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Chapter 6

Data Communication: Delivering


Information Anywhere and Anytime

Defining Data Communication

Data Communication is the electronic transfer of data from one location to another.

o Most organizations collect and transfer data across large geographical distances, an
efficient data communication system is critical.

o It can also improve the flexibility of data collection and transmission.

o Data communication is the basis of virtual organizations.

o Organizations are not limited by physical boundaries.

o They can collaborate, outsource and provide customer service via data
communication systems.

o E-collaboration is another main application of data communication.

Why Managers Need to Know about Data Communication

Data communication applications can enhance decision makers’ efficiency and


effectiveness. Data communication systems also enable organizations to use email and
electronic file transfer to improve efficiency and productivity.

Here are some ways communication technologies affect the workplace:

o Online training for employees.

o Internet searches for info keep employees up to date.

o The internet and data communication systems facilitate lifelong learning.

o Boundaries between work and personal life are less clear as data communication is
more available in homes and businesses.

o Web and video conferencing is easier.


Managers need a clear understanding of the following areas of data communication:

o The basics of data communication and networking

o The internet, intranets and extranets

o Wired and wireless networks

o Network security issues and measures

o Organization and social effects of data communication

o Globalization issues

o Applications of data communications systems

E-collaboration and virtual meeting are other important applications of data


communication systems for managers. These applications are cost effective and
improve customer service.

A typical data communication system includes the following components:

o Sender and Receiver Devices

o Modems or routers

o Communication Medium (Channel)

Bandwidth – is the amount of data that can be transferred from one point to another
in a certain time.

It is often expressed as bits per second.

Attenuation – is the loss of power in a signal as it travels from the sending device to
the receiving device.

Data transmission channels are divided into two types:

Broadband – In this data transmission, multiple pieces of data are sent


simultaneously to increase the transmission rate.

Narrowband – this is a voice grade transmission channel capable of transmitting a


maximum of 56 000 bps, so only a limited amount of info can be transferred in a
specific period of time.
Before a commination link can be established between two devices, the must be
synchronized, this handled by Protocols which are rules that govern data
communication including error detection, message length, and transmission speed.

Sender and Receiver Devices

o Input/output device (Thin Client) – used only for sending and receiving, has no
processing power.

o Smart Terminal – An input/output device that can perform certain processing


tasks.

o Intelligent Terminal, Workstation or Personal Computer – These serve as


input/output devices or as standalone systems.

o Netbook Computer – A low-cost, diskless computer used to connect to the Internet


or a LAN.

o Minicomputers, mainframes and supercomputers – These process data and sent it


to other devices or receives data that has been processed elsewhere, process it, and
then transmit it to other devices.

o Smartphones, mobile phones, MP3 Players, PDAs and game consoles –


Smartphones are mobile phones with advanced capabilities. Game consoles are used
to play games.

Modems

A modem (Modulator- demodulator) is a device that connects the user to the Internet.
Dial-Up, Digital

Subscriber Line (DSL) and cable access requires modems to connect. When phone
lines are used for Internet connections, an analog modem is necessary to convert a
computer’s digital signals to analog signals that can be transferred over a phone line.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), a common carrier service, is a high speed service that
uses ordinary phone lines.

Communication Media

Communication media, or channels, connect sender and receiver devices. They can be
conducted (wired or guided) or radiated (wireless).

Conducted Media provide a physical path along which signals are transmitted,
including twisted pair copper cable, coaxial cable and fiber optics. Twisted pair copper
cable consists of two copper lines twisted around each other and either shielded or
unshielded, it is used in the telephone network and for communication within
buildings. Coaxial cables are thick cables that can be used for both data and voice
transmissions. They are mainly used for long-distance telephone transmissions and
local area networks.

Fiber optic cables are glass tubes (half the width of a human hair) surrounded by
concentric layers of glass, called cladding, to form a light path through wire cables. At
the core is a central piece of glass that carries the light. Surrounding the core is a
second layer of glass that keeps the light from escaping the core. Around both these
lies the buffer, an outer layer of plastic, which provides protection and strength. They
have higher capacity, smaller size lighter weight, lower attenuation, higher security
and they have the highest bandwidth of any communication medium.

Radiated Media use an antenna for transmitting data through air or water. Some
media are based on “line of sight”, including broadcast radio, terrestrial microwave
and satellite.

A communication medium can be point-to-point or a multipoint system. In a point-to-


point system, only one device at a time uses the medium. In a multipoint system,
several devices share the same medium, and a transmission from one device can be
sent to all other devices sharing the link.

Processing Configurations

During the past 60 years, three types of processing configurations have emerged:
centralized, decentralized and distributed.

Centralized Processing

In this system, all processing is done at one central computer. The main advantage of
this configuration is being able to exercise tight control over system operations and
applications. The main disadvantage is lack of responsiveness to users’ needs,
because the system and its users could be located far apart from each other.

Network Layer – Routes messages.

Data Link Layer – Oversees the establishment and control of the communication link.

Physical Layer – Specifies the electrical connections between computers and the
transmission medium. Defines the physical medium used for communication. This
layer is primarily concerned with transmitting binary data, or bits, over a
communication network.

Types of Networks

Computers are connected to the network via a Network Interface Card (NIC), a
hardware component that enables computers to communicate over a network. A NIC is
the physical link between a network and a workstation, so it operates at the OSI
models physical and Data link layers. To operate a server in a network, a network
operating system (NOS) must be installed.

Local Area Networks (LAN)

A LAN connects workstations and peripheral devices that are in close proximity. A LAN
usually covers a limited geographical area, such as a building or campus. Transfer
speeds ranges from 100Mbps to 10Gbps. LANS are used most often to share
resources, such as peripherals, files and software.

In a LAN environment there are two basic terms to remember:

Ethernet is a standard communication protocol embedded in software and hardware


devices used for building a LAN. An Ethernet Cable is used to connect computers,
hubs, switches and routers to a network.

Wide Area Networks (WAN)

A WAN can span several cities, states or even countries, and it is usually owned by
several different parties. The transfer speeds depend on its interconnections (Links). A
WAN can use many different communication media and terminals of different sizes
and sophistication. It can also be connected to other networks.

Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN)

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) developed specifications


for a public, independent, high speeds network that connects a variety of data
communication systems, including LANs and WAN’s in metropolitan areas. This
network is designed to handle data communication for multiple organizations in a city
and sometimes nearby cities as well. The data transfer speed varies from 34Mbps to
155Mbps.

TCP’s primary functions are establishing a link between hosts, ensuring message
integrity, sequencing and acknowledging packet delivery and regulating data flow
between source and destination nodes. IP is responsible for packer forwarding. To
perform this task, it must be aware of the available data link protocols and the
optimum size of each packet; it must be able to divide data into packets of the correct
size.

IP addresses consist of 4 bytes in IPv4 or 16 bytes in IPv6.

Routing

Packet switching is a network communication method that divides data into small
packets and transmits them to an address, where they are reassembled. A packet is a
collection of binary digits, including message data and control characters for
formatting and transmitting, sent from one computer over a network. The process of
deciding which path the data takes is called routing. A packet’s route can change
based on the amount of traffic and the availability of the circuit.

The decision about which route to follow is done in one of two ways: at a central
location (centralized routing) or at each node along the route (distributed routing). In
most cases, a routing table is used to determine the best possible route for the packet.
The routing table lists nodes on a network and the path to each node, along with
alternate routes and the speed of existing routes.

In centralized routing, one node is in charge of selecting the path for all packets. This
node, considered the network routine manager, stores the routing table and any
changes to a route must be made w=at this node. All network nodes periodically
forward status information. If the network routing manager is at a point far from the
network’s center, it will cause a delay in routing. If the controlling node fails, no
routing information is available.

Distributed Routing relies on each node to calculate the best possible route. Each
node has its own routing table. Each node also sends status messages periodically so
adjacent nodes can update their tables. If one node is not operational, the packet is
sent along a different path.

Routers

A router is a network connection device containing software that connects network


systems and controls traffic flow between them. Routers operate at the Network Layer
of the OSI model and handle routing packets on a network. A router does the same job
as a bridge, a bridge connects two LANs using the same protocol and the
communication medium does not have to be the same on both LANs.

Routers can also choose the best path for packets based on distance or cost. They can
prevent network jams and they can handle packets of different sizes. A router can also
isolate a portion of the LAN from the rest of the network; this is called “segmenting”.

Decentralized Processing

In decentralized processing, each user, department or division has its own computer
for performing processing tasks. A decentralized processing system is certainly more
responsive to users than a centralized processing system. Drawbacks include lack of
coordination among organizational units, the high cost of having many systems, and
duplication efforts.

Distributed Processing

Distributed processing solves two main problems – the lack of responsiveness in


centralized processing and the lack of coordination in decentralized processing – by
maintaining centralized control and decentralized operations. Processing is distributed
among several locations.
The advantage of distributed processing includes:

o Accessing unused processing power is possible.

o Modular design means computer power can be added or removed based on need.

o Distance and location are not limiting.

o It is more compatible with organizational growth because workstations can be


added easily.

o Fault tolerance is improved because of the availability of redundant resources.

o Resources can be shared to reduce costs.

o Reliability is improved because system failures can be limited to only one site.

o The system is more responsive to user needs.

The disadvantages of distributed processing include:

o There may be more security and privacy challenges.

o There may be incompatibility between the various pieces of equipment.

o Managing the network can be challenging.

Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Model

The OSI model is a seven-layer architecture for defining how data is transmitted from
computer to computer in a network. OSI also standardizes interactions between
network computers exchanging information.

Application Layer – Serves as the window through which applications access network
services. It performs difficult tasks, depending on the application, and provides
services that support users’ tasks, such as file transfers, database access and email.

Presentation Layer – Formats message packets.

Session Layer – Establishes a communication session between computers.

Transport layer – Generates the receiver’s address and ensures the integrity of
messages by making sure packets are delivered without error, in sequence, and with
no loss or duplication. This layer provides methods for controlling data flow, ordering
received data, and acknowledging received data
o EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) – EAP keys are dynamically generated
based on the user’s ID and password. When the user logs out of the system, the key is
discarded. A new key is generated when the user logs back into the network.

o WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) – This technique combines the strongest features of
WEP and EAP. Keys are fixed as in WEP, or dynamically changed, as in EAP. The WPA
key is longer than the WEP key and the key is changed for each frame before
transmission.

o WPA2 or 802.11i – This technique uses EAP to obtain a master key. With this
master key, a user’s computer and the AP negotiate for a key that will be used for a
session. After the session is terminated, they key is discarded. This technique uses
Advanced Encryption Standard, which is more complex than WPA and much harder to
break.

Convergence of Voice, Video and Data

In data communication, convergence refers to integrating voice, video and data so that
multimedia information can be used for decision making.

Convergence requires major network upgrades, because video requires much more
bandwidth. This has changed, however, with the availability of high speed
technologies. Gigabit Ethernet is a LAN transmission standard capable of 1Gbps and
10Gbps data transfer speeds. The Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is a packet
switching service that operates at 25Mnps and 622Mbps with a maximum speed of
100Gbps. The 3G network has increased the rate of information transfer, its quality,
video and broadband wireless data transfers, and the quality of Internet telephony or
Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP). The 4G network will further enhance these
features.

Common applications of Convergence include the following:

o E-commerce

o More entertainment options as the number of TV channels substantially increases


and movies and videos on demand become more available.

o Increased availability and affordability of video and computer conferencing.

o Consumer products and services such as virtual classrooms, telecommunication


and virtual reality.

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