TRANSMISSIONMEDIAANDSWITCHING

Transmission Media A transmission medium can be broadly defined as anything that can carry information from source to a destination. Introduction Data must be converted into electromagnetic signals to be transmitted from device to device Signals can travel through a vacuum, air, or other media May be in the form of power, voice, radio waves, infrared light, and gamma rays Each of these forms constitutes a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum Categories of Media Broad categories: Guided Media media with a physical boundary Twisted pair, coaxial, and fiber-optic Unguided Media no physical boundaries Radio waves, infrared light, visible light and gamma rays Sent by microwave, satellite, and cellular transmission Classes of Transmission Media

Guided Media Provides a conduit from one device to another Signal is directed and contained by physical limits of medium Twisted-pair and coaxial use copper conductors to accept and transport signals in form of electrical current Optical fiber is glass cable that accepts and transports signals in form of light
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Twisted-Pair Cable Two conductors surrounded by insulating material One wire used to carry signals; other used as a ground reference Twisting wires reduces the effect of noise interference or crosstalk since both wires will likely be equally affected More twists = better quality Limits inferences No. of twists / unit length determines the quality of the cable

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Most common type; suitable for both voice and data transmission Categories are determined by cable quality Cat 3 commonly used for telephone systems (up to 10 Mbps - 10 Base T) Cat 5 usually used for data networks (up to 100 Mbps 100 Base T) Performance is measured by attenuation versus frequency and distance Adv.: cheaper, flexible, easy to install UTP connectors - RJ45 Categories of UTP cables

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UTP example

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) A metal foil or braided-mesh covering encases each pair of insulated conductors to prevent electromagnetic noise called crosstalk Crosstalk occurs when one line picks up some of the signals traveling over another line Uses RJ-45 connectors More expensive but less susceptible to noise Supports high Bandwidth over long distances Coaxial Cable Has a central core conductor enclosed in an insulating sheath, encased in an outer conductor of metal foil RG numbers denote physical specs such as wire gauge, thickness and type of insulator, construction of shield and size/type of outer casing RG-8, RG-9, and RG-11 used in thick Ethernet RG-58 used in thin Ethernet RG-59 used for TV

Coaxial Cable Connectors Most common is barrel connector (BNC) T-connectors are used to branch off to secondary cables
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Terminators are required for bus topologies to prevent echoing of signals

Coaxial Applications & Performance Analog and digital phone networks Cable TV networks Traditional Ethernet LANs Home Networks-phone line, power line. Higher bandwidth than twisted-pair Attenuation is higher and requires frequent use of repeaters Single coax carries 10000 voice signals & digital data up to 600 Mbps. Fiber-Optic Cable Made of glass; signals are transmitted as light pulses from an LED or laser Light is also a form of electromagnetic energy Speed depends on density of medium it is traveling through; fastest when in a vacuum, 186,000 miles/second

Refraction and Reflection Refraction often occurs when light bends as it passes from one medium to another less dense medium When this angle results in a refraction great enough, reflection occurs and the light no longer passes into the less dense medium

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Reflection Optical fibers use reflection to guide light through a channel Information is encoded onto a beam of light as a series of on-off pulses representing 1s and 0s

Propagation Modes Method for transmitting optical signals: o Multimode Multimode step-index fiber Multimode graded-index fiber o Single Mode Multimode Multiple beams from light source move through core at different paths Multimode step-index fiber o Density remains constant from center to edges o Light moves in a straight line until it reaches the cladding o Some beams penetrate the cladding and are lost, while others are reflected down the channel to the destination As a result, beams reach the destination at different times and the signal may not be the same as that which was transmitted To address this problem and to allow for more precise transmissions, multimode gradedindex fiber may be used Index refers to the index of refraction Graded-index refers to varying densities of the fiber; highest at center and decreases at edge Multimode Graded-Index Fiber
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Since the core density decreases with distance from the center, the light beams refract into a curve Eliminates problem with some of the signals penetrating the cladding and being lost Also signals intersect at regular intervals Single Mode Only one beam from a light source is transmitted using a smaller range of angles Smaller diameter and lower density Makes propagation of beams almost horizontal; delays are negligible All beams arrive together and can be recombined without signal distortion Uses stepped index fiber Propagation Modes

Light Sources & Connectors Light source is light-emitting diode (LED) or a laser LEDs are cheaper but not as precise (unfocused); limited to short-distance use Lasers can have a narrow range, better control over angle Receiving device needs a photosensitive cell (photodiode) capable of receiving the signal Uses SC- Subscriber channel & ST-straight tip connectors Applications of Fiber Optics Backbone networks due to wide bandwidth and cost effectiveness Cable TV LANS
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100Base-FX (Fast Ethernet) 1000Base-X Advantages of Fiber Optics Higher bandwidth than twisted-pair and coaxial cable; not limited by medium, but by equipment used to generate and receive signals Noise resistance Less signal attenuation More resistant to corrosive materials Lightweight Greater security Disadvantages of Fiber Optics Installation/maintenance Unidirectional Cost 7.2 Unguided Media: Wireless Wireless communication; transporting electromagnetic waves without a physical conductor Wireless Propagation Methods Ground radio waves travel through lowest portion of atmosphere, hugging the Earth Distance depends on power of signal Sky higher-frequency radio waves radiate upward into ionosphere and then reflect back to Earth Line-of-sight high-frequency signals transmitted in straight lines directly from antenna to antenna Propagation Methods

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Wireless Transmission Waves Radio Wave Microwave Infrared Bands

Radio Waves Frequency ranges: 3 KHz to 1 GHz Omni directional Susceptible to interference by other antennas using same frequency or band Ideal for long-distance broadcasting May penetrate walls Propagate in SKY mode Used for multicast communication such as radio, TV etc Microwaves Frequencies between 1 and 300 GHz Unidirectional Narrow focus requires sending and receiving antennas to be aligned
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Issues: Line-of-sight (curvature of the Earth; obstacles) Cannot penetrate walls Parabolic Dish Antenna Incoming signals - Signal bounces off of dish and is directed to focus Outgoing signals transmission is broadcast through horn aimed at dish and are deflected outward

Horn Antenna Outgoing transmissions broadcast through a stem and deflected outward Received transmissions collected by a scooped part of the horn and deflected downward into the stem

Microwave Applications Unicasting one-to-one communication between sender and receiver Cellular phones Satellite networks Wireless LANs Infrared Frequencies between 300 GHz and 400 THz
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Short-range communication High frequencies cannot penetrate walls Requires line-of-sight propagation Adv.: prevents interference between systems in adjacent rooms Disadv: cannot use for long-range communication or outside a building due to suns rays Infrared Applications Wide bandwidth available for data transmission Communication between keyboards, mice, PCs, and printers

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