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UNIT 2 – DATA AND SIGNALS

Data and Signals: Periodic analog signals, digital signals, transmission impairment, data rate
limits, performance.
Digital transmission: Digital to digital conversion, analog-to-digital conversion, transmission
modes.

Analog and Digital Data

Data can be analog or digital. The term analog data refers to information that is continuous;
digital data refers to information that has discrete states. For example, an analog clock that
has hour, minute, and second hands gives information in a continuous form; the movements
of the hands are continuous. On the other hand, a digital clock that reports the hours and
the minutes will change suddenly from 8:05 to 8:06.
Analog data, such as the sounds made by a human voice, take on continuous values.
When someone speaks, an analog wave is created in the air. This can be captured by a
microphone and converted to an analog signal or sampled and converted to a digital
signal.
Digital data take on discrete values. For example, data are stored in computer
memory in the form of Os and 1s. They can be converted to a digital signal or modulated
into an analog signal for transmission across a medium.

Analog and Digital Signals

Like the data they represent, signals can be either analog or digital. An analog signal has
infinitely many levels of intensity over a period of time. As the wave moves from value A to
value B, it passes through and includes an infinite number of values along its path. A digital
signal, on the other hand, can have only a limited number of defined values. Although each
value can be any number, it is often as simple as 1 and O.
The simplest way to show signals is by plotting them on a pair of perpendicular
axes. The vertical axis represents the value or strength of a signal. The horizontal axis
represents time. Figure illustrates an analog signal and a digital signal. The curve
representing the analog signal passes through an infinite number of points. The vertical
lines of the digital signal, however, demonstrate the sudden jump that the signal makes
from value to value. Signals can be analog or digital. Analog signals can have an infinite
number of values in a range; digital signals can have only a limited number of values.
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Periodic and Nonperiodic Signals

Both analog and digital signals can take one of two forms: periodic or nonperiodic
(sometimes refer to as aperiodic, because the prefix a in Greek means "non"). A periodic
signal completes a pattern within a measurable time frame, called a period, and repeats
that pattern over subsequent identical periods. The completion of one full pattern is called a
cycle. A nonperiodic signal changes without exhibiting a pattern or cycle that repeats over
time. Both analog and digital signals can be periodic or nonperiodic. In data
communications, we commonly use periodic analog signals (because they need less
bandwidth) and nonperiodic digital signals (because they can represent variation in data).

Periodic Analog Signals

Periodic analog signals can be classified as simple or composite. A simple periodic
analog signal, a sine wave, cannot be decomposed into simpler signals. A composite
periodic analog signal is composed of multiple sine waves.

Sine Wave
The sine wave is the most fundamental form of a periodic analog signal. When we visualize it
as a simple oscillating curve, its change over the course of a cycle is smooth and consistent, a
continuous, rolling flow. Figure shows a sine wave. Each cycle consists of a single arc above
the time axis followed by a single arc below it.

A sine wave can be represented by three parameters: the peak amplitude, the frequency,
and the phase.

Peak Amplitude: The peak amplitude of a signal is the absolute value of its highest intensity,
proportional to the energy it carries. For electric signals, peak amplitude is normally
measured in volts.

Period and Frequency: Period refers to the amount of time, in seconds, a signal needs to
complete 1 cycle. Frequency refers to the number of periods in I s. Note that period and
frequency are just one characteristic defined in two ways. Period is the inverse of frequency,
and frequency is the inverse of period, as the following formulas show.

f= 1/T and t= 1/F

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Phase: The term phase describes the position of the waveform relative to time O. If we think
of the wave as something that can be shifted backward or forward along the time axis,
phase describes the amount of that shift. It indicates the status of the first cycle.

Digital Signals
In addition to being represented by an analog signal, information can also be represented
by a digital signal. For example, a I can be encoded as a positive voltage and a 0 as zero
voltage. A digital signal can have more than two levels. In this case, we can send more than
1 bit for each level. Figure 3.16 shows two signals, one with two levels and the other with
four.

Characteristics
Bit Rate
Most digital signals are nonperiodic, and thus period and frequency are not appropriate
characteristics. Another term-bit rate (instead ofjrequency)-is used to describe digital
signals. The bit rate is the number of bits sent in Is, expressed in bits per second (bps).

Bit Length
We discussed the concept of the wavelength for an analog signal: the distance one cycle
occupies on the transmission medium. We can define something similar for a digital
signal: the bit length. The bit length is the distance one bit occupies on the transmission
medium.

Digital Signal as a Composite Analog Signal

• Based on Fourier analysis, a digital signal is a composite analog signal.
• A digital signal, in the time domain, comprises connected
vertical and horizontal line segments.
• Fourier analysis can be used to decompose a digital signal.
• If the digital signal is periodic, which is rare in data communications, the
decomposed signal has a frequency domain representation with an infinite
bandwidth and discrete frequencies.
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• If the digital signal is nonperiodic, the decomposed signal still has an infinite
bandwidth, but the frequencies are continuous. Figure shows a periodic and a
nonperiodic digital signal
and their bandwidths.

Transmission of Digital Signals

We can transmit a digital signal by using one of two different approaches: baseband
transmission or broadband transmission(using modulation).

Baseband Transmission
• Baseband transmission means sending a digital signal over a channel without
changing the digital signal to an analog signal.
• Baseband transmission requires that we have a low-pass channel, a channel with a
bandwidth that starts from zero. This is the case if we have a dedicated medium with
bandwidth constituting only one channel. For example, the entire bandwidth of a
cable connecting two computers is one single channel. As another example, we may
connect several computers to a bus, but not allow more than two stations to
communicate at a time.

Broadband Transmission (Using Modulation)

• Broadband transmission or modulation means changing the digital signal to an
analog signal for transmission. Modulation allows us to use a bandpass channel-a
channel with a bandwidth that does not start from zero. This type of channel is more
available than a low-pass channel.
• If the available channel is a bandpass channel we cannot send the digital signal
directly to the channel; we need to convert the digital signal to an analog signal
before transmission.

Transmission Impairment
Signals travel through transmission media, which are not petfect. The impetfection causes signal
impairment. This means that the signal at the beginning of the medium is not the same as the
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signal at the end of the medium. What is sent is not what is received. Three causes of impairment
are attenuation, distortion, and noise (see Figure )

Attenuation
• Attenuation means a loss of energy. When a signal, simple or composite, travels
through a medium, it loses some of its energy in overcoming the resistance of the
medium. That is why a wire carrying electric signals gets warm, if not hot, after a
while. Some of the electrical energy in the signal is converted to heat.
• To compensatefor this loss, amplifiers are used to amplify the signal.
• To show that a signal has lost or gained strength, engineers use the unit of the
decibel. The decibel (dB) measures the relative strengths of two signals or
one signal at two different points. Note that the decibel is negative if a signal is
attenuated and positive if a signal is amplified.
Figure shows the effect of attenuation and amplification.

Distortion
• Distortion means that the signal changes its form or shape.
• Distortion can occur in a composite signal made of different frequencies. Each signal
component has its own propagation speed (see the next section) through a medium
and, therefore, its own delay in arriving at the final destination. Differences in delay
may create a difference in phase if the delay is not exactly the same as the period
duration.
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• In other words, signal components at the receiver have phases different from what
they had at the sender. The shape of the composite signal is therefore not the same.
Figure shows the effect of distortion on a composite signal.

Noise
• Noise is another cause of impairment. Several types of noise, such as thermal noise,
induced noise, crosstalk, and impulse noise, may corrupt the signal. Thermal noise is
the random motion of electrons in a wire which creates an extra signal not originally
sent by the transmitter. Induced noise comes from sources such as motors and
appliances.
• These devices act as a sending antenna, and the transmission medium acts as the
receiving antenna. Crosstalk is the effect of one wire on the other. One wire acts as a
sending antenna and the other as the receiving antenna. Impulse noise is a spike (a
signal with high energy in a very short time) that comes from power lines, lightning,
and so on. Figure shows the effect of noise on a signal.

Data Rate Limits

A very important consideration in data communications is how fast we can send data, in
bits per second over a channel. Data rate depends on three factors:
1. The bandwidth available
2. The level of the signals we use
3. The quality of the channel (the level of noise)
Two theoretical formulas were developed to calculate the data rate: one by Nyquist for
a noiseless channel. another by Shannon for a noisy channel
Noiseless Channel: Nyquist Bit Rate
For a noiseless channel, the Nyquist bit rate formula defines the theoretical maximum bit
rate
BitRate = 2 x bandwidth x 10g2 L
In this formula, bandwidth is the bandwidth of the channel, L is the number of signal levels
used to represent data, and BitRate is the bit rate in bits per second.

Noisy Channel: Shannon Capacity

In reality, we cannot have a noiseless channel; the channel is always noisy. In 1944, Claude
Shannon introduced a formula, called the Shannon capacity, to determine the theoretical
highest data rate for a noisy channel:
Capacity =bandwidth X log2 (1 +SNR)
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In this formula, bandwidth is the bandwidth of the channel, SNR is the signal-tonoise ratio,
and capacity is the capacity of the channel in bits per second. The formula defines a
characteristic of the channel, not the method of transmission.
The Shannon capacity gives us the upper limit; the Nyquist formula tells us how many signal
levels we need.

Performance
One important issue in networking is the performance of the network-how good is it? We
discuss quality of service, an overall measurement of network performance.

Bandwidth
One characteristic that measures network performance is bandwidth. However, the term
can be used in two different contexts with two different measuring values: bandwidth in
hertz and bandwidth in bits per second.

• Bandwidth in hertz is the range of frequencies contained in a composite signal or the

range of frequencies a channel can pass. For example, we can say the bandwidth of a
subscriber telephone line is 4 kHz.
• Bandwidth in Bits per Seconds also refer to the number of bits per second that a
channel, a link, or even a network can transmit. For example, one can say the
bandwidth of a Fast Ethernet network (or the links in this network) is a maximum of
100 Mbps. This means that this network can send 100 Mbps.

Throughput
• The throughput is a measure of how fast we can actually send data through a
network.
• Although, at first glance, bandwidth in bits per second and throughput seem the
same,they are different. A link may have a bandwidth of B bps, but we can only send
T bps through this link with T always less than B. In other words, the bandwidth is a
potential measurement of a link.
• For example, we may have a link with a bandwidth of 1 Mbps, but the devices
connected to the end of the link may handle only 200 kbps. This means that we
cannot send more than 200 kbps through this link.

Latency (Delay)
The latency or delay defines how long it takes for an entire message to completely arrive at
the destination from the time the first bit is sent out from the source. We can say that
latency is made of four components: propagation time, transmission time, queuing time and
processing delay.
Latency =propagation time +transmission time +queuing time + processing delay

→Propagation time measures the time required for a bit to travel from the source to the
destination.
→The time required for transmission of a message depends on the size of the message and
the bandwidth of the channel.
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→Queuing time is the time needed for each intermediate or end device to hold the
message before it can be processed.

Bandwidth-Delay Product
Bandwidth and delay are two performance metrics of a link. very important in data
communications is the product of the two, the bandwidth-delay product.
The bandwidth delay product defines the number of bits that can fill the link.

Digital Transmission
Data or information can be stored in two ways, analog and digital. For a computer to use the
data, it must be in discrete digital form.Similar to data, signals can also be in analog and
digital form. To transmit data digitally, it needs to be first converted to digital form.

Digital-to-Digital Conversion
It can be done in two ways, line coding and block coding. For all communications, line
coding is necessary whereas block coding is optional.

Line Coding
The process for converting digital data into digital signal is said to be Line Coding. Digital
data is found in binary format. It is represented (stored) internally as series of 1s and 0s.

Digital signal is denoted by discreet signal, which represents digital data .There are three
types of line coding schemes available:
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Uni-polar Encoding: Unipolar encoding schemes use single voltage level to represent
data. In this case, to represent binary 1, high voltage is transmitted and to represent 0, no
voltage is transmitted. It is also called Unipolar-Non-return-to-zero, because there is no rest
condition i.e. it either represents 1 or 0.

Polar Encoding: Polar encoding scheme uses multiple voltage levels to represent binary
values. Polar encodings is available in four types:

• Polar Non-Return to Zero (Polar NRZ): It uses two different voltage levels to
represent binary values. Generally, positive voltage represents 1 and negative value
represents 0. It is also NRZ because there is no rest condition.
• NRZ scheme has two variants: NRZ-L and NRZ-I.

NRZ-L changes voltage level at when a different bit is encountered whereas NRZ-I changes
voltage when a 1 is encountered.

• Return to Zero (RZ): Problem with NRZ is that the receiver cannot conclude when
a bit ended and when the next bit is started, in case when sender and receiver’s
clock are not synchronized.
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RZ uses three voltage levels, positive voltage to represent 1, negative voltage to

represent 0 and zero voltage for none. Signals change during bits not between bits.

• Manchester: This encoding scheme is a combination of RZ and NRZ-L. Bit time is

divided into two halves. It transits in the middle of the bit and changes phase when a
different bit is encountered.
• Differential Manchester: This encoding scheme is a combination of RZ and NRZ-I.
It also transit at the middle of the bit but changes phase only when 1 is encountered.

Bipolar Encoding: Bipolar encoding uses three voltage levels, positive, negative and zero.
Zero voltage represents binary 0 and bit 1 is represented by altering positive and negative
voltages.

Block Coding
To ensure accuracy of the received data frame redundant bits are used. For example, in
even-parity, one parity bit is added to make the count of 1s in the frame even. This way the
original number of bits is increased. It is called Block Coding.

Block coding is represented by slash notation, mB/nB.Means, m-bit block is substituted with
n-bit block where n > m. Block coding involves three steps:

• Division,
• Substitution
• Combination.

After block coding is done, it is line coded for transmission.

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Analog-to-Digital Conversion
Microphones create analog voice and camera creates analog videos, which are treated is
analog data. To transmit this analog data over digital signals, we need analog to digital
conversion.

Analog data is a continuous stream of data in the wave form whereas digital data is discrete.
To convert analog wave into digital data, we use Pulse Code Modulation (PCM).

PCM is one of the most commonly used method to convert analog data into digital form. It
involves three steps:

• Sampling
• Quantization
• Encoding.

Sampling

The analog signal is sampled every T interval. Most important factor in sampling is the rate
at which analog signal is sampled. According to Nyquist Theorem, the sampling rate must be
at least two times of the highest frequency of the signal.

Quantization

Sampling yields discrete form of continuous analog signal. Every discrete pattern shows the
amplitude of the analog signal at that instance. The quantization is done between the
maximum amplitude value and the minimum amplitude value. Quantization is
approximation of the instantaneous analog value.
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Encoding

In encoding, each approximated value is then converted into binary format.

Transmission Modes
The transmission mode decides how data is transmitted between two computers. The
binary data in the form of 1s and 0s can be sent in two different modes: Parallel and Serial.

Parallel Transmission

The binary bits are organized in-to groups of fixed length. Both sender and receiver are
connected in parallel with the equal number of data lines. Both computers distinguish
between high order and low order data lines. The sender sends all the bits at once on all
lines. Because the data lines are equal to the number of bits in a group or data frame, a
complete group of bits (data frame) is sent in one go. Advantage of Parallel transmission is
high speed and disadvantage is the cost of wires, as it is equal to the number of bits sent in
parallel.
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Serial Transmission
In serial transmission one bit follows another, so we need only one communication channel
rather than n to transmit data between two communicating devices.

Since communication within devices is parallel, conversion devices are required at the
interface between the sender and the line (parallel-to-serial) and between the line and the
receiver (serial-to-parallel). Serial transmission occurs in one of three ways: asynchronous,
synchronous, and isochronous.

Asynchronous Serial Transmission

It is named so because there is no importance of timing. Data-bits have specific pattern and
they help receiver recognize the start and end data bits. For example, a 0 is prefixed on
every data byte and one or more 1s are added at the end.
Two continuous data-frames (bytes) may have a gap between them.

Synchronous Transmission
In synchronous transmission, the bit stream is combined into longer "frames," which may
contain multiple bytes. Each byte, however, is introduced onto the transmission link without
a gap between it and the next one. It is left to the receiver to separate the bit stream into bytes
for decoding purposes. In other words, data are transmitted as an unbroken string of 1s and
Os, and the receiver separates that string into the bytes, or characters, it needs to reconstruct
the information.