Signal Encoding

1
Encoding Techniques

Input Data Type Output Signal Type

Digital Digital
Analog Digital
Digital Analog
Analog Analog
Terms (1)
• Unipolar
—All signal elements have same sign
• Polar
—One logic state represented by positive
voltage the other by negative voltage
• Data rate
—Rate of data transmission in bits per second
• Duration or length of a bit
—Time taken for transmitter to emit the bit
Terms (2)
• Modulation rate
—Rate at which the signal level changes
—Measured in baud = signal elements per
second
• Mark and Space
—Binary 1 and Binary 0 respectively
Interpreting Signals
• Need to know
—Timing of bits - when they start and end
—Signal levels
• Factors affecting successful interpreting of
signals
—Signal to noise ratio
—Data rate
—Bandwidth
Comparison of Encoding Schemes
(1)
• Signal Spectrum
—Lack of high frequencies reduces required
bandwidth
—Lack of dc component allows ac coupling via
transformer, providing isolation
—Concentrate power in the middle of the
bandwidth
• Clocking
—Synchronizing transmitter and receiver
—External clock
—Sync mechanism based on signal
Comparison of Encoding Schemes
(2)
• Error detection
—Can be built in to signal encoding
• Signal interference and noise immunity
—Some codes are better than others
• Cost and complexity
—Higher signal rate (& thus data rate) lead to
higher costs
—Some codes require signal rate greater than
data rate
Asynchronous and Synchronous
Transmission
• Timing problems require a mechanism to
synchronize the transmitter and receiver
• Two solutions
—Asynchronous
—Synchronous
Asynchronous
• Data transmitted on character at a time
—5 to 8 bits
• Timing only needs maintaining within each
character
• Resynchronize with each character
Asynchronous (diagram)
Asynchronous - Behavior
• In a steady stream, interval between
characters is uniform (length of stop
element)
• In idle state, receiver looks for transition 1
to 0
• Then samples next seven intervals (char
length)
• Then looks for next 1 to 0 for next char
• Pros and Cons
—Simple
—Cheap
—Overhead of 2 or 3 bits per char (~20%)
—Good for data with large gaps (keyboard)
Synchronous - Bit Level
• Block of data transmitted without start or
stop bits
• Clocks must be synchronized
• Can use separate clock line
—Good over short distances
—Subject to impairments
• Embed clock signal in data
—Manchester encoding
—Carrier frequency (analog)
Synchronous - Block Level
• Need to indicate start and end of block
• Use preamble and postamble
—e.g. series of SYN (hex 16) characters
—e.g. block of 11111111 patterns ending in
11111110

• More efficient (lower overhead) than async

Synchronous (diagram)
Asynchronous and Synchronous
Transmission
• Timing problems require a mechanism to
synchronize the transmitter and receiver
• Two solutions
—Asynchronous
—Synchronous
Asynchronous
• Data transmitted one character at a time
—5 to 8 bits
• Timing only needs maintaining within each
character
• Resynchronize with each character
Asynchronous (diagram)
Asynchronous - Behavior
• In a steady stream, interval between
characters is uniform (length of stop
element)
• In idle state, receiver looks for transition 1
to 0
• Then samples next seven intervals (char
length)
• Then looks for next 1 to 0 for next char

• Simple
• Cheap
• Overhead of 2 or 3 bits per char (~20%)
•
Synchronous - Bit Level
• Block of data transmitted without start or
stop bits
• Clocks must be synchronized
• Can use separate clock line
—Good over short distances
—Subject to impairments
• Embed clock signal in data
—Manchester encoding
—Carrier frequency (analog)
Synchronous - Block Level
• Need to indicate start and end of block
• Use preamble and postamble
—e.g. series of SYN (hex 16) characters
—e.g. block of 11111111 patterns ending in
11111110

• More efficient (lower overhead) than async

Synchronous (diagram)
Encoding Schemes
• Nonreturn to Zero-Level (NRZ-L)
• Nonreturn to Zero Inverted (NRZI)
• Bipolar -AMI
• Pseudoternary
• Manchester
• Differential Manchester
• B8ZS
• HDB3
Nonreturn to Zero-Level (NRZ-L)
• Two different voltages for 0 and 1 bits
• Voltage constant during bit interval
—no transition I.e. no return to zero voltage
• e.g. Absence of voltage for zero, constant
positive voltage for one
• More often, negative voltage for one value
and positive for the other
• This is NRZ-L
Nonreturn to Zero Inverted
• Nonreturn to zero inverted on ones
• Constant voltage pulse for duration of bit
• Data encoded as presence or absence of
signal transition at beginning of bit time
• Transition (low to high or high to low)
denotes a binary 1
• No transition denotes binary 0
• An example of differential encoding
NRZ
Differential Encoding
• Data represented by changes rather than
levels
• More reliable detection of transition rather
than level
• In complex transmission layouts it is easy
to lose sense of polarity
NRZ pros and cons
• Pros
—Easy to engineer
—Make good use of bandwidth
• Cons
—dc component
—Lack of synchronization capability
• Used for magnetic recording
• Not often used for signal transmission
Multilevel Binary
• Use more than two levels
• Bipolar-AMI
—zero represented by no line signal
—one represented by positive or negative pulse
—one pulses alternate in polarity
—No loss of sync if a long string of ones (zeros
still a problem)
—No net dc component
—Lower bandwidth
—Easy error detection
Pseudoternary
• One represented by absence of line signal
• Zero represented by alternating positive
and negative
• No advantage or disadvantage over
bipolar-AMI
Bipolar-AMI and Pseudoternary
Trade Off for Multilevel Binary
• Not as efficient as NRZ
—Each signal element only represents one bit
—In a 3 level system could represent log23 =
1.58 bits
—Receiver must distinguish between three
levels
(+A, -A, 0)
—Requires approx. 3dB more signal power for
same probability of bit error
Biphase
• Manchester
— Transition in middle of each bit period
— Transition serves as clock and data
— Low to high represents one
— High to low represents zero
— Used by IEEE 802.3
• Differential Manchester
— Midbit transition is clocking only
— Transition at start of a bit period represents zero
— No transition at start of a bit period represents one
— Note: this is a differential encoding scheme
— Used by IEEE 802.5
Manchester Encoding
Differential Manchester Encoding
Biphase Pros and Cons
• Con
—At least one transition per bit time and
possibly two
—Maximum modulation rate is twice NRZ
—Requires more bandwidth
• Pros
—Synchronization on mid bit transition (self
clocking)
—No dc component
—Error detection
• Absence of expected transition
Modulation Rate
Scrambling
• Use scrambling to replace sequences that would
produce constant voltage
• Filling sequence
— Must produce enough transitions to sync
— Must be recognized by receiver and replace with original
— Same length as original
• No dc component
• No long sequences of zero level line signal
• No reduction in data rate
• Error detection capability
B8ZS
• Bipolar With 8 Zeros Substitution
• Based on bipolar-AMI
• If octet of all zeros and last voltage pulse
preceding was positive encode as 000+-0-
+
• If octet of all zeros and last voltage pulse
preceding was negative encode as 000-
+0+-
• Causes two violations of AMI code
• Unlikely to occur as a result of noise
• Receiver detects and interprets as octet of
all zeros
HDB3
• High Density Bipolar 3 Zeros
• Based on bipolar-AMI
• String of four zeros replaced with one or
two pulses
B8ZS and HDB3
Digital Data, Analog Signal
• Public telephone system
—300Hz to 3400Hz
—Use modem (modulator-demodulator)
• Amplitude shift keying (ASK)
• Frequency shift keying (FSK)
• Phase shift keying (PK)
Modulation Techniques
Amplitude Shift Keying
• Values represented by different
amplitudes of carrier
• Usually, one amplitude is zero
—i.e. presence and absence of carrier is used
• Susceptible to sudden gain changes
• Inefficient
• Up to 1200bps on voice grade lines
• Used over optical fiber
Binary Frequency Shift Keying
• Most common form is binary FSK (BFSK)
• Two binary values represented by two
different frequencies (near carrier)
• Less susceptible to error than ASK
• Up to 1200bps on voice grade lines
• High frequency radio
• Even higher frequency on LANs using co-
ax
Multiple FSK
• More than two frequencies used
• More bandwidth efficient
• More prone to error
• Each signalling element represents more
than one bit
FSK on Voice Grade Line
Phase Shift Keying
• Phase of carrier signal is shifted to
represent data
• Binary PSK
—Two phases represent two binary digits
• Differential PSK
—Phase shifted relative to previous transmission
rather than some reference signal
Differential PSK
Quadrature PSK
• More efficient use by each signal element
representing more than one bit
—e.g. shifts of /2 (90o)
—Each element represents two bits
—Can use 8 phase angles and have more than
one amplitude
—9600bps modem use 12 angles , four of which
have two amplitudes
• Offset QPSK (orthogonal QPSK)
—Delay in Q stream
QPSK and OQPSK Modulators
Examples of QPSF and OQPSK
Waveforms
Performance of Digital to Analog
Modulation Schemes
• Bandwidth
—ASK and PSK bandwidth directly related to bit
rate
—FSK bandwidth related to data rate for lower
frequencies, but to offset of modulated
frequency from carrier at high frequencies
—(See Stallings for math)
• In the presence of noise, bit error rate of
PSK and QPSK are about 3dB superior to
ASK and FSK
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
• QAM used on asymmetric digital
subscriber line (ADSL) and some wireless
• Combination of ASK and PSK
• Logical extension of QPSK
• Send two different signals simultaneously
on same carrier frequency
—Use two copies of carrier, one shifted 90°
—Each carrier is ASK modulated
—Two independent signals over same medium
—Demodulate and combine for original binary
output
QAM Modulator
QAM Levels
• Two level ASK
—Each of two streams in one of two states
—Four state system
—Essentially QPSK
• Four level ASK
—Combined stream in one of 16 states
• 64 and 256 state systems have been
implemented
• Improved data rate for given bandwidth
—Increased potential error rate
Analog Data, Digital Signal
• Digitization
—Conversion of analog data into digital data
—Digital data can then be transmitted using
NRZ-L
—Digital data can then be transmitted using
code other than NRZ-L
—Digital data can then be converted to analog
signal
—Analog to digital conversion done using a
codec
—Pulse code modulation
—Delta modulation
Digitizing Analog Data
Pulse Code Modulation(PCM) (1)
• If a signal is sampled at regular intervals
at a rate higher than twice the highest
signal frequency, the samples contain all
the information of the original signal
—(Proof - Stallings appendix 4A)
• Voice data limited to below 4000Hz
• Require 8000 sample per second
• Analog samples (Pulse Amplitude
Modulation, PAM)
• Each sample assigned digital value
Pulse Code Modulation(PCM) (2)
• 4 bit system gives 16 levels
• Quantized
—Quantizing error or noise
—Approximations mean it is impossible to
recover original exactly
• 8 bit sample gives 256 levels
• Quality comparable with analog
transmission
• 8000 samples per second of 8 bits each
gives 64kbps
PCM Example
PCM Block Diagram
Nonlinear Encoding
• Quantization levels not evenly spaced
• Reduces overall signal distortion
• Can also be done by companding
Effect of Non-Linear Coding
Typical Companding Functions
Delta Modulation
• Analog input is approximated by a
staircase function
• Move up or down one level () at each
sample interval
• Binary behavior
—Function moves up or down at each sample
interval
Delta Modulation - example
Delta Modulation - Operation
Delta Modulation - Performance
• Good voice reproduction
—PCM - 128 levels (7 bit)
—Voice bandwidth 4khz
—Should be 8000 x 7 = 56kbps for PCM
• Data compression can improve on this
—e.g. Interframe coding techniques for video
Analog Data, Analog Signals
• Why modulate analog signals?
—Higher frequency can give more efficient
transmission
—Permits frequency division multiplexing
(chapter 8)
• Types of modulation
—Amplitude
—Frequency
—Phase
Analog
Modulation
Multiplexing
Frequency Division Multiplexing
• FDM
• Useful bandwidth of medium exceeds
required bandwidth of channel
• Each signal is modulated to a different
carrier frequency
• Carrier frequencies separated so signals
do not overlap (guard bands)
• e.g. broadcast radio
• Channel allocated even if no data
Frequency Division Multiplexing
Diagram
FDM System
FDM of Three Voiceband Signals
Analog Carrier Systems
• AT&T (USA)
• Hierarchy of FDM schemes
• Group
— 12 voice channels (4kHz each) = 48kHz
— Range 60kHz to 108kHz
• Supergroup
— 60 channel
— FDM of 5 group signals on carriers between 420kHz and
612 kHz
• Mastergroup
— 10 supergroups
Wavelength Division Multiplexing
• Multiple beams of light at different frequency
• Carried by optical fiber
• A form of FDM
• Each color of light (wavelength) carries separate
data channel
• 1997 Bell Labs
— 100 beams
— Each at 10 Gbps
— Giving 1 terabit per second (Tbps)
• Commercial systems of 160 channels of 10 Gbps
now available
• Lab systems (Alcatel) 256 channels at 39.8 Gbps
each
— 10.1 Tbps
— Over 100km
WDM Operation
• Same general architecture as other FDM
• Number of sources generating laser beams at
different frequencies
• Multiplexer consolidates sources for transmission
over single fiber
• Optical amplifiers amplify all wavelengths
— Typically tens of km apart
• Demux separates channels at the destination
• Mostly 1550nm wavelength range
• Was 200MHz per channel
• Now 50GHz
Dense Wavelength Division
Multiplexing
• DWDM
• No official or standard definition
• Implies more channels more closely
spaced that WDM
• 200GHz or less
Synchronous Time Division
Multiplexing
• Data rate of medium exceeds data rate of
digital signal to be transmitted
• Multiple digital signals interleaved in time
• May be at bit level of blocks
• Time slots preassigned to sources and
fixed
• Time slots allocated even if no data
• Time slots do not have to be evenly
distributed amongst sources
Time Division Multiplexing
TDM System
TDM Link Control
• No headers and trailers
• Data link control protocols not needed
• Flow control
—Data rate of multiplexed line is fixed
—If one channel receiver can not receive data,
the others must carry on
—The corresponding source must be quenched
—This leaves empty slots
• Error control
—Errors are detected and handled by individual
channel systems
Data Link Control on TDM
Framing
• No flag or SYNC characters bracketing
TDM frames
• Must provide synchronizing mechanism
• Added digit framing
—One control bit added to each TDM frame
• Looks like another channel - “control channel”
—Identifiable bit pattern used on control channel
—e.g. alternating 01010101…unlikely on a data
channel
—Can compare incoming bit patterns on each
channel with sync pattern
Pulse Stuffing
• Problem - Synchronizing data sources
• Clocks in different sources drifting
• Data rates from different sources not
related by simple rational number
• Solution - Pulse Stuffing
—Outgoing data rate (excluding framing bits)
higher than sum of incoming rates
—Stuff extra dummy bits or pulses into each
incoming signal until it matches local clock
—Stuffed pulses inserted at fixed locations in
frame and removed at demultiplexer
TDM of Analog and Digital Sources
Digital Carrier Systems
• Hierarchy of TDM
• USA/Canada/Japan use one system
• ITU-T use a similar (but different) system
• US system based on DS-1 format
• Multiplexes 24 channels
• Each frame has 8 bits per channel plus
one framing bit
• 193 bits per frame
Digital Carrier Systems (2)
• For voice each channel contains one word
of digitized data (PCM, 8000 samples per
sec)
—Data rate 8000x193 = 1.544Mbps
—Five out of six frames have 8 bit PCM samples
—Sixth frame is 7 bit PCM word plus signaling bit
—Signaling bits form stream for each channel
containing control and routing info
• Same format for digital data
—23 channels of data
• 7 bits per frame plus indicator bit for data or systems
control
—24th channel is sync
Mixed Data
• DS-1 can carry mixed voice and data
signals
• 24 channels used
• No sync byte
• Can also interleave DS-1 channels
—Ds-2 is four DS-1 giving 6.312Mbps
DS-1 Transmission Format
SONET/SDH
• Synchronous Optical Network (ANSI)
• Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (ITU-T)
• Compatible
• Signal Hierarchy
—Synchronous Transport Signal level 1 (STS-1)
or Optical Carrier level 1 (OC-1)
—51.84Mbps
—Carry DS-3 or group of lower rate signals (DS1
DS1C DS2) plus ITU-T rates (e.g. 2.048Mbps)
—Multiple STS-1 combined into STS-N signal
—ITU-T lowest rate is 155.52Mbps (STM-1)
SONET Frame Format
SONET STS-1 Overhead Octets
Statistical TDM
• In Synchronous TDM many slots are
wasted
• Statistical TDM allocates time slots
dynamically based on demand
• Multiplexer scans input lines and collects
data until frame full
• Data rate on line lower than aggregate
rates of input lines
Statistical TDM Frame Formats
Performance
• Output data rate less than aggregate
input rates
• May cause problems during peak periods
—Buffer inputs
—Keep buffer size to minimum to reduce delay
Buffer Size
and Delay
Cable Modem Outline
• Two channels from cable TV provider dedicated to
data transfer
— One in each direction
• Each channel shared by number of subscribers
— Scheme needed to allocate capacity
— Statistical TDM
Cable Modem Operation
• Downstream
— Cable scheduler delivers data in small packets
— If more than one subscriber active, each gets fraction of
downstream capacity
• May get 500kbps to 1.5Mbps
— Also used to allocate upstream time slots to subscribers
• Upstream
— User requests timeslots on shared upstream channel
• Dedicated slots for this
— Headend scheduler sends back assignment of future
tme slots to subscriber
Cable Modem Scheme
Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber
Line
• ADSL
• Link between subscriber and network
—Local loop
• Uses currently installed twisted pair cable
—Can carry broader spectrum
—1 MHz or more
ADSL Design
• Asymmetric
—Greater capacity downstream than upstream
• Frequency division multiplexing
—Lowest 25kHz for voice
• Plain old telephone service (POTS)
—Use echo cancellation or FDM to give two
bands
—Use FDM within bands
• Range 5.5km
ADSL Channel Configuration
Discrete Multitone
• DMT
• Multiple carrier signals at different
frequencies
• Some bits on each channel
• 4kHz subchannels
• Send test signal and use subchannels with
better signal to noise ratio
• 256 downstream subchannels at 4kHz
(60kbps)
—15.36MHz
—Impairments bring this down to 1.5Mbps to
9Mbps
DTM Bits Per Channel Allocation
DMT Transmitter
xDSL
• High data rate DSL
• Single line DSL
• Very high data rate DSL
Required Reading
• Stallings chapter 8
• Web sites on
—ADSL
—SONET