Transmission Media
Transmission media is a communication channel that transmits information from the source/transmitter to the receiver |
Wired Media
Type |
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Speed |
Cost |
Use Case |
Twisted Pair |
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Up to 10 Gbps |
Low |
LANs, Telephone |
Coaxial Cable |
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Up to 1 Gbps |
Medium |
Cable TV, broadband |
Fiber Optic |
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Up to 100+ Gbps |
High |
High-speed backbone, ISPs |
Wireless Media
Type |
Range |
Speed |
Use Cases |
Radio Waves |
Short to Medium |
Medium |
WLANs, mobile phones |
Microwaves Unidirectional |
Long |
High |
Satellite links, cellular |
Infrared (IR) |
Very short |
Low |
Remote controls |
Satellite |
Global |
Medium to High |
Global communication |
Types of Parity
Even Parity |
Odd Parity |
Total number of 1s (including parity bit) must be even. |
Total number of 1s (including parity bit) must be odd. |
Limitation: Detects only odd number of bit errors (fails if two bits flip).
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Switching Techniques
Switching is a technique used to transmit data across a network from source to destination. It determines how data is routed and delivered between network devices |
Comparison of Switching Techniques
Circuit |
Packet |
Message |
Dedicated communication path,before data transfer. |
Data is divided into packets sent independently |
Entire message is stored and forwarded. |
Consistent and reliable |
Efficient use of bandwidth. |
No need for a dedicated path. |
Wastes bandwidth when idle. |
Packets may arrive out of order. |
Delays due to store-and-forward. |
Telephone networks |
Internet, VoIP |
Email systems |
Technique Description Advantage Disadvantage Use Case
Hamming Code
Adds redundant bits to detect and correct single-bit errors. |
Steps: |
1. Insert parity bits at positions that are powers of 2 (1, 2, 4, 8...). 2. Calculate parity for overlapping bit groups. |
Example: |
1. Data: 1001 2. }Encoded: _ _ 1 _ 0 0 1 (positions 1,2,4 are parity bits) Calculate parity: |
P1 (positions 1,3,5,7): ? + 1 + 0 + 1 → Even parity → 0 P2 (positions 2,3,6,7): ? + 1 + 0 + 1 → Even parity → 0 P4 (positions 4,5,6,7): ? + 0 + 0 + 1 → Odd parity → 1 |
Final Hamming code: 0011001 |
Error Correction: Receiver recalculates parity to locate and flip the erroneous bit. |
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Framing
Framing is the process of dividing a continuous stream of data into manageable chunks called frames for transmission. |
Framing Techniques
Technique |
Description |
Character Count |
Frame starts with a count of the number of characters in the frame. |
Byte Stuffing |
Special characters added to distinguish data from control info (e.g., FLAG -> ESC FLAG). |
Bit Stuffing |
Inserts 0 after a sequence of 5 continuous 1s to avoid confusion with frame delimiters. |
Clock-based (SONET) |
Uses synchronization signals to mark frame boundaries. |
Common Error Detection Techniques
Parity Check |
Adds an extra bit (parity bit) to make the total number of 1s even (even parity) or odd (odd parity). |
Error Detection
Error Type |
Description |
Example |
Single-bit |
One bit is flipped (0→1 or 1→0) |
010 → 011 |
Burst Error |
Multiple consecutive bits are corrupted |
001100 → 110011 |
Types of Errors in Networking
Checksum
Sender computes a checksum (sum of data bytes) and appends it to the data. Receiver recalculates and compares. Steps: |
1. Divide data into fixed-size segments (e.g., 16-bit words). 2. Sum all segments (ignore overflow). 3. Take 1’s complement (invert bits) → Checksum. 4. Append checksum to data. |
Limitation: Weak against certain errors (e.g., reordered data).
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