The Physical layer

Transmission media

Figure 7.1 Transmission medium and physical layer

7.2

Figure 7.2 Classes of transmission media

7.3

71GUIDEDMEDIA

Guided media, which are those that provide a conduit

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

Topics discussed in this section:

Twisted-Pair Cable
Coaxial Cable
Fiber-Optic Cable
7.4

Open wire
Open electric wires
No shielding or protection from
external noise
Cannot be used for data transmission
but for less distances.

Twisted pair
Wires are twisted in pairs
Each pair carries +ve and ve signals
Noise appearing on one wire will also
occur on other wire of same pair.
Noise appeared on both wires of pair will
cancel its affect.
Twists of pair cancels the noise affect.
Increase in the number of turns per foot
reduces noise interference.

Figure 7.4 UTP and STP cables

7.7

Types of Twisted pair

Shielded twisted pair
STP cable combine the techniques of cancellation, shielding
and twisted wires.
Each pair wrapped in metallic foil, then two pairs are wrapped
in overall metallic foil.
STP reduces
Electric noise within pairs and outside noise
crosstalk

STP provide protection from all kind of noises

It is expensive and hard to install.

0 100 Mbps Speed

Maximum cable length 100m before signals attenuated.

Shielded twisted pair

Unshielded Twisted pair

Eight cables, Four pairs
Each cable is covered with insulating material
Each pair is twisted around each other for
cancellation effect.
Advantages include
Speed 10 100 1000 Mbps (depend on category)
Les expensive and easy to install.
Maximum length 100 m
Uses RJ-45 connector.
Electric noise may occur.

Unshielded Twisted pair

UTP cable
Straight through cable (different
devices)
Crossover cable (similar devices)
Rollover cable (RJ-45 to DB-9)

Figure 7.5 UTP connector

7.13

Coaxial cable
Outer shield protects inner shield from outer electric
signals.
Similarly insulator between two conductors protects
them from noise generated by either conductor.
Cable has 10 100 Mbps speed
Inexpensive
Maximum cable length 500m.
Coaxial cable offers several advantages for LAN.
Run longer distance then other cables.
Baseband(50ohm) and Broadband(75 ohm) Cables

Figure 7.7 Coaxial cable

7.15

Table 7.2 Categories of coaxial cables

7.16

Figure 7.8 BNC connectors

7.17

Optical Fiber
Data or information is transmitted as light
pulses.
Carries more data for longer distances and
much more speed as compare to other media.
Requires more protection.
There are two modes of optical fiber.
Multimode
Single mode
Multimode used for short distances whereas
single mode is used for longer distances.

Figure 7.10 Bending of light ray

7.19

Figure 7.11 Optical fiber

7.20

Optical Fiber
Optical fiber is not affected by outer
noise.
No crosstalk.
Attenuation is caused by tight bends
Bends causes cracks in the cladding
and light rays are scattered.
Scattering, absorption, dispersion,
improper installation causes fiber
losses.

Figure 7.12 Propagation modes

7.22

Multimode optical fiber

Multimode operates at multiple beams.

core in diameter is larger.
Multimode has two forms:
Step index optical fiber
Graded index
Two glass fibers are used for two way
communication.
Carries data up to 2000m.

Single mode Optical fiber

Only allows one beam of light to
travel
Core is smaller in diameter.
Light beam travels in the middle of
the core.
Single mode has higher data rates
and greater speed.
Single mode can carry data up to
3000m.

Figure 7.13 Modes

7.25

Table 7.3 Fiber types

7.26

Figure 7.14 Fiber construction

7.27

72UNGUIDEDMEDIA:WIRELESS

Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves

without using a physical conductor. This type of
communication is often referred to as wireless
communication.

Topics discussed in this section:

Radio Waves
Microwaves
Infrared
7.28

Figure 7.17 Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless communication

7.29

Figure 7.18 Propagation methods

7.30

Table 7.4 Bands

7.31

Figure 7.19 Wireless transmission waves

7.32

Figure 7.20 Omnidirectional antenna

7.33

Note
Radio waves are used for multicast communications, such as radio
and television, and paging systems.

7.34

Figure 7.21 Unidirectional antennas

7.35

Note
Microwaves are used for unicast communication such as cellular
telephones, satellite networks,
and wireless LANs.

7.36

Note
Infrared signals can be used for short-range communication in a
closed area using line-of-sight propagation.

7.37