CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO DATA COMMUNICATIONS

Outline

▪ A Communications Model
▪ Computer Network
▪ Performance of Data Communication System
▪ Transmission
▪ Communication type
 1. Communications Model
▪ Source
▪ generates data to be transmitted
▪ Transmitter
▪ Converts data into transmittable signals
▪ Transmission System
▪ Carries data
▪ Receiver
▪ Converts received signal into data
▪ Destination
▪ Takes incoming data
 Cont.

Simplified Data Communications Model

2. Computer Network
▪ A computer network, or simply a network, is a collection of computers and other
hardware interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources
and information.
▪ if at least one process in one device is able to send/receive data to/from at least one
process residing in a remote device, then the two devices are said to be in a network.
▪ The computer that provides resources to other computers on a network is known as
server.
▪ In the network, the individual computers, which access shared network resources, are
known as nodes.

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2.1 Properties of Computer Networks:
▪ Facilitate communications
▪ Using a network, people can communicate efficiently and easily via email, chat
rooms, telephone, video telephone calls, and video conferencing.
▪ Permit sharing of files, data, and other types of information
▪ In a network environment, authorized users may access data and information
stored on other computers on the network.
▪ Share network and computing resources
▪ In a networked environment, each computer on a network may access and use
resources provided by devices on the network, such as printing a document on a
shared network printer.

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 2.2 Types Of Network
▪ Networks are often classified by their physical or organizational extent or their purpose.
▪ Usage, trust level, and access rights differ between these types of networks.

Personal area network

▪ is a computer network used for communication among computer and different
information technological devices close to one person.
▪ Some examples are personal computers, printers, fax machines, telephones, scanners,
and even video game consoles.
▪ A PAN may include wired and wireless devices.
▪ The reach of a PAN typically extends to 10 meters.
▪ A wired PAN is usually constructed with USB and fire-wire connections while
technologies such as Bluetooth and infrared communication typically form a wireless
PAN.
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 Cont.
Home area network

▪ is a residential LAN which is used for communication between digital devices typically
deployed in the home, usually a small number of personal computers and
accessories, such as printers and mobile computing devices.
▪ An important function is the sharing of Internet access, often a broadband service
through a cable TV or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) provider.

Local area network

▪ Smaller scope (Building or small campus)
▪ Usually owned by same organization
▪ Data rates much higher
▪ Now some switched systems and ATM are being
introduced
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 CONT.
Backbone network

▪ is part of a computer network infrastructure that interconnects various pieces of network,

providing a path for the exchange of information between different LANs or sub-networks.
▪ A backbone can tie together diverse networks
▪ The backbone's capacity is greater than that of the networks connected to it.
▪ A large corporation which has many locations may have a backbone network that ties all
of these locations together.

Metropolitan area network

▪ is a large computer network that usually spans a city or a large

campus
▪ Middle ground between LAN and WAN
▪ Private or public network
▪ High speed 9
 Cont.
Wide area network

▪ Two or more LANs connected

▪ Over a large geographic area
▪ Typically use public or leased lines
▪ Phone lines
▪ Satellite
▪ The Internet is a WAN
3. Performance of Data Communication System
▪ The effectiveness of a data communications system depends on four fundamental
characteristics:
▪ Delivery: The system must deliver data to the correct destination. Data must be
received by the intended device or user and only by that device or user.

▪ Accuracy: The system must deliver the data accurately. Data that have been altered in
transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.

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3. Performance of Data Communication System

▪ Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data delivered late are
useless. In the case of video and audio, timely delivery means delivering data as they
are produced, in the same order that they are produced. This kind of delivery is called
real-time transmission.

▪ Jitter: Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. It is the uneven delay in
the delivery of audio or video packets. For example, let us assume that video packets
are sent every 30ms. If some of the packets arrive with 30ms delay and others with
40ms delay, an uneven quality in the video is the result.

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 4. TRANSMISSION 1 2 3

Serial Transmission

There is Serial transmission for long distance and Parallel transmission for short distance.
▪ Most digital messages are vastly longer than just a few bits. Because it is neither practical nor
economic to transfer all bits of a long message simultaneously, the message is broken into
smaller parts and transmitted sequentially.
▪ Bit-serial transmission conveys a message one bit at a time through a channel.
▪ Each bit represents a part of the message.
▪ The individual bits are then reassembled at the destination to compose the message. In general,
one channel will pass only one bit at a time.
• Thus, bit-serial transmission is necessary in data communications if only a single channel is
available.
• Bit-serial transmission is normally just called serial transmission and is the chosen
communications method in many computer peripherals.
4. TRANSMISSION 1 2 3

Parallel Transmission
▪ Byte-serial transmission conveys eight bits at a time through eight parallel channels.
▪ Although the raw transfer rate is eight times faster than rate of bit-serial transmission,
eight channels are needed, and the cost may be as much as eight times higher to
transmit the message.
▪ When distances are short, it may nonetheless be both feasible and economic to use
parallel channels in return for high data rates.
▪ printer interface is a case where byte-serial transmission is used.
▪ As another example, it is common practice to use a 16-bit-wide data bus to transfer
data between a microprocessor and memory chips; this provides the equivalent of 16
parallel channels.
 CONT.
Serial data formats
▪ Whether data are sent as bits or symbols, it is transmitted serially in one of
two forms, synchronous or asynchronous.
Synchronous Data Transmission
▪ separate channels are used to transmit data and timing information. The
data clock is extracted from the serial data stream at the receiver by special
circuits called clock recovery circuits.
▪ The timing channel transmits clock pulses to the receiver. Upon receipt of a
clock pulse, the receiver reads the data channel and latches the bit value
found on the channel at that moment.
▪ The data channel is not read again until the next clock pulse arrives.
Because the transmitter originates both the data and the timing pulses, the
receiver will read the data channel only when told to do so by the transmitter
(via the clock pulse), and synchronization is guaranteed.
 CONT.
Asynchronous Data Transmission
▪ In asynchronous systems, a separate timing channel is not used. The
transmitter and receiver must be present in advance to an agreed-upon baud
rate.
▪ A very accurate local oscillator within the receiver will then generate an
internal clock signal that is equal to the transmitter's within a fraction of
percentage.
▪ When the channel is idle, the signal voltage corresponds to a continuous
logic '1'. A data packet always begins with a logic '0' (the start bit) to signal
the receiver that a transmission is starting.
▪ The start bit triggers an internal timer in the receiver that generates the
needed clock pulses.
▪ Following the start bit, eight bits of message data are sent bit by bit at the
agreed upon baud rate. The packet is concluded with a parity bit and stop
bit.
 CONT.

Advantages Disadvantage
Synchronous It is very fast as It uses more expensive
compared to and complex equipment
Asynchronous Series
Transmission
Asynchronous very simple. slow
cheaper.

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 5. Communication type
▪ Communication between two devices can be simplex, half-duplex, or full-duplex.

Simplex

▪ 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.
▪ Keyboards and traditional monitors are examples of simplex devices. The keyboard can only
introduce input; the monitor can only accept output.
▪ The simplex mode can use the entire capacity of the channel to send data in one direction.
▪ More examples: Radio and TV broadcasting

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 Cont.
5. Communication type

Half-Duplex
▪ 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.
▪ The half-duplex mode is like a one-line road with traffic allowed in both directions.
When cars are travelling in one direction, cars going the other way must wait.
▪ In a half-duplex transmission, the entire capacity of a channel is taken over by
whichever of the two devices is transmitting at the time.
▪ More example: Walky-talky

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 Cont.
5. Communication type
Full Duplex

▪ both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously.

▪ is like a two way street with traffic flowing in both directions at the same time.
▪ One common example is the telephone network. When two people are communicating by a
telephone line, both can talk and listen at the same time.

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