Data and Computer

Communications
Chapter 8 – Multiplexing

by William Stallings

Lecture slides by MRI

 Multiplexing

Multiplexing (or muxing) is a way of sending

multiple signals or streams of information
over a communications link at the same
time in the form of a single, complex signal;
the receiver recovers the separate signals,
a process called demultiplexing.
 Multiplexing
 multiple links on 1 physical line
 common on long-haul, high capacity, links
 have FDM, TDM, STDM alternatives
Multiplexing
Frequency Division
Multiplexing
 FDM
System
Overview
FDM Voiceband Example
 Analog Carrier Systems
 long-distance links use an FDM hierarchy
 AT&T (USA) and ITU-T (International) variants
 Group

12 voice channels (4kHz each) = 48kHz

in range 60kHz to 108kHz
 Supergroup

FDM of 5 group signals supports 60 channels

on carriers between 420kHz and 612 kHz
 Mastergroup

FDM of 10 supergroups supports 600 channels
 so original signal can be modulated many times
 Wavelength Division
Multiplexing
 FDM with multiple beams of light at different freq
 carried over optical fiber links

commercial systems with 160 channels of 10 Gbps

lab demo of 256 channels 39.8 Gbps
 architecture similar to other FDM systems

multiplexer consolidates laser sources (1550nm) for
transmission over single fiber

Optical amplifiers amplify all wavelengths

Demux separates channels at the destination
 also have Dense Wavelength Division
Multiplexing (DWDM)
Synchronous Time Division
Multiplexing
 TDM
System
Overview
 TDM Link Control
 no headers and trailers
 data link control protocols not needed
 flow control

data rate of multiplexed line is fixed

if one channel receiver can not receive data, the
others must carry on

corresponding source must be quenched

leaving empty slots
 error control

errors detected & handled on individual channel
Data Link Control on TDM
 Framing
 no flag or SYNC chars bracketing TDM frames
 must still provide synchronizing mechanism
between src and dest clocks
 added digit framing

one control bit added to each TDM frame

identifiable bit pattern used on control channel

eg. alternating 01010101…unlikely on a data channel

compare incoming bit patterns on each channel with
known sync pattern
 Pulse Stuffing
 have problem of synchronizing data sources
 with clocks in different sources drifting
 also issue of data rates from different sources
not related by simple rational number
 Pulse Stuffing a common solution

have outgoing data rate (excluding framing bits)
higher than sum of incoming rates

stuff extra dummy bits or pulses into each incoming
signal until it matches local clock

stuffed pulses inserted at fixed locations in frame and
removed at demultiplexer
TDM Example
 Digital Carrier Systems
 long-distance links use an TDM hierarchy
 AT&T (USA) and ITU-T (International) variants
 US system based on DS-1 format
 can carry mixed voice and data signals
 24 channels used for total data rate 1.544Mbps
 each voice channel contains one word of
digitized data (PCM, 8000 samples per sec)
 same format for 56kbps digital data
 can interleave DS-1 channels for higher rates

DS-2 is four DS-1 at 6.312Mbps
DS-1 Transmission Format
 SONET/SDH
 Synchronous Optical Network (ANSI)
 Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (ITU-T)
 have hierarchy of signal rates

Synchronous Transport Signal level 1 (STS-1)
or Optical Carrier level 1 (OC-1) is 51.84Mbps

carries one DS-3 or multiple (DS1 DS1C DS2)
plus ITU-T rates (eg. 2.048Mbps)

multiple STS-1 combine into STS-N signal

ITU-T lowest rate is 155.52Mbps (STM-1)
SONET Frame Format
 Statistical TDM
 in Synch TDM many slots are wasted
 Statistical TDM allocates time slots
dynamically based on demand
 multiplexer scans input lines and collects
data until frame full
 line data rate lower than aggregate input
line rates
 may have problems during peak periods

must buffer inputs
Statistical TDM Frame Format
 Cable Modems
 dedicate two cable TV channels to data transfer
 each channel shared by number of subscribers,
using statistical TDM
 Downstream

cable scheduler delivers data in small packets

active subscribers share downstream capacity

also allocates upstream time slots to subscribers
 Upstream

user requests timeslots on shared upstream channel

Headend scheduler notifies subscriber of slots to use
Cable Modem Scheme
 Asymmetrical Digital
Subscriber Line (ADSL)
 link between subscriber and network
 uses currently installed twisted pair cable
 is Asymmetric - bigger downstream than up
 uses Frequency division multiplexing

reserve lowest 25kHz for voice (POTS)

uses echo cancellation or FDM to give two bands
 has a range of up to 5.5km
ADSL Channel Configuration
 Discrete Multitone (DMT)
 multiple carrier signals at different frequencies
 divide into 4kHz subchannels
 test and use subchannels with better SNR
 256 downstream subchannels at 4kHz (60kbps)

in theory 15.36Mbps, in practice 1.5-9Mbps
DMT Transmitter
 xDSL
 High data rate DSL (HDSL)

2B1Q coding on dual twisted pairs

up to 2Mbps over 3.7km
 Single line DSL

2B1Q coding on single twisted pair
(residential) with echo cancelling

up to 2Mbps over 3.7km
 Very high data rate DSL

DMT/QAM for very high data rates

over separate bands for separate services
 Summary
 looked at multiplexing multiple channels
on a single link
 FDM
 TDM
 Statistical TDM
 ADSL and xDSL