Making Connections

Prof. Aiman Hanna

Department of Computer Science
Concordia University
Montreal, Canada

C ommunication Carriers &

Devices

The Telephone Network

Connects 100s of millions of users
Calls are routed first to the local office (local exchange or central office)
Calls within the same area code can be made through direct connections
Other calls are routed depending on the destination
Private Branch Exchange (PBX) computer is used to route telephone calls
within a company or organization

Figure 4.2 Telephone Network

C ommunication Carriers &

Cellular Phones

Devices

A geographic region is divided into cells each with a base

station. A cellular phone is a two-way radio capable of
communicating with the base station

The cell phone may be within more than one boundary,

however it communicates with the base station from where
the signal is stronger

Base stations communicate with a MTSO (Mobile

Telephone Switching Office), which connects to the regular
telephone network

Receiving a cell call is more complex

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C ommunication Carriers &

Cellular Phones

Devices

Figure 4.3 Cellular Grid

C ommunication Carriers &

Cellular Phones

Devices

Figure 4.4 Cellular Phone Communication

C ommunication Carriers &

Devices
Facsimile (Fax) Machines

A paper sheet is divided into a dot matrix; each dot (Pixel) is so

tiny (200 dots per inch, 40,000 dots per square inch)

Each dot is a bit: 1 if dot is white, 0 if black

8.5x11 inches paper would produce 3,740,000 dots, and it takes

2 minutes (approx.) at the rate of 33.6 bps

Fax machines use Data Compression schemes; instead of

sending dot by dot, the fax groups the dots and defines binary
representation of them using fewer bits
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T ransmission Modes
Defines the way in which a bit group travels from
device to another

Also defines whether bits travel in both directions

simultaneously or must take turns

Different transmission modes exist:

Serial & Parallel

Asynchronous, Synchronous & Isochronous
Simplex, Half-Duplex & Full-Duplex
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T ransmission Modes

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Serial & Parallel Transmission

Parallel transmission sends bits of a byte simultaneously
on separate wires; used between PC and printer
Only recommended for short distances due to sync
problems
Serial transmission uses one wire, and can be used for
long distance communication; cheaper, more reliable
but slower

Figure 4.7
Parallel & Serial transmission

T ransmission Modes

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Asynchronous, Synchronous & Isochronous Transmission

These are ways to provide serial communication
Asynchronous transmission:

Bits are divided into small groups, usually bytes, and sent independently
The receiver never knows when the bits will arrive
For example, typing keyboard characters
Typical byte-oriented input-output; that is data is transmitted one byte at
a time
A start bit is needed to alert the receive that some data is coming;
otherwise the first few bit may get lost by the time the receiver detect and
reacts to data reception
Similarly, a stop bit is needed

T ransmission Modes

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Asynchronous, Synchronous & Isochronous Transmission

Figure 4.8 Asynchronous Communication

Overhead is 2/8 = 25%

Figure 4.9 Asynchronous Transmission of

ASCII Digits 321 using NRZ Coding

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Asynchronous, Synchronous & Isochronous Transmission

Synchronous transmission:

Allows transmission of larger bit groups

Characters are grouped into a Data Frame (simply Frame) them be transmitted
as a whole
A generic data frame has the following pieces:

SYN: unique bit pattern that alert the receiver of frame arrival
Also used to ensure the receivers sampling rate and the consistency of the arrival rate
The receiver can then synchronize itself to the rate at which bits arrive

Control: these bits may include the following elements

Source address
Destination address: Needed if frame needs to go through different nodes before reaching
the destination

Data: Actual number of data bytes

Sequence Number: Used to assemble frames at the destination in case they arrive out
of order
Frame Type: Distinguished by some protocols
Error: Error checking bits
End: End-of-frame bits

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Asynchronous, Synchronous & Isochronous Transmission

Synchronous transmission:

Much faster and has small overhead, however

Larger frames require higher buffering; they may also occupy the link for
longer time

Figure 4.10 Synchronous Transmission Frame

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Asynchronous, Synchronous & Isochronous Transmission

Isochronous transmission:
With asynchronous & synchronous data do not necessarily
arrive at a fixed rate
Time between different synchronous frames may vary
(asynchronous nature!)
Errors may force the frame to be reset, which affects the
transfer rate further
For some applications, such as file transfer, that is fine since
correct information is more important than delays
Isochronous transmission is used to ensure a fixed
transmission rate without gaps in between
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T ransmission Modes

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Simplex, Half-Duplex & Full-Duplex Communication

Figure 4.11 Simplex, Half-Duplex & Full-Duplex communication

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I nterface Standard

Communication may not occur even if both parties are using the same mechanisms!
For example, if both send at the same time, no information may reach any of them if
one is not ready to listen then information is also lost
Hence, communication must be guided by protocols
Data Terminal Equipment (DTE), such as PCs, do not communicate directly; rather
they communicate to Data Communication Equipment (DCE), such as a modem,
which connect to the network
The connection between DTE & DCE is called DTE-DCE Interface

Figure 4.12 DTE-DCE Interface

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EIA-232 Interface (RS-25 Serial

Port)

RS232: 25-line cable with

25-pin connector (DB25).
Every line has a function;
for example:
Pin 1: protective ground
Pin 2: Transmit date DTE
DCE
Pin 22: Ring Indicator;
indicates DCE is receiving
a ringing signal (when
modem receives a call)
RS-232 Connector

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EIA-232 Interface (RS-232 Serial Port)

Figure 4.14 Sending & Receiving over RS-232

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EIA-232 Subset

Driven by economics
and actual user needs,
some vendors only
implemented a part of
the interface using
only 9 circuits instead
of 25 (9-bin
connectors)
RS-232 Subset 9-bin Connector

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Null Modem

Sometimes, it is needed to connect two computers directly

A first attempt to establish connection is plug in the wire to both ends
This however wont work; Why?
Same circuit in each end is expected to perform the same functionality; for
example send/send or receive/receive
One solution in such case is to use a null modem
The null modem can be simply a cable

Figure 4.15 Null Modem

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X.21 Interface

Uses 15-bin interface

Defined as a digital signaling interface
Control information are changed in a different way than
RS-25
The standard requires more logic circuits (intelligence)
in the DTE & DCE that can interpret control sequence
& reduce the number of connecting circuits
C (control) & I (indication) state info
T (transmit) & R (receive) data or control info
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X.21 Interface

Figure 4.16 Sending & Receiving over an X.21 Connection

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Universal Serial Bus (USB)

Not long ago, we had to deal with Serial ports, Parallel ports,
Special connections for Game controllers, Key-boards, Mice,
etc.

USB was the proper replacements to those many connectors

Very flexible in connecting many different devices

Has 7-bit addressing schemes to reference the devices, which

enables connections to 127 (excluding the DTE host itself)
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Universal Serial Bus (USB)

Figure 4.17 Connecting USB Devices

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I nterface Standard
Universal Serial Bus (USB)
USB cable contains 4 wires:
2 wires for data carrying
signal in modified NRZ (0
changing, 1 same)
The other two wires provide
low-amplitude power source
to USB devices
USB 1.1 at 12 Mbps, USB
2.0 at 480 Mbps.
Limited to 4.5 meters; if
longer, there is no guarantee
of electrical signal integrity

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Figure 4.18 USB Wires

Figure 4.19 USB Cable & Plugs

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Universal Serial Bus (USB)

Operates on Master/Slave mode, where the host is the master

USB Frame: 1-milisecond slice of time.

During this 1-ms time frame, packets are sent (packet is a group
of bits)

All devices are clock synchronized in respect to a frame

The synchronization is not done by a common clock; rather by the

host sending a special packet at the beginning of each frame

This special packet indicates that a new frame is beginning

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Universal Serial Bus (USB)

USB defines 4 different transmission types:

Control Transfer
Bulk Transfer
Interrupt Transfer
Isochronous Transfer

Control Transfer:

USB devices are hot pluggable

Once plugged, the host queries the device to determine its type & bit rate
The devices responds the host assigns an address to that device
Once this is done, the device is connected and can receive commands
from the host such as requesting their status or initiating data exchange

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Universal Serial Bus (

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USB)

Bulk Transfer:
Some USB devices, such as scanners & digital cameras,
transfer large amount of data (bulk transfer)
Error detection is performed and the packet may have to be
resent
Reliable transfer, but no guarantee of timely transfer
Many devices might be doing bulk transfer at the same time,
which may result in errors/retransmission hence, no
guarantee on delivery time
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Universal Serial Bus (USB)

Interrupt Transfer:

The world interrupt here is not that proper!

USB devices hold the information until the host asks for them, which is
literally Polling
The major advantage here is avoiding the complexity involved with the
interrupt system/protocol
For example, if the host sets its polling time to the keyboard at 50 frames
(each 50 ms), then it can get up to 20 characters each second

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Universal Serial Bus (

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USB)

Isochronous Transfer:
For some real-time devices, such as microphones and
speakers, steady transfer rate is significant
The host can guarantee data rate for those devices by
reserving a part of each frame for them
As with most real-time systems, error detections do not occur
here; it is simply not needed

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Universal Serial Bus (

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USB)

USB Packets

Several exchange of packets could take place during a single

frame
Packet types: Token, Data, Handshake
All packets have SYN and PID (packet ID)
SYN is a bit pattern that forces the receiving device to
synchronize its clock with the sender and adjust their
receiving bit rate
PID identifies the packet type
SOF indicates the Start o Frame

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Universal Serial Bus (USB)

USB Packets

IN & OUT packets represent a request from the host to initiate data
transfer
Address is a 7-bit address that identifies the device to be used
CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) is used for error detection
If errors occur, a NAK is sent to the host
Some devices may have more than one address; for example a game
controller with multiple buttons would have multiple addresses associated
with them. The endpoint is needed to identify the exact source or
destination of the data within the device.
For example, a game controller may have many buttons sending or
receiving different information. Each of these buttons will be indicated by
an endpoint

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Universal Serial Bus (USB)

USB Packets

Figure 4.20
USB Frames & Packets

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FireWire
FireWire (Apple), i.Link (Sony)
Share common characteristics with USB
Provide a speed of 400Mbps (USB provides 12Mbps, USB 2.0
provides 480 Mbps
Can be used with many devices, but the main focus is on
multimedia devices, especially with digital video application
Connects multiple devices using Daisy Chain, which means
many devices can be connected in sequence and there is no need
for a hub
Devices have one or more FireWire port, so they can also act as
regenerators/repeaters
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FireWire

Figure 4.21 Connecting FireWire Devices

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FireWire
Uses 6 wires (2 twisted pairs TPA & TPB + 2 wires for power
source)
Uses Data Strobe Encoding
TPA uses some form of NRZ, where 1 is high, 0 is low
This is however error-prone due to mis-synchronization with the sender
clock
The sender sends a strobe signal over TPB, which stays constant
whenever the data change from 1 to 0 and vise versa
The receiver gets both TPA & TPB signals and by XORing them, it can
create the exact sender clock
This is a bit like Manchester Encoding, with one great difference; the
baud rate is the same as the bit rate, so there is no double BW utilization
The only cost here is one additional twisted pair
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FireWire

Figure 4.22 Data Strobe Encoding

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Multiple FireWire Buses

USB uses Master/Slave protocol whereas FireWire uses peer-topeer protocol
Devices may be daisy chained together to form a bus group

Figure 4.23 Multiple FireWire Buses

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Multiple FireWire Buses

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FireWire supports two communication modes:

Asynchronous, Isochronous

Asynchronous Communication:
Involves exchange & acknowledgment
Send a packet Wait for a ACK or NACK

Isochronous Transfer:
With this mode, FireWire guarantee that data is sent at a
steady rate; there is no waiting for ACKs or resending of
packets
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FireWire Arbitration
Since there is no master host, what happens if two devices
attempt to send at the same time
Devices are configured in a tree hierarchy, with one device at the
root; each device selects an ID based on its location in the tree
The root device acts an arbiter; when devices under it wish to
transfer, the root decides which one gets the bus based on some
form of priority
This process is only part of the arbitration, and it works with
some arbitration methods:
Fairness Arbitration, and
Urgent Arbitration
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FireWire Arbitration
Fairness arbitration: Fairness interval allows all competing
devices to access the bus once. No device monopolizes the bus;
the fairness interval starts again after all devices that wish to
send use the bus once
Urgent arbitration allows the devices to be prioritized within a
fairness interval (asynchronous packets interval)
Root device has the highest priority among all in the group
To guarantee Isochronous transmission, the root device acts as a
Cycle master. Each cycle starts with a cycle-start-packet, which
marks the start of an Isochronous cycle
Starting the Isochronous cycle regularly guarantees Isochronous
transmission
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FireWire Arbitration

Figure 4.23 FireWire Arbitration

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M ultiplexing
It is possible to connect each device of a network
directly to that network, however each of these
connection carries its cost
Alternatively, multiplexing can be used
A multiplexer, or mux, routes transmission from
multiple sources to a single destination

Multiplexer

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M ultiplexing

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Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM)

Used with analog signals; a common uses are TV & radio
The available BW is divided into separate ranges or channels
Each device shares a part of the available BW, a channel, and
keeps that portion at all times

Figure 4.27 Amplitude Modulation

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M ultiplexing
Frequency-Division Multiplexing

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The modulated signals from all inputs are combined

into as a single, more complex analog signal
The channels themselves are separated by a guard
band

Figure 4.29 FDM

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M ultiplexing

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Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM)

Used with digital signals
TDM keeps the signals physically distinct but logically packages them
together
The optimal performance is achieved when the combined input rate is equal
to the output rate
A faster combined input rate would result in signals being dropped and a
slower input rate would results in frames that are partially full so the channels
are underused

Figure 4.30 TDM

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M ultiplexing

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Statistical Time-Division Multiplexing

In practice, it may not be possible to keep input & output rates the same
Keeping the frame size fixed would simply the protocol but underutilize the
channels
An alternative is to use Statistical Multiplexer, sometimes called
Concentrator
Since the order in one frame is not the guaranteed, a more complex logic is
there to resolve the frame correctly

Figure 4.31 Statistical TDM

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M ultiplexing
Wave-Division Multiplexing
Similar to FDM, but based on
optics Potential bit rate is 1000
Gbps (Tera bps)
Light consists of several
wavelengths (refer to spectrum of
frequencies)
Prism spreads the light into
different colors (to different
wavelengths)
Each source can operate at a
specific wavelength
All signals are combined
before transmission, and
separated at the receiver

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Figure 4.32 Light Reflecting through a Prism

Figure 4.33 Wave-Division Multiplexing

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D igital Carriers

T1
A standard used for long-distance communication
Uses TDM to combine many voice channels into one DS1 frame
T1 refers to the circuit, DS1 refers to the signal
DS1 frame has 24 channels of 8 bits each, and one framing bit
for synchronization

Figure 4.34 DS1 Frame

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D igital Carriers

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T1
8-bit voice samples are taken from each of the 24 channels at a
rate of 8000 samples per second
Each sample occupies one slot in the DS1 frame
The receiving mux extract the bits from each slot and route them
to the appropriate destination (the voice is heard at the other
side)

Figure 4.34 T1 Carrier System

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T1

D igital Carriers

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T1 rate:
8-bit sample * 8000 samples/second 64 Kbps
To support this rate, T1 must transmit a DS1 frame each 1/8000 seconds
must transmit 8000 * 193 bits each second
Date rate of 1.544 Mbps
This rate is considered slow compared to optical fiber capabilities
That is the reason there are other carriers with more channels and faster bit
rate
T1 is not only used for voice communication; other companies lease phone
lines to transfer digital information between computers
Carrier

Digital Signal No.

No. of Channels

Bit Rate, Mbps

T1

DS1

24

1.544

T2

DS2

96

6.312

T3

DS3

672

44.736

T4

DS4

4,032

274.176

North American Communication Carriers

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C ontention Protocols

Access to the medium from many entry points is called contention

Unless controlled, contention may lead to fatal problems
Contention protocols are used to avoid such problems

Figure 4.39 No Contention Protocol

Figure 4.40 Stop-and-Go Access Protocol

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C ontention Protocols

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Aloha Protocols
Earliest contention protocol in 1970s by Univ. of Hawaii, called
Pure ALOHA
Several stations to central station (Menehune) by radio
communication
f for broadcast, f (different frequency than f ) for ACK
1
2
1
Any station can transmit; if collision then wait random time

Figure 4.41
Aloha System

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C ontention Protocols

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Slotted Aloha Protocols

Any overlap in signals, even a small one, would force
retransmission
Hence, a minimal safe period to transmit two signals is 2T (T is
time period)
So, to allow a device to transmit, you should reserve 2T for that
Not to waste such time, Slotted Aloha is used
Devices can only send at the beginning of each slot

Figure 4.42 Transmission Using Pure Aloha & Slotted Aloha

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C ontention Protocols
Slotted Aloha Protocols

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Slotted Aloha has a higher success rate than Pure Aloha

However, with increased traffic, the different may not
be that significant

Figure 4.43 Success Rate for Pure Aloha & Slotted Aloha

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Carrier Sense Multiple Access Protocols (CSMA)

Sense the medium at the beginning of a slot, send if the medium is free, else wait for next slot

p-persistent CSMA:

Continue to sense the active medium

If free, send with a probability p (0 < p 1)

p=0 never transmits (wait again) ;

p=1 always transmits (collision chances are higher)

Nonpersistent CSMA: check periodically, if free send else wait for one time slot and
check again

Figure 4.44 Success Rate for CSMA & Aloha Protocols

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Collision Detection (CD)

Instead of sending entire frame then discover that collision has
occurred when no ack is received, sense the medium for collision
and stop transmitting if occurs
This will avoid the medium from being unusable during collision
Commonly used with CSMA called CSMA/CD

Figure 4.45 Collision with and without Detection

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C ontention Protocols
Collision Detection (CD)

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Two issues worth considering:

Frame size
Distance

Frame Size:
The frame has to be of a minimum size so the device can
detect collision before it finishes
If too large, a device can monopolize the medium
So, how small should a frame be?

Depends on the maximum time it takes to detect collision

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Collision Detection (CD)

Example: Assume:
10 Mbps bit rate,
Largest distance between two devices is 2 KM
Signal propagate at a rate of 200 meter/sec
To propagate 2 KM it takes 10 sec
To propagate 4 KM (worst case, go & come back), we need 20 sec
Rate of 10 Mbps is the same as 10 bits each sec
In 20 sec we have 200 bits or 200/8 = 25 bytes
This is the minimum size a frame can be so CD can be made

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Collision Detection (CD)

The other issue with CD is distance
For example CD does not work well with satellite since the time
needed to travel back and forth between ground and satellite is
too big due to the large distance
Binary exponential back-off algorithm
Varies the waiting time before sending again if collision occurred
If first collision then wait 0, or 1 slots
Second collision then wait randomly for 0, 1, 2, or 3 slots
..........................
..
If n successive collisions then wait for random # of slots between 0 and
2n-1, when n > 16 give-up and signal to higher layer!
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Token Passing
Instead of sending whenever it wishes, a device will take turns in
sending with the other ones
Capture token to send data frame
If data then remove token and transmit data frame; else pass
token to neighbor
Only sender can put the token back on ring after receiving it
back
One frame per token
Advantage: contention is much controlled than the previous
protocols
Disadvantages:
All devices must be known
Complexity (what happen if the token is lost or if the device that has
control over it fails)

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Token Passing

Figure 4.46 Token Ring Network

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