CCNA – Semester1

Module 3
Networking Media

Objectives

• Copper media and electronic signal

• Optical media and light signal
• Wireless media and wave
 Copper Media

Electricity Basics

The basic unit of all

matter is an atom.
– Protons – particles that
have positive charge
– Neutrons – particles that
have no charge (neutral)
– Electrons – particles that
have negative charge and
orbit the nucleus
Static electricity
free electron
• Electrons have been
loosened from the atom
and stay in one place,
without moving.
• Electrostatic discharge
(ESD).
– ESD, though usually
harmless to people, can
create serious problems for
sensitive electronic
equipment.

Measuring electricity: Current

• The flow of charges that is created when

electrons move.
• Symbol: I.
• Ampere (A).
Electrical definitions: AC and DC

• Alternating Current (AC):

– Electrical current flows in both directions; positive and
negative terminals continuously trade places (polarity).
• Direct Current (DC):
– Electrical current flows in one direction; negative to
positive.

Measuring electricity: Resistance

• Resistance: property of a material that opposes the electrical flow.

• Resistance consume electrical energy and cause attenuation.
• Symbol: R.
• Ohm (Ω).
• Impedance: total opposition to the current.
• Symbol: Z.
• Ohm (Ω).
Measuring electricity: Voltage

• Force or pressure caused by the separation of

electrons and protons.
• Symbol: U.
• Volt (V).

Basic Circuit

• Source
• Complete
path
• Load
Oscilloscope

• Graphs voltage over time

• X-axis represents T, Y-axis represents V

Electrical definitions: Ground

• Ground can refer to

the place on the
earth.
• Ground can also
mean the reference
point, or the 0 volts
level, when making
electrical
measurements.
Cable Specifications

• What speeds for data transmission can be

achieved using a particular type of cable?
• What type of transmission is being considered?
Will the transmissions be digital or will they be
analog-based?
• How far can a signal travel through a particular
type of cable before attenuation of that signal
becomes a concern?

Ethernet Specifications

• 10BASE-T
• 10BASE5
• 10Base2
Coaxial Cable

• If not properly grounded, shielding is very poor.

• Speed of transmission:10-100Mpbs
• Longer cable runs than UTP & STP.
• Maximum cable length :
– Thin cable : 185 m.
– Thick cable : 500 m.
• Impedance: 50Ω.

Shielded Twisted-Pair Cable

• Protection from all types of external interference, include EMI and

RFI.
– Cancellation: twisting of wires.
– Shielding.
• Moderately expensive, quite difficult to install.
• Speed of transmission:10Mpbs-1Gbps
• Maximum cable length 100m.
Screened Twisted-Pair Cable

Cancellation
Unshielded Twisted-Pair Cable

• More prone to EMI/RFI interference than any other cable types.

• Least expensive of all media
– small diameter of cable (~ .43cm),
– easy to install.
• Speed of transmission:10Mpbs-1Gbps
• Maximum cable length 100m.

Straight-through cable

• Station to hub/switch
• Router to hub/switch
Crossover cable

• Switch/hub to switch/hub
• Router/station to Router/station

Connecting devices

PWR WIC0 WIC0 ETH

ACT/CH0 ACT/CH0 ACT

OK ACT/CH1 ACT/CH1 COL

1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
* 8 #

iMac

• Connecting devices of the same group: cross-over

• Connecting devices of different group: straight-through
100Base-TX

1: Transmit 1: Transmit
2: Transmit 2: Transmit
3: Receive 3: Receive
4: Not used 4: Not used
5: Not used 5: Not used
6: Receive 6: Receive
7: Not used 7: Not used
8: Not used 8: Not used

Rollover cable

• PC requires an RJ45-to-DB9 or RJ45-to-DB25 adapter

• This provide out-of-band console access

Note: only straigh-through and cross-over cable are used in making network
while rollover cable is used in making control connection
 Optical Media

Electromagnetic Spectrum

• Electromagnetic Energy
– Radio
– Microwaves
– Radar
– Visible light
– X-rays
– Gamma rays
• If all the types of electromagnetic waves are arranged in
order from the longest wavelength down to the shortest
wavelength, a continuum called the electromagnetic
spectrum is created.
Reflection and refraction of light

Total Internal Reflection

• A light ray that is being turned on and off to send

data (1s and 0s) into an optical fiber must stay inside
the fiber until it reaches the far end.
Laws of Total Reflection

• The following two conditions must be met for the light rays in
a fiber to be reflected back into the fiber with out any loss due
to refraction:
– The core of the optical fiber has to have a larger index of refraction
than the material that surrounds it (the cladding).
– The angle of incidence of the light ray is greater than the critical angle
for the core and its cladding.

Single-Mode Fiber and Multimode Fiber

Other Optical Components

• A transmitter is needed to convert the

electricity to light and at the receiver convert
the pulse of light at the proper wavelength back
to electricity.

Optical Connector

• The type of connector most commonly used

with multimode fiber is the Subscriber
Connector (SC connector). On single-mode
fiber, the Straight Tip (ST) connector is
frequently used.
Advantages of optical signal

• Fiber-optic cable is not affected by the sources

of external noise like EMI
• Transmission of light on one fiber in a cable
does not generate interference that disturbs
transmission on any other fiber
• High speed, high security and long cable length

Signals and Noise in Optical Fibers

• The farther a light signal travels through a fiber, the

more the signal loses strength. This attenuation is
due to several factors involving the nature of fiber
itself.
– Scattering of light in a fiber is caused by microscopic non-uniformity
(distortions) in the fiber that reflects and scatters some of the light
energy.
– Absorption makes the light signal a little dimmer.
– Another factor that causes attenuation of the light signal is
manufacturing irregularities or roughness in the core-to-cladding
boundary.
Installation of Optical Fiber

• If the fiber is stretched or

curved too tightly, it can
cause tiny cracks in the
core that will scatter the
light rays.
• Bending the fiber in too
tight a curve can change
the incident angle of light
rays striking the core-to-
cladding boundary.

• When the fiber has been pulled, the ends of the fiber must be
cleaved (cut) and properly polished to ensure that the ends are
smooth.

Testing of Optical Fiber

• When a fiber-optic link is

being planned, the
amount of signal power
loss that can be tolerated
must be calculated. This
is referred to as the
optical link loss budget.

• Two of the most important testing instruments are

Optical Loss Meters and Optical Time Domain
Reflectometers (OTDRs).
 Wireless Media

IEEE 802 Committees

802.0 SEC
802.1 High Level Interface (HILI)
802.2 Logical Link Control (LLC) IEEE 802.11
802.3 CSMA/CD Working Group IEEE 802.11a
802.4 Token Bus IEEE 802.11b WiFi
802.5 Token Ring IEEE 802.11g
802.6 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) IEEE 802.15.1 Bluetooth
802.7 BroadBand Technical Adv. Group (BBTAG) IEEE 802.11e
802.8 Fiber Optics Technical Adv. Group (FOTAG) IEEE 802.11f
802.9 Integrated Services LAN (ISLAN) IEEE 802.11h
802.10 Standard for Interoperable LAN Security IEEE 802.11i Security
(SILS) 2004
801.11 Wireless LAN (WLAN) IEEE 802.15 TG2
802.12 Demand Priority IEEE 802.15 TG3
802.14 Cable-TV Based Broadband Communication IEEE 802.15 TG4
Network
802.15 Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN)
802.16 Broadband Wireless Access (BBWA)
RPRSG Resilient Packet Ring Study Group (RPRSG)
WLAN Organizations and Standards
Modulation
Standard Data Rate Pros/Cons
Scheme
≤ 2Mbps FHSS or
802.11 This specification has been extended into 802.11b.
2.4GHz DSSS

"Wi-Fi Certified." 8 available channels. Less potential

for RF interference than 802.11b and 802.11g. Better
802.11a ≤ 54Mbps than 802.11b at supporting multimedia voice, video
OFDM
5GHz and large-image applications in densely populated
user environments. Relatively shorter range than
802.11b. Not interoperable with 802.11b.

"Wi-Fi Certified." 14 channels available. Not

interoperable with 802.11a. Requires fewer access
802.11b ≤ 11Mbps DSSS with
points than 802.11a for coverage of large areas. High-
2.4GHz CCK
speed access to data at up to 300 feet from base
station.

OFDM >
20Mbps "Wi-Fi Certified." 14 channels available. May replace
802.11g ≤ 54Mbps
DSSS + 802.11b. Improved security enhancements over
2.4GHz
CCK < 802.11. Compatible with 802.11b.
20Mbps

No native support for IP, so it does not support TCP/IP and

Up to 2Mbps
Bluetooth FHSS wireless LAN applications well. Best suited for connecting
2.45GHz
PDAs, cell phones and PCs in short intervals.

Wireless Devices and Topologies

• A wireless network may

consist of as few as two
devices.
• Devices in WLAN are
peers
• An access point (AP) is
commonly installed to
act as a central hub for
the WLAN
How WLANs Communicate
• After establishing
connectivity to the WLAN, a
node will pass frames
similarly to any other 802
network.
• WLANs use CSMA/CA
• The receiving node returns a
positive ACK, causing a
consumption of 50% of the
available bandwidth, actual
throughput may reduce to 5 –
5.5 Mbps
• Adaptive Rate Selection (ARS)
is used to set proper speed
for network nodes.

Adaptive Rate Selection

• Performance of the
network will also be
affected by signal
strength and degradation
in signal quality due to
distance or interference.
• As the signal becomes
weaker, Adaptive Rate
Selection (ARS) may be
invoked.
Authentication and Association

• IEEE 802.11 lists two types of authentication

processes.
– Open system – only the SSID must match
– Shared key – requires Wireless Equivalency Protocol (WEP)
• Association permits a client to use the services of
the AP to transfer data.

Carrier Signal and Modulation

• In a transmitter, the electrical (data) signals from a

computer or a LAN are not sent directly into the antenna
of the transmitter. Rather, these data signals are used to
alter a second, strong signal called the carrier signal.
Signals and Noise on a WLAN
• The most obvious source of a signal
problem is the transmitting station and
antenna type.
• Leakage from a microwave of as little as
one watt into the RF spectrum can cause
major network disruption. Wireless phones
operating in the 2.4GHZ spectrum can also
cause network disorder.
• Fog or high moisture conditions can affect
wireless networks.
• Lightning can also charge the atmosphere
and alter the path of a transmitted signal.

Wireless Security

• VPN
• EAP-MD5 Challenge
• LEAP (Cisco)
• User authentication
• Encryption
• Data authentication
Summary

• Electronic parameters
• Ethernet cable type
• Light and optical fiber
• Optical fiber installation
• WLAN communication and authentication
• Signal modulation and WLAN security