Transmission Media

TRANSMISSION MEDIA

In data communication terminology, a transmission medium is a physical path between the transmitter and the receiver i.e. it is the channel through which data is sent from one place to another. Transmission Media is broadly classified into the following types:

Types of Transmission Media

A transmission medium can be broadly defined as anything that can carry information from a source to a destination. For example, the transmission medium for two people having a dinner conversation is the air. The air can also be used to convey the message in a smoke signal or semaphore. For a written message, the transmission medium might be a mail carrier, a truck, or an airplane.

In data communications the definition of the information and the transmission medium is more specific. The transmission medium is usually free space, metallic cable or optical cable. The information is usually a signal that is the result of conversion of data from another form.

Magnetic Media

One of the most common ways to transport data from one computer to another is to write them onto magnetic tape or removable media (e.g., recordable CDs, DVDs), physically transport the tape or disks to the destination machine, and read them back in again.

Although this method is not as sophisticated as using a geosynchronous communication satellite, it is often more cost effective, especially for applications in which high bandwidth or cost per bit transported is the key factor.

A simple calculation will make this point clear. An industry-standard Ultrium tape can hold 800 gigabytes. A box 60 × 60 × 60 cm can hold about 1000 of these tapes, for a total capacity of 800 terabytes, or 6400 terabits (6.4 petabits). A box of tapes can be delivered anywhere in the United States in 24 hours by Federal Express and other companies. The effective bandwidth of this transmission is 6400 terabits/86,400 sec, or a bit over 70 Gbps. If the destination is only an hour away by road, the bandwidth is increased to over 1700 Gbps. No computer network can even approach this. Of course, networks are getting faster, but tape densities are increasing, too.

I. Guided Media

Guided media, which are those that provide a conduit from one device to another, include twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable. A signal traveling along any of these media is directed and contained by the physical limits of the medium. Twisted-pair and coaxial cable use metallic (copper) conductors that accept and transport signals in the form of electric current. Optical fiber is a cable that accepts and transports signals in the form of light.

1. Twisted-Pair Cable

A twisted pair consists of two conductors (normally copper), each with its own plastic insulation, twisted together, as shown below figure.

Twisted Pair Cable

One of the wires is used to carry signals to the receiver, and the other is used only as a ground reference. The receiver uses the difference between the two.

In addition to the signal sent by the sender on one of the wires, interference (noise) and crosstalk may affect both wires and create unwanted signals. If the two wires are parallel, the effect of these unwanted signals is not the same in both wires because they are at different locations relative to the noise or crosstalk sources (e,g., one is closer and the other is farther). This results in a difference at the receiver. By twisting the pairs, a balance is maintained. For example, suppose in one twist, one wire is closer to the noise source and the other is farther; in the next twist, the reverse is true. Twisting makes it probable that both wires are equally affected by external influences (noise or crosstalk). This means that the receiver, which calculates the difference between the two, receives no unwanted signals. The unwanted signals are mostly canceled out. From the above discussion, it is clear that the number of twists per unit of length (e.g., inch) has some effect on the quality of the cable.

Applications

Twisted-pair cables are used in telephone lines to provide voice and data channels. The local loop-the line that connects subscribers to the central telephone office-commonly consists of

Unshielded twisted pair cables. The DSL line that are used by the telephone companies to provide high-data-rate connections also use the high-bandwidth capability of unshielded twisted-pair cables. Local-area networks, such as lOBase-T and lOOBase-T, also use twisted-pair cables.

2. Coaxial Cable

Coaxial cable (or coax) carries signals of higher frequency ranges than those in twisted pair cable, in part because the two media are constructed quite differently. Instead of having two wires, coax has a central core conductor of solid or stranded wire (usually copper) enclosed in an insulating sheath, which is, in turn, encased in an outer conductor of metal foil, braid, or a combination of the two. The outer metallic wrapping serves both as a shield against noise and as the second conductor, which completes the circuit. This outer conductor is also enclosed in an insulating sheath, and the whole cable is protected by a plastic cover (below figure).

Coaxial Cable

Applications

Coaxial cable was widely used in analog telephone networks where a single coaxial network could carry 10,000 voice signals. Later it was used in digital telephone networks where a single coaxial cable could carry digital data up to 600 Mbps. However, coaxial cable in telephone networks has largely been replaced today with fiber-optic cable. Cable TV networks also use coaxial cables.

In the traditional cable TV network, the entire network used coaxial cable. Later, however, cable TV providers replaced most of the media with fiber-optic cable; hybrid networks use coaxial cable only at the network boundaries, near the consumer premises. Cable TV uses RG-59 coaxial cable. Another common application of coaxial cable is in traditional Ethernet LANs. Because of its high bandwidth, and consequently high data rate, coaxial cable was chosen for digital transmission in early Ethernet LANs.

3. Fiber Optic Cable

A fiber-optic cable is made of glass or plastic and transmits signals in the form of light. To understand optical fiber, we first need to explore several aspects of the nature of light. Light travels in a straight line as long as it is moving through a single uniform If a ray of light traveling through one substance suddenly enters another substance (of a different density), the ray changes direction. Figure 7.10 shows how a ray of light changes direction when going from a more dense to a less dense substance.

Light Changing Direction

As the figure shows, if the angle of incidence I (the angle the ray makes with the line perpendicular to the interface between the two substances) is less than the critical angle, the ray refracts and moves closer to the surface. If the angle of incidence is equal to the critical angle, the light bends along the interface. If the angle is greater than the critical angle, the ray reflects (makes a turn) and travels again in the denser substance. Note that the critical angle is a property of the substance, and its value differs from one substance to another.

Optical fibers use reflection to guide light through a channel. A glass or plastic core is surrounded by a cladding of less dense glass or plastic. The difference in density of the two materials must be such that a beam of light moving through the core is reflected off the cladding instead of being refracted into it. See Figure below.

Fiber Optics Cable

Applications

Fiber-optic cable is often found in backbone networks because its wide bandwidth is cost-effective. Today, with wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), we can transfer data at a rate of 1600 Gbps. The SONET network provides such a backbone. Some cable TV companies use a combination of optical fiber and

coaxial cable, thus creating a hybrid network. Optical fiber provides the backbone structure while coaxial cable provides the connection to the user premises. This is a cost-effective configuration since the narrow bandwidth requirement at the user end does not justify the use of optical fiber. Local-area networks such as 100Base-FX network (Fast Ethernet) and 1000Base-X also use fiber-optic cable.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Optical Fiber Advantages

Fiber-optic cable has several advantages over metallic cable (twisted pair or coaxial).

1. Higher bandwidth. Fiber-optic cable can support dramatically higher bandwidths (and hence data rates) than either twisted-pair or coaxial cable. Currently, data rates and bandwidth utilization over fiber-optic cable are limited not by the medium but by the signal generation and reception technology available.

2. Less signal attenuation. Fiber-optic transmission distance is significantly greater than that of other guided media. A signal can run for 50 km without requiring regeneration. We need repeaters every 5 km for coaxial or twisted-pair cable.

3. Immunity to electromagnetic interference. Electromagnetic noise cannot affect fiber-optic cables.

4. Resistance to corrosive materials. Glass is more resistant to corrosive materials than copper.

5. Light weight. Fiber-optic cables are much lighter than copper cables.

6. Greater immunity to tapping. Fiber-optic cables are more immune to tapping than copper cables. Copper cables create antenna effects that can easily be tapped.

Disadvantages

There are some disadvantages in the use of optical fiber.

1. Installation and maintenance. Fiber-optic cable is a relatively new technology. Its installation and maintenance require expertise that is not yet available everywhere.

2. Unidirectional light propagation. Propagation of light is unidirectional. If we need bidirectional communication, two fibers are needed.

3. Cost. The cable and the interfaces are relatively more expensive than those of other guided media. If the demand for bandwidth is not high, often the use of optical fiber cannot be justified.

                        II. UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS

Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical conductor. This type of communication is often referred to as wireless communication. Signals are normally broadcast through free space and thus are available to anyone who has a device capable of receiving them.

Ionosphere with Signal Propagation

Unguided signals can travel from the source to destination in several ways: ground propagation, sky propagation, and line-of-sight propagation, as shown in Figure In ground propagation, radio waves travel through the lowest portion of the atmosphere, hugging the earth.

These low-frequency signals emanate in all directions from the transmitting antenna and follow the curvature of the planet. Distance depends on the amount of power in the signal: The greater the power, the greater the distance. In sky propagation, higher-frequency radio waves radiate upward into the ionosphere where they are reflected back to earth. This type of transmission allows for greater distances with lower output power.

In line of sight propagation, very high frequency signals are transmitted in straight lines directly from antenna to antenna. Antennas must be directional, facing each other, and either tall enough or close enough together not to be affected by the curvature of the earth. Line-of-sight propagation is tricky because radio transmissions cannot be completely focused.

1. Radio Waves

Waves ranging in frequencies between 3 kHz and 1 GHz are called radio waves. Radio waves, for the most part, are omnidirectional. When an antenna transmits radio waves, they are propagated in all directions. This means that the sending and receiving antennas do not have to be aligned. A sending antenna sends waves that can be received by any receiving antenna. The omnidirectional property has a disadvantage, too.

The radio waves transmitted by one antenna are susceptible to interference by another antenna that may send signals using the same frequency or band. Radio waves, particularly those waves that propagate in the sky mode, can travel long distances. This makes radio waves a good candidate for long-distance broadcasting

such as AM radio. Radio waves, particularly those of low and medium frequencies, can penetrate walls.

This characteristic can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. It is an advantage because, for example, an AM radio can receive signals inside a building. It is a disadvantage because we cannot isolate a communication to just inside or outside a building. The radio wave band is relatively narrow, just under 1 GHz, compared to the microwave band. When this band is divided into sub bands, the sub bands are also narrow, leading to a low data rate for digital communications.

Omnidirectional Antenna

Radio waves use omnidirectional antennas that send out signals in all directions. Based on the wavelength, strength, and the purpose of transmission, we can have several types of antennas. Below figure 7.20 shows an omnidirectional antenna.

Omnidirectional Antenna

 Applications

The omnidirectional characteristics of radio waves make them useful for multicasting, in which there is one sender but many receivers. AM and FM radio, television, maritime radio, cordless phones, and paging are examples of multicasting.

2. Microwaves

Electromagnetic waves having frequencies between I and 300 GHz are called microwaves. Microwaves are unidirectional. When an antenna transmits microwave waves, they can be narrowly focused. This means that the sending and receiving antennas need to be aligned. The unidirectional property has an obvious advantage. A pair of antennas can be aligned without interfering with another pair of aligned antennas. The following describes some characteristics of microwave propagation:

1. Microwave propagation is line-of-sight. Since the towers with the mounted antennas need to be in direct sight of each other, towers that are far apart need to be very tall. The curvature of the earth as well as other blocking obstacles does not allow two short towers to communicate by using microwaves. Repeaters are often needed for long distance communication.

2. Very high-frequency microwaves cannot penetrate walls. This characteristic can be a disadvantage if receivers are inside buildings.

3. The microwave band is relatively wide, almost 299 GHz. Therefore wider sub bands can be assigned, and a high data rate is possible.

4. Use of certain portions of the band requires permission from authorities.

Unidirectional Antenna

Microwaves need unidirectional antennas that send out signals in one direction. Two types of antennas are used for microwave communications: the parabolic dish and the horn (see below figure). A parabolic dish antenna is based on the geometry of a parabola: Every line parallel to the line of symmetry (line of sight) reflects off the curve at angles such that all the lines intersect in a common point called the focus.

The parabolic dish works as a funnel, catching a wide range of waves and directing them to a common point. In this way, more of the signal is recovered than would be possible with a single-point receiver. Outgoing transmissions are broadcast through a horn aimed at the dish.

The microwaves hit the dish and are deflected outward in a reversal of the receipt path. A horn antenna looks like a gigantic scoop. Outgoing transmissions are broadcast up a stem (resembling a handle) and deflected outward in a series of narrow parallel beams by the curved head. Received transmissions are collected by the scooped shape of the horn, in a manner similar to the parabolic dish, and are deflected down into the stem.

Unidirectional Antennas

3. Infrared

Infrared waves, with frequencies from 300 GHz to 400 THz (wavelengths from 1 mm to 770 nm), can be used for short-range communication. Infrared waves, having high frequencies, cannot penetrate walls. This advantageous characteristic prevents interference between one system and another; a short-range communication system in one room cannot be affected by another system in the next room. When we use our infrared remote control, we do not interfere with the use of the remote by our neighbors. However, this same characteristic makes infrared signals useless for long-range communication. In addition, we cannot use infrared waves outside a building because the sun's rays contain infrared waves that can interfere with the communication.

Applications

The infrared band, almost 400 THz, has an excellent potential for data transmission. Such a wide bandwidth can be used to transmit digital data with a very high data rate. The Infrared Data Association (IrDA), an association for sponsoring the use of infrared waves, has established standards for using these signals for communication between devices such as keyboards, mice, PCs, and printers. For example, some manufacturers provide a special port called the IrDA port that allows a wireless keyboard to communicate with a PC. The standard originally defined a data rate of 75 kbps for a distance up to 8 m. The recent standard defines a data rate of 4 Mbps.

Infrared signals defined by IrDA transmit through line of sight; the IrDA port on the keyboard needs to point to the PC for transmission to occur.