an n-bit block
(n > k) called a codeword, using an FEC (forward error correction)
encoder. The codeword is then transmitted. During transmission, the signal
is subject to impairments, which may produce bit errors in the signal. At
the receiver, the incoming signal is demodulated to produce a bit string that
is similar to the original codeword but may contain errors. This block is
passed through an FEC decoder, with one of four possible outcomes:

5.3.1 PARITY CHECKING

❖ To detect or correct errors, we need to send extra (redundant) bits
with data.
❖ Additional bits added by transmitter for error detection code
❖ Parity Check (Parity bit)
❖ Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC- Checksum)

5.3.2 PARITY CHECK

1-D Parity

Single bit parity only detect a single bit error

Even (odd) parity
▪ Append parity bit to 7 bits of data to make an
even number of 1’s
▪ Odd parity accordingly defined.
o 1 in 8 bits of overhead?
o Can detect a single error
o But nothing beyond that

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2-D Parity
• Make each byte even parity
• Finally, a parity byte for all bytes of the packet
• Example: five 7-bit character packet, even parity

Effectiveness of 2-D Parity

• 1-bit errors can be detected
• Example with even parity per byte:

• 2-bit errors can also be detected

• Example:

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Figure 5.8 : 2-D Parity Even Parity Check Scheme

• What about 3-bit errors? >3-bit errors?

5.3.3 THE INTERNET CHECKSUM

The Internet checksum is an error-detecting code used in many Internet
standard protocols, including IP, TCP, and UDP. The calculation makes
use of the ones-complement operation and ones-complement addition. To
perform the ones-complement operation on a set of binary digits, replace 0
digits with 1 digits and 1 digits with 0 digits. The ones-complement
addition of two binary integers of equal bit length is performed as follows:
1. The two numbers are treated as unsigned binary integers and added.
2. If there is a carry out of the leftmost bit, add 1 to the sum. This is
called an end-around carry.

Let's say we have two segments/messages that need to be sent. We need

to calculate the sum then the checksum of the two messages.
Here are some rules to follow:
1+1 = 10 , 0+0 = 0
1+0 = 1

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CARRY+0+0 = CARRY

CARRY+0+1 = CARRY+0
CARRY+1+1 = CARRY+1

10101001
00111001
------------
11100010

• Typically, the checksum is included as a field in the header of a

protocol data unit, such as in IP datagram.
• To compute the checksum, the checksum field is first set to all zeros.
• The checksum is then calculated by performing the ones-complement
addition of all the words in the header, and then taking the ones-
complement operation of the result. This result is placed in the
checksum field.
• To verify a checksum, the ones-complement sum is computed over
the same set of octets, including the checksum field. If the result is
all 1 bits (-0 in ones-complement arithmetic), the check succeeds.
• Example 5.2
• Consider a header that consists of 10 octets, with the checksum in the
last two octets (this does not correspond to any actual header format)
with the following content (in hexadecimal):
00 01 F2 03 F4 F5 F6 F7 00 00
• Note that the checksum field is set to zero.
• Figure 5.9a shows the results of the calculation. Thus, the transmitted
packet is 00 01 F2 03 F4 F5 F6 F7 0D.
• Figure 5.9b shows the calculation carried out by the receiver on the
entire data block, including the checksum.
• The result is a value of all ones, which verifies that no errors have
been detected.

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Figure 5.9 Example of Internet Checksum

5.3.4 CYCLIC REDUNDANCY CHECK (CRC)

Referring to Figure 5.7:
• For a block of k bits transmitter generates n bit sequence
• Transmit k+n bits which is exactly divisible by some number (The
Generator Polynomial)
• Receive divides frame by that number
o If no remainder, assume no error
❖ Polynomial and Divisor

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❖ Standard Polynomials
2 properties
• Should not divisible by x
• Should be divisible by (x+1)

• Modulo 2 Arithmetic
o Modulo 2 arithmetic uses binary addition with no carries,
which is just the exclusive or (XOR) operation. For example:

➢ Checksum computation is done in hardware using simple circuits

• Example: Frame: 110 1011011,Gen: 10011
• CRC-16, generates 16-bit checksum
• X16 + X15 + X2 + 1 is commonly used for 8-bit Chars
➢ Commonly used codes that have good error detection properties
• Can catch many error combinations with a small number or
redundant bits
• Based on division of polynomials
• Errors can be viewed as adding terms to the polynomial
• Should be unlikely that the division will still work
• Examples:
• CRC-32: Ethernet
• CRC-8, CRC-10, CRC-32: ATM

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➢ Division in CRC encoder

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Example 5.3:

It has been shown that all of the following errors are not divisible by a
suitably chosen P(X) and, hence, are detectable:
➢ All single-bit errors.
➢ All double-bit errors, as long as P(X) has at least three Is.
➢ Any odd number of errors, as long as P(X) contains a factor (X + 1).
➢ Any burst error for which the length of the burst is less than the
length of the divisor polynomial; that is, less than or equal to the
length of the FCS.
➢ Most larger burst errors.

5.5: ERROR CORRECTION (SELF STUDY- REFEREE TO

TEXTBOOK)

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CHAPTER 6
MULTIPLEXING
6.1: INTRODUCTION
Whenever the bandwidth of a medium linking two devices is greater than
the bandwidth needs of the devices, the link can be shared. 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.

Figure 6.1: Principle of Multiplexing

Figure 6.1 depicts the multiplexing function in its simplest form. There
are n inputs to a multiplexer (MUX). The multiplexer is connected by a
single data link to a demultiplexer. 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 (DEMUX) accepts the multiplexed data stream, separates
(demultiplexes) the data according to channel, and delivers data to the
appropriate output lines.
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To make efficient use of high-speed telecommunications lines, some form

of multiplexing is used. Multiplexing allows several transmission sources
to share a larger transmission capacity. A common application of
multiplexing is in long-haul communications. Common forms of
multiplexing are frequency division multiplexing (FDM), time division
multiplexing (TDM), and statistical TDM (STDM).

Categories of multiplexing

6.2 FREQUENCY DIVISION MULTIPLEXING (FDM)

Frequency division multiplexing can be used with analog signals. A
number of signals are carried simultaneously on the same medium by
allocating to each signal a different frequency band. FDM is possible
when the useful bandwidth of the transmission medium exceeds the
required bandwidth of signals to be transmitted. A number of signals can
be carried simultaneously if each signal is modulated onto a different
carrier frequency and the carrier frequencies are sufficiently separated
that the bandwidths of the signals do not significantly overlap.
To prevent interference, the channels are separated by guard bands,
which are unused portions of the spectrum. The composite signal
transmitted across the medium is analog.

FDM is an analog multiplexing technique that combines analog signals.

• Useful bandwidth of medium exceeds required bandwidth of channel
• Each signal is modulated to a different carrier frequency
• Carrier frequencies separated so signals do not overlap (guard bands)
• Channel allocated even if no data

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FDM process

Figure 6.2: a) FDM -Multiplexing

FDM demultiplexing

b) FDM -Demultiplexing
Figure 6.2: FDM -Multiplexing Processes

FDM EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE 6.1
Let us consider a simple example of transmitting three voice
signals simultaneously over a medium. As was mentioned, the bandwidth
of a voice signal is generally taken to be 4 kHz, with an effective
spectrum of 300 to 3400 Hz (Figure 6.3a). If such a signal is used to
amplitude-modulate a 64-kHz carrier, the spectrum of Figure 6.3b results.
The modulated signal has a bandwidth of 8 kHz, extending from 60 to 68
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kHz. To make efficient use of bandwidth, we elect to transmit only the

lower sideband. If three voice signals are used to modulate carriers at 64,
68, and 72 kHz, and only the lower sideband of each is taken, the
spectrum of Figure 8.5c results.

Figure 6.3: FDM of 3 Voiceband Signals

Example 6.2:
Assume that a voice channel occupies a bandwidth of 4 kHz. We need to
combine three voice channels into a link with a bandwidth of 12 kHz,
from 20 to 32 kHz. Show the configuration, using the frequency domain.
Assume there are no guard bands.
Solution
We shift (modulate) each of the three voice channels to a different
bandwidth, as shown in Figure below. We use the 20- to 24-kHz

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bandwidth for the first channel, the 24- to 28-kHz bandwidth for the
second channel, and the 28- to 32-kHz bandwidth for the third one. Then
we combine them as shown in next Figure.
Example 6.3:
Five channels, each with a 100-kHz bandwidth, are to be multiplexed
together. What is the minimum bandwidth of the link if there is a need for
a guard band of 10 kHz between the channels to prevent interference?

FDM of example 6.2.

Solution
For five channels, we need at least four guard bands. This means that the
required bandwidth is at least
Total Bandwidth Required = 5 × 100 + 4 × 10 = 540 kHz,
as shown in Next Figure.

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FDM Spectrum of Example 6.2

Example 6.4:
Four data channels (digital), each transmitting at 1 Mbps, use a satellite
channel of 1 MHz. Design an appropriate configuration, using FDM.
Solution
The satellite channel is analog. We divide it into four channels, each
channel having a 250-kHz bandwidth. Each digital channel of 1 Mbps is
modulated such that each 4 bits is modulated to 1 Hz. One solution is 16-
QAM modulation. Figure below shows one possible configuration.

ANALOG HIERARCHY

Figure 6.3: Analogy FDM

Table 6.1 North America and International FDM Carrier Standard

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Exercise
(1) The Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) uses two bands. The
first band of 824 to 849 MHz is used for sending, and 869 to 894 MHz
is used for receiving. Each user has a bandwidth of 30 kHz in each
direction. How many people can use their cellular phones
simultaneously?
(2) Given the following information, find the maximum bandwidth for
each signal source.
o FDM multiplexing
o Total available BW is 7900 Hz
o Three signal sources
o A 200-Hz guard band between each pair of source.

6.3 TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING

TDM is a digital multiplexing technique for combining several low-rate
channels into one high-rate one.
The signals carry digital data and are generally digital signals. The
incoming data from each source are briefly buffered. Each buffer is
typically one bit or one character in length.
The data are organized into frames. Each frame contains a cycle of time
slots. In each frame, one or more slots are dedicated to each data source.
The sequence of slots dedicated to one source, from frame to frame, is

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called a channel. The slot length equals the transmitter buffer length,
typically a bit or a byte (character).
At the receiver, the interleaved data are demultiplexed and routed to the
appropriate destination buffer. For each input source mi(t), there is an
identical output destination that will receive the output data at the same
rate at which it was generated.

Figure 6.4: Illustration of TDM

6.3.1 SYNCHRONOUS TIME-DIVISION MULTIPLEXING (STDM)

• In synchronous TDM, the data rate of the link is n times faster, and
the unit duration is n times shorter.
• Data rate of medium exceeds data rate of digital signal to be
transmitted
• Multiple digital signals interleaved in time

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• May be at bit level of blocks

• Time slots preassigned to sources and fixed
• Time slots allocated even if no data
• Time slots do not have to be evenly distributed amongst sources

Example 6.5: Principle of STDM

STDM Operation

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Example 6.6: Operation of STDM (Tx & Rx)

Example 6.5
In Figure 6.5, above, the data rate for each input connection is 1 kbps (3
Kbps all) . If 1 bit at a time is multiplexed (a unit is 1 bit), what is the
duration of (a) each input slot, (b) each output slot, and (c) each frame?
Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
a. The data rate of each input connection is 1 kbps. This means that the bit
duration is 1/1000 s or 1 ms. The duration of the input time slot is 1 ms
(same as bit duration).
b. The duration of each output time slot is one-third of the input time slot.
This means that the duration of the output time slot is 1/3 ms.
c. Each frame carries three output time slots. So the duration of a frame is
3 × 1/3 ms, or 1 ms. The duration of a frame is the same as the duration
of an input unit.

Example 6.6:

Figure Above shows synchronous TDM with a data stream for each input
and one data stream for the output. The unit of data is 1 bit. Find (a) the
input bit duration, (b) the output bit duration, (c) the output bit rate, and
(d) the output frame rate.
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Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
a. The input bit duration is the inverse of the bit rate:
1/1 Mbps = 1 μs.
b. The output bit duration is one-fourth of the input bit duration, or ¼ μs.
c. The output bit rate is the inverse of the output bit duration or 1/(4μs) or
4 Mbps. This can also be deduced from the fact that the output rate is 4
times as fast as any input rate; so the output rate = 4 × 1 Mbps = 4
Mbps.
d. The frame rate is always the same as any input rate. So the frame rate is
1,000,000 frames per second. Because we are sending 4 bits in each
frame, we can verify the result of the previous question by multiplying
the frame rate by the number of bits per frame.

Example 6.7
Four 1-kbps connections are multiplexed together. A unit is 1 bit. Find (a)
the duration of 1 bit before multiplexing, (b) the transmission rate of the
link, (c) the duration of a time slot, and (d) the duration of a frame.
Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
a. The duration of 1 bit before multiplexing is 1 / 1 kbps, or 0.001 s (1 ms).
b. The rate of the link is 4 times the rate of a connection, or 4 kbps.
c. The duration of each time slot is one-fourth of the duration of each bit
before multiplexing, or 1/4 ms or 250 μs. Note that we can also
calculate this from the data rate of the link, 4 kbps. The bit duration is
the inverse of the data rate, or 1/4 kbps or 250 μs.
d. The duration of a frame is always the same as the duration of a unit
before multiplexing, or 1 ms. We can also calculate this in another way.
Each frame in this case has four time slots. So the duration of a frame is
4 times 250 μs, or 1 ms.

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6.3.2 INTERLEAVING

Figure 6.7: Interleaving Example of STDM

Example 6.8:
Four channels are multiplexed using TDM. If each channel sends 100
bytes /s and we multiplex 1 byte per channel, (a)show the frame traveling
on the link, (b)the size of the frame, the duration of a frame, (c)the frame
rate, and (d)the bit rate for the link.
Solution
(a) The multiplexer is shown in Figure below.

(b)Each frame carries 1 byte from each channel; the size of each frame,
therefore, is 4 bytes, or 32 bits.
(c)Because each channel is sending 100 bytes/s and a frame carries 1
byte from each channel, the frame rate must be 100 frames per second.
(d)The bit rate is 100 × 32, or 3200 bps.
Example 6.9
A multiplexer combines four 100-kbps channels using a time slot of 2
bits. (a)Show the output with four arbitrary inputs. (b)What is the frame
rate? (c)What is the frame duration? (d)What is the bit rate? (e)What is
the bit duration?
Solution
(a) Figure below shows the output for four arbitrary inputs.

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(b)The link carries 50,000 frames per second (frame rate).

(c) The frame duration is therefore 1/50,000 s or 20 μs.
(d)The frame rate is 50,000 frames per second, and each frame carries 8
bits; the bit rate is 50,000 × 8 = 400,000 bps or 400 kbps.
(e) The bit duration is 1/400,000 s, or 2.5 μs.

6.3.3 EMPTY SLOTS

Multilevel Multiplexing

Multiple-slot Multiplexing

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6.3.4 PULSE STUFFING

Framing Bits

Example 6.10
We have four sources, each creating 250 characters per second. If the
interleaved unit is a character and 1 synchronizing bit is added to each
frame, find (a) the data rate of each source, (b) the duration of each
character in each source, (c) the frame rate, (d) the duration of each frame,
(e) the number of bits in each frame, and (f) the data rate of the link.
Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
a. The data rate of each source is 250 × 8 = 2000 bps = 2 kbps.

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b. Each source sends 250 characters per second; therefore, the duration of
a character is 1/250 s, or 4 ms.
c. Each frame has one character from each source, which means the link
needs to send 250 frames per second to keep the transmission rate of
each source.
d. The duration of each frame is 1/250 s, or 4 ms. Note that the duration of
each frame is the same as the duration of each character coming from
each source.
e. Each frame carries 4 characters and 1 extra synchronizing bit. This
means that each frame is
4 × 8 + 1 = 33 bits.

Example 6.11
Two channels, one with a bit rate of 100 kbps and another with a bit rate
of 200 kbps, are to be multiplexed. How this can be achieved? What is the
frame rate? What is the frame duration? What is the bit rate of the link?
Solution
We can allocate one slot to the first channel and two slots to the second
channel. Each frame carries 3 bits. The frame rate is 100,000 frames per
second because it carries 1 bit from the first channel. The bit rate is
100,000 frames/s × 3 bits per frame, or 300 kbps.

PULSE STUFFING
• Problem - Synchronizing data sources
• Clocks in different sources drifting
• Data rates from different sources not related by simple rational
number
• Solution - Pulse Stuffing
o Outgoing data rate (excluding framing bits) higher than sum of
incoming rates
o Stuff extra dummy bits or pulses into each incoming signal until
it matches local clock
o Stuffed pulses inserted at fixed locations in frame and removed
at demultiplexer

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6.4 STATISTICAL TDM

How can a multiplexing system make better use of a shared medium? One
technique to increase the overall data rate is known as statistical TDM or
statistical multiplexing some literature uses the term asynchronous TDM
The technique is straightforward: select items for transmission in a round-
robin fashion but instead of leaving a slot unfilled, skip any source that
does not have data ready By eliminating unused slots statistical TDM
takes less time to send the same amount of data Figure illustrates how a
statistical TDM system sends the data.
Synchronous TDM vs Statistical TDM

Figure 6.17 TDM slot comparison

6.5 TDM OF ANALOG AND DIGITAL SOURCES

Example 6.18 illustrates the use of synchronous TDM to multiplex

digital and analog sources (Figure 8.8). Consider that there are 11
sources to be multiplexed on a single link: Source 1: Analog, 2-kHz
bandwidth, Source 2: Analog, 4-kHz bandwidth, Source 3: Analog, 2-
kHz bandwidth, Sources 4-11: Digital, 7200 bps synchronous

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As a first step, the analog sources are converted to digital using PCM.
Recall from Chapter 4 that PCM is based on the sampling theorem,
which dictates that a signal be sampled at a rate equal to twice its
bandwidth. Thus, the required sampling rate is 4000 samples per second
for sources 1 and 3, and 8000 samples per second for source 2. These
samples, which are analog (PAM), must then be quantized or digitized.
Let us assume that 4 bits are used for each analog sample. For
convenience, these three sources will be multiplexed first, as a unit. At a
scan rate of 4 kHz, one PAM sample each is taken from sources 1 and 3,
and two PAM samples are taken from source 2 per scan. These four
samples are interleaved and converted to 4-bit PCM samples. Thus, a
total of 16 bits is generated at a rate of 4000 times per second, for a
composite bit rate of 64 kbps. For the digital sources, pulse stuffing is
used to raise each source to a rate of 8 kbps, for an aggregate data rate of
64 kbps. A frame can consist of multiple cycles of 32 bits, each
containing 16 PCM bits and two bits from each of the eight digital
sources.

Figure 6.18: Example of Analog & Digital TDM

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6.6 DIGITAL HIERARCHY

North American Digital Telephone Hierarchy
To take advantage of merits of TDM and digital transmission, the common
carriers employ a hierarchy of multiplexing.

Figure 6.19: North American Digital TDM

Table 6.2 DS and T line rates

T1 Carrier System
T1 carrier systems were designed to combine PCM and TDM Techniques for the
transmission of 24 64Kbps channels with each channel Capable of Carrying
Digitally encoded voice band telephone signals or data. The transmission bit rate
(line speed) for a T1 carrier is 1.544 Mbps.
All 24 DS-0 channels combined has a data rate of 1.544Mbps, this digital signal
level is called DS-1. Therefore T1 lines are referred as DS-1 lines.
T2 Carrier System
T2 carriers time division multiplex 96 64-Kbps voice or data channels into a single
6.312 Mbps data signal for transmission over twisted pair copper wire upto 500
miles over a special metallic cable.
T3 Carrier system

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T3 carriers Time division multiplex 672 64-kbps voice or data channels for
transmission over a single coaxial cable. The transmission rate is 44.736 Mbps.
T4 Carrier System
T4 carriers time division multiplex 4032 64-kbps voice or data channels for
transmitting over a single T4 coaxial cable upto 500 mile. The transmission rate is
very high i.e. 274.16Kbps.
T5 Carrier System
T5 carriers time division multiplex 8064 64Kbps voice or data channels and
transmit them at 560.16Mbps over a single coaxial cable.

EUROPEAN E1 DIGITAL HIERARCHY

Table 6.3 E line rates

The E1 hierarchy is identified in a similar manner as the DS1 hierarchy. E1

(30 voice channels) is the primary multiplex; E2 is the second level and is
derived from four E1s.

Thus E2 contains 120 equivalent digital voice channels. E3 is the third

level and it is derived from four E2 inputs and contains 480 equivalent
voice channels. E4 derives from four E3 formations and contains the
equivalent of 1920 voice channels. International digital hierarchies are
compared in Table 6.3. Table 6.3 provides the basic parameters for the
formation of the E2 level in the European digital hierarchy.

6.7 ASYMMETRICAL DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE

• ADSL
• Link between subscriber and network
— Local loop
• Uses currently installed twisted pair cable

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— Can carry broader spectrum

— 1 MHz or more
ADSL Design
• Asymmetric
— Greater capacity downstream than upstream
• Frequency division multiplexing
— Lowest 25kHz for voice
• Plain old telephone service (POTS)
— Use echo cancellation or FDM to give two bands
— Use FDM within bands
• Range 5.5km
ADSL CHANNEL CONFIGURATION

Figure 6.20: ADSL Channel Configuration

XDSL
o Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line
o High Data Rate Digital Subscriber Line
o Single-Line Digital Subscriber Line
o Very High Data Rate Digital Subscriber Line

Table 6.4: Comparison of xDSL Alternatives

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CHAPTER 7
REVIEW QUESTIONS &
ASSIGNMENTS
7.1 REVIEW QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
SAMPLE SET #1
Choice the correct answer
1. Which of the following can be determined from a frequency-domain
graph of a signal?
(a) Phase (b) Power (c) Frequency
(d) All the above
2. In a frequency-domain plot, the vertical axis measures the ________.
(a) Frequency (b) Peak amplitude (c) Phase
(d) Slope
3. To digitize efficiently a 4 KHz standard voice we need:
(a) 4000 samples per seconds (b) 800 samples per seconds
(c) 2000 samples per second (d) 8000 samples per seconds
4. _______ encoding has a transition at the beginning of each 0 bit.
(a) NRZ-L (b) Manchester
(c) Differential Manchester (d) All the above
5. PCM is an example of _______ conversion.
(a) digital-to-digital (b) digital-to-analog
(c) analog-to-analog (d) analog-to-digital
6. Which quantization level results in a more faithful reproduction of the
signal?
(a) 2 (b) 8 (c) 16 (d) 32
7. In _______ transmission, bits are transmitted simultaneously, each
across its own wire.
(a) Asynchronous serial (b) Synchronous serial (c) Parallel
(d) ((a) and (b)

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8. In _______ transmission, a start bit and a stop bit frame a character

byte.
(a) Asynchronous serial (b) Synchronous serial (c) Parallel
(d) ((a) and (b)
9. ________ is the process of converting digital data to a digital signal.
(a) Block coding (b) Line coding (c) Scrambling (d) None of
the above
10. When a bandwidth of a line is 1 Mbps and 1-bit takes 20 milliseconds
for round trip, then W (Bandwidth-delay product) is:
(a) 2000 bits (b) 20 microseconds
(c) 20,000 bits (d) 120 milliseconds
11. Two common scrambling techniques are ________.
(a) NRZ and RZ (b) AMI and NRZ
(c) B8ZS and HDB3 (d) Manchester and differential
Manchester
12. In ___________ there is always a transition at the middle of the bit,
but the bit values are determined at the beginning of the bit. If the next
bit is 0, there is a transition; if the next bit is 1, there is none.
(a) Manchester (b) differential Manchester
(c) both ((a) and (b) (d) neither ((a) nor (b)
13. The minimum bandwidth of Manchester & differential Manchester is
____ that of NRZ.
(a) the same as (b) twice (c) three times
(d) none of the above
14. ______ substitutes eight consecutive zeros with 000VB0VB.
(a) B4B8 (b) HDB3 (c) B8ZS (d) none of the
above
15. In QAM, both ________ of a carrier frequency are varied.
(a) frequency and amplitude (b) phase and frequency
(c) amplitude and phase (d) none of the above
16. Which of the following is not a digital-to-analog conversion?
(a) ASK (b) PSK (c) FSK (d) AM
17. If the frequency spectrum of a signal has a bandwidth of 500 Hz with
the highest frequency at 600 Hz, what should be the sampling rate,
according to the Nyquist theorem?
(a) 200 samples/s (b) 500 samples/s
(c) 1000 samples/s (d) 1200 samples/s
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18. Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is a combination of ______

(a) ASK and FSK (b) ASK and PSK
(c) PSK and FSK (d) none of the above
19. How many carrier frequencies are used in BFSK?
(a) 2 (b) 1 (c) 0 (d) none of the above
20. How many carrier frequencies are used in BPSK?
(a) 2 (b) 1 (c) 0 (d) none of the above
21. In _______ propagation, low-frequency radio waves hug the earth.
(a) Space (b) Ground (c) Sky (d) Line of sight
22. In _______ transmission, the channel capacity is shared by both
communicating devices at all times.
(a) Full-duplex (b) Simplex
(c) Half-duplex (d) Half-simplex
23. When one of the components of a signal has a frequency of zero, the
average amplitude of the signal ________.
(a) Is less than zero (b) Is greater than zero
(c) Is zero (d) ((a) or (b)
24. A signal is measured at two different points. The power is P1 at the
first point and P2 at the second point. The dB is 0. This means
________.
(a) P2 is zero (b) P2 = P1
(c) P2 >> P1 (d) P2 << P1
25. In _______ propagation, the beam of propagated light is almost
horizontal, and the low-density core has a small diameter compared to
the cores of the other propagation modes.
(a) Single-mode (b) Multimode step-index
(c) Multimode graded-index (d) Multimode single-index
26. In ________, the phase of the carrier is varied to represent two or
more different signal elements. Both peak amplitude and frequency
remain constant.
(a) ASK (b) PSK (c) FSK (d) QAM
27. The first step in PCM is ________.
(a) quantization (b) modulation (c) sampling
(d) none of the above

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SAMPLE Set #2
1. What is the period of cos23t?
Ans: 3t = so t = /3.
2. What is the wavelength of a 2 GHz signal in empty space?
Ans: f = c so = .15m.
3. What is the maximum data rate if 16 signal levels are used over a
telephone line with a bandwidth of 4 kHz?
Ans: 2H log2M = 2(4000) (4) = 32kbps.
4. What is the maximum data rate of a telephone line with a
bandwidth of 4 kHz and a signal-to-noise ration of 30 dB?
Ans:10 log10S/N = 30, so S/N = 1000.
H log10(1 + S/N) = 4000*log101001 is about 40kbps.
5. A noiseless 4-kHz channel is sampled every 1 msec. What is the
maximum data rate?
Ans: 2. A noiseless channel can carry an arbitrarily large amount of
information, no matter how often it is sampled. Just send a lot
of data per sample. For the 4 kHz channel, make 8000
samples/sec. If each sample is 16 bits, the channel can send
128 kbps. If each sample is 1024 bits, the channel can send
8.2 Mbps. The key word here is ‘‘noiseless.’’ With a normal 4
kHz channel, the Shannon limit would not allow this.
6. If a binary signal is sent over a 3-kHz channel whose signal-to-
noise ratio is 20 dB, what is the maximum achievable data
rate?
Ans: A signal-to-noise ratio of 20 dB means S/N = 100. Since
log2101 is about 6.658, the Shannon limit is about 19.975
kbps. The Nyquist limit is 6 kbps. The bottleneck is therefore
the Nyquist limit, giving a maximum channel capacity of 6
kbps.
7. What signal-to-noise ratio is needed to put a T1 carrier on a
50-kHz line?
Ans: To send a T1 signal we need B log2(1 +S /N) = 1.544 x 106
with B = 50,000.
This yields S /N = 230 - 1, which is about 93 dB.
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8. A communications channel with a bandwidth of 4 kHz has a

signal power to noise ratio of 7. The bandwidth is reduced by
25 %. How much should the signal power be increased to
maintain the same channel capacity?
Ans: Thus we may trade off bandwidth for SNR. For example, if
S/N = 7 and B = 4kHz, then the channel capacity is C = 12 x
103 bits/s. If the SNR increases to S/N = 15 and B is
decreased to 3kHz, the channel capacity remains the same.
9. Ten signals, each requiring 4000 Hz, are multiplexed on to a
single channel using FDM. How much minimum bandwidth is
required for the multiplexed channel? Assume that the guard
bands are 400 Hz wide.
Ans. There are ten 4000 Hz signals. We need nine guard bands to
avoid any interference. The minimum bandwidth required is
4000 x 10 + 400 x 9 = 43,600 Hz.

10. In a constellation diagram, all the points lie on a circle

centered on the origin. What kind of modulation is being
used?
Ans. If all the points are equidistant from the origin, they all have
the same amplitude, so amplitude modulation is not being
used. Frequency modulation is never used in constellation
diagrams, so the encoding is pure phase shift keying.
11. Distinguish between the two basic multiplexing techniques?
Ans. The two basic multiplexing techniques are:
1. Frequency division multiplexing (FDM)
2. Time division multiplexing (TDM)
FDM can be used with analog signals. A number of signals are
carried simultaneously on the same medium by allocating to each
signal a different frequency band.
TDM (also known as synchronous time division multiplexing) can
b used with digital signals or analog signals carrying digital data. In
TDM, data from various sources are carried in respective frames.
Each frame consists of a set of time slots, and each source is
assigned a time slot per frame.

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12. Difference between Bit Rate and Baud Rate

Ans Bit rate is the transmission of number of bits per second. On the
other hand, Baud rate is defined as the number of signal units per
second. The formula which relates both bit rate and baud rate is
given below:
Bit rate = Baud rate x the number of bit per baud.

13. A telephone line normally has a bandwidth of 3000 Hz (300 to

3300 Hz) assigned for data communication. The SNR is
usually 3162. What will be the capacity for this channel?
Ans :
C = 3000 * log2(1 + SNR) = 3000 * 11.62 = 34860 bps
14. We need to send 265 kbps over a noiseless channel with a
bandwidth of 20 kHz. How many signal levels do we need?
Ans:
265000 = 2 * 20000 * log2(L)
log2(L) = 6.625
L = 26.625 = 98.7 levels
15. Explain in detail the Maximum Data Rate (channel capacity)
for Noiseless and Noisy channels
Ans:
Data rate governs the speed of data transmission. A very important
consideration in data communication is how fast we can send data, in
bits per second, over a channel. Data rate depends upon 3 factors:
• The bandwidth available
• Number of levels in digital signal
• The quality of the channel – level of noise

Two theoretical formulas were developed to calculate the data rate:

one by Nyquist for a noiseless channel, another by Shannon for a
noisy channel.
(a) Noiseless Channel: Nyquist Bit Rate
For a noiseless channel, the Nyquist bit rate formula defines the
theoretical maximum bit rate
BitRate = 2 * Bandwidth * log2(L)
(b) Noisy Channel: Shannon Capacity
In reality, we cannot have a noiseless channel; the channel is

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always noisy. Shannon capacity is used, to determine the

theoretical highest data rate for a noisy channel:
Capacity = bandwidth * log2(1 + SNR)

SAMPLE SET #3
1. What are three important characteristics of a periodic signal.
Ans:
Amplitude, frequency, and phase are three important characteristics
of a periodic signal.
2. What is the relationship between the wavelength and frequency of
a sine wave.
Ans:
The relationship is f = v, where is the wavelength, f is the
frequency, and v is the speed at which the signal is traveling.
3. Differentiate between guided media and unguided media.
Ans:
With guided media, the electromagnetic waves are guided along an
enclosed physical path whereas unguided media provide a means for
transmitting electromagnetic waves but do not guide them.
4. Differentiate between an analog and a digital electromagnetic
signal.
Ans:
A continuous or analog signal is one in which the signal intensity
varies in a smooth fashion over time while a discrete or digital signal
is one in which the signal intensity maintains one of a finite number
of constant levels for some period of time and then changes to
another constant level.
5. Define fundamental frequency.
Ans:
The fundamental frequency is the lowest frequency component in the
Fourier representation of a periodic quantity.
6. What is the relationship between a signal's spectrum and its
bandwidth?
Ans:
Spectrum of a signal is the frequencies it contains while the
bandwidth of a signal is the width of the spectrum.

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7. What is attenuation?
Ans:
Attenuation is the gradual weakening of a signal over distance.
8. Define channel capacity.
Ans:
The rate at which data can be transmitted over a given
communication path, or channel, under given conditions, is referred
to as the channel capacity.
9. What key factors affect channel capacity?
Ans:
Bandwidth, noise, and error rate.
10. Distinguish between attenuation distortion and delay distortion.
Ans: Attenuation distortion arises because the attenuation of the signal in
the transmitting media. Attenuation distortion is predominant in case
of analog signals. Delay distortion arises because different frequency
components of the signal suffer different delay as the signal passes
through the media. This happens because the velocity of the signal
varies with frequency, and it is predominant in case of digital signals.
11. How the effect of delay distortion can be minimized?
Ans: Delay distortion can be minimized by using an equalizer (a kind
of filter).
12. What do you mean by a “Periodic Signal”? And what are the
three parameters that characterize it?
Ans: A signal is periodic signal if it completes a pattern within a
measurable timeframe. A periodic signal is characterized by the
following three parameters.
Amplitude: It is the value of the signal at different instants of time. It
is measured in volts.
Frequency: It is inverse of the time period, i.e. f=1/T. The unit of
frequency is Hertz (Hz) or cycles per second.
Phase: It gives a measure of the relative position in time of two
signals within a single period.
13. Distinguish between time domain and frequency domain
representation of a signal.
Ans:
Time Domain Representation: Whenever a signal is represented as a
function of time, it is called time domain representation. An
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electromagnetic signal can be either continuous or discrete. It is

represented as s (t).
Frequency Domain Representation: Whenever a signal is represented
as a function of frequency, it is called frequency domain representation.
It is expressed in terms of different frequency components and
represented as s (f).
14. What do you mean by the Bit Interval and Bit rate in a digital
signal?
Ans:
The bit interval is the time required to send one single bit. The bit rate
is the number of bit intervals per second. This mean that the bit rate is
the number of bits send in one second, usually expressed in bits per
second (bps).
15. A noiseless 4-kHz channel is sampled every 1 msec. What is the
maximum data rate?
Ans: A noiseless channel can carry an arbitrarily large amount of
information, no matter how often it is sampled. Just send a lot of
data per sample. For the 4 kHz channel, make 8000 samples/sec. If
each sample is 16 bits, the channel can send 128 kbps. If each
sample is 1024 bits, the channel can send 8.2 Mbps. The key word
here is ‘‘noiseless.’’ With a normal 4 kHz channel, the Shannon
limit would not allow this.

SAMPLE Set #4
1. Why does impulse noise have more effect on digital signals rather
than on analog signals?
Ans: Impulse noise is random in nature and arises due to random
events like lightning, electrical sparks, etc. In case of digital
signal, it makes a significant effect, as ‘0’ may become ‘1’ and
vice versa. In analog signal the effect is not that serious as some
portion of the signal gets affected.
2. Let the energy strength at point 2 is 1/50th with respect to the
point 1. Find out the attenuation in dB.
Ans: Then attenuation in dB is 10log10(1/50) = - 16.9 dB.

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3. Assuming there is no noise in a medium of B = 4KHz, determine

channel capacity for the encoding level 4.
Ans: I = 2×4000×log24 = 16 Kbps
4. Why do you need encoding of data before sending over a
medium?
Ans: Suitable encoding of data is required in order to transmit signal
with minimum attenuation and optimize the use of transmission
media in terms of data rate and error rate.
5. How does Manchester encoding differ from differential
Manchester encoding?
Ans: In the Manchester encoding, a low-to-high transition represents a
1, and a high-to-low transition represents a 0. There is a transition
at the middle of each bit period, which serves the purpose of
synchronization and encoding of data.
In Differential Manchester, the encoding of a 0 is represented by
the presence of a transition at the beginning of a bit period, and a 1
is represented by the absence of a transition at the beginning of a
bit period. In this case, the mid-bit transition is only used for
synchronization.
6. Why B8ZS coding is preferred over Manchester encoding for
long distance communication?
Ans: The B8ZS encoding is preferred over Manchester encoding,
because B8ZS encoding requires lesser bandwidth than
Manchester encoding.
7. Why is it necessary to limit the band of a signal before
performing sampling?
Ans: It is necessary to limit the bandwidth of a signal before sampling
so that the basic requirement of sampling theorem, i.e. the
sampling rate should twice or more than twice the maximum
frequency component of the signal is satisfied. This is known as
Nyquist rate. If it is violated, original signal cannot be recovered
from the sampled signal.
8. Give a popular example where co-axial cables are used for
broadband signaling.

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Ans: Use of co-axial cable for broadband signaling is cable TV

(CATV) application.
9. What devices are used as source and detector in case of single
mode of fiber?
Ans: LASER is used as source and photodiode is used as detector in
case of single mode of fiber.
10. What parameters decide the spacing of repeaters in case of
terrestrial microwave communication?
Ans: Parameters are the height of the antenna ‘h’ and adjustment
factor ‘k’ based on the relation d=7.14√kh, where d is the distance
in Km between two the two antennas.
11. Why two separate frequencies are used for uplink and downlink
transmission in case of satellite communication?
Ans: Two separate frequencies are used so that one cannot interfere
with the other and full duplex communication is possible. And
other reason is that the Power required to transmit a signal is
proportional to the frequency of the signal. And more power
requirement more would be the weight of the system. As there are
constraints on the load that can be carried with the satellite,
mainly down linking frequency is lower than the up linking one.
12. Why uplink frequencies are higher than downlink frequencies in
case of satellite communication?
Ans: The satellite gets power from solar cell. So, the transmitter is not
being of higher power. On the other hand, the ground station can
have much higher power. As we want less attenuation and better
signal-to-noise ratio, lower frequency is more suitable for
downlink and higher frequency is commonly used for uplink.

13. Consider the CRC generator function x8 +x2 +x1 +1. How many
bits will the resulting frame check sequence be?
Ans: 8-bits

14. It is required to send a message M(x) using the generative

function P(x), where M(x) = 110011 & P(x) = 11001.

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1. What will be the transmitted message?

2. Check if message arrived to receiver with no error, does it
accept it?
Answer:

15. Why are guard bands used in FDM?

Ans: In FDM, a number of signals are sent simultaneously on the same
medium by allocating separate frequency band or channel to each
signal. Guard bands are used to avoid interference between two
successive channels.

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7.2 EXAMS SAMPLES

7.2.1 MID-TERM
SAMPLE-1
Question 1:
a) Attenuation is a measure of what? The attenuation of a signal is –10
dB. What is the final signal power if it was originally 5 W?
b) Mention the most important advantages of Digital transmission.
c) Define Channel Capacity. Then, mention key factors affect it.
d) A digital signaling system is required to operate at 9600 bps. If a
signal element encodes a 4-bit word, what is the minimum required
bandwidth?
e) What is the bit rate for a signal in
which 1 bit lasts 2 ms?
f) What is the bandwidth of the
composite signal shown in the
Figure (Scale is KHz)
g) What is the mathematical
representation of a signal with an amplitude of 10 V, a frequency of
2500 Hz, a phase of 30°?
Question 2:
a) Mention the commonly used guided media for data transmission.
Then describe the components of optical fiber cable & its
applications.
b) For a parabolic reflective antenna with a diameter of 2m, operating at
12 GHz, what is the effective area and the antenna gain? [Note: Ae =
0.56 x face area]
c) How much higher transmission power is needed, according to the
free-space loss formula, if the radio transmission distance is doubled
(for the same performance)?
d) Calculate the maximum distance between two antennas for LOS
transmission if one antenna is 100 m high and the other is at ground

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level. Now, suppose that the receiving antenna is 10 m high. To

achieve the same distance, how much the transmitting antenna be?

SAMPLE-2
Question 1: Select the correct answer
1. If the bandwidth of a signal is 5 KHz and the lowest frequency is 52
KHz, what is the highest frequency?
A) 5 KHz B) 10 KHz C) 47 KHz D) 57 KHz
2. What is the bandwidth of a signal that ranges from 40 KHz to 4 MHz?
A) 3.96 MHz B) 36 MHz C) 360 KHz D) 396 KHz
3. Which of the following can be determined from a frequency-domain
graph of a signal?
A) Phase B) Power C) Frequency D) All the above
4. In a frequency-domain plot, the vertical axis measures the ________.
A) Frequency B) Peak amplitude C) Phase D) Slope
5. In _______ transmission, the channel capacity is shared by both
communicating devices at all times.
A) Full-duplex B) Simplex C) Half-duplex D)
Half-simplex
6. If the maximum amplitude of a sine wave is 2 V, the minimum
amplitude is _______ V.
A) 2 B) 1 C) -2 D) Between -2 and 2
7. In _______ transmission, bits are transmitted over a single wire, one at
a time.
A) Asynchronous serial B) Synchronous serial
C) Parallel D) (a) and (b)
8. Given two sine waves A and B, if the frequency of A is twice that of
B, then the period of B is ________ that of A.
A) One-half B) Twice C) The same as
D) Indeterminate from
9. Before data can be transmitted, they must be transformed to ________
A) Electromagnetic signals B) Periodic signals
C) Aperiodic signals D) Low-frequency sine waves
10. In _______ propagation, the beam of propagated light is almost
horizontal, and the low-density core has a small diameter compared to
the cores of the other propagation modes.

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A) Single-mode B) Multimode step-index

C) Multimode graded-index D) Multimode single-index
11. Optical fibers, unlike wire media, are highly resistant to _______.
A) High-frequency transmission B) Low-frequency transmission
C) Refraction D) Electromagnetic interference
12. What is the major factor that makes coaxial cable less susceptible to
noise than twisted-pair cable?
A) Outer conductor B) Inner conductor
C) Diameter of cable D) Insulating material
13. A periodic signal completes one cycle in 0.002 s. What is the
frequency?
A) 200 Hz B) 100 Hz
C) 0.5 KHz D) 1 MHz
14. _______ cable consists of an inner copper core and a second
conducting outer sheath.
A) Coaxial B) Twisted-pair C) Fiber-optic D)
Shielded twisted-pair

Question 2:
a) Consider a noiseless channel of 10 kHz and devices with the ability
to emit and detect 16 distinct signal levels. What is the maximum
data rate of this channel?
b) A telephone line with a bandwidth of 100 kHz is known to have a
loss of 20 dB. The input signal power is measured as 0.5 watt, and
the output signal noise level is measured as 2.5 mwatt. Using this
information, calculate the output signal-to-noise ratio.
c) Define channel capacity. What key factors affect channel capacity?
d) Suppose that the spectrum of a channel is between 3 MHz & 4 MHz
and SNR = 24 dB.
i. Calculate the Maximum channel capacity (Theoretical)
ii. How many signaling levels are required to achieve this
capacity (calculated in i)
e) Mention the transmission impairments. Then discuss in detail one of
the most significant of them.
f) What is the bit rate for the signal in Figure below?

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g) Mention the main characteristics that distinguish optical fiber from

twisted pair or coaxial cable

7.2.2 FINAL
SAMPLE 1
Question 1:
a) Identify the five components of a data communication system
b) What is the difference between half-duplex and full-duplex transmission
modes?
c) Explain the following Transmission Impairments: (1) Noise (2) Delay
distortion.
d) Suppose a 128-kbps point-to-point link is set up between the Earth
and a rover on Mars. The distance between the Earth to Mars (when
they are closest to each other) is approximately 55 [Gm], and data
travels over the link at the speed of light – 3 * 108 [m/sec]. A camera
on the rover takes pictures of its surrounding and sends these to
Earth. How quickly after a picture is taken can a picture reach the
Mission Control on Earth? Assume the average picture size is 5
MBytes.

Question 2:
a) State the differences between an analog signal and a digital signal.
Provide an example of either signal type.
b) A periodic signal (period T = 1 [msec]) has a bandwidth of 20 [kHz].
The highest frequency is 60 [kHz]. Sketch the spectrum of this signal,
if all frequencies contained in the signal are of the same amplitude.
c) Define channel capacity. What key factors affect channel capacity?
d) Distinguish between data rate and signal rate.

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Question 3:
a) Describe different propagation modes of fiber optic cables. Explain
advantages and disadvantages of fiber optic cables.
b) What is analog to digital encoding? Explain the process of steps
involved in Pulse Code Encoding technique?
c) A researcher wishes to digitally record analog sounds for testing
animal hearing with frequencies of up to 100 [kHz].
1) What is the minimum sampling rate required to process these
sounds?
2) If a 16-bit (per sample) PCM (A/D) converter is used, what is the
data rate of the resulting digital signal?
3) Use Shannon’s formula to find the minimum signal to noise ratio
(in dB!) required to sustain the given data rate over a 500 KHz
radio channel.
4) Assume we decided to deploy Delta modulation instead of PCM.
Which data rate would the resultant signal have now? Would you
expect better or worst overall system performance? Explain!

Question 4:
a) Sketch (approximately) BPSK modulated time signal for data stream
01001, when the bit rate is 1 Mbps and the carrier frequency is 2
MHz
b) Find the maximum bit rates for an FSK signal if the bandwidth of the
medium is 12,000 Hz and the difference between the two carriers is
2000 Hz. Transmission is in full duplex mode.
c) The bit stream 10011101 is transmitted using the CRC method
described in lecture using generator polynomial x3+1.
1) Show the bit string transmitted.
2) Show that, if the third bit from the left is inverted during the
transmission, the receiver can detect it.

Question 5:
a) Define the term multiplexing. Compare and contrast the two
approaches of frequency division multiplexing and time division
multiplexing.
b) Ten sources, six with a bit rate of 200 kbps and four with a bit rate of
400 kbps are to be combined using multilevel TDM with no

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synchronizing bits. Answer the following questions about the final

stage of the multiplexing:
1) What is the size of a frame in bits?
2) What is the frame rate?
3) What is the duration of a frame?
4) What is the data rate?

SAMPLE 2
Question 1:
a) What is the difference between half-duplex and full-duplex
transmission modes?
b) Consider a periodic composite signal composed of 3 sinusoidal
signals as: signal (1) with amplitude 4 V & frequency 100 Hz, signal
(2) with amplitude 8 V & frequency 140 Hz & phase of 45 and signal
(3) with amplitude 12 V and frequency 80 Hz.
a. Write the equation of this signal in the time domain.
b. Draw the frequency spectrum of the signal.
c. Calculate the signal Bandwidth.
c) A device is sending out data at the rate of 1000bps?
1. How long does it take to send out a single character (8 bits)?
2. How long does it take to send a file of 100,000 characters?
Question 2:
a) How can a composite signal be decomposed into its individual
frequencies?
b) What are the three major classes of guided media? What is the
purpose of the cladding in a optical fiber?
c) Given a channel with an intended capacity of 20 Mbps, the bandwidth
is 3 MHz. Assuming white thermal noise, what is SNR is required to
achieve this capacity?
d) Consider a stream of binary data consisting of a five sequence of 1s
followed by a zero followed by of five 1s (11111011111). Draw the
waveform for this sequence using:
1. NRZ-I 2. Bipolar-AMI 3. Differential Manchester

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Question 3:
a) What does the sampling theorem tell us concerning the rate of
sampling required for an analog signal?
b) Explain the process of digitizing analog signal to digital data.
c) Consider a composite signal with spectral components in the range
300 to 3000 Hz. Assume that a sampling rate of 7500 samples per
second will be used to generate a PCM signal.
1. For SNR = 20 dB, what is the number of uniform quantization
levels needed?
2. What data rate is required?

Question 4:
a) What is multiplexing? What are the different types of multiplexing
methods possible for analog signals? [4 Marks]
b) Two channels, one with a bit rate of 190 kbps and another with a bit
rate of 180 kbps are to be multiplexed using pulse stuffing TDM with
no synchronization bits. Expected Answer the following: [4 Marks]
1. What is the size of a frame in bits? 2. What is the frame rate?
3. What is the duration of a frame? 3. What is the data rate?

SAMPLE 3
Question 1: Rewrite the following with the correct words underlined
1. In _______ transmission, the channel capacity is shared by both
communicating devices at all times.
2. If the frequency spectrum of a signal has a bandwidth of 250 Hz with
the highest frequency at 750 Hz, then the sampling rate, according to
the Nyquist theorem, is ______
3. In fiber optics, the signal source is _______ waves.
4. Optical fibers, unlike wire media, are highly resistant to _______.
5. As frequency increases, the period ________.
6. Given two sine waves A and B, if the frequency of A is twice that of B,
then the period of B is ________ that of A.

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7. The signal ______ represent the position of its waveform with respect
to time 0.
8. In _______ transmission, bits are transmitted over a single wire, one at
a time.
9. In a frequency-domain plot, the vertical axis measures the ________.
10. Before data can be transmitted, they must be transformed to ________.

Question 2:
a) Identify the five components of a data communication system.
b) Draw a periodic discrete signal (digital) of Amplitude varying from
+5 to -5 with bit duration of 10 msec.
c) Differentiate between an analog and a digital signal.
d) Consider a periodic composite signal composed of 3 sinusoidal
signals as: signal (1) with amplitude 4 V & frequency 100 Hz, signal
(2) with amplitude 8 V & frequency 140 Hz & phase of 45 and signal
(3) with amplitude 12 V and frequency 80 Hz.
a. Write the equation of this signal in the time domain
b. Draw the frequency spectrum of the signal
c. Calculate the signal Bandwidth

Question 3:
a) What are three important characteristics of a periodic signal?
b) Differentiate between guided media and unguided media.
c) Briefly discuss why digital transmission is preferred over analog
transmission.
d) A twisted-pair cable has an attenuation of 2 dB/Km at 1 KHz.
i. Attenuation is a measure of what?
ii. What is the attenuation for 10 Km?
iii. What is the final signal power if it was originally 100 W at the
cable input?
e) If a binary signal is sent over a 3-kHz channel whose signal-to-noise
ratio is 20 dB, what is the maximum achievable data rate?

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Question 4:
a) Define channel capacity. What key factors affect channel capacity?
b) If a 16-level signal is passed through a noisy 8 kHz channel with
signal-to-noise ratio of 4 dB, what is the maximum data rate (kbps)
that can be expected?
c) Consider a stream of binary data consisting of a five sequence of 1s
followed by a zero followed by of five 1s (111110 0 0 0 111111).
Draw the waveform for this sequence using:
1. NRZ-L 2. Bipolar-AMI
d) Show the constellation diagrams for an ASK (OOK), BPSK, and QPSK
signals.

Question 5:
c) Assuming even parity, find the parity bit for data units (Dataword)
1001011. Then write the final Codeword.
d) Distinguish between multilevel TDM, multiple-slot TDM, and pulse-
stuffed TDM.
e) Consider a synchronous TDM that combines 20 digital sources, each
of 100 Kbps. Each output slot carries 2 bit from each digital source,
but one extra bit is added to each frame for synchronization. Answer
the following questions:
1. What is the size of an output frame in bits?
2. What is the output frame rate?
3. What is the duration of an output frame?
4. What is the output data rate?
5. What is the efficiency of the system (ratio of useful bits to the total
bits)?

SAMPLE 4
Question 1:
a) Define the following Transmission Terminology: Attenuation,
Distortion, Full-duplex, and Omnidirectional.
b) For the following signal:
s(t) = 3 + 4 sin 200 t + 2 sin 300 t
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1. Draw its frequency spectrum.

2. Calculate its absolute bandwidth.

Question 2:
a) What is the bit rate for a signal in which 25 bits last 125 s? What is
the required bandwidth if only the strongest part of the spectrum
needs to be transmitted?
b) Define Shannon’s channel capacity. What key factors affect it?
c) Calculate the signal-to-noise ratio required to achieve a channel
capacity of 30 Mbps. The bandwidth of the channel is 5 MHz
d) Consider a noiseless channel of 20 kHz and devices with the ability to
emit and detect 8 distinct signal levels. What is the maximum data
rate of this channel?

Question 3:
a) Explain the Nyquist Sampling theorem.
b) Assume the maximum signal bandwidth of speech data is 4,000Hz.
1. What is the sampling rate for converting speech into digital data
using PCM?
2. If each sample is encoded by 8 bits, what is the data rate of the
encoded signal?
3. Calculate the SNR for quantizing noise for this PCM.

Question 4:
a) Encode the binary information sequence (10110010110), showing the
plot of the signal waveform as a function of time, using NRZI,
Manchester, & AMI.
b) For CRC, suppose a device received the data, 100111001010110, and
the generator polynomial is G(x) = x4 + x + 1. Check to see if the
data contains error or no.

Question 5:
a) Five signals, each requiring 2000 Hz, are multiplexed on to a single
channel using FDM. How much minimum bandwidth is required for
the multiplexed channel? Assume that the guard bands are 150 Hz
wide.

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b) Four channels are multiplexed using TDM. If each channel sends 100
bytes/s and we multiplex 1 byte per channel:
1) Show the frame traveling on the link.
2) The size of the frame.
3) The duration of a frame.
4) The frame rates.
5) The bit rate for the link.

7.3 ASSIGNMENTS
ASSIG. #1
1) A periodic composite signal with a bandwidth of 2000 Hz is
composed of two sine waves. The first one has a frequency of 100 Hz
with a maximum amplitude of 20 V; the second one has a maximum
amplitude of 5 V. Draw the frequency spectrum.
2) Show the frequency domain of the following signal:
s(t) = 8 + 3 sin 100 t + 5 sin 200 t
3) Suppose that a signal of 12 dB is applied to a cable that has a loss of
8 dB. If an amplifier with a 10 dB gain is inserted into the cable at its
opposite end, what is the output signal strength at that location?
4) If the bandwidth of a channel is 100 Hz and two bits are encoded per
signal change, what data transmission rate would be obtainable?
5) What is the bandwidth of the composite signal shown in the next
Figure?

6) With the aid of diagrams, explain the meaning of the following

operational modes of a communication channel:
(i) Simplex, (ii) half-duplex & (iii) duplex

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ASSIG. #2
1. Consider a noiseless channel of 10 kHz and devices with the ability to
emit and detect 16 distinct signal levels. What is the maximum data
rate of this channel?
2. With the aid of sketches, explain the effect on a transmitted binary
signal of the following: (i) attenuation (ii) limited bandwidth (iii)
delay distortion (iv) line & system noise.
3. We measure the performance of a telephone line (4 KHz of
bandwidth), when the signal is 10 V, the noise is 5 mV. What is the
maximum data rate supported by this telephone line?
4. A Web page of 10 Mbytes is being retrieved from a Web Server.
Assuming negligible delays within the server and transmission
network, quantify the time to transfer the page over A PSTN modem
operating at 56 kbps.
5. Define the following Transmission Terminology: Data rate,
Bandwidth, Error rate, S/N ration & ISI.

ASSIG. #3
1. Name three types of transmission impairment.
2. What is the relationship between propagation speed and propagation
time?
3. A periodic composite signal with a bandwidth of 25 KHz is
composed of two sine waves. The first one has a frequency of 250 Hz
with a maximum amplitude of 12 V; the second one has a maximum
amplitude of 7 V. Draw the frequency spectrum.
4. Consider a noiseless channel of 10 kHz and devices with the ability
to emit and detect 16 distinct signal levels. What is the maximum
data rate of this channel?
5. What is preferable, a 5KHz media with a SNR of 10, or a 10KHz
media with 3dB of noise? Why?
6. What does the Shannon capacity have to do with communications?
7. Identify three types of cabling used in data communication. State
which one you would recommend in an implementation requiring
high security consideration and why?

ASSIG. #4
1. Noise is major limiting factor in communications system
performance. Give short description about its four categories
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2. A UTP Cat-5 cable has an attenuation of 2 dB/100m at 1 MHz.

– What is the attenuation for 30 m?
– What is the final signal power if it was originally 10 W at the
cable input?
3. How wide a bandwidth does a pulse with duration of 0.5 ms require if
only the strongest part of the spectrum needs to be transmitted?
4. With the aid of diagrams, explain the meaning of the Asymmetric &
symmetric operational modes of a communication channel.
5. Make a timing diagram and show the differences between
Manchester encoding and differential Manchester encoding for the bit
stream 10001011011.
6. Name the advantages of Manchester coding scheme & mention its
main disadvantages.

ASSIG. #5
1) Define the following Transmission Terminology: Bandwidth, Delay
Distortion, Error rate, Crosstalk, & VSAT.
2) A twisted-pair cable has an attenuation of 6 dB/Km at 2 KHz.
a. Attenuation is a measure of what?
b. What is the attenuation for 25 Km?
c. What is the final signal power if it was originally 30 W at the
cable input?
3) A message has 16 bits. Each bit has a probability of .95 of being
correct.
(a) What is the probability that there are no errors in the message?
(b) What is the probability that there is at most one bit in error in the
message?
4) Coaxial cable is a two-wire transmission system. Explain its
construction, uses & what is the advantage of connecting the outer
conductor to ground?

ASSIG. #6
1. What factors determine antenna gain? What is the maximum distance
between antennas With no intervening obstacles.
2. Explain the PCM technique for digitizing analog signal

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3. If a PCM code received starts with a 1, what do we know about the

derived voltage sample? Now, if Bits 2, 3, and 4 of the PCM
codeword identify the segment. How many total segments are there?
4. Consider the ASCII codes for the set of characters M, T and I. Using
even parity, construct the 2-D codes. Knowing that: M = 1001011, T
= 1001010, I = 1010100.
5. Name the advantages of AMI coding scheme & mention its main
disadvantages.

ASSIG. #7
1. For the bit stream 00110001, sketch the waveforms for Manchester
encoding method.
2. The generator sequence for a CRC code is g = (101). Given the
information sequence i = 1101101, determine the corresponding
codeword sequence c
3. Line code the following data “ 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1” Using
NRZI , AMI B8Zs & Manchester (Draw their waveforms with the
initial amplitude = 0)
4. Calculate the overheads in bits and time in using synchronous
communication to send a file of 400,000 bytes over a line at 3600
bps. Assume that the data are sent in frames and each frame consists
of 2000 character (16000 bits) and an overhead of 54 control bits per
frame.

ASSIG. #8
1. Draw a block diagram for TDM PCM system that will accommodate
four 14.7 kbps Synchronous Digital input and two Analog inputs of
bandwidth of 2 KHz & 3 KHz. Assume that the analog samples will
be encoded into 6-bit PCM words.
2. Explain how PCM works. Using the diagrams in the book, explain
analog to digital conversion using the main steps process.
3. We want to digitize the human voice (frequency 0-4Khz). What is the
bit rate, assuming 8 bits per sample? (Note: Digitization = PCM)
4. The generator polynomial X3 + X + 1 is used in both the transmitter
and receiver. A 1100011 data is required to be transmitted:
– What is the code that the transmitter will send to the receiver?
– Assume that two bits of the transmitted date are received in
error (i.e. bit 4 and 6, 1101001). Can the receiver detect the
error? Show all the steps for that
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5. Four channels are multiplexed using TDM. If each channel sends 128
bytes/s and we multiplex 2 byte per channel: (a) Show the frame
traveling on the link (b) The size of the frame (c) The duration of a
frame (d) The bit rate for the link.

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 DATA COMMUNICATION & PROTOCOLS MTI – FACULTY OF COMPUTING

Spring 2024

Three different forces have consistently driven the architecture and

evolution of data communications and networking facilities: traffic
growth, development of new services, and advances in technology.
Momentous changes in the way organizations do business and process
information have been driven by changes in networking technology
and at the same time have driven those changes
Prof. Eng. Hafez M.S Abdel-Wahab Page 1844