Chapter 1

Introduction to Data
Communication
Compiled by Yonas Bekele

1.1 Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
 1-1 DATA COMMUNICATIONS
The term telecommunication means communication at a
distance. The word data refers to information presented
in whatever form is agreed upon by the parties creating
and using the data. Data communications are the
exchange of data between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as a wire cable.

Topics discussed in this section:

 Components of a data communications system
 Data Flow

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Datacom Basics
Telecommunications
transmission of voice, video, data,
- imply longer distances
- broader term

Data Communications
movement of computer information
by means of electrical or optical
transmission systems
convergence

Broadband Communications
 Figure 1.1 Components of a data communication system

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A 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
Simplified Communications
Model - Diagram
Simplified Data
Communications Model
Communications Tasks

Transmission system utilization Addressing

Interfacing Routing

Signal generation Recovery

Synchronization Message formatting

Exchange management Security

Error detection and correction Network management

Flow control
Features of Communication

 Five things required

 Sender, receiver, medium, Protocol and message
 Types of messages
 File
 Request
 Response
 Status
 Control
 Correspondence
 Understandability
 Error Detection
 Features of Communication

 Data is transmitted from one point to

another in data communications
 Data must be in an acceptable format
 Various forms of signals are used to
transmit the data
 Telephone system is examined in this
chapter

Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Data Communications

 Signal Representation

 Signal – electrical charges or pulses of

light
 Bit rate
 Bit – smallest unit of information
 Binary notation (1 or 0) or (on or off)
 Data codes (ways to represent characters)

Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Data Communications

 Data Codes

 General Description
 Data codes represent
characters
 Rules for converting bits to
characters
 ASCII, EBCDIC, Unicode

Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Data Communications

 Data Codes

 UNICODE
 16-bit code
 Supports up to 65,536 characters
 Used for languages such as Ethiopic,
Chinese, Japanese, Korean
 Includes mathematical, geometric and other
symbols
 Only used with OS that can display the
codes
Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Data Communications
 Figure 1.2 Data flow (simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex)

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 1-2 NETWORKS

A network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes)

connected by communication links. A node can be a
computer, printer, or any other device capable of sending
and/or receiving data generated by other nodes on the
network. A link can be a cable, air, optical fiber, or any
medium which can transport a signal carrying
information.
Topics discussed in this section:
 Network Criteria
 Physical Structures
 Categories of Networks

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 Network Criteria

 Performance
 Depends on Network Elements
 Measured in terms of Delay and Throughput
 Reliability
 Failure rate of network components
 Measured in terms of availability/robustness
 Security
 Data protection against corruption/loss of data due to:
 Errors
 Malicious users

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 Physical Structures

 Type of Connection
 Point to Point - single transmitter and receiver
 Multipoint - multiple recipients of single transmission
 Physical Topology
 Connection of devices
 Type of transmission - unicast, mulitcast, broadcast

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 Figure 1.3 Types of connections: point-to-point and multipoint

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Networking

 Point to point communication not usually

practical
 Devices are too far apart
 Large set of devices would need impractical
number of connections
 Solution is a communications network
 Wide Area Network (WAN)
 Local Area Network (LAN)
Networks: key issues

 Network criteria
 Performance
 Throughput
 Delay
 Reliability
 Data transmitted are identical to data received.
 Measured by the frequency of failure
 The time it takes a link to recover from a failure
 Security
 Protecting data from unauthorized access
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Terminology

 The throughput or bandwidth of a

channel is the number of bits it can transfer
per second

 The latency or delay of a channel is the

time that elapses between sending
information and the earliest possible
reception of it
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 Figure 1.4 Categories of topology

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 Figure 1.5 A fully connected mesh topology (five devices)

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 Figure 1.6 A star topology connecting four stations

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 Figure 1.7 A bus topology connecting three stations

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 Figure 1.8 A ring topology connecting six stations

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A TOKEN RING
computer
A repeater

direction of token
and data packet D
B

C
Only one token is passed around
the network.
The device who has the token
may transmit.
 Figure 1.9 A hybrid topology: a star backbone with three bus networks

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 Categories of Networks

 Local Area Networks (LANs)

 Short distances
 Designed to provide local interconnectivity
 Wide Area Networks (WANs)
 Long distances
 Provide connectivity over large areas
 Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs)
 Provide connectivity over areas such as a city, a campus

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Wide Area Networks

 Large geographical area

 Crossing public rights of way
 Rely in part on common carrier circuits
 Alternative technologies
 Circuit switching
 Packet switching
 Frame relay
 Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
Circuit Switching

 Dedicated communications path

established for the duration of the
conversation
 e.g. telephone network
Packet Switching

 Data sent out of sequence

 Small chunks (packets) of data at a time
 Packets passed from node to node
between source and destination
 Used for terminal to computer and
computer to computer communications
Frame Relay

 Packet switching systems have large

overheads to compensate for errors
 Modern systems are more reliable
 Errors can be caught in end system
 Most overhead for error control is
stripped out
Asynchronous Transfer Mode

 ATM
 Evolution of frame relay
 Little overhead for error control
 Fixed packet (called cell) length
 Anything from 10Mbps to Gbps
 Constant data rate using packet
switching technique
Local Area Networks

 Smaller scope
 Building or small campus
 Usually owned by same organization as
attached devices
 Data rates much higher
 Usually broadcast systems
 Now some switched systems and ATM
are being introduced
LAN Configurations

 Switched
 Switched Ethernet
 May be single or multiple switches
 ATM LAN
 Fibre Channel
 Wireless
 Mobility
 Ease of installation
Metropolitan Area Networks

 MAN
 Middle ground between LAN and WAN
 Private or public network
 High speed
 Large area
 Figure 1.10 An isolated LAN connecting 12 computers to a hub in a closet

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 Figure 1.11 WANs: a switched WAN and a point-to-point WAN

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 Figure 1.12 A heterogeneous network made of four WANs and two LANs

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 1-3 THE INTERNET

The Internet has revolutionized many aspects of our daily

lives. It has affected the way we do business as well as the
way we spend our leisure time. The Internet is a
communication system that has brought a wealth of
information to our fingertips and organized it for our use.

Topics discussed in this section:

Organization of the Internet
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

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 Figure 1.13 Hierarchical organization of the Internet

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Networking
Configuration
Intranet vs. Extranet

 Intranet
 A LAN that uses the Internet technologies
 Open only those inside the organization
 Example: insurance related information provided to
employees over an intranet
 Extranet
 A LAN that uses the Internet technologies
 Open only those invited users outside the organization
 Accessible through the Internet
 Example: Suppliers and customers accessing inventory
information in a company over an extranet
Implementation of
Communications Functions
Applications Applications Single
layer
OS OS implemen-
tation

Applications Applications
Multi layer
implementation
OS OS -Breaking down into
smaller components
-Easier to implement
 1-4 PROTOCOLS

A protocol is synonymous with rule. It consists of a set of

rules that govern data communications. It determines
what is communicated, how it is communicated and when
it is communicated. The key elements of a protocol are
syntax, semantics and timing

Topics discussed in this section:

 Syntax
 Semantics
 Timing

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 Elements of a Protocol

 Syntax
 Structure or format of the data
 Indicates how to read the bits - field delineation
 Semantics
 Interprets the meaning of the bits
 Knows which fields define what action
 Timing
 When data should be sent and what
 Speed at which data should be sent or speed at which it is being
received.

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