Data Communications Systems Ch 7: Transmission Media

JinKyu Lee, Ph.D. Jinkyu.lee@okstate.edu Include the course code (MSIS4523) in every email subject!!

Topics
Transmission Media Guided
Twisted Pair Coaxial Fiber-optic

Unguided Air / Space Wireless Transmission Electromagnetic spectrum

Categories of wireless Transmission

Propagation Methods

Transmission medium and physical layer

Classes of Transmission Media

Medium sets signal characteristics and quality
Key concerns are data rate and distance

Conducted (guided) media

use a conductor such as a wire or a fiber optic cable to move the

signal from sender to receiver The medium is more important

Wireless (unguided) media

use radio waves of different frequencies and do not need a wire

or cable conductor to transmit signals Bandwidth produced by the antenna is more important

Design Factors for Transmission Media

Bandwidth
All other factors remaining constant, the greater the bandwidth of

a signal, the higher the data rate that can be achieved

Transmission impairments
Attenuation limits the distance a signal can travel

Interference
Competing signals in overlapping frequency bands can distort or

wipe out a signal

Number of receivers & splices

Each attachment introduces some attenuation and distortion,

limiting distance and/or data rate

Guided Media - Twisted Pair Wires

Consists of two insulated copper wires arranged in a

regular spiral pattern to minimize the electro-magnetic interference between adjacent pairs
Often "bundled" into cables

Often used at customer facilities and also over distances

to carry voice as well as data communications Limited distance

Analog requires an amplifier every 5km to 6km Digital requires a repeater every 2km or 3km Limited bandwidth (1MHz) Limited data rate (100MHz)

Types of Twisted Pair

UTP (unshielded twisted pair)
Most common, least expensive medium Suffers from external EM interference Very easy to install

STP (shielded twisted pair)

the pair is wrapped with metallic foil or braid to insulate the pair

from electromagnetic interference More expensive and harder to handle (thick, heavy) Used for local area networks (LAN)

Twisted-pair cable

Ratings of Twisted Pair

Traditional UTP 2 & 3 pairs of wires Core of telephone service Used by 80-90% of business and 99+% of existing residences Up to 2500 pair cables used by telephone companies Category 3 UTP 4 pr of wires - 8 conductors Twist length of 7.5 to 10 cm Data rates of up to 16Mbps Provides voice to offices Category 5, 5E UTP 4 pr of wires - 8 conductors Twist length 0.6 to 0.85 cm Data rates of up to 100Mbps More expensive, but better performance Installed in star config. in all new buildings by FCC rule STP More expensive, harder to work with Can go to 1Gbps over short distances

RJ-45 Ethernet UTP Connector

UTP performance

Guided Media - Coaxial Cable (or Coax)

Solid inner conductor covered by a braided mesh
Separated by insulating material Inner conductor is wire

Both conductors share a common center axis

Hence the term co-axial

Transmission Characteristics of Coax

Up to 750MHz
Analog requires amplifiers every few km Digital requires repeaters every 1km

Closer for higher data rates

Coaxial Cable & Connectors

Categories of Coaxial Cables

Category RG-59 RG-58 RG-11

Impedance 75 50 50

Use Cable TV Thin Ethernet Thick Ethernet

Coaxial cable performance

Coax Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages Higher bandwidth
400 to 750Mhz
up to 10,800 voice

conversations

Can be tapped easily

Disadvantages High attenuation rate makes it expensive over long distance Bulky and somewhat harder to work with

(pros and cons) Much less susceptible to interference than twisted pair

Coaxial Cable Applications

Television distribution From Antenna to TV Cable TV Long distance telephone transmission Can carry 10,000 voice calls simultaneously Being replaced by fiber optic Short distance computer systems links Local area networks

Guided Media - Fiber Optic Cable

Relatively new (late 1960s) transmission medium used by telephone

companies in long-distance trunk lines

Now standard feeder for new commercial buildings

Common in feeder plant to neighborhood service points

Fiber to the Home (FTTH) or Premise (FTTP) being installed selectively

today expensive Also used by private companies in implementing local data

communications networks Require a light source with injection laser diode (ILD) or lightemitting diodes (LED)

Bending of light ray

Fiber Optic Types

Multimode step-index fiber The reflective walls of the fiber move the light pulses to the receiver Multimode graded-index fiber Acts to refract the light toward the center of the fiber by variations in the density Single mode fiber The light is guided down the center of an extremely narrow core

Optical Fiber Modes

Categories of Fiber
Type Core Cladding Mode

50/125

50

125

Multimode, graded-index

62.5/125

62.5

125

Multimode, graded-index

100/125 7/125

100 7

125 125

Multimode, graded-index Single-mode

Fiber Optic Cable (cont.)

Fiber Construction

Fiber-Optic Cable Connectors

Transmission Characteristics of Optical Fiber

Act as wave guide for 1014 to 1015 Hz light Portions of infrared and visible spectrum Transmitters Light Emitting Diode (LED) Injection Laser Diode (ILD) Multiple channels with Wavelength Division

Multiplexing (WDM)

Optical fiber Performance

Fiber Optic Advantages

Greater capacity (bandwidth up to 2 Tbps)
Existing systems can deliver 40 Gbps/wavelength Dense Wave-division multiplexing (DWM) systems can multiplex

up to 160 wavelengths per fiber

Smaller size and lighter weight Lower attenuation

Repeater spacing 10s of km at least

Immunity to environmental interference

Electromagnetic isolation

Highly secure due to tap difficulty and lack of signal

radiation

Fiber Optic Disadvantages

Expensive over short distance Requires highly skilled installers

More susceptible to vibration and physical

damage Adding additional nodes is difficult

Conducted Media

Unguided Media - Wireless transmission

Categories:

Electromagnetic spectrum for communication:

Infrared signals can be used for short-range communication in a closed area using line-of-sight propagation

Propagation methods

Wireless Frequency Bands

Band VLF LF MF Range 330 KHz 30300 KHz 300 KHz3 MHz Propagation Ground Ground Sky Application Long-range radio navigation Radio beacons and navigational locators AM radio Citizens band (CB), ship/aircraft communication VHF TV, FM radio UHF TV, cellular phones, paging, satellite

HF
VHF UHF

330 MHz
30300 MHz 300 MHz3 GHz

Sky
Sky and line-of-sight Line-of-sight

SHF
EHF

330 GHz
30300 GHz

Line-of-sight
Line-of-sight

Satellite communication
Long-range radio navigation

Useful Electromagnetic Spectrum

Wireless Media
Radio, satellite transmissions, and infrared light are all different forms of electromagnetic waves

Wireless transmission Categories

Infrared signals can be used for shortrange communication in a closed area using line-of-sight propagation

Radios Use Omnidirectional Antennas

Radio waves are used for multicast communications, such as radio and television, and paging systems

Microwave Radios Use Unidirectional Antennas

Microwaves are used for unicast communication such as cellular telephones, satellite networks, and wireless LANs