Communication Media
Figure 7.1 Transmission medium and physical layer
Figure 7.2 Classes of transmission media
Chapter Modules
• Twisted Pair
• Coaxial Cable
• Optical Fiber
• Mixed Cabling
• Wireless
• Microwave
• Satellite Communication
Figure 7.3 Twisted-pair cable
Questions
• What are the two different types of twisted pair wires that
are in use?
• Why are the wires twisted?
• Name the categories of wires and their respective uses
• What is the role played by bandwidth in the quality of the
wires?
• What is a Plenum wire? Where is it used?
• Name the types of twisted pair wires that could be used in
high speed LANs such as the Gigabit Ethernet LAN
• Describe the properties of the newer categories of twisted
pair wires
Figure 7.4 UTP and STP cables
Table 7.1 Categories of unshielded twisted-pair cables
7.8
Figure 7.5 UTP connector
7.9
Terminology to Remember
• Shielding (Conductive material)
• Insulation (Non-conductive material)
– Casing (Plastic material)
Types and Purpose of Twisting
• Types
– Unshielded twisted pair (UTP)
– Shielded twisted pair (STP)
• Twisting
– Minimizes the effect of electromagnetic
interference
– The electromagnetic field from one wire
counterbalances the field from the other wire
Shielding and Insulation
• The cables are shielded from electro magnetic
interference
– In both directions, from outside as well as inside
• The plastic casing is not to be considered as
shielding
– It is an insulation against electric shock
Twisted Pair Cable Illustration
• Phone lines
• Used extensively in telecommunications
• LANs
Typical Twisted Pair Connection
Hub/Switch
7.24
Table 7.2 Categories of coaxial cables
Figure 7.8 BNC connectors
A Description of the Coaxial Cable
Outer casing
Shielding Insulator
Copper conductor
Types of Coaxial Cables
• Thin coaxial
– Lighter version
– Thin Ethernet cable
• Thick coaxial
– Original version
– Standard Ethernet cable
Thin Coaxial Cable
• Higher bandwidth than twisted pair wires
• Lower bandwidth compared with the thick
coaxial able
• More flexible compared to thick coaxial cable
• Cheaper
Type of Thin Coaxial Cable
Used in LAN
• Standardized
• 10Base2 cable
– 10M bps
– Ethernet
– Thin coaxial cable
– Bus topology
Thick Coaxial Cable
• Compared to thin coaxial cable
– Higher bandwidth
– Less maneuverable
– More expensive
Thick Coaxial Cables
Used in Networks
• Standardized
• 10Base5
– 10M bps
– Ethernet
– Thick coaxial cable
– Bus topology
Overall Characteristics of the Coaxial
Cables
• Relatively cheap compared to fiber-optic cables
• Wider bandwidth compared to twisted pair wires
• Good transmission characteristics
• Used in high-speed synchronous transmission
• Supports broadband communication
• Can be tapped for multi-drop connection
A Typical Coaxial Connection
Bus LAN
Coaxial Cable
A multi-drop connection
Components Used in Connecting a
Computer to a Coaxial Cable
T connector
Network
Interface
Card
Router
Backbone
Part Of Ultraviolet
Fiber Visible
Optics
Part Of Infra-red ?
The laser beam could also travel along a fiber optic cable
Fiber Cables
Usage of Fiber Optic Cables
• Long distance telephone cabling (trunks)
• LANs
– Used in large networks as the backbone
• An example is the FDDI backbone used in a number of
campuses
– Used for extending cable limitations applicable to
networking and other computing devices
A Simple Fiber LAN
7.59
Figure 7.17 Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless communication
7.60
Figure 7.18 Propagation methods
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Table 7.4 Bands
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Figure 7.19 Wireless transmission waves
7.63
Note
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Figure 7.20 Omnidirectional antenna
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Microwave
Note
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Figure 7.21 Unidirectional antennas
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Frequency Range and Propagation
• Microwave frequency range
– 10e8 to 10e11
– Bandwidth is nearly 10e11 Hz
• Propagation
– Over space
– Requires line-of-sight
• At higher frequencies the waves tend to behave like
light waves
Line-of-Sight Requirement
Line of sight is
required.
III II
7.83
Wireless Channels
7.84