Basics of Data Transmission

Our Objective is to understand

Signals, bandwidth, data rate concepts
Transmission impairments
Channel capacity
Data Transmission

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Signals
A signal is

generated by a transmitter and

transmitted over a medium
function of time
function of frequency, i.e.,
composed of components of
different frequencies

Analog signal

varies smoothly with time

E.g., speech

Digital signal

maintains a constant level for

some period of time, then
changes to another level
E.g., binary 1s and 0s

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Periodic vs. Aperiodic Signals

Periodic signal
Pattern repeated over
time
s(t+T) = s(t)
Aperiodic signal
Pattern not repeated
over time

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Sine Wave
The fundamental periodic

signal
Peak Amplitude (A)

maximum strength of signal

volts

Frequency (f)

Rate of change of signal

Hertz (Hz) or cycles per
second
Period = time for one
repetition (T)
T = 1/f

Phase ()

Relative position in time

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Signals in Frequency Domain

Signal is made up of many components
Components are sine waves with different frequencies
In early 19th century, Fourier proved that
Any periodic function can be constructed as the sum of
a (possibly infinite) number of sines and cosines

1
s (t ) c
2
T

a
n 1

sin 2nft
T

b
n 1

cos 2nft
T

2
2
2
an s (t ) sin( 2 nft )dt , bn s (t ) cos(2 nft )dt , c s (t )dt
T 0
T 0
T 0
This decomposition is called Fourier series
f is called the fundamental frequency
an, bn are amplitude of nth harmonic
c is a constant

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Frequency Domain (contd)

Fourier Theorem

enables us to
represent signal in
Frequency Domain

i.e., to show
constituent
frequencies and
amplitude of signal at
these frequencies

S(f)

Example 1: sine wave:

s(t) = sin(2ft)
1f

Frequency, f
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Time and Frequency Domains: Example 2

Time
domain s(t)

Frequency
domain S(f)

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Frequency Domain (contd)

So, we can use Fourier theorem to represent a

signal as function of its constituent frequencies,

and we know the amplitude of each constituent
frequency. So what?
We know the spectrum of a signal, which is the

range of frequencies it contains, and

Absolute bandwidth = width of the spectrum
Q: What is the bandwidth of the signal in the

previous example? [sin(2ft) + sin(23ft)]

A: 2f Hz

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Frequency Domain (contd)

Q. What is the absolute bandwidth of square wave?

Hint: Fourier tells you that

Absolute BW

(ooops!!)

4
1
s (t )
sin 2kft
k odd , k 1 k

narrow band
(why?) we refer to this band as effective bandwidth, or
just bandwidth

But, most of the energy is contained within a

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Approximation of Square Wave

Using the first 3
harmonics, k=1, 3, 5
A. BW = 4*f Hz

Using the first 4

harmonics, k=1, 3, 5, 7
A. BW = 6*f Hz
Q. What is BW in each
case?
Cool applet on Fourier Series

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Signals and Channels

Signal
can be decomposed to components (frequencies)
spectrum: range of frequencies contained in signal
(effective) bandwidth: band of frequencies containing
most of the energy
Communications channel (link)
has finite bandwidth determined by the physical
properties (e.g., thickness of the wire)
truncates (or filters out) frequencies higher than its BW
i.e., it may distort signals

can carry signals with bandwidth

channel bandwidth

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Bandwidth and Data Rate

Data rate: number of bits per second (bps)
Bandwidth: signal rate of change, cycles per sec (Hz)
Well, are they related?
Ex.: Consider square wave with high = 1 and low = 0
We can send two bits every cycle (i.e., during T = 1/f sec)
Assume f =1 MHz (fundamental frequency) T = 1 usec
Now, if we use the first approximation (3 harmonics)
BW of signal = (5 f 1 f) = 4 f = 4 MHz
Data rate = 2 / T = 2 Mbps

So we need a channel with bandwidth 4 MHz to send at date

rate 2 Mbps

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Bandwidth and Data Rate (contd)

But, if we use the second approx. (4 harmonics)
BW of signal = (7 f 1 f) = 6 f = 6 MHz
Data rate = 2 / T = 2 Mbps
Which one to choose? Can we use only 2 harmonics

(BW = 2 MHz)?
It depends on the ability of the receiver to discern
the difference between 0 and 1
Tradeoff: cost of medium vs. distortion of signal
and complexity of receiver

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Bandwidth and Data Rate (contd)

Now, let us agree that the first appox. (3 harmonics)

is good enough

Data rate of 2 Mbps requires BW of 4 MHz

To achieve 4 Mbps, what is the required BW?

data rate = 2 (bits) / T (period) = 4 Mbps T = 1 /2 usec
f (fundamental freq) = 1 /T = 2 MHz
BW = 4 f = 8 MHz
Bottom line: there is a direct relationship between

data rate and bandwidth

Higher data rates require more bandwidth

More bandwidth allows higher data rates to be sent

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Bandwidth and Data Rate (contd)

Nyquist Theorem: (Assume noise-free channel)
If rate of signal transmission is 2B then signal with
frequencies no greater than B is sufficient to carry signal
rate, OR alternatively
Given bandwidth B, highest signal rate is 2B
For binary signals

Two levels we can send one bit (0 or 1) during each period

data rate (C) = 1 x signal rate = 2 B
That is, data rate supported by B Hz is 2B bps

For M-level signals

M levels we can send log2M bits during each period
C= 2B log2M

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Bandwidth and Data Rate (contd)

Shannon Capacity:
Considers data rate, (thermal) noise and error rate
Faster data rate shortens each bit so burst of noise affects
more bits
At given noise level, high data rate means higher error rate
SNR Signal to noise ration

SNR = signal power / noise power

Usually given in decibels (dB): SNRdB= 10 log10 (SNR)

Shannon proved that: C = B log2(1 + SNR)

This is theoretical capacity, in practice capacity is much

lower (due to other types of noise)

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Bandwidth and Data Rate (contd)

Ex.: A channel has B = 1 MHz and SNRdB =

24 dB, what is the channel capacity limit?

SNRdB = 10 log10 (SNR) SNR = 251

C = B log2(1 + SNR) = 8 Mbps

Assume we can achieve the theatrical C,

how many signal levels are required?

C = 2 B log2M M = 16 levels

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Transmission Impairments
Signal received may differ from signal

transmitted
Analog - degradation of signal quality
Digital - bit errors
Caused by
Attenuation and attenuation distortion
Delay distortion
Noise

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Attenuation
Signal strength falls off with distance
Depends on medium
Received signal strength:

must be enough to be detected

must be sufficiently higher than noise to be
received without error

Attenuation is an increasing function of

frequency attenuation distortion

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Delay Distortion
Only in guided media
Propagation velocity varies with frequency
Critical for digital data
A sequence of bits is being transmitted
Delay distortion can cause some of signal
components of one bit to spill over into other
bit positions
intersymbol interference, which is the major
limitation to max bit rate

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Noise (1)
Additional signals inserted between

transmitter and receiver

Thermal

Due to thermal agitation of electrons

Uniformly distributed across frequencies
White noise

Intermodulation

Signals that are the sum and difference of

original frequencies sharing a medium

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Noise (2)
Crosstalk

A signal from one line is picked up by another

Impulse

Irregular pulses or spikes, e.g. external

electromagnetic interference
Short duration
High amplitude

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Data and Signals

Data

Entities that convey meaning

Analog: speech
Digital: text (character strings)

Signals

electromagnetic representations of data

Analog: continuous
Digital: discrete (pulses)

Transmission

Communication of data by propagation and

processing of signals
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Analog Signals Carrying Analog

and Digital Data

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Digital Signals Carrying Analog

and Digital Data

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Analog Transmission
Analog signal transmitted without regard

to content
May be analog or digital data
Attenuated over distance
Use amplifiers to boost signal
But, it also amplifies noise!

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Digital Transmission
Concerned with content
Integrity endangered by noise, attenuation
Repeaters used
Repeater receives signal
Extracts bit pattern
Retransmits
Attenuation is overcome
Noise is not amplified

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Advantages of Digital
Transmission
Digital technology
Low cost LSI/VLSI technology
Data integrity

Longer distances over lower quality lines

Capacity utilization
High bandwidth links economical
High degree of multiplexing easier with digital techniques
Security & Privacy

Encryption

Integration
Can treat analog and digital data similarly

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Summary
Signal: composed of components (Fourier

Series)

Spectrum, bandwidth, data rate

Shannon channel capacity

Transmission impairments
Attenuation, delay distortion, noise
Data vs. signals
Digital vs. Analog Transmission

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