Chapter III
Transmission Media
1
Preamble:
What are Straight-through and Crossover cable?
Common Ethernet network cable are Straight
and Crossover cable.
Both end of cable has RJ45 connector.
2
Straight-through cable
Usually used to connect different type of devices.
(e.g. Switch to router, Switch to pc, Switch to
server etc.)
If you need to check how straight-through cable
looks like, it's easy.
Both side (side A and side B) of cable have wire
arrangement with same color.
3
4
Cross-over cable
It's usually used to connect same type of devices
Example: Switch to Switch, Router to Router,
Pc to Pc etc..
In crossover cable, both side (side A and side B)
of cable have wire arrangement with following
different color .
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Basics of Transmission Media
QUESTION:
Suppose you want to wire a building to allow
computers to access the Internet or an intranet:
Should you use twisted-pair copper wire, coaxial
cable, or fiber optics?
Which of these media gives the highest bit rates
over the longest distances?
An overview of transmission media
• Guided-wire: e.g. Twisted-Pair cable, coaxial cable,
fiber-optic cable
• Unguided-wireless: e.g. radio, microwave, infrared,
satellite, NFC etc.
11
Twisted-pair copper wire.
It is the least-expensive and most commonly-
used transmission medium.
For over one-hundred years it has been used by
telephone networks.
In fact, more than 99% of the wired connections
from the telephone handset to the local telephone
switch use twisted-pair copper wire.
12
Twisted cable is more vulnerable to
interference than coaxial
Unlike fiber optic, both twisted and coaxial
carries electric signal.
13
Twisted Pair - Pros and Cons
Cheap & readily available
Pros
Easy to install &work with
Low data rate
Cons
Short range
Susceptibility to interference and noise
14
Twisted Pair: Applications
Most common medium
Telephone network
Within buildings
For local area networks (LAN)
– 10Mbps or 100Mbps
15
Unshielded and Shielded TP
16
UTP Cable
Insulator Metal
17
STP Cable
STP cables are similar to UTP cables,
Except there is a metal foil or braided-metal-
mesh cover that encases each pair of insulated
wires
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Categories of UTP Cables based on quality
Category 1: the lowest quality, only good for voice, mainly found in
very old system, not recommended now
Category 2: good for voice and low data rates (up to 4Mbps for
low-speed token ring networks)
Category 3: at least 3 twists per foot, for up to 10 Mbps (common in
phone networks in residential buildings)
Category 4: up to 16 Mbps (mainly for token rings)
Category 5 (or 5e): up to 100 Mbps (common for networks targeted
for high-speed data communications)
Category 6: more twists than Cat 5, up to 1 Gbps
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Coaxial cable
Similar to cable TV wire
Used for cable television, LANs, telephony
Shielded from interference
High attenuation rate makes it expensive over long
distance
Bulky
Much less susceptible to interference than twisted pair
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Types of coaxial cables
Thinnet:
Refers to RJ-58 cabling
Flexible enough to facilitate routing between work-stations
About ¼ inch thick
Connected to workstation NIC using British Naval Connecter (BNC) port connecter
Used for short distance communication
Max length of thinnet is 185 meters
Thicknet:
Refers RJ-8 cabling
About ½ inch thick
Used for long distance communication
connected to transceiver NIC using Adapter Unit Interface(AUI) port connecter
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max length of thicknet is 500 meters
23
Fiber Optic
• Very high bandwidth (can exceed 1 trillion bps)
• Light shined through a glass fiber
• Expensive to install
– special terminating equipment and training required
• Used primarily for high volume applications
– Internet backbone,
– can also be used for connection of switches/hubs in single
building or campus environment
• Not affected by electromagnetic or radio interference
24
Fiber Optic Layers
• Consists of three concentric sections
plastic jacket glass or plastic
fiber core
cladding
25
There are two types of optical fiber cables:
Single mode fiber (SMF) and
Multimode (MMF).
Single mode fiber (SMF): uses a single ray of light,
known as a mode, to carry the transmission over long
distance.
Multimode (MMF): uses multiple rays of light
simultaneously, with each ray of light running at a
different reflection angle to carry the transmission over
short distance.
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Advantages Fiber-optic
Noise resistance: external light is blocked by outer jacket
Less signal attenuation: Currently, the lowest measured
loss is about ~4% or 0.16dB per km)
Higher bandwidth:
Very secure:
Smaller size & weight:
Greater repeater spacing:
10s of km at least
27
Fiber Optic Disadvantages
• Expensive over short distance
• Requires highly skilled installers
• Adding additional nodes is difficult
28
Wireless Media
Data transmitted through the air
LANs use radio waves
WANs use microwave signals
Easy to setup
Difficult to secure
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Wireless Transmission Frequencies
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Satellite Microwave
Satellite is a dispatch station
Satellite receives on one frequency, amplifies or
repeats signal and transmits on another frequency
Requires geo-stationary orbit
Height of 35,784km
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Satellite Microwave Applications
Television
Long distance telephone
Private business networks
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Satellite Transmission Links
Earth stations communicate by sending signals to
the satellite on an uplink
The satellite then repeats those signals on a
downlink
The broadcast nature of the downlink makes it
attractive for services such as the distribution of
television programming
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Satellite Point to Point Link
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Satellite Broadcast Link
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Microwave Transmission Disadvantages
• Line of sight requirement
• Expensive towers and repeaters
• Subject to interference such as passing
airplanes and rain
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Terrestrial Microwave
Used for long-distance telephone service
Uses radio frequency spectrum, from 2 to 40 GHz
Parabolic dish transmitter, mounted high
Used by common carriers as well as private networks
Requires unobstructed line of sight between source and
receiver
Curvature of the earth requires stations (repeaters) ~30
miles apart
37
Radio
Radio is omnidirectional and microwave is
directional
Radio is a general term often used to
encompass frequencies in the range 3 kHz to
300 GHz.
Mobile telephony occupies several frequency
bands just under 1 GHz.
38
Infrared
• Modulate noncoherent infrared light
• Line of sight (or reflection)
• Unlike microwaves, infrared does not penetrate
walls.
• e.g. TV remote control
39
A COMPARISON OF TRANSMISSION
MEDIA
40
Media Selection
Network Transmission Error
Media Type Cost Distance Security Rates Speed
Twisted Pair LAN Low Short Good Low Low-high
Coaxial Cable LAN Mod. Short-Mod Good Low Low-high
Fiber Optics any High Mod.-long V. Good V.Low High - V.High
Network Transmission Error
Media Type Cost Distance Security Rates Speed
Radio LAN Low Short Poor Mod Low
Infrared LAN Low Short Poor Mod Low
Microwave WAN Mod Long Poor Low-Mod Mod
Satellite WAN Mod Long Poor Low-Mod Mod41
End Of Chapter - III
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