Chapter 6: Data Transmission Business Data Communications, 4e

Information Transmission

Electromagnetic Signals Function of time Analog (varies smoothly over time) Digital (constant level over time, followed by a change to another level) Function of frequency (more important) Spectrum (range of frequencies) Bandwidth (width of the spectrum)

Periodic Signal Characteristics Amplitude (A): signal value, measured in volts Frequency (f): repetition rate, cycles per second or Hertz Period (T): amount of time it takes for one repetition, T=1/f Phase (  ): relative position in time, measured in degrees s (t)=A sin(2  ft+  )

Bandwidth Width of the spectrum of frequencies that can be transmitted if spectrum=300 to 3400Hz, bandwidth=3100Hz Greater bandwidth leads to greater costs Limited bandwidth leads to distortion

sin(2  ft) 1/3 sin(2  3ft) sin(2  ft)+ 1/3 sin(2  3ft)

Why Study Analog in a Data Comm Class? Much of our data begins in analog form; must understand it in order to properly convert it Telephone system is primarily analog rather than digital (designed to carry voice signals) Low-cost, ubiquitous transmission medium If we can convert digital information (1s and 0s) to analog form (audible tone), it can be transmitted inexpensively

Data vs Signals Analog data Voice Images Digital data Text Digitized voice or images

time (sec) amplitude (volts) 1 cycle frequency (hertz) = cycles per second phase difference Analog Signaling represented by sine waves

Voice/Audio Analog Signals Easily converted from sound frequencies (measured in loudness/db) to electromagnetic frequencies, measured in voltage Human voice has frequency components ranging from 20Hz to 20kHz For practical purposes, the telephone system has a narrower bandwidth than human voice, from 300 to 3400Hz

Image/Video: Analog Data to Analog Signals Image is scanned in lines; each line is displayed with varying levels of intensity 4Mhz Requires approximately 4Mhz of analog bandwidth 6Mhz Since multiple signals can be sent via the same channel, guardbands are necessary, raising bandwidth requirements to 6Mhz per signal

Digital Signaling represented by square waves or pulses time (sec) amplitude (volts) 1 cycle frequency (hertz) = cycles per second

Digital Text Signals Transmission of electronic pulses representing the binary digits 1 and 0 How do we represent letters, numbers, characters in binary form? Earliest example: Morse code (dots and dashes) Most common current form: ASCII

Digital Image Signals Analog facsimile similar to video scanning Digital facsimile, bitmapped graphics uses pixelization Object-oriented graphics image represented using library of objects e.g. Postscript, TIFF

Pixelization and Binary Representation Used in digital fax, bitmapped graphics 1-bit code:

Transmission Media the physical path between transmitter and receiver ( “ channel ” ) design factors affecting data rate bandwidth physical environment number of receivers impairments

Impairments and Capacity Impairments exist in all forms of data transmission Analog signal impairments result in random modifications that impair signal quality Digital signal impairments result in bit errors (1s and 0s transposed)

Transmission Impairments: Guided Media Attenuation loss of signal strength over distance Attenuation Distortion different losses at different frequencies Delay Distortion different speeds for different frequencies Noise distortions of signal caused by interference

Transmission Impairments: Unguided (Wireless) Media Free-Space Loss Signals disperse with distance Atmospheric Absorption Water vapor and oxygen contribute to signal loss Multipath Obstacles reflect signal creating multiple copies Refraction Noise

PrPr PtPt = A r A t f 2 ( cd ) 2 P r : Power received P t : Power transmitted A r : Area of Receiving antenna A t : Area of Transmitting antenna f : Carrier frequency d : Distance between antenna c : 3000,000 km/s PrPr PtPt = A r A t f 2 ( cd ) 2

Types of Noise Thermal (aka “ white noise ” ) Uniformly distributed, cannot be eliminated Intermodulation When different frequencies collide (creating “ harmonics ” ) Crosstalk Overlap of signals Impulse noise Irregular spikes, less predictable

Channel Capacity The rate at which data can be transmitted over a given path, under given conditions Four concepts Data rate Bandwidth Noise Error rate

Shannon Equation C = B log 2 (1 + SNR) B = Bandwidth C= Channel SNR = Signal-to-noise ratio