Data Communication

&
Transmission
Introduction

• The communications system is responsible for the transmission

from the sender to the recipient.
• Exchange of data between two devices via some forms of
transmission medium(such as wire cable, wireless) is Data
Communications.
• For data communications to occur, the communicating devices
must be part of a communication system made of a combination
of hardware and software.
• Data flow can occur in three ways:
▫ Simplex
▫ Half duplex
▫ Full duplex
Only one of the devices on a link can transmit, other can receive.

Each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same time.
Both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously.
Introduction

• At its simplest, the system contains :

− A transmission channel that is the physical link between the
communicating parties.
− A modulator that takes the source signal and transforms it so
that it is physically suitable for the transmission channel.
− A transmitter that actually introduces the modulated signal
into the channel, usually amplifying the signal as it does so.
− A receiver that detects the transmitted signal on the channel
and usually amplifies it.
− A demodulator that receives the original source signal from
the received signal and passes it to the sink.
MODULATION DEMODULATION
▫ Systems are distinguished by the type of signal presented to
the modulator.
▫ An analog system is designed for transmitting analog signals.
 The PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) is an analog
system.
▫ A digital system is designed to transmit digital signals.
 The PSDN (Public Switched Data Network) is a digital system.
Digital Signal Vs Analog Signal

• Digital Signals
Digital signals are discrete in nature and represent
sequence of voltage pulses. Digital signals are used within
the circuitry of a computer system.

• Analog Signals
Analog signals are in continuous wave form in nature and
represented by continuous electromagnetic waves.
Transmission Media
The media over which the information between two computer systems
is sent, called transmission media. Transmission media comes in two
forms.

• Guided Media
All communication wires/cables are guided media, such as UTP,
coaxial cables, and fiber Optics. In this media, the sender and receiver
are directly connected and the information is send (guided) through it.

• Unguided Media
Wireless or open air space is said to be unguided media, because there
is no connectivity between the sender and receiver. Information is
spread over the air, and anyone including the actual recipient may
collect the information.
Channel Capacity
The speed of transmission of information is said to
be the channel capacity. It depends on numerous
factors such as:

• Bandwidth: The physical limitation of underlying

media.
• Error-rate: Incorrect reception of information
because of noise.
• Encoding: The number of levels used for
signaling.
Digital-to-Digital Conversion
This section explains how to convert digital data
into digital signals. It can be done in two ways,
1. line coding
2. block coding.
For all communications, line coding is necessary
whereas block coding is optional.
Line Coding
The process for converting digital data into digital
signal is said to be Line Coding. Digital data is
found in binary format. It is represented (stored)
internally as series of 1’s and 0’s.
Digital signal is denoted by discreet signal, which
represents digital data. There are three types of
line coding schemes available:
Uni-polar Encoding
Unipolar encoding schemes use single voltage
level to represent data. In this case, to represent
binary 1, high voltage is transmitted and to
represent 0, no voltage is transmitted. It is also
called Unipolar-Non-return-to-zero, because there
is no rest condition i.e. it either represents 1 or 0.
Polar Encoding

Polar encoding scheme uses multiple voltage

levels to represent binary values. Polar encodings
is available in four types:

1. Polar Non-Return to Zero (Polar NRZ)

2. Return to Zero (RZ)
3. Manchester
4. Differential Manchester
1. Polar Non-Return to Zero (Polar NRZ)
It uses two different voltage levels to represent binary values.
Generally, positive voltage represents 1 and negative value
represents 0. It is also NRZ because there is no rest
condition. NRZ scheme has two variants: NRZ-L and NRZ-I.

NRZ-L changes voltage level at

when a different bit is
encountered whereas NRZ-I
changes voltage when a 1 is
encountered.
2. Return to Zero (RZ)
Problem with NRZ is that the receiver cannot
conclude when a bit ended and when the next bit
is started, in case when sender and receiver’s clock
are not synchronized.
RZ uses three voltage
levels, positive voltage to
represent 1, negative
voltage to represent 0
and zero voltage for
none. Signals change
during bits not between
bits.
3. Manchester

This encoding scheme is a combination of RZ and

NRZ-L. Bit time is divided into two halves. It
transits in the middle of the bit and changes phase
when a different bit is encountered.
4. Differential Manchester

This encoding scheme is a combination of RZ and

NRZ-I. It also transit at the middle of the bit but
changes phase only when 1 is encountered.
Bipolar Encoding

Bipolar encoding uses three voltage levels,

positive, negative and zero. Zero voltage
represents binary 0 and bit 1 is represented by
altering positive and negative voltages.
Block Coding
To ensure accuracy of the received data frame redundant bits are
used. For example, in even-parity, one parity bit is added to
make the count of 1s in the frame even. This way the original
number of bits is increased. It is called Block Coding.
Block coding is represented by slash notation, mB/nB. Means,
m-bit block is substituted with n-bit block where n > m.
Block coding involves three steps:
• Division,
• Substitution
• Combination.

After block coding is done, it is line coded for transmission.

Modulation Techniques

• Two types of modulation techniques are available:

 Modulation of Digital Signal
 Modulation of Analog Signal
1. Modulation of digital Signal
• Modulation of binary data or digital-to-analog modulation
is the process of changing one of the characteristics of an
analog signal based on the information in a digital
signal(0s 0r 1s).
Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)

• The strength of the carrier signal is varied to represent binary 1

and 0.
• Frequency and phase remains the same.
• Highly susceptible to noise interference.
• Used up to 1200 bps on voice grade lines, and on optical fiber.
Frequency Shift Keying

• Frequency of the carrier is varied to represent digital data (binary 0/1)

• Peak amplitude and phase remain constant.
• Avoid noise interference by looking at frequencies (change of a signal) and
ignoring amplitudes.
• Limitations of FSK is the physical capabilities of the carrier.
• f1 and f2 equally offset by equal opposite amounts to the carrier frequency.
• In MFSK more than 2 frequencies are used, each signal element
represents more than one bit.
Phase Shift Keying

• Phase of the carrier is varied to represent digital data (binary 0 or 1)

• Amplitude and frequency remains constant.
• If phase 0 deg to represent 0, 180 deg to represent 1. (2-PSK)
• PSK is not susceptible to noise degradation that affects ASK or bandwidth
limitations of FSK
4-PSK (QPSK) method
8-PSK
• We can extend, by varying the signal by shifts of 45 deg. (instead of
90 deg in 4-PSK)
• With 8 = 23 different phases, each phase can represents 3 bits
(tribit).
2. Modulation of Analog Signals
• Modulation of an analog signal or analog-to-analog conversion is
the representation of analog information by an analog signal.
Amplitude Modulation (AM)
Message Signal

Carrier Signal

Modulated Signal
• In AM transmission, the carrier signal is modulated so that its
amplitude varies with the changing amplitudes of the modulating
signal.

• The frequency & phase of the carrier remain the same; only
amplitude changes to follow variations in the information.

• The modulated signal becomes an envelope to the carrier.

Frequency Modulation (FM)

• In FM transmission, the frequency

of the carrier signal is modulated to
follow the changing voltage level of
the modulating signal.

• The peak amplitude and phase of

the carrier signal remain constant,
but as the amplitude of the
information signal changes, the
frequency of the carrier changes
correspondingly.
Phase Modulation (PM)

• Due to simpler hardware requirements, PM is used in some

systems as an alternative to frequency modulation.

• The peak amplitude and frequency of carrier signal remain

constant, but as the amplitude of the information signal changes,
the phase of the carrier changes correspondingly.

• The analysis and the final result are similar to those of frequency
modulation.