Data Transmission

Data transmission means the transportation of any kind of information whatsoever, from one place to another by physical means. Historically, this was done by paper mail, a string of lights or semaphores, then with the help of Morse coder. In computer terminology, this means sending streams of bits or bytes from one location to another location using technologies such as copper wire, fiber optics, lasers, radio, or infrared light. As examples include sending data from one device to another memory and access to a website, which involves the transfer of data from web servers to a users browser. Data Transmission can be done between the sender and receiver through the data source and data sink, respectively. These are connected by a data link. The data link includes a transmission medium (for example, wire) and the appropriate transmission and receiving devices at the data source and sink. It can be done via parallel communication or serial communication.

Data Transmission Types

A given transmission on a communications channel between two machines can occur in several different ways. The types belongs to direction of the exchanges, number of bits send, how bits will be send. Data transmission categories are:

-Parallel Transmission
- Serial Transmission - Synchronous -Asynchronous

Parallel Transmission
Parallel communication is a method of sending several data signals simultaneously over several parallel channels. Parallel connection means simultaneous transmission of N bits. These bits are sent simultaneously over N different channels (a channel being, for example, a wire, a cable or any other physical medium). The parallel connection on PC-type computers generally requires 10 wires.

Serial Transmission
Serial communication is the process of sending data one bit at a time, sequentially, over a communication channel or computer bus. In a serial connection, the data are sent one bit at a time over the transmission channel. However, since most processors process data in parallel, the transmitter needs to transform incoming parallel data into serial data and the receiver needs to do the opposite.

Asynchronous Transmission

In asynchronous transmission, we send 1 start bit (0) at the beginning and 1 or more stop bits (1s) at the end of each byte. There may be a gap between each byte. Asynchronous here means asynchronous at the byte level, but the bits are still synchronized; their durations are the same.

Synchronous Transmission
A communications strategy that uses timing to control transmission. A transmission consists of an initial synchronization sequence, followed by a predefined number of bits, each transmitted at a constant rate. Except for the initial synchronization bit, synchronous transmissions do not require any additional bits (as asynchronous methods do). Synchronous transmissions can be fast, but they must be slowed down on noisy lines. Synchronous transmission from Sender to Receiver shown in figure below.

In synchronous transmission, we send bits one after another without start/stop bits or gaps. It is the responsibility of the receiver to group the bits.

Line Configuration
Meaning - It is the way two or more communication devices attach to a link. A Link is the physical communication pathway that transfer data from one device to another. Point to Point Provide dedicated link between two devices use actual length of wire or cable to connect the two end including microwave & satellite link. Infrared remote control & TVs remote control. Multipoint Also known as Multidrop line configuration one or more than two specific devices share a single link capacity of the channel is shared.

Topology
Network topology is the arrangement of the
various elements (links, nodes etc.) of a computer or biological network. Essentially, it is the topological structure of a network, and may be depicted physically or logically. Physical topology refers to the placement of the network's various components, including device location and cable installation, while logical topology shows how data flows within a network, regardless of its physical design. Distances between nodes, physical interconnections, transmission rates, and/or signal types may differ between two networks, yet their topologies may be identical.

Half Duplex and Full Duplex

Simplex connection is a connection in which the data flows in only one direction, from the transmitter to the receiver. This type of connection is useful if the data do not need to flow in both directions (for example, from your computer to the printer or from the mouse to your computer...). Half-duplex devices let you send and receive, but only one-way at a time. If you've ever used a walkie-talkie, then you know what half-duplex conversations sound like. You have to push the TALK button to send your message. But as long as you are holding the TALK key, you can't hear what anyone else is saying. You must release the button to receive. Full duplex is a connection in which the data flow in both directions simultaneously. Each end of the line can thus transmit and receive at the same time, which means that the bandwidth is divided in two for each direction of data transmission if the same transmission medium is used for both directions of transmission.

Multiplexing
In computer networks and telecommunications, multiplexing is a method by which multiple analog message signals or digital data streams are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share an expensive resource. For example, in telecommunications, several telephone calls may be carried using one wire. Multiplexing originated in telegraphy, and is now widely applied in communications.

MULTIPLXER: Dividing a link into channels

A multiplexer (or multiplexor) is a device for selecting a single output from among several inputs or for channeling several data streams into a single communications channel. The input channels are generally low-speed, while the single output channel is high-speed with enough bandwidth to accommodate the multiple slower channels. This term is often abbreviated as MUX. Multiplexers are mainly used to increase the amount of data that can be sent over the network within a certain amount of time and bandwidth. A multiplexer is also called a data selector. They are used in CCTV, and almost every business that has CCTV fitted, will own one of these.

Categories of Multiplexing

FDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing)

Frequency division multiplexing (FDM) is the process by which the total bandwidth available to the system is divided into a series of non overlapping frequency sub-bands that are then assigned to each communicating source and user pair. FDM is an analog multiplexing technique that combines signals.

FDM process
In FDM process each source generates a signal of a similar frequency range. Inside the multiplexer, these similar signals modulates different carrier frequencies (11,12, and h). The resulting modulated signals are then combined into a single composite signal that is sent out over a media link that has enough bandwidth to accommodate it.

FDM Demultiplexing Process

In demultiplexing process the demultiplexer uses a series of filters to decompose the multiplexed signal into its constituent component signals. The individual signals are then passed to a demodulator that separates them from their carriers and passes them to the output lines.

Synchronous TDM
Synchronous TDM In this method the data flow of each input connection is divided into units, where each input occupies one input time slot. Size - A unit can be 1 bit, one character, or one block of data. Each input unit becomes one output unit and occupies one output time slot. However, the duration of an output time slot is n times shorter than the duration of an input time slot. If an input time slot is T s, the output time slot is Tin s, where n is the number of connections. In other words, a unit in the output connection has a shorter duration; it travels faster.

TDM- Time Division Multiplexing

Time-division multiplexing (TDM) is a method of putting multiple data streams in a single signal by separating the signal into many segments, each having a very short duration. Each individual data stream is reassembled at the receiving end based on the timing. TDM is a digital multiplexing technique to combine data.

TDM Frames
In synchronous TDM, a round of data units from each input connection is collected into a frame. If we have n connections, a frame is divided into n time slots and one slot is allocated for each unit, one for each input line. If the duration of the input unit is T, the duration of each slot is Tin and the duration of each frame is T (unless a frame carries some other information).

STDM (Statistical Time Division Multiplexing)

In synchronous TDM, each input has a reserved slot in the output frame. This can be inefficient if some input lines have no data to send. How it works - In statistical time-division multiplexing, slots are dynamically allocated to improve bandwidth efficiency. Only when an input line has a slot's worth of data to send is it given a slot in the output frame. In statistical multiplexing, the number of slots in each frame is less than the number of input lines. The multiplexer checks each input line in round robin fashion; it allocates a slot for an input line if the line has data to send; otherwise, it skips the line and checks the next line.

Error Detection and Correction

Data can be corrupted during transmission. For reliable communication, errors must be detected and corrected. Whenever data bits flow from one point to another, they are subject to unpredictable changes because of interference. This interference can change the shape of the signal. The change in the bit or bit pattern is known as error in data. In a single-bit error, a 0 is changed to a 1 or a 1 to a O. In a burst error, multiple bits are changed. For example, a 11100 s burst of impulse noise on a transmission with a data rate of 1200 bps might change all or some of the12 bits of information.

Detection Versus Correction

The correction of errors is more difficult than the detection. In error detection, we are looking only to see if any error has occurred. The answer is a simple yes or no. We are not even interested in the number of errors. A single-bit error is the same for us as a burst error. In error correction, we need to know the exact number of bits that are corrupted and more importantly, their location in the message. The number of the errors and the size of the message are important factors. If we need to correct one single error in an 8-bit data unit, we need to consider eight possible error locations; if we need to correct two errors in a data unit of the same size, we need to consider 28 possibilities. You can imagine the receiver's difficulty in finding 10 errors in a data unit of 1000 bits.

Nature of Errors
Single-Bit Error The term single-bit error means that only 1 bit of a given data unit (such as a byte, character, or packet) is changed from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1. Burst Error The term burst error means that 2 or more bits in the data unit have changed from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1.

Single-Bit Error
The term single bit error suggest that only one bit in the given data unit such as byte is in error. This means that only one bit will change from 1 to 0 or 0 to 1..

Burst Error
The term burst error means that 2 or more bits in the data unit have changed from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1. Burst error is the form of the error which is related to the symbols that had not been designed in the correct form. This technique is used mostly in the telecommunication service and the data transmission channel is the one medium which is making use of the burst error and thus the symbols are received by them. The burst error may be caused due to the first and the lost symbols incurred in the data transmission.

Error Detection Methods

Error control refers to mechanisms to detect and correct errors that occur in the transmission of frames. The most common techniques for error control are based on some or all of the following: 1, Error detection 2. Positive acknowledgement 3. Retransmission after time-out 4. Negative acknowledgement and retransmission. These mechanisms are also referred as automatic repeat request (ARC)).

Parity Check
In parity check, a parity bit is added to every data unit so that the total number of 1s is even (or odd for odd-parity).

Redundant Parity Bits

Parity Bit ?? Error detection uses the concept of redundancy, which means adding extra bits for detecting errors at the destination known as Parity Bit.

How it works?? In this technique, a redundant bit called a parity bit, is added to every data unit so that the total number of 1s in the unit becomes even (or odd). Suppose we want to transmit 1100001. Adding the number of 1s gives us 3, an odd number. Before transmitting, we pass the data unit through a parity generator. The parity generator counts the 1s and appends the parity bit to the end (al in this case).

Two-Dimensional Parity
Apart from simple parity check two-dimensional parity is the better approach. In two-dimensional parity check, a block of bits is divided into rows and a redundant row of bits is added to the whole block.

In this method, a block of bits is organized in a table (rows and columns). First we calculate the parity bit for each data unit then we organize them into table.

Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)

A cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is an error detecting code commonly used in digital networks and storage devices to detect accidental changes to raw data. How it works?? Blocks of data entering these systems get a short check value attached, based on the remainder of a polynomial division of their contents; on retrieval the calculation is repeated, and corrective action can be taken against presumed data corruption if the check values do not match.

Binary division in a CRC generator

CRC generator and checkerFirst, a string of n 0s is appended to the data unit. The number n is less than the number of bits in the predetermined divisor, which are n + 1 bits.

Second, the newly formed data unit is divided by the divisor, using a process called binary division the remainder resulting from this division is the CRC.

Binary division in CRC checker

The CRC of n bits derived in step 2 replaces the appended Os at the end of the data unit.

The data unit arrives at the receiver data first followed by the CRC.
The receiver treats the whole string as a unit and divides it by the same divisor that was used to find the CRC remainder. If the string arrives without error, the CRC checker yields a remainder of zero and the data unit passes. If the string has been changed in transit the division yields a non zero remainder and the data unit does not pass.

Hamming Code
Hamming code is a set of error-correction codes that can be used to detect and correct bit errors that can occur when computer data is moved or stored. Hamming code is named for R. W. Hamming of Bell Labs.

How it works?? Like other error-correction code, Hamming code makes use of the concept of parity and parity bits, which are bits that are added to data so that the validity of the data can be checked when it is read or after it has been received in a data transmission. Using more than one parity bit, an error-correction code can not only identify a single bit error in the data unit, but also its location in the data unit.
Positions of redundancy bits in Hamming code

Hamming Code - Redundancy bits calculation

Hamming Code- Example of redundancy bit calculation

Error detection using Hamming code

References: Data Communication by Behrouz A. Forouzan Data communication by william stallings Encyclopedia of Networking by WERNER F EIBEL