PRACTICAL-2

AIM:-To study various cables used in computer communication.

Fiber optic cable, twisted pair cable, and coaxial cable are the three main types of network
cables used in communication systems. Each of them is different and suitable for various
applications.

Fiber Optic Cable:-

Fiber optic cable consists of a bundle of glass threads, each of which is capable of transmitting
messages modulated onto light waves.

Fiber Optic cable has a complicated design and structure. This type of cable has an outer optical
casing that surrounds the light and traps it within a central core. The inside of the cable (the core)
must configured in two different ways – Single-mode and multi-mode; although the difference may
seem small, it makes a tremendous difference to the performance and the usage of fiber optic
cables.

Twisted Pair Cable:-

Twisted pair cable is a type of ordinary wiring which connects home and many business computers
to the telephone company. It is made by putting two separate insulated wires together in a twisted
pattern and running them parallel to each other, which helps to reduce crosstalk or electromagnetic
induction between pairs of wires. Twisted pair cable is suitable for transferring balanced differential
signals. The method of transmitting signals dates back to the early days of the telegraph and radio. 
The advantages of improved signal-to-noise ratio, crosstalk, and ground bounce that balanced signal
transmission brings are particularly valuable in wide bandwidth and high fidelity systems.

According to whether the cable has a shielding layer, there are two common types of twisted pair
cables—shielded twisted pair (STP) cable and unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable. STP cable is
available for Token Ring networks, while the UTP cable is more suitable for Ethernet networks. The
most common UTP cable types applied in Ethernet network are cat5e, cat6a, and cat7 cables, etc.
The following image shows the different structures of UTP and STP cables.

Coaxial Cable:-

Coaxial cable, or coax cable, is another type of copper cable which has an inner conductor
surrounded by foam insulation, symmetrically wrapped by a woven braided metal shield, then
covered by in a plastic jacket (as shown in the following image). This unique design allows
coaxial cable runs to installed next to metal objects such as gutters without the power losses
that occur in other types of transmission lines. The coaxial cable acts as a high-frequency
transmission cable made up of a single solid copper core and compared to twisted pair cable.
It has 80 times or more transmission capability. This kind of cable is mainly adopted in
feedlines connecting radio transmitters and receivers with their antennas, computer network
connections, and distributing cable television signals.

USB Cables:-

Most Universal Serial Bus (USB) cables connect a computer with a peripheral device (such as a
keyboard or mouse) rather than to another computer. However, special network
adapters (sometimes called dongles) connect an Ethernet cable to a USB port indirectly. USB cables
feature twisted-pair wiring.
Serial and Parallel Cables:-

Because many PCs in the 1980s and early 1990s lacked Ethernet capability, and USB had not
been developed yet, serial and parallel interfaces (now obsolete on modern computers)
were sometimes used for PC-to-PC networking. So-called null model cables, for example,
connected the serial ports of two PCs and enabled data transfers at speeds between 0.115
and 0.45 Mbps.

Crossover Cables:-

Null modem cables are one example of the category of crossover cables. A crossover cable
joins two network devices of the same type, such as two PCs or two network switches. The
use of Ethernet crossover cables was common on older home networks years ago when
connecting two PCs directly together.

Externally, Ethernet crossover cables appear identical to ordinary cables (sometimes called
straight-through), the only visible difference being the order of the color-coded wires
appearing on the cable's end connector. Manufacturers typically applied special
distinguishing marks to their crossover cables for this reason. Nowadays, though, most home
networks utilize routers that have built-in crossover capability, eliminating the need for these
special cables.
 PRACTICAL-3

AIM:- To study various connections and ports used in computer communication.

AT Keyboard Port:-

This is a full DIN or 5 pin DIN keyboard connector. It is for connecting older AT keyboard
types. Also referred to as the Model F keyboard, the AT keyboard is a US standard keyboard
introduced in 1986 by IBM. It was subsequently replaced with the smaller 6-pin Mini-DIN
connector on the IBM PS/2 in 1987. The 6-pin Mini-DIN was first used on laptops.

PS/2 Port:-

This is a 6 pin DIN type of port that is IEEE 1284-compliant Centronics port. A PS/2 port,
sometimes called a mouse port, was developed by IBM for their model PS/2 computers. It is
used to connect a computer mouse or keyboard. Earlier computers came with two PS/2 ports.
The PS2 connectors are color-coded. The purple connector is for the keyboard while the
green one is for the mouse. To plug in a keyboard or mouse cable, first match the cable
notches to the connector. Rotate the cable until the connector keys match up. Then push the
cable into the connector. These ports are rarely used nowadays as they have been replaced by
USB ports.

Parallel Port:-

A parallel port is used to connect external devices such as scanners and printers. The older
type was Centronics 36 Pin Port before being replaced by the DB-25 port with parallel
interface. The 25-pin port is sometimes referred to as a printer port. It’s also known by
another name, IEEE 1284-compliant Centronics port. These ports have been replaced by the
USB port.
Serial Port:-

It is an asynchronous port on the computer used to connect a serial device to the computer
and capable of transmitting one bit at a time. They are typically identified on IBM compatible
computers as COM (communications) ports. A serial port is used to connect external modems
or an older computer mouse to the computer. It comes in two versions a 9-pin version or a
25-pin model. The 9-pin was found on newer computers before becoming obsolete. There are
two types of serial ports that are commonly found on a computer, DB-25 and DB-9.

Universal Serial Bus (or USB) Port:-

Among the different types of Computer Ports, USB ports are the most common. The
universal serial bus port, introduced around 1997, is a very successful port. It was designed to
standardize the connection of peripherals to personal computers. It’s used to connect all kinds
of external devices, such as external hard drives, printers, mice, keyboard, cameras, scanners
and many more. The port is found on computers of all kinds, including desktops, tablets,
laptops, netbooks, and also on computer-like devices.

VGA Connector:-

A Video Graphics Array (VGA) connector is a three-row 15-pin DE-15 connector. It is found

on many computer monitors, video cards, laptops, projectors, and high definition television
sets. The VGA standard has been replaced by SVGA but the name has stuck and thus still
referred to as VGA. A mini-VGA port was sometimes used on laptops or other small devices,
instead of the full-sized VGA connector. Some devices are still using VGA connectors,
although it is being phased out by DVI as well as the newer and more compact HDMI and
Display Port interface connectors.

HDMI Port

High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a digital interface that connects High

Definition and Ultra High Definition devices such as computer monitors, HDTVs, Blu-Ray
players, gaming consoles, and High Definition Cameras among others. It can carry
uncompressed video and compressed or uncompressed audio signals. It is a proprietary
interface.
 PRACTICAL-4

AIM:- To study various cards used in a computer System like Ethernet, sound, video card
etc.

Network Card:-

Network card is used to connect our computer system to the computer networks over the
Internet OR it is used for communication between our system and the other computer
networks. Network card is also known as the Network adapter or Network interface card
(NIC). NIC card has the pins at the bottom so that it can be fixed in the expansion slot on the
motherboard. Similarly, it has Rj-45 port at the back of the card which is used to connect to
the LAN network. There are further two types of NIC cards, one is for wired network and the
other is for wireless network. Wired network card has the port at the back while a wireless
network card has an antenna attached to it.

Figure: Network Card with RJ-45

Video Card:-

This card is used to provide the graphical interface like images, videos etc. to the user. It
requires a high processing power to convert the instructions to their graphics. It is also called
the Graphic Card or Display Card. Video card has its own processor which provide the
interface between the Operating System and the Monitor to display. It is attached to the
motherboard through its pins at the bottom and it has also different kinds of ports which are
used to connect different kinds of the output display devices like monitor, projector etc. It is
connected to the high data slots like PCIe slot or AGP slot on the motherboard. The following
figure shows the video expansion card with its different parts.

Figure: Video card with different ports

Modem Card:-

Modem is same like the network card but it is an older technology as compared to the NIC
card. It is used to connect the computer system to the Internet through the telephone line.
Typically it has two ports for RJ-11 connectors, one is used to connect the telephone line
while the other is used to connect the telephone. It converts the digital signals of our system to
analogue signals of the telephone line and vice versa. The following figure shows the Modem
with two RJ-11 jacks.

Figure: Modem card with two RJ-11 ports

Audio Card:-

Audio card is used to convert the electrical signals to the audio signals or sound which we can
hear. The audio cards has different kinds of ports or jacks attached to it and these ports are
used to connect the headphone, Microphone, speakers and other digital audio devices. The
following figure shows the Audio card and its different ports.

Figure: Audio card with

different jacks

USB Card:-

A USB expansion card is used to

provide additional connection ports to a computer by connecting the card to the motherboard.
USB is short for Universal Serial Bus, and is the most common type of port found in modern
computers. Peripherals such as printers, keyboards, printers, removable flash drives and mice
can be attached to the computer.

USB cards are necessary if a computer does not already have this capability, or to add
additional ports for more use of external devices at once. USB connections are faster at
transmitting data and quickly became a general industry standard for cross-platform
communication.
Storage Card:-

A storage card, often also called a flash memory card or simply a memory card that is
connected to a computer in order to provide users with extra space to store their data on. This
can include data such as music, pictures, text or video and is transferable to other devices
such as digital cameras and mobile phones. These cards vary in both physical size and data
capacity, and are constantly being developed and upgraded. Some of the most common on the
market today include the Secure Digital (SD) Card, the Mini/Micro SD Card, and the
MultiMediaCard (MMC).

Firewire Card:-

A firewire card is used to provide computers with an IEEE 1394 interface connection, also
known as a firewire. The term was coined by Apple in the early 1990s, and the ports
themselves have been included on most apple computers since the year 2000. Recently Apple
has begun replacing this port with the Thunderbolt interface on all modern Mac computers.
The port itself is very similar to a USB connection, although USB is much more popular
across a range of cross-platform devices and the two are not interchangeable.