Chapter I

Data Communication Basics

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 Lets Start!

 Communication?

 Data Communication?

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 Topics discussed in this section:
 Communication Basics
 Characteristics of Communication
 Communication Types
 Components of a data communications system
 Data Representation
 Modes of Data Transmission (Data Flow)
 Data Transmission formats
 Multiplexing
 Transmission Impairments
 Signal Encoding Techniques
 Data Transmission Error Detection and Correction

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 Communication Basics
 Communication is the process of sending and
receiving message (information).
 Data communication are the exchange of data
between two devices via some form of transmission
medium such as a wire cable / any other.
 Communication can be manual (local) or
Electromechanical (Remote)

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 Characteristics of Communication
 Delivery: data must delivered to the correct destination.
 Accuracy: The system must deliver the data accurately.
 Data which is altered and left uncorrected are
unusable.
 Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely
manner.
 Data delivered late are useless.

 Jitter: is uneven delay in the delivery of packets .

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 Communication Types

 Unicasting
 One-to-One communication

 Multicasting
 One-to-many communication

 Broadcasting
 One-to-All communication

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 Components of a data communication system

Figure 1.1 Components of a data communication system

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 Components…
 Source: generates data to be transmitted
 Transmitter: converts data into transmittable
signals
 Transmission System: carries data from
source to destination
 Receiver: converts received signal into data
 Destination: takes incoming data
 Message: the actual information
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 Data Representation
 Today information comes in different forms
such as:
 Text : is represented as bit pattern, (a sequence of bits)
 Different set of patterns
 Example: Unicode, ASCII
 Numbers: is also represented as bit pattern
 Image: is a collection of pixels, represented as bit
pattern
 Audio: Different from Text, Number, or Image.
 It is continuous not discrete
 Video: is a picture in motion
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 Modes of Data Transmission (Data Flow)

Figure 1.2 Data flow (simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex)

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 Data Transmission formats
Note
To be transmitted, data must be
transformed to electromagnetic signals.
• Signals can be analog or digital.
 Analog: Continuous value
 In analog signals, voltage varies continuously
 Digital: Discrete value
 In digital signals, voltage turns off and on repeatedly

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 Figure 1.3 Comparison of analog and digital signals

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 Figure 1.4 Analog signal

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 Figure 1.5 Digital signal

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 Advantages & Disadvantages of Digital Signals

Digital Signal Analog Signal

 Best suited for audio and
 Can be easily compressed
video
 Can be encrypted  Available anywhere
 Example: Human Voice
 Less susceptible to noise
 Equipment is more
common and less expensive

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 Figure 1.6 Types of Digital Data Transmission

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 Figure 1.7 Parallel transmission

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 Figure 1.8 Serial transmission

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 Figure 1.9 Asynchronous transmission

Note
In asynchronous transmission, we send 1
start bit (0) at the beginning and 1 or more
stop bits (1s) at the end of each byte. There
may be a gap between
each byte.
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 Note

In synchronous transmission, we send

bits one after another without start or
stop bits or gaps. It is the responsibility
of the receiver to group the bits. The bits
are usually sent as bytes and many
bytes are grouped in a frame. A frame is
identified with a start and an end byte.

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 Figure 1.10 Synchronous transmission

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 Multiplexing
 Allows multiple signals to travel simultaneously over one medium
 To accommodate multiple signals, single medium is logically
separated into sub channels
 Multiplexer (MUX): at the sending end
 Demultiplexer (DEMUX): separates the combined signal and
regenerate in to original form

Figure 1.11 Dividing a link into channels

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 Transmission Impairments
 The imperfection in Signals transmission causes
signal impairment
 i.e. What is sent is not what is received.

Figure 1.12 Causes of impairment

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 Attenuation
 Means loss of energy -> weaker signal
 When a signal travels through a medium it loses
energy overcoming the resistance of the medium
 Amplifiers are used to compensate for this loss of
energy.
 To show the loss or gain of energy the unit “decibel”
is used. dB = 10log10P2/P1, where

P1 : input signal

P2 : output signal
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 Figure 1.13 Attenuation

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 Distortion

 Means that the signal changes its form or

shape
 The different components arrive with different
delays at the receiver.
 That means that the signals have different
phases at the receiver than they did at the
source.
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 Figure 1.14 Distortion

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 Noise
 Is the insertion of additional signal between transmitter
and receiver
 There are different types of noise
 Thermal: random noise of electrons in the wire creates an
extra signal
 Induced: from motors and appliances, these devices act as a
transmitter antenna and medium act as receiving antenna.
 Crosstalk: same as Induced but between two wires.
 Impulse: Spikes that result from power lines, lightning, etc.

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 Figure 1.15 Noise

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 Reading Assignment - I

 What is Signal Encoding and Decoding?

 What are the Different Encoding Techniques?

 How Data Transmission Error Detection and

Correction can be done?

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 End Of Chapter - I

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