Computer communications

and networks
Lec#1
 What is data communication
• The term “Data Communication” comprises two words: Data
and Communication. Data can be any text, image, audio, video,
and multimedia files. Communication is an act of sending or
receiving data. Thus, data communication refers to the
exchange of data between two or more networked or
connected devices.
• Electronic communications, like emails and instant messages,
as well as phone calls are examples of data communications.
Components of Data Communication 
A communication system is made up of the following components:
1.Message: A message is a piece of information that is to be transmitted from one person to another. It could be a
text file, an audio file, a video file, etc.
2.Sender: It is simply a device that sends data messages. It can be a computer, mobile, telephone, laptop, video
camera, or workstation, etc.
3.Receiver: It is a device that receives messages. It can be a computer, telephone mobile, workstation, etc.
4.Transmission Medium / Communication Channels: Communication channels are the medium that connect
two or more workstations. Workstations can be connected by either wired media or wireless media.
5.Set of rules (Protocol): When someone sends the data (The sender), it should be understandable to the receiver
also otherwise it is meaningless. For example, Sonali sends a message to Chetan. If Sonali writes in Hindi and
Chetan cannot understand Hindi, it is a meaningless conversation.
• Therefore, there are some set of rules (protocols) that is followed by every computer
connected to the internet and they are:
• TCP(Transmission Control Protocol): It is responsible for dividing messages into
packets on the source computer and reassembling the received packet at the destination
or recipient computer. It also makes sure that the packets have the information about
the source of the message data, the destination of the message data, the sequence in
which the message data should be re-assembled, and checks if the message has been
sent correctly to the specific destination.
• IP(Internet Protocol): Do You ever wonder how does computer determine which
packet belongs to which device. What happens if the message you sent to your friend is
received by your father? Scary Right. Well! IP is responsible for handling the address
of the destination computer so that each packet is sent to its proper destination. 
Type of data communication

• As we know that data communication is communication in which we can send or receive data from one device to
another. The data communication is divided into three types:
• Simplex Communication: It is one-way communication or we can say that unidirectional communication in which one
device only receives and another device only sends data and devices uses their entire capacity in transmission. For
example, IoT, entering data using a keyboard, listing music using a speaker, etc.
• Half Duplex communication: It is a two-way communication or we can say that it is a bidirectional communication in
which both the devices can send and receive data but not at the same time. When one device is sending data then another
device is only receiving and vice-versa. For example, walkie-talkie. 
• Full-duplex communication: It is a two-way communication or we can say that it is a bidirectional communication in
which both the devices can send and receive data at the same time. For example, mobile phones, landlines, etc.
• Communication Channels
• Communication channels are the medium that connects two or more workstations. Workstations can be connected by
either wired media or wireless media. It is also known as a transmission medium. The transmission medium or channel is
a link that carries messages between two or more devices. We can group the communication media into two categories:
• Guided media transmission
• Unguided media transmission
• . Guided Media:  In this transmission medium, the physical link is created using wires or cables between two or more
computers or devices, and then the data is transmitted using these cables in terms of signals. Guided media transmission of the
following types:
• 1. Twisted pair cable: It is the most common form of wire used in communication. In a twisted-pair cable, two identical wires
are wrapped together in a double helix. The twisting of the wire reduces the crosstalk. It is known as the leaking of a signal from
one wire to another due to which signal can corrupt and can cause network errors. The twisting protects the wire from internal
crosstalk as well as external forms of signal interference. Types of Twisted Pair Cable :
• Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP): It is used in computers and telephones widely. As the name suggests, there is no external
shielding so it does not protects from external interference. It is cheaper than STP.
• Shielded Twisted Pair (STP): It offers greater protection from crosstalk due to shield. Due to shielding, it protects from external
interference. It is heavier and costlier as compare to UTP. 
• 2. Coaxial Cable: It consists of a solid wire core that is surrounded by one or more foil or wire shields. The inner core of the
coaxial cable carries the signal and the outer shield provides the ground. It is widely used for television signals and also used by
large corporations in building security systems. Data transmission of this cable is better but expensive as compared to twisted
pair.
• 3. Optical fibers: Optical fiber is an important technology. It transmits large amounts of data at very high speeds due to which it
is widely used in internet cables. It carries data as a light that travels inside a thin glass fiber. The fiber optic cable is made up of
three pieces:
• Core: Core is the piece through which light travels. It is generally created using glass or plastic.
• Cladding: It is the covering of the core and reflects the light back to the core.
• Sheath: It is the protective covering that protects fiber cable from the environment.
• . Unguided Media: The unguided transmission media is a transmission mode in which the
signals are propagated from one device to another device wirelessly. Signals can wave through
the air, water, or vacuum. It is generally used to transmit signals in all directions. Unguided
Media is further divided into various  parts :
• 1. Microwave: Microwave offers communication without the use of cables. Microwave signals
are just like radio and television signals. It is used in long-distance communication. Microwave
transmission consists of a transmitter, receiver, and atmosphere. In microwave communication,
there are parabolic antennas that are mounted on the towers to send a beam to another antenna.
The higher the tower, the greater the range.
• 2. Radio wave: When communication is carried out by radio frequencies, then it is termed radio
waves transmission. It offers mobility. It is consists of the transmitter and the receiver. Both use
antennas to radiate and capture the radio signal.
• 3. Infrared: It is short-distance communication and can pass through any object. It is generally
used in TV remotes, wireless mouse, etc.
• What is a Network?
• A network consists of two or more computers that are linked in order
to share resources (such as printers and CDs), exchange files, or allow
electronic communications. The computers on a network may be
linked through cables, telephone lines, radio waves, satellites, or
infrared light beams.
• Communication Networks can be of following 5 types:
• Local Area Network (LAN)
• Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
• Wide Area Network (WAN)
• Wireless
• Inter Network (Internet)
• Local Area Network (LAN)
• It is also called LAN and designed for small physical areas such as an office, group
of buildings or a factory. LANs are used widely as it is easy to design and to
troubleshoot. Personal computers and workstations are connected to each other
through LANs. We can use different types of topologies through LAN, these are
Star, Ring, Bus, Tree etc.
• LAN can be a simple network like connecting two computers, to share files and
network among each other while it can also be as complex as interconnecting an
entire building.
• LAN networks are also widely used to share resources like printers, shared hard-
drive etc.
• Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
• It was developed in 1980s.It is
basically a bigger version of LAN. It
is also called MAN and uses the
similar technology as LAN. It is
designed to extend over the entire
city. It can be means to connecting a
number of LANs into a larger
network or it can be a single cable. It
is mainly hold and operated by
single private company or a public
company.
• Wide Area Network (WAN)
• It is also called WAN. WAN can be
private or it can be public leased
network. It is used for the network that
covers large distance such as cover
states of a country. It is not easy to
design and maintain. Communication
medium used by WAN are PSTN or
Satellite links. WAN operates on low
data rates.
• Wireless Network
• Digital wireless communication is not a new idea. Earlier, Morse
code was used to implement wireless networks. Modern digital
wireless systems have better performance, but the basic idea is the
same.
• Wireless Networks can be divided into three main categories:
• Inter Network
• Inter Network or Internet is a
combination of two or more
networks. Inter network can be
formed by joining two or more
individual networks by means of
various devices such as routers,
gateways and bridges.
• Data representation is defined as the methods used to represent
information in computers. Different types of data can be stored in
the computer system.
• This includes numeric data, text, executable files, images, audio,
video, etc. all these will look different to us as human.
• Methods of Data Representation in Data Communication
• Decimal Numbers
• Binary Numbers
• Hexadecimal Numbers
• Text
• Graphics
• However, all types of information or data stored in the computer are represented as a sequence of 0s and 1s.
• 1. Decimal Numbers
• As human we are used to writing numbers using digits 0 to 9. This is called base 10. This number system has been widely adopted, in
large part because we have 10 fingers.
• However, other number systems still persist in modern society.
• 2. Binary Numbers
• Any positive integer (whole number) can be represented by a sequence of 0s and 1s. Numbers in this form are said to be in base two,
and are called binary numbers.
• Computers are based on the binary (base 2) number system because electrical wire can only be of two states (on or off).
• 3. Hexadecimal Numbers
• Writing numbers in binary is tedious since this representation uses between 3 to 4 times as many digits as the decimal representation.
• The hexadecimal (base 16) number system is often used as shorthand for binary. Base 16 is useful because 16 is a power of 2, and
numbers have roughly as many digits as in the corresponding decimal representation.
• Another name for hexadecimal numbers is alpha decimal because the numbers are written from 0 to 9 and A to F. where A is 10, B is 11
up to F that is 15.
• 4. Text
• American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII code) defines 128 different symbols. The symbols are all the characters
found on a standard keyboard, plus a few extra.
• Unique numeric code (0 to 127) is assigned to each character. In ASCII, A is 65, B is 66, a is 97, b is 98, and so forth. When a file is
save as plain text, it is stored using ASCII.
• ASCII format uses 1 byte per character 1 byte gives only 256 (128 standard and 128 non-standard) possible characters. The code value
for any character can be converter to base 2, so any written message made up of ASCII characters can be converted to a string of 0s and
1s.
• . Graphics
• Graphics on computer screen are consists of pixels. The pixels are tiny dots
of color that collectively paint a graphic image on a computer screen. It is
physical point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable element in an all
points addressable display device.
• Hence it is the smallest controllable element of a picture represented on the
screen. The address of a pixel corresponds to its physical coordinates.
• LCD pixels are manufactured in two-dimensional grid, and are often
represented using dots or squares, but CRT pixels correspond to their timing
mechanism and sweep rates. The pixels are organized into many rows and
columns on the screen.