Chapter 7

Transmission Media

7.1 Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
 Figure 7.1 Transmission medium and physical layer

 Transmission media are located below and is controlled by the

physical layer
 Reminder: data is represented by signals that are transmitted
between devices in the form of an ElectroMagnetic (EM)
energy that propagates through the transmission media
 EM energy includes: power, radio wave, infrared light, visible
light, etc. They all are part of the EM Spectrum
7.2
 Electromagnetic (EM) Spectrum lamda=c/f
c=3*108

7.3
7.4
 Figure 7.2 Classes of transmission media

7.5
 7-1 GUIDED MEDIA

Guided media, which are those that provide a conduit

from one device to another, include twisted-pair cable,
coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable.

Topics discussed in this section:

Twisted-Pair Cable
Coaxial Cable
Fiber-Optic Cable

7.6
 Figure 7.3 Twisted-pair cable

 Consists of two conductors (usually copper)

 Each conductor has its own plastic insulation
 The two are twisted around each other
 One carries the signal, the other is used as a ground reference
 The signal used is the difference between the two
 Why are they twisted?
 The two are subject to noise and/or cross talk from another pair
 If the noise source is closer to one side, twisting make the effect
even
 When the signal difference is used, the noise cancels out
7.7
 Figure 7.4 UTP and STP cables

 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) is the most commonly used cable

 Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) has a metal foil or braded-mesh covering the
shielded pair
 STP is more immune to noise and cross talk due to shielding, but is it bulkier
(i.e.; larger and heavier) and more expensive than UTP
 Electronic Industries Association (EIA) has standards that categorize UTP
 e.g. Cat 4, cat 5, cat 6, cat 7

 The categories are based on the cable quality (1 is the lowest and 7 is the
7.8 highest)
7.9
7.10
 reading

7.11
 Table 7.1 Categories of unshielded twisted-pair cables

7.12
 Figure 7.5 UTP connector

 The most common UTP connector is the RJ-45

(Registered Jack-45)
 RJ-45 is a keyed connector
 Commonly used for Ethernet connections
 Other types are RJ-11 (phone lines) and RJ-10 (phone
7.13
 Figure 7.6 UTP performance  Gauge (the thickness of the wire)

7.14
 Exercise fro you

7.15
 UTP Applications
 Twisted-pair cables are widely used in telephone lines
 The local loop (the line that connects the subscriber to the
central office) is mostly a UTP
 Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) used to provide high-speed
data connection utilizes the high bandwidth of the UTP
 Local Area Networks (LANs) such as 10Base-T and 100Base-
T use twisted-pair cables

7.16
 Figure 7.7 Coaxial cable

 Coaxial cables have central core conductor (usually copper wire)

enclosed in an insulating sheath
 The sheath is also enclosed in an outer conductor (usually a metal foil
and/or braid)
 The outer metallic shield works as a protection against noise and as a
second conductor for ground reference
 The cable is protected by a plastics cover

7.17
 Has higher frequency range than twisted-pair cable
Table 7.2 Categories of coaxial cables

 Coaxial cables are categorized by Radio Government (RG) ratings

 Each RG rating defines a unique set of physical specifications
such as:
 Gauge (the thickness of the wire)
 The thickness and type of the inner insulator
 The construction of the shield
 The size and type of the outer casting
 Each RG rating is usually specified for a certain function and
application (TV cables, LANs, Cameras Sys, ..etc)
7.18
7.19
 Figure 7.8 BNC connectors

 The most common type of coaxial connectors is the BNC

 The BNC Connector is used to connect a device
 The BNC T is used to branch out a cable
 The BNC Terminator is used to at the end of the cable to absorb the signal
7.20 and prevent signal reflection back into the cable
 Figure 7.9 Coaxial cable performance

 Much higher attenuation than the twisted-pair

 More frequent repeaters needed
7.21
 Coaxial Cable Applications

 Mostly replaced by fiber-optic cables

 Earlier used in:
 Analog telephone networks (10,000 voice signals per cable)
 Traditional cable TV networks for the infrastructure
 Traditional Ethernet LANs:
 10Base-2 (Thin Ethernet) using RG-58 with BNC connector for 10
Mbps data rate for a range of 185 m
 10Base-5 (Thick Ethernet) using RG-11 with specialized connectors
for 10 Mbps data rate over a range of 5,000 m
 Later used in:
 Digital telephone networks (600 Mbps per cable)
 Cable TV networks, where RG-59 is used to connect the
subscriber to the infrastructure (mostly fiber-optic now)
7.22
7.23
 Fiber-Optic Cable
 Made of glass or plastic
 Transmits signals in the form of light
 Uses the light ray reflection and refraction
laws of physics for signal propagation

7.24
 Figure 7.10 Bending of light ray

 Light travels in straight lines if traveling through a single uniform substance

 If the light moves from one substance to another with a different density, the
light changes its direction
 The angle of incidence is the angle the light makes with the line
perpendicular to the interface between the two substances
 The critical angle of incidence is the angle at which the light travels along
the interface between the two substances
 If the angle of incidence is greater than the critical, the light reflects back
 The critical angle is a property of the substance
7.25
 Click o
the link

https://www.google.com/search?
q=how+light+travels+in+fiber&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiy1OX_2M7oAhVFlRoKHV-
ZAGAQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=how+light+travels+in+fiber&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoECCMQJzoECA
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oAHAAeACAAe8BiAHxH5IBBjAuMjEuNZgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1n&sclient=img
&ei=NXOIXvLlN8Wqat-ygoAG&bih=608&biw=1039#imgrc=z_wxhPVufyx1OM

7.26
 Figure 7.11 Optical fiber

 Optical fibers use reflections to guide a light through a channel

 The glass or plastic core is surrounded by a cladding of less
dense glass or plastic such that the light is reflected at the
required angle of incidence

7.27
 Figure 7.12 Propagation modes

7.28
 Optical Fiber Modes
 Multimode: multiple beams move through the core in different paths
1. Step-Index fiber:
 The density of the core is constant (the index of refraction is fixed)
 The light moves is straight lines until it hits the cladding where it
reflects suddenly
2. Graded-Index fiber:

The density of the core decreases as the light moves from the center to the
cladding
 The light changes in curved line and reflects smoothly off of the cladding
 The received signal is less distorted compared to the step-index

7.29
 Optical Fiber Modes
 Single-Mode:
 Uses step-index fiber and highly focused light source with limited range of angles
 Smaller diameter and lower density fiber compared to multimode
 Therefore, critical angle ~90 degrees to force all beams to almost propagate
horizontally
 Propagation of different beams are almost identical with negligible delays
 The beams can be recombined with little distortion to the signal

7.30
 Table 7.3 Fiber types

 Defined by the ratio of the core to the cladding

diameters usually expressed in micrometers

7.31
 Figure 7.14 Fiber construction

 Outer jacket is made of PVC or Teflon

 Kelvar is used for bulletproof vests

7.32
 Figure 7.15 Fiber-optic cable connectors

 SC (Subscriber Channel) is used for cable TV

 ST (Straight Tip) is used for connecting cables to networking devices

 MT-RJ is a new type of connector that is similar in size to the RJ-45

connector
7.33
 Figure 7.16 Optical fiber performance

 The attenuation is flatter (slower rate of change) than

the twisted-pair and coaxial cables
 10 time less repeaters compared to other guided media
7.34
 Optical Fiber Applications
 Mostly used for backbone networks where it is highly cost-effective
 Transfers at a rate of 1600 Gbps with WDM over SONET networks
 Backbone infrastructure for Cable TV networks
 LAN over 100Base-FX networks (fast Ethernet) and 1000Base-X

7.35
 Optical Fiber Applications

7.36
 Advantages and Disadvantages of Optical Fiber
 Advantages:
1. High bandwidth: its bandwidth is limited by signal
generation and reception; not by the medium
2. Low attenuation: 50 Km spaced repeaters
3. No EM interference
4. No corrosion
5. Light weight
6. No tapping
 Disadvantages
 Installation/maintenance
 Unidirectional
 Expensive
7.37
 7-2 UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS

Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves

without using a physical conductor. This type of
communication is often referred to as wireless
communication.

Topics discussed in this section:

• Radio Waves
• Microwaves
• Infrared

7.38
 Figure 7.17 Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless communication

 Transporting EM waves without a physical conductor (wireless)

 Signals are transmitted (broadcasted) over the air
 Frequency range: 3 KHz to 900 THz
 Types of unguided signal propagations:
1. Ground
2. Sky
3. Line-of-sight (LOS)
7.39
 Figure 7.18 Propagation methods

SKY Line-of-Site
Ground
Higher frequency
Low frequency Very high freq.
Travels upward Straight line
Travels in all directions
Reflects off of the transmission
Follow curvature of the
Ionosphere Point-to-point
earth
Greater distance with
High towers needed
Used navigation
lower power Used in: Radar &
systems
Used in: AM, FM, &
7.40 Satellites & Cell phones
 Table 7.4 Bands

7.41
 Figure 7.19 Wireless transmission waves

 Radio Wave uses : 3 KHz to 1 GHz

 Microwaves uses: 1 to 300 GHz
 Infrared: 300 GHz to 400 THz
 Division is based on the wave behavior rather than the frequency ranges
 Radio waves are mostly omnidirectional (all directions)
7.42  Microwave are mostly unidirectional (point-to-point)
 Figure 7.20 Omnidirectional antenna

 Signals propagate in all directions

 Suffer from co-channel interference (interference on the same channel)
 Sky mode radio waves travel very long distances (e.g. AM and FM)
 Low and medium frequencies can penetrate through objects
 No signal containing but good reception all over
 Relatively narrow bandwidth with limited data communications data rates
 Most bands are regulated (i.e.; licensed)
7.43
 Figure 7.21 Microwave and Unidirectional antennas

 Line-of-sight communications
 VHF cannot penetrate through objects (e.g. walls)
 Immune from interference
 Wide frequency band of about 299 GHz (1 to 300 GHz )
 Good potential for very high data rate transmission
 Mainly regulated except for the license-free or ISM (Industrial
7.44 Scientific, and Medical 2.4 GHz & 5.0 GHz)) bands
 Note

Microwaves are used for unicast

communication such as cellular
telephones, satellite networks,
and wireless LANs.

7.45
 Infrared
 300 GHz to 400 THz
 Line-of-sight very short-range and very high data rate
communications
 Cannot penetrate through objects (e.g. walls)
 Immune from interference
 Use only for inside applications: such as remote control, PC data
transfer, etc.
 IrDA (Infrared Data Association)
 It is a Standard body for IR communications
 It Defines standards for communication between PC and
peripheral devices (e.g USB,
 Rate=75 kbps, range= up to 8 meters line-of-site
communications
7.46
7.47
 Note

Infrared signals can be used for short-

range communication in a closed area
using line-of-sight propagation.

7.48