Transmission Media

 Introduction
Copper Wires
Glass Fibers
Radio Frequency and Satellites
Microwave
Infrared
Light From A Laser

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Introduction
Existing types of transmission media including cables
and wireless means are described here
At the lowest level, all computer communication
involves
encoding data in a form of energy
and sending the energy across a transmission medium
Hardware devices attached to a computer perform the
encoding and decoding of data

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Copper Wires
 Conventional computer network use wires as the primary medium
 Copper used almost exclusively because its low resistance

 Network wire is chosen to minimize interference

 Interference arises because wire emit a small amount of

electromagnetic energy, which can travel through the air

 Whenever it encounters another wire, an electromagnetic wave

generates a small electric current in the wire. When two wires are
placed close together and in parallel, a strong signal sent on one wire
will generate a similar signal on the other

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Copper Wires (cont.)
Problem of interference is severe
because wires that comprise a network often are placed
in parallel with many other wires
To minimize interference, networks use one of three
basic wiring types:
Twisted Pair
 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
 Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
Coaxial Cable
Fiber Optic (immunized from interference)

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Twisted Pair
The figure below illustrates a twisted-pair cable
Oldest and still most common used, because of:
Adequate performance
Low cost
Easy to install
Twists change the electrical properties of the wire:
They limit the electromagnetic energy the wire emits:
 So they help prevent radiating energy that interferes with other wires
They make the pair of wires less liable to electromagnetic
energy:
 They help prevent signals on other wires from interfering with the pair

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Fig : Unshielded Twisted Pair

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Coaxial cable
Coaxial cables provides even more protection from
interference than twisted pair
a coaxial cable consists of a single wire surrounded by a
metal shield (Figure 4.2 below) that forms a flexible
cylinder around the inner wire to provide a barrier for
electromagnetic radiation
The barrier isolates the inner wire in two ways:
 it protects the wire from incoming/radiating electromagnetic energy
The cable can be placed parallel to other cables or bent
and twisted around corners

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Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
The STP cable consists of a pair of wires surrounded by a metal shield
 The additional shielding provided by STP or coaxial cabling is often
used when wires from a network pass near equipment that generates
strong electric or magnetic fields

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Glass Fibers
Network also use flexible glass fibers to transmit data
known as an optical fiber
Medium uses light to transport data
The miniature glass fiber is encased in a plastic jacket
which allows the fiber to bend without breaking
A transmitter at one end of a fiber uses
a light emitting diode (LED) or a laser to send pulses
of light
A receiver at the other end uses
a light sensitive transistor to detect the pulses

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Glass Fibers (cont.)
Advantages:
Light neither cause electrical interference in other cables
nor liable to electrical interference
Glass fibers can be manufactured to reflect most of the
light inward
can carry a pulse of light much farther than a copper wire
signal
Light can encode more information than electrical signals
 can carry more information than a wire & MORE SECURE
unlike electricity, which always requires a pair of wires
connected into a complete circuit,
Light can travel from one computer to another over a single
fiber

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Glass Fibers (cont.)
Disadvantages
Installing a fiber requires special equipment
that polishes the ends to allow light to pass through
If a fiber breaks inside the plastic jacket:
finding the location of the problem is difficult
Repairing a broken fiber is difficult
special equipment is needed to join two fibers

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Radio Frequency (RF)
In RF transmissions
each participating computer attaches to an antenna
Antenna can both transmit and receive RF
Physically, the antennas used with RF networks may
be large or small, depending on the range desired:
An antenna designed to propagate signals several miles
 A metal pole approximately 2 meters long that is mounted vertically on
top of a building
An antenna designed to permit communication within a
building
 May be small enough to fit inside a portable computer (e.g., less than 20
centimeters)

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Satellites
RF technology can be combined with satellites
 to provide communication across longer distances
Figure 4.3 illustrates a satellite in orbit
The satellite contains a transponder
 that consists of a radio receiver and transmitter
The transponder
 accepts an incoming radio transmission
 amplifies it
 and transmits the signal back toward the ground at a slightly
different angle than it arrived
A single satellite usually contains multiple transponders
 Each transponder uses a different radio frequency (i.e.,
channel)

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Microwave
 Many long-distance telephone companies use microwave (MW) to
carry telephone conversations
 A few large companies have also installed MW systems as part of the
company's network
 MW are merely a higher frequency version of radio waves, but they
behave differently
 Instead of broadcasting in all directions,
 a MW transmission can be aimed in a single direction, preventing others from
intercepting
 In addition, MW transmission can carry more information than lower
frequency RF transmissions
 MW cannot penetrate metal structures:
 transmission works best in a clear path exists between two parties
 most MW installations consist of two towers
 that are taller than the surrounding buildings and vegetation
 each MW transmitter aimed directly at a MW receiver on the other

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Infrared
Infrared is limited to a small area (e.g., a single room)
Usually requires that the transmitter be pointed toward the
receiver
Infrared HW
 is inexpensive compared to other mechanisms,
 and does not require an antenna
It is possible to equip a large room with a single infrared
connection
 that provides network access to all computers
 computers can remain in contact with the network while they
are moved within the room
Infrared network are especially convenient for small,
portable computers

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Light From A Laser
 A beam of light can also be used to carry data through the air
 A communication link that uses light consists of two sites that each
have a transmitter and receiver
 equipment is mounted in a fixed position, often on a tower
 aligned so the transmitter at one location sends its beam of light directly to
the receiver at the other
 The transmitter uses a laser to generate the beam of light
 because a coherent laser beam will stay focused over a long distance
 Light from a laser must travel in a straight line and must not be
blocked
 A laser beam cannot penetrate vegetation or weather conditions such
as snow and fog:
 Thus, laser transmission has limited use

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