Basic Principles

of Data Transfer

Computer Networks
Lecture 1
Classification of Data
Transfers

2
Classification According to the
Direction of the Communication
Simplex – signal can flow in only one direction
Example: TV broadcasting
Half duplex – communication is possible in both
directions, but only one direction at a time (i.e. not
simultaneously)
Examples: "walkie-talkie" 2-way radio, Ethernet
stations connected by a hub
Full duplex – allows communication in both
directions simultaneously
Example: Switched Ethernet
3
Parallel and Serial Communication

Parallel - multiple bits transmitted in parallel

Serial – data are transmitted bit-by-bit
asynchronous
synchronous

In computer networks, the serial communication is

mostly used

→ because of the cost of the cable plus the media

interface circuitry and synchronization difficulties
4
Asynchronous Serial Communication (1)
Data are transmitted character by character (characters may
have either 8, 7,6 or 5 bits)
Receiver and transmitter maintain their own (independent)
clocks (of the same frequency)
Before transmission of every single character, the phase of a
receiver clock is synchronized (using the leading edge of the
start bit)
as the difference between the transmitter and receiver
clocks still increases, we may transfer just a few bits without
a need of resynchronization

5
Asynchronous Serial Communication (2)

The parity bit at the end of each character helps to detect

(some types of) transmission errors
A pause between characters is inevitable to give receiver
a chance to process the character
A stop bit has to have an opposite polarity (1) than the
start bit (0)
The need of the synchronization before each character
and inter-character pauses decrease the efficiency
compared to synchronous communication
Used for low-speed character-oriented communication
Terminals, industrial automation, PC COM ports

Detailed explanation at
6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asynchronous_serial_communication
Synchronous Serial Communication (1)
The receiver clock is derived from the received
signal
the transmitter and receiver clocks always
synchronized
Data are transmitted in frames containing
Header
Payload
Variable-length (typically hundreds of bytes to a
few kilobytes)
Frame checksum (FCS)
Frames are delimited by flags in a transmitted bit
stream
7
Synchronous Serial Communication (2)
If there are no data to transmit, the transmitter
transmits just the empty frames (repeating flags)
No need for reoccurring synchronization before every
character
lower overhead

Used for high-speed data transfers and on

isochronous links
In LANs, on WAN links
ISDN channels

8
 Processes Involved
in Data Transmission

9
How is the Transmitted Data
Represented ?
The transmitted data are represented by changes of
a suitable physical quantity, i.e. a signal s(t)
The most commonly used physical quantities are
Voltage (current)
Intensity of the electromagnetic radiation (light)
Sound pressure
…

10
 Transmission Media
Transmitter Receiver

Data

The signal travels along the medium (either guided

or wireless)
optical fiber
twisted pair
coaxial cable
...

11
 The Processes Involved in the Data
Transmission
Transmitter Receiver
Data
Data
1001101
Encoding Decoding
U
Signal Signal
t

(Modulation) (Demodulation)

(Modulated) (Modulated)
Signal Signal

Medium

12
How does the Transmission Medium
Influence the Signal ?
?
Medium

Medium

noise
13
Characteristics of Transmission Media
attenuation, crosstalk, (ACR)
velocity of the signal propagation
return loss
…
Media characteristics are frequency-dependent
We try to utilize as narrow frequency band as
possible
so that the media characteristics do not differ too
much over the whole band

14
The Utilizable Frequency Band of the
Medium
We use the medium in a frequency range where it
has a desirable parameters

The medium
behaves as a
low-pass filter

The medium behaves

as a band-pass
filter

There may also exist multiple utilizable frequency

bands 15
How is the Signal Influenced by the
Medium Itself ?
Sine-wave signal
contains just the single frequency
we may obtain the value of the particular parameter
from the measured medium characteristics

What about general signal – ???

16
Decomposition of the Signal into the
Harmonic Components
Any (periodic) signal may be treated as a sum
of (an infinite number of) the sine-wave signals
of various frequencies
multiples of the basic frequency
Individual signal components differ in
amplitude and phase shift
Calculated using a Fourier series
We may investigate how the medium
influences the individual signal components
and sum up the results

17
Usage of Fourier Series
to Investigate the Deformation
of a General Signal
Transmitter Medium
1st component Parameters
Signal @f1
2nd component
Fourier Parameters +
transform @f2
Nth component

We neglect the Parameters

components @fN
starting from Distorted
the (N+1)th signal
component

Every signal component is

attenuated differently and
propagates with the different Receiver
velocity 18
 How to Decompose a Signal to Harmonic
Components?
1
g t A n . sin n t B n . sin n t c
n :1 n: 1
2

2
T

T
2
An g t . sin n t dt
T 0
T
2
Bn g t . cos n t dt
T 0
T
2
c g t dt
T 0

g(t) is the original (periodic) signal, T is the period

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourier_series for more detailed
explanation 19
Frequency Spectrum of the Signal

Indicates how much power is carried by individual

harmonic components
Allows us to assess how much neglecting (filtering out) of
some components influences the signal

20
An Example (1)

21
An Example (2)

22
Baseband and Broadband
Transmission

23
Baseband and Broadband
Transmission Comparison
Baseband
Utilizes the full bandwidth of the medium
The signal can include frequencies that are very near zero
Broadband
Uses a specific part of the utilizable bandwidth of the
medium
Multiple communications may share the medium at the same
time
Avoids usage of subbands with unsuitable characteristics
Static or dynamic selection

24
Broadband Transmission

25
The Principle of the Broadband
Transmission
The signal have to be shifted to a frequency
band suitable for transmission over a particular
medium using the modulation

Also solves the problems with channels that

cannot pass the DC component

26
The Principle of the Modulation
Process
We choose a sine-wave carrier signal
with a frequency suitable for
transmission over the given medium

s t A.sin t
Then we change the carrier signal parameters
to represent data bits being transmitted
amplitude
frequency
phase
combination of the above
27
Amplitude, Frequency and Phase
Modulation

28
Phase Modulation
(Phase-Shift Keying,PSK)
If we have 2n possible phase changes, we may
encode n bits using one signal change
e.g. encode 2 simultaneously data bits by changing
the signal by either 45, 135, 225 or 315 degrees (4
options)
The number of possible signal change options is
limited by capability of the receiver circuitry to
differentiate between them

29
Quadrature Amplitude
Modulation (QAM)
Combines together the amplitude and phase shifts

30
Transfer Rate vs. Modulation Rate

Modulation Rate = number of changes of a signal

during a time interval
Measured in bauds [Bd]
Transfer Rate = number of bits transferred during
a time interval
Measured in bits per seconds [bps]
The transfer rate can be higher than the
modulation rate, as we may represent multiple
bits by a single signal change
provided that we have enough types of the
signal changes
31
Baseband Transmission

32
Principle of the Baseband
Transmission
The encoded bit stream is transmitted in the
original frequency band
modulation is not used
Commonly used for metallic media in LANs and
optical media in both LANs and WANs
the distance is limited due to unsuitable
characteristics of the medium in some parts of
the utilized frequency band
If the modulation is not used, we need an
another mechanism of the phase synchronization
between transmitter and receiver => data
encoding
33
Data Encoding for Baseband
Transmission
To give a receiver a chance to synchronize with a
transmitter, we need to ensure enough changes of
the signal
necessary for the phase synchronization and
continuous adjustment of the receiver clock
but a signal with more changes during a time interval
contains higher frequencies and thus requires wider
frequency band
Removes the DC component
If the coupling circuitry (such as a transformer) does
not pass the DC component, we would not be able to
differentiate between a sequence of 0's and a
sequence of 1's
Do not confuse the data encoding with data
encryption applied for security purposes 34
Non Return to Zero Encoding (NRZ)

0s and 1s are encoded directly by a low and high

signal levels during the whole bit interval
binary 0: low signal level
binary 1: high signal level

35
Problems with NRZ Encoding

If the DC component is not passed, we cannot

differentiate a sequence of 0's and a sequence of
1's

In case of a long sequence of 0's or 1's the

receiver cannot maintain the time
synchronization
„Did we receive 1000 or 1001 zeros”

36
The Encodings Most Used
in Baseband Transmission
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_code

37
Manchester, Differential Manchester
Manchester
A 1 is expressed by a low-to-high transition at the middle of
the period, a 0 by a high-to-low transition
Transitions at the start of a period are made as necessary
and don't signify data
Used in 10Mbps Ethernet (on copper media)
Differential Manchester
A 0 is expressed as a signal change at the beginning of a
period, a 1 as an unchanged value
There is always a transition at the middle of the period
(either low-to-high or high-to low as necessary to encode the
subsequent bit)

38
Manchester and Differential
Manchester - An Example

39
Return Zero (RZ)
Three signal levels (0, -1, +1)
The first half of the bit interval encodes the data bit
value
+1 represents binary 1
-1 represents binary 0
The signal is always on the level 0 in the second half
of the bit interval

40
Non Return to Zero Inverted (NRZI)
Two signal levels
Change of the signal encodes binary 1
To encode binary 0 the signals keeps the original level

41
Alternate Mark Inversion (AMI)

3 signal levels (0, +1, -1)

Binary 0: level 0
Binary 1: represented alternately by +1 a -1 levels
By violation of polarity alternation rule, we may mark
a significant event in the data stream
e.g. the beginning/end of a frame, as in ISDN BRI
S/T interface
There is still a problem to maintain receiver
synchronization during long sequences of
transmitted 0s
42
HDB3

Modification of AMI
Solves the problem of loosing the synchronization during
sequences of 0s
Inserts 1 after 3 consecutive 0s
The inserted 1 is identified by violation of polarity
alternation rule
Used on PCM E1-E3 links
Digital links between telephony COs

43
Code Mark Inversion (CMI)

Used to transfer AMI/HDB3 over optical lines

Optical lines do not allow to use 3 levels (just
„light/darkness“)
The one of the original 3 signal levels is encoded as a
combination of two bits
one combination remains unused

44
4B5B (5B6B, …)

Groups of 4 bits are mapped to (a chosen) 5-bit

marks
Similarly, 5 bits may be mapped to (a chosen) 6-bit
marks etc.
Marks are chosen with regard to a reasonable
number of changes and balancing of the resulting
signal
i.e. all 0s, all 1s are excluded
Some marks are used to represent significant states
frame beginning and end, idle link
Usage example: Fast Ethernet 45
2B1Q

2 bits are represented as one of the 4 amplitude levels

Usage example: U interface of ISDN BRI

46