Communication System

What is Data Communication?

 Data Communication - It is the process of
transferring digital information form one point
to another.
When data travels a long distance, the
communication referred to as
telecommunications; the prefix “tele” is
derived from the greek word the means “far”
or “far off”.
Communication System
 Is the combination of hardware, software,
and connecting links that transport data.

Basic Elements of a Communication

System:
1. A sender (source) which creates the
message to be transmitted.
2. A medium that carries the message.
3. A receiver (sink) which receives the
message.
Communication System Model
Communication System Model
Communication System Model
Communication Direction

 Simplex
 One-way in one direction

 Half-Duplex
 One-way in two directions

 Full-Duplex
 Two-way in two directions
Communication Direction (Cont.)
Communication Channel
 It is a physical path or frequency for a signal
transmission.
1. Cable Media – use physical wire or cables
to transmit data and information
2. Wireless media – the key to mobile
communications in today’s rapidly moving
society is data transmissions over
electromagnetic media – the “airwaves”
Communication Channel
1. Cable Media – Has 3 Types:
 Twisted-pair wire – consists of strands of
copper wire twisted in pairs
 Coaxial cable – consists of insulated
copper wire.
 Fiber optics – provides the means to
transmit information through clear glass
fibers in the form of light waves, instead of
electric current.
Twisted-pair cable
Twisted-pair cable
Coaxial Cable
Fiber Optic Cable
Communication Channel
2. Wireless Media
 Broadcast radio – a wireless transmission medium that
distributes radio signals through the air.
 Cellular Radio – a form of broadcast radio that is used
widely for mobile communications
 Microwaves – a system used for high-volume, long-
distance, point-to-point communication.
 Communication Satellite – is a space station that
receives microwave signals from an earth-based station,
amplifies the signals, and broadcasts the signals back
over a wide area to any number of earth-based stations.
 Infrared – is a wireless transmission media that sends
signals using infrared light waves. It also require a line-of-
sight transmission
Communication Network
 Consists of communication media, devices,
and software needed to connect two or more
computer systems and/or devices.
Two General Network Sizes:
 LAN (Local Area Network)

 MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)

 WAN (Wide Area Network)

LAN (Local Area Network)
 operate within a limited geographic area
 allow multiple access to high-bandwidth
media
 control the network privately under a local
administration
 provide full-time connectivity to local services
 connect physically adjacent devices
MAN (Metropolitan Area
Network)
 Is a computer network in which two or more
computers or communicating devices or
networks which are geographically separated
but in same metropolitan city and are
connected to each other are said to be
connected on MAN.
 Metropolitan limits are determined by local
municipal corporations; the larger the city, the
bigger the MAN, the smaller a metro city,
smaller the MAN.
WAN (Wide Area Network)
 Operate over a large geographically
separated areas
 Allow users to have real-time communication
capabilities with other users
 Provide full-time remote resources connected
to local services
 Provide e-mail, World Wide Web, file transfer,
and e-commerce services
Communication Network
Network Topology - defines the structure of the
network, it is the architecture, and pattern on
how the computer are arrange on the network.
There are two parts to the topology definition:
Physical topology, which is the actual layout of
the wire (media)
Logical topology, which defines how the media
is accessed by the hosts.
Bus Network Topology
 Bus networks (not to be confused with the
system bus of a computer) use a common
backbone to connect all devices.
 A single cable, the backbone functions as a
shared communication medium that devices
attach or tap into with an interface connector.
 A device wanting to communicate with another
device on the network sends a broadcast
message onto the wire that all other devices
see, but only the intended recipient actually
accepts and processes the message.
Ring Network Topology
 In a ring network, every device has exactly
two neighbors for communication purposes.
All messages travel through a ring in the
same direction (either "clockwise" or
"counterclockwise").
 A failure in any cable or device breaks the
loop and can take down the entire network.
Star Topology
 Many home networks use the star topology.
A star network features a central connection
point called a "hub node" that may be
a network hub, switch or router.
 Compared to the bus topology, a star network
generally requires more cable, but a failure in
any star network cable will only take down
one computer's network access and not the
entire LAN. (If the hub fails, however, the
entire network also fails.)
Tree Topology
 Tree topologies integrate multiple star topologies
together onto a bus. In its simplest form, only
hub devices connect directly to the tree bus, and
each hub functions as the root of a tree of
devices.
 This bus/star hybrid approach supports future
expandability of the network much better than a
bus (limited in the number of devices due to the
broadcast traffic it generates) or a star (limited
by the number of hub connection points) alone.
Mesh Topology
 Mesh topologies involve the concept of
routes. Unlike each of the previous
topologies, messages sent on a mesh
network can take any of several possible
paths from source to destination. (Recall that
even in a ring, although two cable paths exist,
messages can only travel in one direction.)
NETWORK COMMUNICATION SOFTWARE

A. Network Operating system

It is a systems software that controls the hardware devices,
software, and communications media and channels across a
network. It enables various devices to communicate with each
other. (Ex. NetWare)
 Client / Server Networks
 Peer-to-peer Networks
Network Operating System
Client / Server Networks
 Consists of two kinds of computer; a server
and a client
 May be a LAN or WAN

Peer-to-peer Networks
 Have workstations connected to each other
but do not have servers.
Client / Server Networks
Peer-to-peer Networks