Session Learning Materials (SLM) -1

Course Code: 22EC2210

Course Name: Network Protocols and Security (NPS)
Session3: Example Networks, Guided and Unguided Transmission Media
Course Description:
This course aims to learn the basic concepts of computer networks and some important protocols
used in Networks. This course consists of four modules extensively covering the introduction to the
course, different layers, their functions in data communications and some important protocols in Network
layer, Transport layer and Application layer along with advanced topics such as Cryptography, Digital
signatures, Firewalls, IP security attacks and algorithms. 
 
Aim:
The aim of this session is to define wired and wireless transmission media. To explain the guided
and unguided transmission media, the purpose of media, uses of twisted pair cable, untwisted pair cable,
coaxial cable, and fiber optic cables.

Instructional Objectives:
This Session is designed to:

1. Define Example Networks: The Internet, Mobile Networks, Wireless Networks (WiFi).
2. Define wired and wireless transmission media.
3. Describe guided and unguided transmission media.
4. Understand the characteristics of twisted, untwisted, coaxial cable and fiber optic cables.
5. Understand characteristics of radio, microwave and infrared waves and explain how they transmit
data.
6. Identify the most common communications protocols and networking standards used with
networks today.
7. List several types of networking hardware and explain the purpose of each.
 
Learning Outcomes: 
1. Define the components of data communications 
2. Describe the process in which the signal is converted to digital form 
3. Summarize the process of communication systems between devices 
 
Module Description: 
 Introduction to Computer networks, uses of computer networks, Network Hardware, Network software,
Reference models: OSI, TCP/IP, Example Networks, Guided and Unguided Transmission Media,
Switching, Modems, Trunks and Multiplexing, DLL design issues. Framing, Error Detection, Error
Correction.
,
Session Introduction: Example Networks, Guided and Unguided Transmission Media
Session Description 
This session introduces wired and wireless transmission media for data communication, define
cables, uses of cables to be used in computer networks, characteristics of data and how it travels over a
network, types of networking media and explain how they transmit the data, list the uses of networking
hardware and explain the purpose of each. 

Activity: Study different types of transmission cables available in the market and their functionality. 

Examples and Contemporary extracts of the articles/ Practices to convey the idea of the session

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUDtFjiNib4

Material:

o Definition: Transmission media is a communication channel that carries the

information from the sender to the receiver.
o Data is transmitted through electromagnetic signals.
o The main functionality of the transmission media is to carry the information in
the form of bits (Either as Electrical signals or Light pulses).
o It is a physical path between transmitter and receiver in data communication.
o The characteristics and quality of data transmission are determined by the
characteristics of medium and signal.
o Transmission media is of two types: Guided Media (Wired) and Unguided
Media (wireless).
o In guided (wired) media, medium characteristics are more important whereas, in
unguided (wireless) media, signal characteristics are more important.
o Different transmission media have different properties such as bandwidth, delay,
cost and ease of installation and maintenance.
o The transmission media is available in the lowest layer of the OSI reference
model, i.e., Physical layer.

Factors For designing the Transmission Media

o Bandwidth: All the factors remain constant, the greater the bandwidth of a
medium, the higher the data transmission rate of a signal.
o Transmission impairment: When the received signal is not identical to the
transmitted one due to the transmission impairment. The quality of the signals
will get destroyed due to transmission impairment.
 o Interference: Interference is defined as the process of disrupting a signal when
it travels over a communication medium on the addition of some unwanted signal.
Causes of Transmission Impairment
---- Attenuation
---- Distortion
----Noise

o Attenuation: Attenuation means the loss of energy, i.e., the strength of the signal
decreases with increasing the distance which causes the loss of energy.
o Distortion: Distortion occurs when the signal's shape changes. This type of
distortion is examined from different signals having different frequencies. Each
frequency component has its own propagation speed, so they reach at a different
time which leads to the delay distortion.
o Noise: When data is travelled over a transmission medium, some unwanted signal
is added to it which creates the noise.
Types of Transmission Media

Guided Media
 It is defined as the physical medium through which the signals are transmitted.
 It is also known as Bounded media.
 Types of Guided media: Twisted Pair Cable, Coaxial Cable, Fiber Optic Cable

Twisted Pair Cable

 Twisted pair is a physical media made up of a pair of cables twisted with each
other.
 A twisted pair cable is cheap as compared to other transmission media.
 Installation of the twisted pair cable is easy, and it is a lightweight cable.
 The frequency range for twisted pair cable is from 0 to 3.5KHz.
 

 A twisted pair consists of two insulated copper wires arranged in a regular spiral
pattern.

Twisted pair cable is further categorized into two types:

-----Shielded twisted pair cable
-----Unshielded twisted pair cable
Unshielded Twisted Pair
An unshielded twisted pair is widely used in telecommunication. Following
are the categories of the unshielded twisted pair cable:
o Cat 1: Supports low-speed data.
o Cat 2: It can support upto 4Mbps.
o Cat3: It can support upto 16Mbps.
o Cat 4: It can support upto 20Mbps.
o Cat 5: It can support upto 200Mbps.

Advantages
o It is cheap.
o Installation of the unshielded twisted pair is easy.
o It can be used for high-speed LAN (Local Area Network).

Disadvantage:
o This cable can only be used for shorter distances because of attenuation.

Shielded Twisted Pair Cable

A shielded twisted pair is a cable that contains the mesh surrounding the wire that allows the higher
transmission rate.
Advantages:
o The cost of the shielded twisted pair cable is not very high and not very low.
o Installation of STP is easy.
o It has higher capacity as compared to unshielded twisted pair cable.
o It has a higher attenuation.
o It is shielded that provides the higher data transmission rate.
Disadvantages:
o It is more expensive as compared to UTP and coaxial cable.
o It has a higher attenuation rate.

Coaxial Cable

o Coaxial Cable (Coax) is a very commonly used transmission media, for

example, TV wire is usually a coaxial cable.
o The cable's name is coaxial as it contains two conductors parallel to each other.
o It has a higher frequency as compared to Twisted pair cable.
o The inner conductor of the coaxial cable is made up of copper, and the outer
conductor is made up of copper mesh.
o The middle core is made up of non-conductive cover that separates the inner
conductor from the outer conductor.
o The middle core is responsible for the data transfer whereas the copper mesh
prevents EMI (Electromagnetic Interference).
o Common applications of coaxial cable are Cable TV networks and traditional
Ethernet LANs.

Coaxial Cable Standards

 Coaxial cables 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.
 Each cable defined by an RG rating is adapted for a specialized function.
Types of Coaxial Cables:
1. Baseband transmission: It is defined as the process of transmitting a single
signal at high speed.
2. Broadband transmission: It is defined as the process of transmitting multiple
signals simultaneously.
Advantages:
o The data can be transmitted at high speed.
o It has better shielding as compared to twisted pair cable.
o It provides higher bandwidth.
Disadvantages:
o It is more expensive as compared to twisted pair cable.
o If any fault occurs in the cable causes the failure in the entire network.

Fibre Optic Cable

o Fiber optic cable is a cable that uses electrical signals for communication.
o Fiber optic is a cable that holds the optical fibers coated in plastic that are used to
send the data by pulses of light.
o The plastic coating protects the optical fiber from heat, cold, electromagnetic
interference from other types of wiring.
o Fiber optics provide faster data transmission than copper wires.

Basic elements of Fibre Optic Cable:

o Core: The optical fiber consists of a narrow strand of glass or plastic known as a
core. A core is a light transmission area of fiber. The greater the area of the
core, the more the light will be transmitted into the fiber.
o Cladding: The concentric layer of glass is known as cladding. The main
functionality of the cladding is to provide the lower refractive index at the core
interface as to cause the reflection within the core so that the light waves are
transmitted through the fiber.
o Jacket: The protective coating consisting of plastic is known as a jacket. The
main purpose of a jacket is to preserve the fiber strength, absorb shock and extra
fiber protection.
Advantages:
o Greater Bandwidth
o Less signal attenuation
o Immunity to electromagnetic interference
o Resistance to corrosive materials
o Light weight
o Greater immunity to tapping

Disadvantages:
o Requires Expertise for Installation and maintenance
o Unidirectional light propagation.
o Higher Cost.

Propagation Modes of Fibre Optics

 Current technology supports two modes (multimode and single mode) for
propagating light along optical channels, each requiring fiber with different
physical characteristics.
 Multimode can be implemented in two forms: step-index or graded-index.

Multimode Propagation
 Multimode is so named because multiple beams from a light source move through
the core in different paths.
 How these beams move within the cable depends on the structure of the core.

Multimode Step-index fiber Multimode Graded-index fiber

In multimode step-index fibre, the density The multimode graded-index fibre,

of the core remains constant from the
centre to the edges.
A beam of light moves through this
constant density in a straight line until it
reaches the interface of the core and the
cladding.
At the interface, there is an abrupt change
due to a lower density; this alters the
angle of the beam’s motion.
The term step-index refers to the
suddenness of this change, which
contributes to the distortion of the signal
decreases this distortion of the signal
through the cable.
The word index here refers to the index
of refraction.
The index of refraction is related to
density.
A graded index fibre, therefore, is one
with varying densities.
Density is highest at the centre of the
core and decreases gradually to its
lowest at the edge.
Single-Mode Propagation

 Single-mode uses step-index fiber and a highly focused source of light that limits
beams to a small range of angles, all close to the horizontal.
 The single-mode fiber itself is manufactured with a much smaller diameter than
that of multimode fiber, and with lower density (index of refraction).
 The decrease in density results in a critical angle that is close enough to 90° to
make the propagation of beams almost horizontal.
 In this case, propagation of different beams is almost identical, and delays are
negligible. All the beams arrive at the destination “together” and can be
recombined with little distortion to the signal.

Unguided Media
o An unguided transmission transmits the electromagnetic waves without using any
physical medium. Therefore, it is also known as wireless transmission.
o In unguided media, air is the media through which the electromagnetic energy
can flow easily.

o Unguided transmission is broadly classified into three categories:

Radio Waves, Microwaves, Infrared Waves

Radio Waves

o Radio waves are electromagnetic waves that are transmitted in all directions of
free space.
o Radio waves are omnidirectional, i.e., the signals are propagated in all
directions.
o The range in frequencies of radio waves is from 3KHz to 1KHz.
o In the case of radio waves, the sending and receiving antenna are not aligned, i.e.,
the wave sent by the sending antenna can be received by any receiving antenna.
o An example of the radio wave is FM radio.
Applications of Radio waves:
o A Radio wave is useful for multicasting when there is one sender and many
receivers.
o An FM radio, television, cordless phones are examples of a radio wave.

Advantages of Radio waves:

o Radio transmission is used for wide area networks and mobile cellular
phones.
o Radio waves cover a large area, and they can penetrate the walls.
o Radio transmission provides a higher transmission rate.

Microwaves

Microwaves are of two types –

1)Terrestrial microwaves
2) Satellite microwaves

1)Terrestrial Microwaves
o Terrestrial Microwave transmission is a technology that transmits the focused
beam of a radio signal from one ground-based microwave transmission antenna to
another.
o Microwaves are electromagnetic waves having the frequency in the range
from 1GHz to 1000 GHz.
o Microwaves are unidirectional as the sending and receiving antenna is to be
aligned, i.e., the waves sent by the sending antenna are narrowly focused.
o In this case, antennas are mounted on the towers to send a beam to another
antenna which is km away.
o It works on the line-of-sight transmission, i.e., the antennas mounted on the
towers are at the direct sight of each other.
Characteristics of Terrestrial Microwaves:
o Frequency range: The frequency range of terrestrial microwave is from 4-6 GHz
to 21-23 GHz.
o Bandwidth: It supports the bandwidth from 1 to 10 Mbps.
o Short distance: It is inexpensive for short distances.
o Long distance: It is expensive as it requires a higher tower for a longer distance.
o Attenuation: Attenuation means loss of signal. It is affected by environmental
conditions and antenna size.

Advantages of Terrestrial Microwaves:

o Microwave transmission is cheaper than using cables.
o It is free from land acquisition as it does not require any land for the installation
of cables.
o Microwave transmission provides easy communication in terrains as the
installation of cable in terrain is quite a difficult task.
o Communication over oceans can be achieved by using microwave transmission.

Disadvantages of Terrestrial Microwaves:

o Eavesdropping.
o Out of phase signal
o Susceptible to weather condition
o Bandwidth limited

Satellite Microwaves
o A satellite is a physical object that revolves around the earth at a known height.
o Satellite communication is more reliable nowadays as it offers more flexibility
than cable and fiber optic systems.
o We can communicate with any point on the globe by using satellite
communication.
o The satellite accepts the signal that is transmitted from the earth station, and it
amplifies the signal. The amplified signal is retransmitted to another earth station.
Advantages of Satellite Microwaves:
o The coverage area of a satellite microwave is more than the terrestrial microwave.
o The satellite's transmission cost is independent of the distance from the
coverage area's center.
o Satellite communication is used in mobile and wireless
communication applications.
o It is easy to install.
o It is used in many applications such as weather forecasting, radio/TV signal
broadcasting, mobile communication, etc.

Disadvantages of Satellite Microwaves:

o Satellite designing and development requires more time and higher cost.
o The Satellite needs to be monitored and controlled on regular periods so
that it remains in orbit.
o The life of the satellite is about 12-15 years. Due to this reason, another
launch of the satellite must be planned before it becomes non-functional.

Infrared Waves

o Infrared transmission is a wireless technology used for communication over

short ranges.
o The frequency of the infrared in the range from 300 GHz to 400 THz.
o It is used for short-range communication such as data transfer between two
cell phones, TV remote operation, data transfer between a computer and cell
phone and devices that reside in the same closed area.

Characteristics of Infrared:
o It supports high bandwidth, and hence the data rate will be very high.
o Infrared waves cannot penetrate the walls. Therefore, the infrared
communication in one room cannot be interrupted by the nearby rooms.
o Infrared communication provides better security with minimum interference.
o Infrared communication is unreliable outside the building because the sun
rays will interfere with the infrared waves.

EXAMPLE OF NETWORKS
We will start with the Internet, the mobile phone networks and we will introduce IEEE
802.11, the dominant standard for wireless LANs.
INTERNET
The Internet is not really a network at all, but a vast collection of different networks
that use certain common protocols and provide certain common services.
ARPANET
The story begins in the late 1950s. At the height of the Cold War, the U.S. DoD
wanted a command-and-control network that could survive a nuclear war. At that time, all
military communications used the public telephone network, which was considered
vulnerable. The reason for this belief can be gleaned from Fig. 1-25(a). Here the black dots
represent telephone switching offices, each of which was connected to thousands of
telephones. These switching offices were, in turn, connected to higher-level switching offices
(toll offices), to form a national hierarchy with only a small amount of redundancy. The
vulnerability of the system was that the destruction of a few key toll offices could fragment it
into many isolated islands.

In October 1957, when the Soviet Union beat the U.S. into space with the launch of
the first artificial satellite, Sputnik. When President Eisenhower tried to find out who was
asleep at the switch, he was appalled to find the Army, Navy, and Air Force squabbling over
the Pentagon’s research budget. His immediate response was to create a single defense
research organization, ARPA, the Advanced Research Projects Agency. The subnet would
consist of minicomputers called IMPs (Interface Message Processors) connected by 56-kbps
transmission lines.
For high reliability, each IMP would be connected to at least two other IMPs. The
subnet was to be a datagram subnet, The IMPs did not have disks, since moving parts were
considered unreliable. The IMPs were interconnected by 56-kbps lines leased from telephone
companies. The software was split into two parts: subnet and host. The subnet software
consisted of the IMP end of the host-IMP connection, the IMP-IMP protocol, and a source
IMP to destination IMP protocol designed to improve reliability. The original ARPANET
design is shown in Fig. 1-26.
 The existing ARPANET protocols were not suitable for running over different
networks. This observation led to more research on protocols, culminating with the invention
of the TCP/IP model and protocols (Cerf and Kahn, 1974). TCP/IP was specifically designed
to handle communication over internetworks, something becoming increasingly important as
more and more networks were hooked up to the ARPANET.
During the 1980s, additional networks, especially LANs, were connected to the
ARPANET. As the scale increased, finding hosts became increasingly expensive, so DNS
(Domain Name System) was created to organize machines into domains and map host names
onto IP addresses. Since then, DNS has become a generalized, distributed database system
for storing a variety of information related to naming.
Architecture of the Internet
The big picture is shown in Fig. 1-29. Let us examine this figure piece by piece,
starting with a computer at home (at the edges of the figure). To join the Internet, the
computer is connected to an Internet Service Provider, or simply ISP, from who the user
purchases Internet access or connectivity. This lets the computer exchange packets with all of
the other accessible hosts on the Internet. The user might send packets to surf the Web or for
any of a thousand other uses, it does not matter. There are many kinds of Internet access, and
they are usually distinguished by how much bandwidth they provide and how much they
cost, but the most important attribute is connectivity.
 A common way to connect to an ISP is to use the phone line to your house, in which
case your phone company is your ISP. DSL, short for Digital Subscriber Line, reuses the
telephone line that connects to your house for digital data transmission. The computer is
connected to a device called a DSL modem that converts between digital packets and analog
signals that can pass unhindered over the telephone line. At the other end, a device called a
DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) converts between signals and packets.
Several other popular ways to connect to an ISP are shown in Fig. 1-29.
DSL is a higher-bandwidth way to use the local telephone line than to send bits over a
traditional telephone call instead of a voice conversation. That is called dial-up and done with
a different kind of modem at both ends. The word modem is short for ‘‘modulator
demodulator’’ and refers to any device that converts between digital bits and analog signals.
Another method is to send signals over the cable TV system.
Main applications of Internet:
1. E-mail. The ability to compose, send, and receive electronic mail has been around
since the early days of the ARPANET and is enormously popular. Many people get dozens of
messages a day and consider it their primary way of interacting with the outside world, far
outdistancing the telephone and snail mail. E-mail programs are available on every kind of
computer these days.
2. News. Newsgroups are specialized forums in which users with a common interest
can exchange messages. Thousands of newsgroups exist, devoted to technical and
nontechnical topics, including computers, science, recreation, and politics. Each newsgroup
has its own etiquette, style, and customs, and woe betide anyone violating them.
3. Remote login. Using the telnet, rlogin, or ssh programs, users anywhere on the
Internet can log on to any other machine on which they have an account.
 4. File transfer. Using the FTP program, users can copy files from one machine on the
Internet to another. Vast numbers of articles, databases, and other information are available
this way.
Early 1990s, the Internet was populated by academic, government, and industrial
researchers. One new application, the WWW (World Wide Web) changed all that and
brought millions of new, non-academic users to the net.
Mobile networks
First-generation mobile phone systems transmitted voice calls as continuously varying
(analog) signals rather than sequences of (digital) bits. AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone
System), which was deployed in the United States in 1982, was a widely used first-
generation system.
Second-generation mobile phone systems switched to transmitting voice calls in
digital form to increase capacity, improve security, and offer text messaging. GSM (Global
System for Mobile communications), which was deployed starting in 1991 and has become
the most widely used mobile phone system in the world, is a 2G system. The third
generation, or 3G, systems were initially deployed in 2001 and offer both digital voice and
broadband digital data services.
Cellular Network Design
Cellular network design shown in Fig. 1-30 that is now used for mobile phone
networks. To manage the radio interference between users, the coverage area is divided into
cells. Within a cell, users are assigned channels that do not interfere with each other and do
not cause too much interference for adjacent cells. This allows for good reuse of the
spectrum, or frequency reuse, in the neighbouring cells, which increases the capacity of the
network.
Modern 3G systems allow each cell to use all frequencies, but in a way that results in a
tolerable level of interference to the neighbouring cells. There are variations on the cellular
design, including the use of directional or sectored antennas on cell towers to further reduce
interference, but the basic idea is the same.
CONNECTION-ORIENTED NETWORKS: X.25, Frame Relay, and ATM
Connection-oriented Networks:
The main purpose of the connection-oriented services is preferred by telephone companies
because of two reasons:
1. Quality of service.
2. Billing.
Quality of service:
By setting up a connection in advance, the subnet can reserve resources such as buffer
space and router CPU capacity. If an attempt is made to set up a call and insufficient
resources are available, the call is rejected, and the caller gets a kind of busy signal. In this
way, once a connection has been set up, the connection will get good
Service.
Billing:
The second reason the telephone companies like connection-oriented service is that
they are accustomed to charging for connect time. When you make a long-distance call (or
even a local call outside North America) you are charged by the minute.
X.25:
Connection-oriented network is X.25, which was the first public data network. It was
deployed in the 1970s at a time when telephone service was a monopoly everywhere.
 To use X.25, a computer first established a connection to the remote computer, that is,
placed a telephone call. This connection was given a connection number to be used in data
transfer packets (because multiple connections could be open at the same time). Data packets
were very simple, consisting of a 3-byte header and up to 128 bytes of data.
The header consisted of a 12-bit connection number, a packet sequence number, an
acknowledgement number, and a few miscellaneous bits. X.25 networks operated for about a
decade with mixed success.
Frame Relay:
In the 1980s, the X.25 networks were replaced by a new kind of network called frame
relay. The essence of frame relay is that it is a connection-oriented network with no error
control and no flow control. Because it was connection-oriented, packets were delivered in
order (if they were delivered at all). The properties of in-order delivery, no error control, and
no flow control make frame relay akin to a wide area LAN.
Its most important application is interconnecting LANs at multiple company offices.
Frame relay enjoyed a modest success and is still in use in places today.
Asynchronous Transfer Mode:
Another connection-oriented network is ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode). The
reason for the strange name is that in the telephone system, most transmission is synchronous
(Closely tied to a clock), and ATM is not. ATM was designed in the early 1990s and ATM
was going to solve all the world's networking and telecommunications problems by merging
voice, data, cable television, telex, telegraph, carrier pigeon, tin cans connected by strings,
tom-toms, smoke signals, and everything else into a single integrated system that could do
everything for everyone.
ATM Virtual Circuits
Since ATM networks are connection-oriented, sending data requires first sending a
packet to set up the connection. As the setup packet wends its way through the subnet, all the
routers on the path make an entry in their internal tables noting the existence of the
connection and reserving whatever resources are needed for it.
Connections are often called virtual circuits, in analogy with the physical circuits used
within the telephone system. Most ATM networks also support permanent virtual circuits,
which are permanent connections between two (distant) hosts. They are similar to leased
lines in the telephone world. Each connection, temporary or permanent, has a unique
connection identifier. A virtual circuit is illustrated in Fig. 1-30.
ATM Cell Format:
Once a connection has been established, either side can begin transmitting data. The
basic idea behind ATM is to transmit all information in small, fixed-size packets called cells.
The cells are 53 bytes long, of which 5 bytes are header and 48 bytes are payload, as shown
in Fig. 1-31. Part of the header is the connection identifier, so the sending and receiving hosts
and all the intermediate routers can tell which cells belong to which connections. This
information allows each router to know how to route each incoming cell. Cell routing is done
in hardware, at high speed.
Figure 1-31: ATM Cell Format

ATM Reference Model:

The physical layer deals with the physical medium: voltages, bit timing, and various
other issues. ATM does not prescribe a particular set of rules but instead says that ATM cells
can be sent on a wire or fiber by themselves, but ATM has been designed to be independent
of the transmission medium.
The ATM layer deals with cells and cell transport. ATM model is defined as three-
dimensional,
WIRELESS LANS: 802.11
LAN standards had numbers like 802.1, 802.2, and 802.3, up to 802.10, so the
wireless LAN standard was dubbed 802.11. Instead of expensive, licensed spectrum, 802.11
systems operate in unlicensed bands such as the ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical)
bands defined by ITU-R (e.g., 902-928 MHz, 2.4-2.5 GHz, 5.725-5.825 GHz).
All devices are allowed to use this spectrum if they limit their transmit power to let
different devices coexist. Of course, this means that 802.11 radios may find themselves
competing with cordless phones, garage door openers, and microwave ovens. 802.11
networks are made up of clients, such as laptops and mobile phones, and infrastructure called
APs (access points) that is installed in buildings. Access points are sometimes called base
stations.
The access points connect to the wired network, and all communication between
clients goes through an access point. It is also possible for clients that are in radio range to
talk directly, such as two computers in an office without an access point. This arrangement is
called an ad hoc network. It is used much less often than the access point mode. Both modes
are shown in Fig. 1-33.
The 802.11 transmission is complicated by wireless conditions that vary with even
slight changes in the environment. At the frequencies used for 802.11, radio signals can be
reflected off solid objects so that multiple echoes of a transmission may reach a receiver
along different paths. The echoes can cancel or reinforce each other, causing the received
signal to fluctuate greatly. This phenomenon is called multipath fading, and it is shown in
Fig. 1-34.
SAQ’s Self-Assessment Questions
1)What is unshielded twisted pair?
Ans. Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) is a ubiquitous type of copper cabling used in telephone
wiring and local area networks (LANs). The five types of UTP cables are identified with the
prefix CAT, as in category, each supporting a different amount of bandwidth.

2) How Multimode Propagation performed?

Ans. Multimode is so named because multiple beams from a light source move through
the core in different paths.
3) What is the Internet?
Ans. The Internet is a worldwide network of computers which gives convenient and fast
access to the world’s information and enable to connect with each other at low cost.
4)What are the top 5 uses of the Internet?
Ans. The Internet is mostly used by people to send emails and to search on any topic. It can
be used to download large files. People depend on the internet for electronic news and
magazines these days. A lot of people, especially the young generation use it to play
interactive games and for entertainment.
5)What is Wi-Fi?
Ans Wi-Fi is the latest wireless technology used to connect computers, tablets, smartphones
and other electronic devices to the internet.

6) Why ATM networks?

Ans. 1. Driven by the integration of services and performance requirements of both telephony
and data networking: “broadband integrated service vision” (B-ISON).
2. Telephone networks support a single quality of service and are expensive to boot.
Internet supports no quality of service but is flexible and cheap.
3. ATM networks were meant to support a range of service qualities at a reasonable cost-
intended to subsume both the telephone network and the Internet.

Technical Questions

Q1. What are the methods used for transmission media in computer networks?
Ans. The methods used for transmission media in computer networks are fiber optics,
microwave, twisted pair, and coaxial cable.

Q2. What are twisted pair cables?

Ans. Twisted pair cables are shielded and unshielded

Q3. What are the disadvantages of wireless transmission media?

Ans. Wireless transmission media are susceptible to interference, signal loss, and security
breaches. They also have limited bandwidth and may be affected by environmental factors
such as weather.

Q4. How can transmission impairment be minimized in a network?

Ans. Transmission impairment can be minimized by using high-quality transmission media,
minimizing interference, and using appropriate network equipment such as repeaters,
amplifiers, and filters to boost and clean the signal.

Q5. Define frame relay.

Ans. A form of packet switching based on the use of variable-length link-layer
frames. There is no network layer, and many of the basic functions have been
streamlined or eliminated to provide for greater throughput.

Q6. Define Jitter

Ans. A phenomenon in real- time traffic caused by gaps between consecutive
packets at the receiver.
Q7. What are the functions of management and control?
Ans.1. Fault management
2. Traffic and congestion control
3. Network status monitoring and configuration
4. User/network signalling
Q8. Define Virtual path.
Ans.It is a generic term used to describe unidirectional transport of ATM cells belonging to
virtual channels that are associated by a common unique identifier value.

Q9. Define gigabit Ethernet?

Ans. Gigabit Ethernet, which has a data rate of 1000 Mbps (Or) 1 Gbps. In which collision
domain is reduced. Gigabit Ethernet is designed to use optical fiber, although the
protocol does not eliminate the use of twisted pair cables.

Q10.What are the traffic parameters of connection-oriented

Services?
Ans. •Peak Cell Rate (PCR)
•Sustained Cell Rate (SCR)
•Initial Cell Rate (ICR)
•Cell Delay Variation Tolerance (CDVT)
•Burst Tolerance (
•Minimum Cell Rate (MCR)

Summary:
In summary, this session gives a complete description of basics of data
communication using guided and unguided transmission media. It covers all together the
concepts of the Internet, ATM Reference model, and wireless Ethernet 802.11.

Case Studies: Study regarding the transmission cables.

Answer Key:
Glossary:
References of Books, Sites, Links
Reference Books:

----1.Behrouz A. Fourouzan, TCP/IP Protocol Suite, Tata McGraw Hill, Third Edition,
2006.

----2.William Stallings, Data and Computer Communications, 7/e, Pearson Edition,

2007

-----3.Computer Networks: AndrewTanenbaum

Sites and Web links: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/types-transmission-media/

https://bcastudyguide.com/ transmission-media/

https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/asynchronous-transfer-mode-atm-in-computer-network/

https://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/sites/default/files/computer_networks_-_a_tanenbaum_-
_5th_edition.pdf

Keywords: Latency, Interference, Distortion, ARPANET, ETHERNET, Multipath Fading