Data communication

MODULE 1
Data communication
 Data Communication is the exchange of data (in the
form of 0’s and 1’s) between two devices (computers)
via some form of the transmission medium(such as
wire, air etc)
 The purpose of data communication is to exchange
information between two agents.
• data communications is the movement of
computer information from one point to another
by means of electrical or optical transmission
systems. Such systems often are called data
communication networks.
Data Communication System

For Data Communication to occur, the

communicating devices must be a part of a
communication system made up of some
specific kind of hardware and software.This type
of a system is known as a “DATA
COMMUNICATION SYSTEM”.
Types of data Communication.

 Local – if the communicating device are in the

same building or a similarly restricted
geographical area .
 Remote – if the device are farther apart.
 Data: is a representation of facts, concepts
and instructions presented in a formalized
manner suitable for communication,
interpretation or processing by human being
or by automatic means
Data & Information
 Data Communication is a process of
exchanging data or information
 In case of computer networks this exchange
is done between two devices over transmission
medium.
 This process involves a communication system
which is made up of hardware and software.
 The hardware part involves the sender and
receiver devices and the intermediate
devices through which the data passes.
 The software part involves certain rules
which specify what is to be communicated,
how it is to be communicated and when. It is
also called as a Protocol.
Data Representation
 Data is collection of raw facts which is processed to
deduce information.
 There may be different forms in which data may be
represented.
 Some of the forms of data used in communications are as
follows:
 Text
 Numbers
 Images
 Audio
 video
Text
 Text includes combination of alphabets in small case
as well as upper case.
 It is stored as a pattern of bits. Prevalent encoding
system : ASCII, Unicode
Numbers
 Numbers include combination of digits from 0 to 9. It
is stored as a pattern of bits. Prevalent encoding
system : ASCII, Unicode
Images
“ An image is worth a thousand words” is a very famous saying.
 In computers images are digitally stored.
 A Pixel is the smallest element of an image. To put it in simple
terms, a picture or image is a matrix of pixel elements.
 The pixels are represented in the form of bits. Depending upon
 the type of image (black n white or color) each pixel would
 require different number of bits to represent the value of a pixel.
 The size of an image depends upon the number of pixels (also
called resolution) and the bit pattern used to indicate the value
of each pixel.
 Example: if an image is purely black and white (two color) each
pixel can be represented by a value either 0 or 1, so an image
made up of 10 x 10 pixel elements would require only 100 bits in
memory to be stored.
 On the other hand an image that includes gray may require 2
bits to represent every pixel value (00 - black, 01 – dark gray, 10
light gray, 11 –white). So the same 10 x 10 pixel image would
now require 200 bits of memory to be stored.
 Commonly used Image formats : jpg, png, bmp, etc
Audio
 Data can also be in the form of sound which can be recorded
and broadcasted. Example: What we hear on the radio is a
source of data or information.
 Audio data is continuous, not discrete.
Video
 Video refers to broadcasting of data in form of picture or movie
Characteristics of Data Communication
The effectiveness of any data communications system depends
upon the following four fundamental characteristics:
Delivery:
 The data should be delivered to the correct destination
and correct user.
Accuracy:
 The communication system should deliver the data accurately,
without introducing any errors. The data may get
corrupted during transmission affecting the accuracy of
the delivered data.
Timeliness:
 Audio and Video data has to be delivered in a timely
manner without any delay; such a data delivery is called
real time transmission of data. (Better NEVER than LATE)
Example of the POSTAL MAIL
Jitter:
 It is the variation in the packet arrival time. Uneven Jitter
may affect the timeliness of data being transmitted.
.
Components of data communication
systems
Components of data communication
system
Any system is made up of more than on component.
Similarly, a data communication System is made up
of 5 components
 Message
 Sender
 Receiver
 Medium
 Protocol
MESSAGE
 Information or Data to be communicated
 Can be text, numbers, audio,video or any
combination of these
 In short anything that can be represented
using binary bits
SENDER
 Device that sends the data message
Can be a Computer , Workstation,Video camera
etc
RECEIVER
 Device that receives the message
 Can be a computer, workstation, Television
etc
 At times, the data received from the
transmission medium may not be in a proper
form to be supplied to the receiver and it must
be processed
MEDIUM

 Physical path that a message uses to travel from

the Sender to the Receiver
 Can be a Copper Cable (Telephone), Coaxial Cable
(Cable TV), Fiber Optic Cable, LASERS or Radio
Waves (Wireless Medium)
 We will see that Data needs to be transferred in
the form of ELECTROMAGNETIC signals and The
Transmission Medium should be capable of
carrying these EM Signals
 Transmission Media
Medium Speed Cost

Twisted Wire 300bps-10Mbps Low

Transmission Media

Microwave 256Kbps-100Mbps Low

Coaxial Cable 56Kbps-200Mbps Low

Fiber Optic Cable 500Kbps-10Gbps High

Protocol

 It is an agreed upon set or rules used by the

sender and receiver to communicate data.
 A protocol is a set of rules that governs data
communication.
 A Protocol is a necessity in data
communications without which the
communicating entities are like two persons
trying to talk to each other in a different
language without know the other language.
 In computer networks, communication occurs between
entities in different systems.
 An entity is anything capable of sending or receiving
information. However, two entities cannot simply send
bit streams to each other and expect to be
understood. Thus, for communication to occur, the
entities must agree on a protocol. Therefore, a
protocol is a set of rules that govern data
communications.
 A protocol defines: what is communicated, how it is
communicated, & when it is communicated.
elements of a protocol:

There are three elements of a protocol:

 Syntax: The term syntax refers to the structure or
format of the data, meaning the order in which they are
presented.
 Semantics: The word semantics refers to the
meaning of each section of bits. How is a particular
pattern to be interpreted, and what action is to be
taken based on that interpretation?
 Timing: The term timing refers to two
characteristics: when data should be sent and how
fast they can be sent.
Terminologies
Session: communication dialog between network users
or applications .
Node: a network-attached device .Node can be any
device in the network . A node can be a computer,
printer, or any other device capable of sending and / or
receiving data generated by other nodes on the network.
computer NETWORK :
It is a set of devices (Nodes) connected by
Communication Links. The link may be wired or wireless .
Link:
 connects adjacent nodes Wires, Cables, Any thing that physically connects
two nodes. The links connecting Nodes are called COMMUNICATION
CHANNELS
Path:
 end-to-end route within a network

Packetizing:
 dividing messages into fixed-length packets prior to transmission over a
network’s communication media

Routing:
 determining a message’s path from sending to receiving nodes and the
device which does routing is called router .
Networks- Why we need them?
 It is often impractical for devices to be directly connected for two
major reasons:

 The devices are very far apart. They are expensive to connect just
two devices with one in Lahore and other in Islamabad

 Large set of devices would need impractical number of

connections e .g. Telephone Lines in the world and all the computers
owned by a single organization

 Solution to the Problem=Networks

Solution is to connect all devices to a central system known as a

NETWORK in which all terminals or computers share the links.
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Factors That Affect The Performance Of A
Network
 performance of a network depends on a
number of factors,
 Number of users
 Type of transmission medium
 Capabilities of the connected hardware
 Efficiency of software.
Number of USERS
 Large Number of concurrent users slow
network
Type of Transmission Medium
 Medium defines speed at which data can
travel Fiber Optic Cable high data rate as
compared to twisted pair and coax.
 hardware
Effect speed and the capacity of transmission
Fast computer with large storage capacity
Software
 software processes data at sender , receiver
and intermediate nodes
 All communication steps need software:
Moving message from node to node
 Transforming, Processing at the sender and
receiver Error Free Delivery
 Well designed software can speed up the
process.
Factors That Affect The Reliability Of A Network.

 Frequency of failure
 Recovery time of a network after a failure.
 Catastrophe e.g Fire , Earthquake or Theft
Factors That Affect The Security Of A
Network.
 Network security issues include protecting
data from unauthorized access and viruses.
 Protection at multiple levels:
 Lower level: Passwords and user ID codes
Upper Level: Encryption (plain text ,cypertext)