Transmission Media

What is Transmission media?

Transmission media are the physical pathways that connect computers, other devices, and
people on a network. There are two types of transmission media:
Guided or Wired Media : network cables that provide a signal conduit from one network device
to another. Wired networks are appropriate for indoor applications such as in offices or schools;
especially if there is a data security constraint. Also, cable networks allow achieving higher
transfer flow rate.
Unguided or Wireless Media : wireless technologies that propagates electromagnetic signals
through the air, without using a physical conduit. Wireless networks offer ease of installation,
flexibility, mobility, reduced cost, and scalability. Also, wireless connections are suitable for
buildings where it may be difficult to install cables and for WANs (large distance networks).
1. Network cabling
A network cable is a medium that carry signals from one network device to another.
We have three major types of networking cables :
1. Twisted-Pair (UTP , STP).
2. Coaxial (Thinnet , Thicknet).
3. Optical Fiber.
A- Twisted-Pair cable
A twisted-Pair is a type of copper wires with each pair of wires twisted around each other.
Twisting wires decreases and cancels out the electromagnetic interface (EMI) and the electrical
noises from adjacent pairs and from other devices such as motoes and transformers.

Twisted-Pair cables use RJ-45 and RJ-11 connectors (Registered Jack). In appearance, the RJ-45 is
identical to a telephone jack RJ-11, except that the last have two pairs of wires.
There are two types of twisted-pair cable :
Unshielded Twisted-Pair (UTP) and Shielded Twisted-Pair (STP)
1- Unshielded Twisted-Pair (UTP) :
◦ It does not have an extra shielding layer to eliminate noise interface. Typically, it combines 4 pairs of
wires inside the same outer jacket. Each pair is twisted together.

2- Shielded Twisted-Pair (STP) :

◦ STP cabling includes metal shielding (Foil) over each individual pair of copper wires. This type of
shielding protects the cable from external EMI and cross talk (noise).
Advantages of Twisted Pair cable :
Cheap.
Light wright, thin and flexible.
Easy to install.
Fast Flow rates.
STP has better shielding and more NOISE/EMI resistance than UTP.

Disadvantages of Twisted-Pair cable :

High-attenuation (weakness of signal over distance). The maximum cable length is 100
meters.
UTP is highly affected by electromagnetic interface (EMI) and noise.
STP costs more than UTP, also STP is heavier, and is harder to install as the shielding makes
the cable less flexible or bulky.
B- Coaxial Cable
The coaxial is a type of copper cable that features a central conductor surrounded by braided or
foils shielding.
The main application of coaxial cable is Television antenna transmissions, since it is able to carry
data, radio, and video signals.
Coaxial cable is also redder to as “coax” because the computers using such cables share a
common axis called “Backbone or Trunk of a bus network”.
A coaxial cable has better shielding so it is more resistant to EMI and attenuation than twisted-
pair cables. It can achieve a flow rate of 10 Mbps over 185 m (thin coax) or 500 m (thick coax).
There are two major types of coaxial cable:
The Thinnet (10base 2) and The thicknet (10base 5)
1- Thin Coaxial Cable:
the thin coaxial is the cheapest type of all networking cables. It was widely used to
install computer networks using bus topology in schools and laboratories. Nowadays, it
used as antenna cables that convey Television signals. The Thinnet offers a flow rate of
10 Mbps over a maximum distance of 185 m. The Thinnet cable has a smaller distance
than Thicknet cables. Thus, it is more flexible and easier to install.
2- Thick Coaxial Cable:
This cable is suitable for long distance links since it support a maximum cable length of
500 meters with a flow rate of 10 Mbps. The Thicknet has an extra shielding of plastic
cover that protects the center conductor from moisture, humidity and atmosphere
factors. The main disadvantage of Thicknet coax is that it does not bend easily make it
difficult to install in indoor networks.
Advantages of Coaxial Cable :
Shielded and resistant to EMI and attenuation.
Longer Cable distance: 185 m (Thinnet) and 500 m (Thicknet).
Cheap (Thinnet).

Disadvantages of Coaxial Cable:

Thick coaxial is not flexible. It does not bend easily.
Thicknet is more expensive than twisted-pair and Thinnet.
Limited flow rate: 10 Mbps.
Once the network is installed, it will be difficult to move it.
A coaxial cable can be physically “tapped” which impose a security issue.
C- Optical Fiber Cable
A fiber cable contains one or more thin optical fibers of pure glass or refined plastic (silicon
dioxide or silica fibers) that are used to carry light. It is the most immune to electromagnetic
interface (EMI) and attenuation, the most expensive and the fastest cable. Actually, each fiber
can carry 10 million telephone calls. The cable comes mostly in yellow or orange colors.
Each of the glass is able to transmit computer data in the form of light pulses whose source is
either a LASER or LED (light emitting diode) between the two ends of the fiber.
Different types of cable are used for different applications, for example long distance
telecommunication, or providing a high-speed data connection between different parts of a
building.
The most common connectors used with fiber optic cable are :
The ST connector, which has a barrel shape.
The SC connector, which has a squared shape.

ST Connector SC Connector
Optical Fiber Transmission Modes:
The transmission in optical fiber can be either in “Multi-mode” or in “Mono-mode”:
- A Multimode fiber, called (MMF) is designed to carry multiple light rays in parallel within the
conducting core over short distances.
- A Mono-mode or single mode fiber, called (SMF) is designed to transmit a single light ray at
high flow rates over long distances that exceed 100 km.
Advantages of Fiber Optic Cable :
Immune to electromagnetic interfaces (EMI) and Noises.
It supports long distance networks that exceed several kilometers (> 2 km).
Lower attenuation (no reduction in strength of signal over long distance).
It very fast. It supports high flow rates from 2 Gigabit/s and up.
Light weight.
Secure.

Disadvantages of Fiber Optic Cable :

Difficult to install, that’s why needs experts.
Expensive.
How to select the best cable for you network?
Factors to be considered:
Budget (cost).
Maximum distance.
Flow rate.
Flexibility.
Noise protection.
2. Wireless Networking Media
Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is not connected by cables of any kind;
instead, data signals are transmitted as radio frequency or infrared signals through the air using
ANTENNAs. Wireless techniques includes:
oRadio.
oInfrared.
oMicrowaves/satellites.
oLaser.
oWi-Fi.
oBluetooth.
oWiMAX.
Wireless networks offer ease of installation, flexibility, mobility, reduced cost, and scalability. Also,
wireless connections are suitable for buildings where it may be difficult to install cables and WANs.
 Wireless Ethernet standards-IEEE 802.11
IEEE 802.11 refers to the group of wireless network standards set by the Institute of Electrical
and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), including Wi-Fi (802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n), Bluetooth
and WiMAX. These protocols offer different bandwidth, frequencies and distance ranges.
Comparison Wi-Fi(a) Wi-Fi(b) Wi-Fi(g) Wi-Fi(n) Bluetooth WiMAX
Standard 802.11a 802.11b 802.11g 802.11n 802.15 802.16
Frequency(GHz) 5 2.4 2.4 2.4 or 5 2.45 2-6
Speed/flow 54 11 54 540 0.72 80
rate(Mbps)
Distance or range 50 m 100 m 100 m 250 m 10 m 50 km

Advantages High speed Low cost High speed High speed Low cost High speed
Large distance Large distance
Disadvantages High cost Low speed High cost High cost Short distance High cost
Short distance
Wi-Fi or wireless Fidelity is used to create wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN)
within a range of about 100m and offer a flow rate between 10 – 54 Mbps. A wi-
Fi network can operate in two different modes:
Ad-hoc Mode: wireless devices directly communicate with each other without using a central
access point or a wireless router.
Infrastructure Mode: in this mode, the transmissions are managed by an access point or
wireless router. To join the WLAN, the AP and all wireless NIC of clients must be configured to
use the same SSID. SSID (service set identifier) is a unique identifier for a wireless local-area
network (WLAN) that is used when a mobile device tries to connect to a WLAN.
o A wireless network card is usually plugged into the computer by a USB port , PCI or PCMCIA.
o A Access Point (AP) is essentially the wireless equivalent of a LAN Hub. It communicates with wireless
devices by means of an antenna.

Infrastructure mode Ad-hoc mode

Security of Wireless Network (WLAN)
A wireless network can be hacked because wireless transmissions are easy to break when broadcasted
in the air.
Security Risks for WLAN include:
Denial of Service.
Spoofing.
Eavesdropping.
Man in the middle attacks.
Security /solutions for WLAN:
Change the default SSID.
Disable SSID broadcast.
Use WPA/WPA2,WPA3 encryption instead of WEP.
Enable MAC Address Filtering.
Enable Firewalls.
Turn off the wireless router when you are not using the connection.