COMPUTER HARDWARE

CSD 114
LESSON 4
TRANSMISSION MEDIA
 READING RESOURCES

• Data Communications and Networking 3rd Edition by Behrouz A. Forouzan

 LESSON OUTLINE

 Introduction

 Guided/Wired Transmission Media

 Unguided/Wireless Transmission Media

 Network Ports
 INTRODUCTION

 A transmission medium can be broadly defined as anything that can carry information from a source to a

destination.

 The transmission medium is usually free space, metallic cable, or fiber-optic cable.

 The information is usually a signal that is the result of a conversion of data from another form.

 Transmission media are actually located below the physical layer and are directly controlled by the physical

layer.
 INTRODUCTION

 In telecommunications, transmission media can be divided into two broad categories

Transmission Media

Guided(Wired) Unguided(Wireless)

Twisted-pair cable Coaxial cable Fiber optic cable Free Space

 Twisted-Pair Cable

 Copper Media

 Made of copper

 Signals are in the form of electrical pulses(digital)

 It is limited by distance

 It is limited by signal interference

 Electromagnetic interference or radio frequency interference

 Crosstalk
 Twisted-Pair Cable

 Copper Media

 Twisted-pair cable

 Shielded Twisted pair

 Unshielded Twisted Pair Shielded Twisted

Unshielded Twisted
Pair (UTP) Cable Pair (STP) Cable

 Coaxial cable

Coaxial Cable
 Twisted-Pair Cable

 Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable

 UTP cable does not use shielding to counter the

effects of EMI and RFI.

 Instead, cable designers have discovered that

they can limit the negative effect of crosstalk by:

 Cancellation

 Varying the number of twists per wire

pair
Twisted-Pair Cable
 Twisted-Pair Cable

Types of Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable

 Twisted-Pair Cable

UTP CONNECTORS/PLUGS
 Twisted-Pair Cable

UTP CABLING STANDARDS

 Twisted-Pair Cable

 Shielded Twisted Pair Cable

 Wires are covered with a foil shielding

which prevents electromagnetic interference

 Transports data faster.

 Coaxial Cable

Coaxial Cable

 Consists of an inner conductor surrounded by a

concentric conducting shield,

 Both are separated by a dielectric (insulating

material)

 Many coaxial cables also have a protective outer

sheath or jacket.

 They carry signals of higher frequency ranges

 Coaxial Cable

Coaxial Cable

 They are categorized by their radio government (RG)

ratings.

 Each RG number denotes a unique set of physical

specifications, including the wire gauge of the inner

conductor, the thickness and type of the inner insulator,

the construction of the shield, and the size and type of

the outer casing

 Coaxial Cable

 Coaxial Connectors are used to connect

coaxial cables to devices

 The BNe, BNC, BNCT are three types of

coaxial cable connectors

 The BNC terminator is used to terminate

coaxial cable connections

 Coaxial Cable

Uses of Coaxial Cables

 Analog telephone networks

 Digital telephone networks

 Cable television

 Traditional ethernet LANs

 Fiber Optic Cable

Fiber Optic Cable

 Made of glass or plastic

 Transmits signals in the form of light.

 Fiber Optic Cable

Types of Fiber Optic Cable

 Fiber Optic Cable

Fiber Optic Cable Connectors

 Network Media

Copper versus Fiber Optic Cable

Implementation Copper
Fibre Optic
Issues Media
10 Mbps – 10 10 Mbps – 100
Bandwidth Supported
Gbps Gbps
Relatively High
Relatively short
Distance (1 – 100 meters)
(1 – 100,000
meters)
High
Immunity To EMI And
Low (Completely
RFI immune)
High
Immunity To Electrical
Low (Completely
Hazards immune)
Media And Connector
Lowest Highest
Costs
Installation Skills
Lowest Highest
Required
Safety Precautions Lowest Highest
 Unguided Media: Wireless

 Transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical conductor

 Communication through unguided media is referred to as wireless

communication.

 Signals are normally broadcast through free space and are available to

anyone who has a device capable of receiving them.

 Unguided Media: Wireless

 Unguided signals can travel from the source to

destination in several ways:

 Ground propagation,

 sky propagation,

 line-of-sight propagation
 Unguided Media: Wireless

Wireless
Transmissio
n

Radio Wave Microwave Infrared

 Radio Waves

 Radio Waves are electromagnetic waves with frequencies between 3 kHz and

3 GHz

 Radio waves are omnidirectional

 When an antenna transmits radio waves, they are propagated in all directions.

 The sending and receiving antennas do not have to be aligned.

 A sending antenna sends waves that can be received by any receiving antenna.

 Radio waves use omnidirectional antennas that send out signals in all directions.
 Radio Waves

 The omnidirectional characteristics of radio waves make them useful for multicasting,

 Multicasting is a method of transmitting electromagnetic waves in which there is one sender

but many receivers.

 AM and FM radio, television, maritime radio, cordless phones, and paging are examples of

the applications of multicasting.

 However, radio waves transmitted by one antenna are susceptible to interference by

 another antenna that may send signals using the same frequency or band.
Radio Waves
 Microwaves

 Electromagnetic waves having frequencies between 30 GHz and 300 GHz are called microwaves.

 Microwaves are unidirectional.

 When an antenna transmits microwave waves, they can be narrowly focused.

 This means that the sending and receiving antennas need to be aligned.

 A pair of antennas can be aligned without interfering with another pair of aligned antennas.
 Microwaves

 Microwave propagation is line-of-sight.

 Towers that are far apart need to be very tall

 Repeaters are often needed for long distance communication

 Microwaves need unidirectional antennas that send out signals in one direction.

 Two types of antennas are used for microwave communications

 The parabolic dish and the Horn

Microwaves
 Microwaves

 Microwaves, due to their unidirectional properties, are very useful when unicast (one-to-one)

communication is needed between the sender and the receiver.

 They are used in cellular phones, satellite networks, and wireless LANs
 Infrared Waves

 They have with frequencies from 300 GHz to 400 THz

 Infrared waves, having high frequencies, cannot penetrate walls.

 This advantageous characteristic prevents interference between one system and another

 A short-range communication system in one room cannot be affected by another system in the next

room.

 When an infrared remote control is used there is no interference with the use of the remote by another

system
 Infrared Waves

 Infrared waves are used for wireless keyboard, and wireless mouse, remote controls
 Network Ports

Networ
k Ports

Physical Logical
Ports Ports
 Network Ports

 Physical Port

 It is where communication
ends or begins on a physical
network device

 It is used to connect two

network devices

 It is also known as a physical

interface

https://community.cisco.com/t5/switching/management-port-in-cisco-switches-are-they-really-physical-port/td-p/2631652
 Network Ports

 Logical Port

 It is a number assigned to a
“logical” connection.
 It is the endpoint to a logical
connection that describes a
service in TCP/IP and UDP.
 Port numbers are assigned to a
service, which is helpful to
TCP/IP or UDP in identifying
what ports it must send traffic
to.
 There are 65,536 TCP ports and
65,536 UDP ports.
http://resources.intenseschool.com/ccna-prep-fundamentals-of-tcpip-transport-applications-and-security/
 Network Ports

http://resources.intenseschool.com/ccna-prep-fundamentals-of-tcpip-transport-applications-and-security/
 Tutorial Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NX99ad2FUA
 Tutorial Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDotMcs0Erg
 Questions

1. Define the term transmission media

2. State the main types of transmission media used in data communication

3. State the main types of guided media and describe each of them

4. State the types of wireless transmission

5. State the frequency of the following electromagnetic waves

 Radio Waves

 Microwaves

 Infrared Waves
 Questions

6. State three uses of the following electromagnetic waves

 Radio Waves

 Microwaves

 Infrared Waves

7. State the two types of network ports in data communication