Chapter Four

Transmission Basics and Networking Media

Objectives
Explain data transmission concepts including fullduplexing, attenuation, and noise Describe the physical characteristics of coaxial cable, STP, UTP, and fiber-optic media Explain the benefits and limitations of different networking media Identify the best practices for cabling buildings and work areas Describe the methods of transmitting data through the atmosphere

Transmission Basics
Transmission has two meanings:

Refers to process of issuing data signals on a medium Refers to progress of data signals over a medium

On a data network, information can be transmitted via one of two methods:

Analog Digital

Transmission Basics
Both analog and digital signals are generated by electrical current, pressure of which is measured in volts In analog signals, voltage varies continuously In digital signals, voltage turns off and on repeatedly

Transmission Basics

Figure 4-1: Example of an analog signal

Transmission Basics
Amplitude

Measure of a signals strength

Number of times a signals amplitude changes over a period of time Expressed in hertz (Hz)

Frequency

Wavelength

Distances between corresponding points on a waves cycle

Transmission Basics
Phase

Refers to progress of a wave over time in relationship to a fixed point

Figure 4-2: Phase differences

Transmission Basics

Figure 4-3: A complex analog signal representing human speech

Transmission Basics
Binary system encodes using 1s and 0s Bits can only have a value of either 1 or 0 Eight bits together form a byte Noise or any interference that may degrade
signals affects digital signals less than analog signals

Transmission Basics

Figure 4-4: Example of a digital signal

Data Modulation
Modem

Name reflects function as modulator/demodulator

Technique for formatting signals Method of data modulation in which frequency of carrier signal is modified by application of a data signal Modulation technique in which amplitude of carrier signal is modified by application of a data signal

Modulation

Frequency modulation (FM)

Amplitude modulation (AM)

Data Modulation

Figure 4-5: A carrier wave modified by frequency modulation

Transmission Direction
Simplex

Signals travel in only one direction

Signals may travel in both directions over a medium but in only one direction at a time Signals are free to travel in both directions over a medium simultaneously Also referred to just as duplex

Half-duplex

Full-duplex

Transmission Direction
Channel

Distinct communication path between two or more nodes

Figure 4-6: Simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex transmission

Transmission Direction
Multiplexing

Allows multiple signals to travel simultaneously over one medium To accommodate multiple signals, single medium is logically separated into subchannels For each type of multiplexing:
Multiplexer (mux) is required at sending end of
channel

Demultiplexer (demux) separates the combined

signals and regenerates them in original form

Transmission Direction
Time division multiplexing (TDM)

Divides channel into multiple intervals of time

Figure 4-7: Time division multiplexing

Transmission Direction
Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM)

Used only with fiber-optic cable Data is transmitted as pulses of light Fiber-optic modem (FOM) is a demultiplexer used on fiber networks that employ WDM

Figure 4-9: Wavelength division multiplexing

Relationships Between Nodes

Point-to-point

Transmission involving one transmitter and one receiver

Transmission involving one transmitter and multiple receivers Broadcast transmission used over the Web

Broadcast

Webcasting

Relationships Between Nodes

Figure 4-10: Point-to-point versus broadcast transmission

Throughput and Bandwidth

Throughput is amount of data the medium
can transmit during a given period of time

Also called capacity

Bandwidth measures difference between

highest and lowest frequencies a media can transmit

Range of frequencies is directly related to throughput

Transmission Flaws
Electromagnetic interference (EMI)

Interference that may be caused by motors, power lines, television, copiers, fluorescent lights, or other sources of electrical activity
Interference that may be generated by motors, power lines, televisions, copiers, fluorescent lights, or broadcast signals from radio or TV towers

Radiofrequency interference (RFI)

Transmission Flaws

Figure 4-11: An analog signal distorted by noise

Transmission Flaws

Figure 4-12: A digital signal distorted by noise

Transmission Flaws
Attenuation

Loss of signal strength as transmission travels away from source Analog signals pass through an amplifier, which increases not only voltage of a signal but also noise accumulated

Figure 4-13: An analog signal distorted by noise, and then amplified

Transmission Flaws
Regeneration

Process of retransmitting a digital signal

Device used to regenerate a signal

Repeater

Figure 4-14: A digital signal distorted by noise, and then repeated

Coaxial Cable
Consists of central copper core surrounded by an insulator, braiding, and outer cover called a sheath
Figure 4-15: Coaxial cable

Coaxial Cable

Table 4-2: Some types of coaxial cable

Thicknet (10Base5)
Also called thickwire Ethernet Rigid coaxial cable used on original Ethernet networks IEEE designates Thicknet as 10Base5 Ethernet Almost never used on new networks but you may find it on older networks

Used to connect one data closet to another as part of network backbone

Thicknet Characteristics
Throughput

According to IEEE 802.3, Thicknet transmits data at maximum rate of 10 Mbps

Cost

Less expensive than fiber-optic but more expensive than some other types of coaxial cable
Can include a few different types of connectors, which are very different from those used on modern networks

Connector

Thicknet Characteristics
N-series connector (or n connector)

Screw-and-barrel arrangement securely connects coaxial cable segments and devices

Figure 4-18: N-Series connector

Thicknet Characteristics
Noise immunity

Because of its wide diameter and excellent shielding, has the highest resistance to noise of any commonly used types of network wiring
Because of its high noise resistance, it allows data to travel longer than other types of cabling

Size and scalability

Thinnet (10Base2)
Also known as thin Ethernet Characteristics:

Throughput
Can transmit at maximum rate of 10 Mbps

Cost
Less expensive than Thicknet and fiber-optic cable More expensive than twisted-pair wiring

Connectors
Connects wire to network devices with BNC T-connectors
A seen in Figure 4-19, BNC barrel connectors are used to join two Thinnet cable segments together

Thinnet (10Base2)
Characteristics (cont.):

Size and scalability

Allows a maximum of 185 m per network segment (see Figure 4-20)

Noise immunity
More resistant than twisted-pair wiring Less resistant than twisted-pair wiring

Figure 4-19: Thinnet BNC connectors

Thinnet (10Base2)
Signal bounce

Caused by improper termination on a bus network Travels endlessly between two ends of network Prevents new signals from getting through
Figure 4-20: A 10Base2 Ethernet network

Twisted-Pair (TP) Cable

Color-coded pairs of insulated copper wires twisted around each other and encased in plastic coating Twists in wire help reduce effects of

crosstalk

Number of twists per meter or foot known as

twist ratio

Alien Crosstalk

When signals from adjacent cables interfere with another cables transmission

Figure 21: Twisted-pair cable

Shielded Twisted-Pair (STP)

STP cable consists of twisted wire pairs that are individually insulated and surrounded by shielding made of metallic substance

Figure 4-22: STP cable

Unshielded Twisted-Pair
Consists of one or more insulated wire pairs encased in a plastic sheath Does not contain additional shielding

Figure 4-23: UTP cable

Unshielded Twisted-Pair
To manage network cabling, it is necessary to be familiar with standards used on modern networks, particularly Category 3 (CAT3) and Category 5 (CAT5)
Figure 4-24: A CAT5 UTP cable

Comparing STP and UTP

Throughput

Both can transmit up to 100 Mbps

Typically, STP is more expensive Both use RJ-45 connectors (see Figure 4-27) and data jacks

Cost

Connector

Noise immunity

STP is more noise-resistant

Maximum segment length for both is 100 meters

Size and scalability

RJ-45 Connector

Figure 4-27: An RJ-45 connector

Fiber-Optic Cable
Contains one or several glass fibers at its

core

Surrounding the fibers is a layer of glass called

cladding
Figure 4-28: A fiber-optic cable

Fiber-Optic Cable
Single-mode fiber

Carries light pulses along single path Many pulses of light generated by LED travel at different angles

Multimode fiber

Figure 4-29: Single-mode and multimode fiber-optic cables

Fiber-Optic Cable
Throughput

Reliable in transmitting up to 1 gigabit per second Most expensive type of cable

Cost

Fiber-Optic Cable
Noise immunity

Unaffected by either EMI or RFI

Network segments made from fiber can span 100 meters Signals transmitted over fiber can experience

Size and scalability

optical loss

Fiber-Optic Cable
Two popular connectors used with fiber-optic cable:

ST connectors SC connectors

Figure 4-30: ST and SC fiber connectors

Atmospheric Transmission Media

Infrared transmission

Infrared networks use infrared light

signals to transmit data through space Direct infrared transmission depends on transmitter and receiver remaining within line of sight In indirect infrared transmission, signals can bounce off of walls, ceilings, and any other objects in their path

Atmospheric Transmission Media

RF transmission

Radio frequency (RF) transmission relies

on signals broadcast over specific frequencies Two most common RF technologies:
Narrowband Spread spectrum

Choosing the Right Transmission Media

Areas of high EMI or RFI Corners and small spaces Distance Security Existing infrastructure Growth

Chapter Summary
Information can be transmitted via analog or digital methodology Throughput is the amount of data a medium can transmit during a given period of time Noise is interference that distorts an analog or digital signal Costs depend on many factors There are three specifications that dictate size and scalability of networking media Connectors connect wire to the network device

Chapter Summary
Coaxial cable consists of central copper core surrounded by an insulator and a sheath Thicknet cabling is a rigid coaxial cable used for original Ethernet networks Both Thicknet and Thinnet coaxial cable rely on bus topology and must be terminated at both ends with a resistor Twisted-pair cable consists of color-coded pairs of insulated copper wires, twisted around each other and encased in plastic coating

Chapter Summary
STP cable consists of twisted pair wires individually insulated and surrounded by a shielding made of metallic substance UTP cabling consists of one or more insulated wire pairs encased in a plastic sheath Fiber-optic cable contains one or several glass fibers in its core On todays networks, fiber is used primarily as backbone cable