INTRODUCTION TO
DATA
COMMUNICATIONS
SCHOOL OF COMPUTING MITCH M. ANDAYA
FUNDAMENTAL DEFINITIONS
• Data refers to the
unorganized and Examples of Data:
unprocessed 21, 1998, 5, 3, 2,15
collection of
instructions, concepts,
facts, or figures. Example of Information:
• Information refers to
organized and
processed data. It
provides context to
data.
Introduction to Data Communications
FUNDAMENTAL DEFINITIONS
• Communication is the process of transferring ideas
and information from a sender to a receiver with
the use of a medium or channel.
Introduction to Data Communications
FUNDAMENTAL DEFINITIONS
• Data Communication is the
act of relaying a message
(in digital form) between
two devices via some form
of transmission medium
(such as a wire cable).
For data communications
to occur, the
communicating devices
must be part of a
communication system
made up of a combination
of hardware and software.
Introduction to Data Communications
DATA COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
• A data communication system is made up of
five elements: message, sender, receiver,
medium, and protocol.
Introduction to Data Communications
DATA COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
– Message. Information
to be communicated
(text, numbers,
images, audio, and/or
video)
– Sender. The device – Medium (or channel). The
that sends the physical (or non physical) path
message. by which a message travels
from sender to receiver.
– Receiver. The device
that receives the – Protocol. The set of rules that
message. govern data communications.
Introduction to Data Communications
DATA COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
• The effectiveness of a data communication system
depends on three fundamental characteristics:
1. Delivery. The system must deliver data to the
correct destination.
2. Accuracy. The system must deliver the data
accurately (no alterations).
3. Timeliness. The system must deliver data in a
timely manner (not late).
Introduction to Data Communications
DATA REPRESENTATION
• Information today comes in different
forms such as text, numbers, images,
audio, and video.
• Text. In data communications, text is
represented as a bit pattern, a sequence
of bits (0s or 1s).
Different sets of bit patterns have been
designed to represent text symbols.
Each set is called a code, and the
process of representing symbols is called The American Standard Code
coding. for Information Interchange
(ASCII), developed some
Today, the prevalent coding system is decades ago in the United
called Unicode, which uses 32 bits to States, now constitutes the
represent a symbol or character used in first 127 characters in
any language in the world. Unicode and is also referred
to as Basic Latin.
Introduction to Data Communications
DATA REPRESENTATION
• Numbers. Numbers are
also represented by bit
patterns.
However, a code such as
ASCII is not used to
represent numbers; the
number is directly
converted to a binary
number to simplify
mathematical operations.
Introduction to Data Communications
DATA REPRESENTATION
• Images. Images are also represented by
bit patterns. In its simplest form, an
image is composed of a matrix of pixels
(picture elements), where each pixel is a
small dot.
The size of the pixel depends on the
resolution. For example, an image can
be divided into 1,000 pixels or 10,000
pixels.
There is a better representation of the
image (better resolution) if more pixels
are used. But more memory is needed
to store the image.
Introduction to Data Communications
DATA REPRESENTATION
After an image is divided into pixels, each pixel is
assigned a bit pattern. The size and the value of
the pattern depend on the image.
For an image made of only black-and-white dots
(e.g., a chessboard), a 1-bit pattern is enough to
represent a pixel.
If an image is not made of pure white and pure black
pixels, the size of the bit pattern can be increased to
include gray scale.
For example, to show four levels of gray scale, 2-bit
patterns can be used. A black pixel can be represented
by 00, a dark gray pixel by 01, a light gray pixel by 10,
and a white pixel by 11.
Introduction to Data Communications
DATA REPRESENTATION
Colored images require more bits for
each pixel to be able to represent a
variety of colors.
For example, if 8 bits were used per
pixel, there can be a maximum of 28 =
256 different colors.
The intensity of each color is measured,
and a bit pattern is assigned to it.
True Color systems use 24 bits per pixel,
allowing them to display 16,777,216
different colors.
Introduction to Data Communications
DATA REPRESENTATION
• Audio. Audio refers to the
recording or broadcasting of
sound or music.
Audio is by nature different
from text, numbers, or
images.
It is continuous, not
discrete. Even when a
microphone is used to
change voice or music to an
electric signal, a continuous
signal is created.
Introduction to Data Communications
DATA REPRESENTATION
• Video. Video refers to
the recording or
broadcasting of a picture
or movie.
Video can either be
produced as a
continuous entity (e.g.,
by a TV camera), or it
can be a combination of
images, each a discrete
entity, arranged to
convey the idea of
motion.
Introduction to Data Communications
COMPONENTS OF A DATA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
• Basic Data Communications Block Diagram
The Sender is responsible for initiating information transfer that could be in any
format. It is responsible for translating the information into a form that can be
carried by the Channel efficiently.
The Destination functions to accept information from the Sender. And like the
Sender when information is received through the Channel, it is translated into a
form that can be processed.
Introduction to Data Communications
COMPONENTS OF A DATA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
• Basic Data Communications Block Diagram
The Channel serves as the medium where the information is passed from the
Sender to the Destination.
Noise is the representation of unwanted factors that can affect information
transfer resulting to possible transmission errors. These unwanted factors are
due to signals created by other sources of energy – i.e. natural sources such as
lightning and man-made sources such as electric motors and fluorescent lightings
Introduction to Data Communications
COMPONENTS OF A DATA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
• Both the Sender and Destination blocks can be broken down further to "thinking"
devices and interface devices.
The "thinking" or intelligent devices are referred to as terminals and these
devices are used by the end-user to initiate information transfer.
In data communication systems, terminals are referred to as Data Terminal
Equipment (DTE).
Introduction to Data Communications
COMPONENTS OF A DATA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
• Both the Sender and Destination blocks can be broken down further to "thinking"
devices and interface devices.
There are devices that hook-up the terminals to the channel – the physical part of
the network. For the Sender, the device is known as the transmitter. For the
Destination it is called the receiver.
In data communication language these devices are referred to as Data Circuit-
Terminating Equipment (DCE).
Introduction to Data Communications
DATA FLOW
• Data flow refers to the direction of
data transmission. There are three
modes of transmission based on
data flow: simplex, half-duplex, and
full-duplex.
• In simplex mode, the
communication is unidirectional, as
on a one-way street.
Only one of the two devices on a link
can transmit; the other can only
receive.
Examples are keyboards and
monitors.
Introduction to Data Communications
DATA FLOW
• In half-duplex mode, each station can
both transmit and receive, but not at
the same time.
When one device is sending, the other
can only receive, and vice versa.
Examples are walkie-talkies and CB
radios.
• In full-duplex mode (also called
duplex), both stations can
transmit and receive
simultaneously.
Examples are telephones.
Introduction to Data Communications
SERIAL VERSUS PARALLEL TRANSMISSION
• Parallel transmission b0
0
b0
is the sending of b1
1
b1
several bits at the 1
same time.
b2 b2
0
b3 b3
0
b4 b4
• One line or wire is 0
needed for each bit b5 b5
(plus one line or wire b6
1
b6
for the signal ground b7
1
b7
and another for the strobe strobe
timing or strobe).
ground ground
transmitter receiver
Introduction to Data Communications
SERIAL VERSUS PARALLEL TRANSMISSION
• Serial transmission is when bits are transmitted one at a
time. Two lines are needed in the implementation of serial
transmission, one for the signal and one for the signal
ground.
1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0
data data
ground ground
transmitter receiver
Introduction to Data Communications
SERIAL VERSUS PARALLEL TRANSMISSION
• Parallel transmission is
usually faster since it moves
more data. However it is
more expensive since each
bit must have a separate
path.
• Serial transmission is slower
since it moves data one bit
at a time. But it is cheaper
and it is preferred over
parallel when there is a need
to transfer data over long
distances.
Introduction to Data Communications
SERIAL VERSUS PARALLEL TRANSMISSION
• All communication between chips
and components inside a
computer system (internal
computer data transfer) unit
takes place in parallel through the
system unit bus.
Introduction to Data Communications
SERIAL VERSUS PARALLEL TRANSMISSION
• The type of
communication
between a computer
and an external device
(external computer
data transfer) depends
on the distance
between them.
• Parallel transmission is
common for distances
less than 10 feet. Serial
transmission is ideal for
distances greater than
10 feet.
Introduction to Data Communications
SERIAL VERSUS PARALLEL TRANSMISSION
• Aside from cost, parallel
transmission is not
suitable for long
distance communication
because of the varying
delays among the
different bits or signals
(bus skew).
• In other words, bits may
arrive at the receiver at
different times
Introduction to Data Communications
SERIAL VERSUS PARALLEL TRANSMISSION
• Summary:
– Most data communication systems use serial transfer modes because for
systems to be able to support parallel transfer modes it needs to have
several physical links available at the same time.
– Parallel transmission is going to be an expensive solution even though it
yields extremely fast bit-rates. Laying out physical cables over several tens or
hundreds, or even thousands, of kilometers requires a lot of resources.
– Serial communications require only one physical link, often just a pair of
wires, to be able to transfer one-bit at a time.
– Parallel systems are applicable for data communications with transmitter
and receivers separated only by short distances – i.e. computer to printer
connection.
Introduction to Data Communications
UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS (USB)
• The Universal Serial Bus or USB
is the most common type of
computer port used in today's
computers.
• It can be used to connect
keyboards, mice, game
controllers, printers, scanners,
digital cameras, and removable
media drives, just to name a few.
• With the help of a few USB hubs,
up to 127 peripherals can be
connected to a single USB port
and use them all at once.
Introduction to Data Communications
UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS (USB)
• USB is also faster than older ports,
such as serial and parallel ports.
The USB 1.1 specification supports
data transfer rates of up to
12Mb/sec and USB 2.0 has a
maximum transfer rate of 480
Mbps. The newer USB 3.0 can
handle up to 5Gbps.
• Though USB was introduced in 1997,
the technology didn't really take off
until the introduction of the Apple
iMac (in late 1998) which used USB
ports exclusively.
It is somewhat ironic, considering
USB was created and designed by
Intel, Compaq, Digital, and IBM.
Introduction to Data Communications
