4.5 Communication Channels The path through which data is transmitted from one place to another is called channel. It is also known as communication media or transmission media. There are different types of transmission media * Bounded Media * Unbounded Media 4.5.1 Physical/Bounded/Guided Transmission Media ing snpEtided media, communication devices are directly connected with each other by using some physical media like wires. Itis also called bounded medi Some examples of bounded media for communicati © Twisted Pair * Coaxial Cable + Fiber Optics, 1. Twisted Pair ‘Twisted pair is the most commonly used physical local area network to connect computers and other device ‘Twisted pair consists of a pair of copper insulation and it is twisted together. Twistis external electromagnetic waves Types of Twisted Pair Cable ‘Two types of twisted pair are as follows: 1, Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Shielded Twisted Pair contains ‘The shielding reduces the electromag bat 2. Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) It does not contain a layer of foil shietai ion are as follows: Fransmission medium. It is used in es, * wires. The pair of wires ig ce plastic ‘overed by a ng of Wires protects them from pie by} Networks and Data Communication ‘Twisted pairs Fou o shielding Figure: Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Cable Figure: Unshilded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable Characteristics of Twisted Pair Different characteristics of twisted pair are as follows: 4 Ikisan inexpensive transmission medium + tis easy to install + Itcan transfer data to a short distance, 2.Coaxial Cable Coaxial cable consists of copper wire covered by an insulating material. The insulated Copper wire is covered by copper mesh. The mesh protects the data signals from interference by external electromagnetic waves. Coaxial cables are used by the cable TV network and ‘companies Characteristics of Coaxial Cable Different characteristics of coaxial cable areas follows: * Itis more expensive transmission medium than twisted pair. Itprovides higher data transfer rate than twisted pair cable. * Itcan be installed very easily ' Figure: Coaxial Cableee as peekeyi pa ett tas seamtanmen Roce eo ae Sea en me a eats and cable TV operators are using fiber opis in he Jacket Cone casing Figure Fiber Optics Advantages of Fiber Optic ‘+ Fiber optic networks work ata very high speed. * The information carrying capacity of fiber optics is very high. + Fiber optcis lighter and smaller in size + Ikis more secure and reliable form of data transmission Itis not affected by electromagnetic waves. Disadvantages of Fiber Optic + is difficult o install + Itisexpensive, 4.5.2 Wireless/Unbounded/Unguided Transmission Media Imani mets commana vies cmmunnon eth oy oe anghle crepe ig bade a ngs meron pth er gh mea ed whore impose ol i Dasa gs, Unbound Betting cu oa wes rat ae De some cumple of utdondad near sommanssion areas ons Microwave ‘Communication Satelite Broadcast Radio Cellular Radio Infrared 1. Microwave System Microwaves are rai waves tht ar used to provide high peed tasmison Bo voice and dita can be transmitted through microwa . s ve. Data is transmitted through the aif from une microwave station to another similar to radio signals, aRS Figure: Microwave System Microwave uses line-of-sight transmission. It means that signals travel in straight path and cannot bend. The microwave stations or antennas are usually installed on high towers or buildings. The stations are placed within 20 to 30 miles to each other. Fach station receives signal from previous station and transfer to the next station. In this way, data transferred from one place to another. There should be no buildings or mountains between the stations. 2.Communication Satellite Satellite communication is a space station that receives microwave signals from earth- Iased station. It amplifies the signals and retransmits them back to different earth-based stations. The satellite communication is placed about 22,300 miles above the earth. The transmission from earth-based station to satellite is called uplink, The transmission from ‘satellite to earth-based station is called downlink. The data transmission of satellite communication is very high. However, bad weather ‘an affect the quality of satellite transmission, Satellite communication is used in different applications such as television and radio broadcasts, weather forecasting, global positing sgsiem and Internet connections et Figure: Satellite Communications 4 Broadcast Radio Poe... Broadcast radio is a wireless transmission medium. It distributes radio signals throu the sir over long and short distances. Radio transmission requires @ transmitter to send radio signals and a receiver to receive it. The receiver uses an antenna to receive signal, Some networks use transceiver hatcan both send and recive signals, ‘An example of short-range broadcast radio communications is Bluetooth™ Shorange rad waves to taneit data a arate of | Mbps among Blueloot™ enabled = Ji gcc in personal computers, Internet appliances cellular phones Bluetooth tines and printers: ° io used for mobile communications. Tt is ny So et ol one ws Connect notebooks or mobile computer to a cellular telephone to access the Web and, and receive email ete 5. Infrared Tnfrared (i) is «wiles transmission meu, Ison signals using fae Waves, It requires a lin-of sight transmission, Mouse, printer and digital camera hay TDA port that enables the transfer of data from one device to another using infrared ‘Waves. tis an altemative to short-range radio communications ike Bluetooth 4.6 Communication Devices ‘The hardware used to transmit data, instructions ans information between a and receiving device is called communication device. A communication device at: fend ‘sends data to a communication channel. A communication device at receiv Feceives data from communication channel. Sometimes, communication device may agp ‘convert the data from digital to analog and analog to digital signals 4.6.1 Modem | Modem stands for modulatoy/demodulator. I is a commonly used communicatin device. Modem sends and receives data from one computer to another on the Inte through telephone lines, The sending and receiving computers both must have modems, Working of Dialup Modem Computer stores information in the form of digital signals. However, the information transmitted over the telephone lines is in the form of analog signals. The modem rece) data from computer in digital form and converts it into analog, form. This process is all ‘modulation. It sends analog signals to other computer using telephone lines ‘The modem on receiving computer receives data in anal data back into digital form. This process is called demodulati og form. It converts the anal) ion | Figure: Data transmission by Modem, Feaiwses of Modem ‘Some important features of modem are as follows: ae It her al which the modem cay aes 5 Speeds are 300 bps to Sk bps 4 pTypeNetworks and Data Communication 7 | geetening Modem can tt the digital connection with computer, can also test Yoice over ata Modem provides the facility of voice conversation while data is being, transmitted. Both the source and destination modems must have this feature. frerControl Modems use different methods to control errors for transmitted data, 46.2 Network Card Network card isa communication device. is also card calle Network Interface Card (MIO) or LAN adapter. Iti used to connect a computer toa network Iisa citcult board insalled on the motherboard. Nowadays, most computer systems have a network card built {nto the motherboard. Fach computer on the network must have a network card. Different types of network cards are available, Wireless network cards have an antenna that sends and receives data Figure: Network card 4.6.3 Wireless Access Point A wireless access point is a contral communication device, It allows computer and ther devices to transfer data wirelessly among themseleves or to a wited network. Wireless acess points have high quality antennas for optimal signals, Some manufactures suggest to Place the wireless access point atthe highest possible location for the best signal Figure: Wireless network card Figure: Wireless hub 46.4 HUB , i i rovides a cents Aub als calle concentrator cr multiatation access unit (MAU). Ip ts Point for cables in a network. Hubs also transmit signals and have multiple ports to which are connected,sex > Computer Applications in rrsevi joadcasts all. messages to connects the computers to 4 network. It be x takes the ee Baltaseceei but nly ‘he intended ee ae ht can ‘computers that are not the recipients of the message 1890" ‘only one-way information traffic ata time F ] eo Figure: iu It broadcasts all messages to every computer on the network but only the intend eceiptient computer takes the message. The computers that are not the receiptiens of message ignores the message. A hub can handle only one-way information traffic ata Hime 4.6.5 Network Switch Network switch is more intelligent device than hub. The switch improve Bt ficiency of the data transfer in the network. It receives a message from any dtl connected to the network and then transmis the message only to that eve for eh message was meant. Itcan also handle multiple commanteann ons channels at the same time‘Networks and Data Communication router is a commuincation device that connects multiple computers or other routers . It connects multiple networks using similar or different protocols. It manages the "route between any two communication networks. Routers are used when several ‘are connected together. They can connect networks of different countries. They data in less time. The router is an intelligent device. It uses algorithms to find out the ‘pest path to transfer data to a network, 46.7 Bridges , E- ‘Anetwork bridge can be used in computer networks to interconnect two LANs and to PI rori segments. A segment is a seton of network ~—— Segment TAND Figure: Bridge When a bridge receives a signal, it determines the segment where the signal should be ‘sent. Itreads the addresses of sending and receiving computers. The bridge does not pass the signal t6 the other segment if sending and receiving computers are both in the same segment. Tereduces network traffic and increases network performance. ———