Unit- I

Fundamentals of Data Communication and Computer Network

1.1Process of data communication and its components:
Process of data communication
Data communications are the exchange of data between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as a wire cable or wireless.
For data communications to occur, the communicating devices must be part of a
communication system made up of a combination of hardware (physical equipment) and
software (programs).
The four fundamental characteristics of a data communications system:
1) Delivery: The data should be delivered to the correct destination and correct user.
2) 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.
3) 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.
4) Jitter: It is the variation in the packet arrival time. Uneven Jitter may affect the
timeliness of data being transmitted.
Components
A data communications system has five components.

1. Message. The message is the information (data) to be communicated. Popular forms of

information include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and video.
2. Sender. The sender is the device that sends the data message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset, video camera, and so on.
3. Receiver. The receiver is the device that receives the message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset, television, and so on.
4. Transmission medium. The transmission medium is the physical path by which a
message travels from sender to receiver. Some examples of transmission media include
twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, fibre-optic cable, and radio waves.
5. Protocol. A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. It represents an
agreement between the communicating devices. Without a protocol, two devices may be
connected but not communicating, just as a person speaking French cannot be understood
by a person who speaks only Japanese.
1.2 Definitions
Protocols
A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. A protocol defines what is
communicated, how it is communicated, and when it is communicated.
“It is set of rules and conventions. Sender and receiver in data communication must agree
on common set of rules before they can communicate with each other.”
The key elements of a protocol are:
a) Syntax (what is to be communicated)
The term syntax refers to the structure or format of the data, meaning the order in which
they are presented. For example, a simple protocol might expect the first 8 bits of data to
be the address of the sender, the second 8 bits to be the address of the receiver, and the
rest of the stream to be the message itself.
b) Semantics (how is it to be communicated)
The word semantics refers to the meaning of each section of bits. How are a particular
pattern to be interpreted, and what action is to be taken based on that interpretation? For
example, does an address identify the route to be taken or the final destination of the
message?
c) Timing (When it should be communicated)
The term timing refers to two characteristics: when data should be sent and how fast they
can be sent. For example, if a sender produces data at 100 Mbps but the receiver can
process data at only 1 Mbps, the transmission will overload the receiver and some data
will be lost
Standards
Standards are essential in creating and maintaining an open and competitive market for
equipment Manufacturers and in guaranteeing national and international interoperability
of data and telecommunication technology and processes.
They provide guidelines to manufacturers, Vendors, govt. agencies and other service
providers to ensure the kind of interconnectivity necessary in today’s market place and in
international communication.
Standard organizations
1. International standard organization (ISO)
2. American National Standard institute (ANSI)
3. Institute of electrical & electronics engineers (IEEE)
4. The Electronics Industries Association. (EIA)
5. The International Telecommunications Union – Telecommunications Standard Sector
(ITU-T)
Functions:
ISO: - Standard Creation Organization. ISO is a non-profitable organization. OSI model
as a networking protocol is contribution of ISO.
ITU-T: - Created to resolve issues related to incompatibility of individual nations
standard for data communication. V-series for modems, ISDN (Integrated Services
Digital Network), are contribution of ITU-T
ANSI: - A private non-profit organization undertaking projects for social benefits of the
US citizens. Professional groups, Industry representatives, government regulatory bodies
and consumer groups represent ANSI.
IEEE: - Focuses on development in Electric & Electronic Engineering & radio services.
Also supervises the development and adoption of International computer and
communication standards.
EIA: - Non- profitable organization focuses on public awareness & lobbying for
standards. Main contribution is development of Interfaces for physical connections and
electronic signal specifications for data communications.
 Bandwidth
It is difference between highest & lowest frequencies contained in information.
bandwidth of channel is difference between highest & lowest frequency supported by that
channel.
Data Transmission Rate
The speed with which data can be transmitted from one device to another.
Data rates are often measured in megabits (million bits) or megabytes (million bytes) per
second. These are usually abbreviated as Mbps and Mbps respectively.
Another term for data transfer rate is throughput.
Baud Rate
It is the rate of change of a signal on the transmission medium after the encoding and
modulation in a data communication system.
OR
Baud Rate is the number of Signal Units / Sec
Bits per second
Bit rate is the number of bits transmitted during one second in the data communication
system and it is expressed in bits per second.
1.3Modes of Communication
Simplex
In these systems, the information is communicated only in one direction, called as
simplex system eg. TV broadcasting or radio.

Half Duplex
In these systems, the information is communicated only by one party in one direction, &
another party cannot transmit until current sender releases transmission link called as
simplex system eg. Walky-Talky, FAX.
Transmission one at a time but both way

Full Duplex
In these systems, both parties involved in communication can send and receive data
simultaneously eg. Mobile communication, telephone, Computer Communication.
Transmission both ways.
 Synchronous communication Asynchronous communication
In Synchronous Transmission, data is sent In Asynchronous Transmission, data is
in form of blocks or frames. sent in form of byte or character.
Sender and Receiver use the same clock Does not need clock signal between the
signal sender and the receiver
It is more efficient and more reliable than
In this transmission start bits and stop
asynchronous transmission to transfer the
bits are added with data.
large amount of data.

Synchronous transmission is fast. Asynchronous transmission is slow.

In Synchronous transmission, time interval In asynchronous transmission, time
of transmission is constant. interval of transmission is not constant, it
is random.

1.4 Analog Signal, Digital Signal

Analog Signal
An analog signal has infinitely many levels of intensity over a period of time. As the
wave moves from value A to value B, it passes through and includes an infinite number
of values along its path.

Digital Signal
A digital signal can have only a limited number of defined values. Although each value
can be any number, it is often as simple as 1 and 0.
Analog and Digital Transmission:
Analog to Digital Conversion
Microphones create analog voice and camera creates analog videos, which are treated as
analog data. To transmit this analog data over digital signals, we need analog-to-digital
conversion.
Analog data is a continuous stream of data in the wave form whereas digital data is
discrete. To convert analog wave into digital data, we use Pulse Code Modulation (PCM).
PCM is one of the most commonly used method to convert analog data into digital form.
It involves three steps namely, Sampling, Quantization and Encoding.
1. Sampling:
The analog signal is sampled every T interval. Most important factor in sampling is the
rate at which analog signal is sampled.
According to Nyquist Theorem, the sampling rate must be at least two times of the
highest frequency of the signal.

Fig: Sampling
2. Quantization:
Sampling yields discrete form of continuous analog signal. Every discrete pattern shows
the amplitude of the analog signal at that instance.
The quantization is done between the maximum amplitude value and the minimum
amplitude value. Quantization is approximation of the instantaneous analog value.

Fig: Quantization
3. Encoding:
In encoding, each approximated value is then converted into binary format.

Fig: Encoding
Digital to Analog Conversion
• The process of changing one or more the attributes of analog signal based on
information in digital data is referred to as digital-to-analog conversion. It is also called as
the modulation of the digital signal.
• Depending on whether the amplitude, frequency or phase of the carrier signal is
modified. Digital-to-analog conversion is the process of changing one of the
characteristics of an analog signal based on the information in digital data.
• Fig. 1 shows the relationship between the digital information, the digital-to-analog
modulating process, and the resultant analog signal.
• The digital-to-analog conversion is done by modem. Modem stands for modulator and
demodulator.
• A modulator uses some coding scheme and converts a digital signal into an analog
signal and demodulator converts the analog signal back into the digital signal.

Fig 1: Digital to Analog Conversion in Data Communication

Amplitude: It is the value of the signal at different instants of time. It is measured in
volts.
Frequency: It is inverse of the time period, i.e. f = 1/T. The unit of frequency is Hertz
(Hz) or cycles per second.
Phase: It gives a measure of the relative position in time of two signals within a single
period. It is represented by φ in degrees or radian.
There are three kinds of digital-to-analog conversions possible as given below:
1 Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK):
• In this conversion technique, the amplitude of analog carrier signal is modified to
reflect binary data, (See Fig.2).
• When binary data represents digit 1, the amplitude is held otherwise it is set to 0. Both
frequency and phase remain same as in the original carrier signal.

Fig 2: Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK)

Advantages of ASK:
(i) Very simple to generate and detect.
(ii) ASK is a relatively low-cost modulation technique.
Disadvantages of ASK:
(i) ASK is very sensitive to noise.
(ii) ASK has low quality of digital modulation.
2 Frequency Shift Keying (FSK):
• In this conversion technique, the frequency of the analog carrier signal is modified to
reflect binary data, (See Fig. 3).
• FSK technique uses two frequencies, f1 and f2. One of them, for example f1, is
chosen to a represent binary digit 1 and the other one is used to represent binary digit 0.
Both amplitude and phase remain same as in the original carrier signal.

Fig 3: Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)

Advantages of FSK:
(i) FSK has better noise immunity than ASK.
(ii) ASK is simple and easy to implement/generate.
Disadvantages of FSK:
(i) FSK require high bandwidth.
(ii) FSK is preferred only for the low speed modems.
3 Phase Shift Keying (PSK):
• In this conversion technique, the phase of the original carrier signal is altered to
reflect the binary data, (See Fig. 4).
• When a new binary symbol is encountered, the phase of the signal is altered.
Amplitude and frequency remain same as in the original carrier signal.

Fig4: Phase Shift Keying (PSK)

Advantages of PSK:
(i) High data rate of transmission can be achieved using high level of PSK modulations
such as QPSK.
(ii) Efficient modulation technique as compared to ASK and FSK.
Disadvantages of PSK:
 (i) PSK has lower bandwidth efficiency.
(ii) Multilevel scheme in PSK are more sensitive to phase variations.

[Link] ANALOG SIGNAL DIGITAL SIGNAL

An analog signal has infinitely many
A digital signal has only a limited
1 levels of intensity over a period of
number of values along its value.
time.
As the wave moves from value A to
value B. it passes through and Although each value can be any
2 includes an infinite number of values number, it is often as simple as 1 and 0.
along its path.
3 Analog signals are higher density. Digital signals are lower density.
4 Loss and Distortion is high. Loss and Distortion is low.
Analog signals are less secure as
5 compare with Digital signal.
Digital signals are more secure
Less bandwidth is require for High bandwidth is requiring for
6 transmission transmission.
7 synchronization not present synchronization present.

1.5 Fundamentals of Computer Network-

Definition
A computer network is a group of computer systems and other computing hardware
devices that are linked together through communication channels to make easy
communication and resource-sharing among a wide range of users.
Need of Computer Network
a. File sharing: Networking of computers helps the users to share data files.
b. Hardware sharing: Users can share devices such as printers, scanners, CD-ROM
drives, hard drives etc.
c. Application sharing: Applications can be shared over the network, and this allows to
implement client/server applications
d. User communication: Networks allow users to communicate using e-mail,
newsgroups, and video conferencing etc.
e. Network gaming: A lot of network games are available, which allow multi-users to
play from different locations.
f. Communication and collaboration: A network allow employees to share files, view
other people's work, and exchange ideas more efficiently. In a larger office, you can use
e-mail and instant messaging tools to communicate quickly and to store messages for
future reference.
 g. Organization: A variety of scheduling software is available that makes it possible to
arrange meetings without constantly checking everyone's schedules. This software
usually includes other helpful features, such as shared address books and to-do lists.
Applications
1. W.W.W.
2. Real Time Applications
3. Video Conference
4. E-Business
5. E-Mail
6. File Sharing
7. Searchable Data (Web Sites)
8. E-Commerce
9. News Groups
10. Internet Telephony (VoIP)
11. Chat Groups
12. Instant Messengers
13. Internet Radio
Network Benefits
1. File Sharing
File sharing is the primary feature of network. Due to use of networks, the sharing of files
becomes easier. File sharing requires a shared directory or disk drive to which many users
can access over the network. When many users are accessing the same file on the
network, more than one person can make changes to a file at the same time. They might
both making conflicting changes simultaneously.
2. E-mail
E-mail is extremely valuable & important feature for communication within organization
or outside the people in world. E-mail service can be used by user in two different ways:
1. File based 2. Client
1 File based e-mail system requires gateway server for connecting or handling the e-mail
interface between the two systems using gateway software that is part of the file-based e-
mail system.
2 A client-server e-mail system is one where an e-mail server containing the messages &
handles all incoming & outgoing mail. It is more secure & powerful than file based e-mail
system.
3. Printer Sharing:
Printer sharing is useful to many users as they can share costly & higher quality printers.
Printer sharing can be done in several different ways on network. The most common way
is to use printer queues on server. The printer queue holds print job until any currently
running print jobs are finished & then automatically send the waiting jobs to the printer
i.e. printer connected to server. Another way to share printer on a network is that each
workstation accesses the printer directly.
4. Application Services:
You can also share application on a network. For example, you can have a shared copy of
Microsoft office or some other application & keep it on the network server.
 Another application services you can have on the network is shared installation i.e.
contents of CD-ROM copy to the server, then run the installation the installing
application much faster & more convenient.
5. Remote access
Using this feature user can access their file & e-mail, when they are travelling or working
on remote location. It enables users to access to centralized application, stored private or
shared files on LAN.
6. Internet & Intranet
Internet: It is public network. This consists of thousands of individual networks &
millions of computers located around the world. Internets have many different types of
services available such as e-mail, the web & Usenet newsgroups.
Intranet: It is private network or it is company’s own network. Company use this feature
for internal use. For example: company establish its own web server, for placing
documents such as employee handbooks, purchases form or other information that
company publishes for internal use. It also has internet services such as FTP servers or
Usenet servers
7. Network security: Internal & External
1.6 Classification of Network:
LAN
LAN is local area network. LAN is privately-owned networks covering a small
geographic area (less than 1 km), like a home, office, building or group of buildings.
LAN transmits data with a speed of several megabits per second. LANs are distinguished
from other kinds of networks by three characteristics:
(1) Their size,
(2) Their transmission technology, and
(3) Their topology

Advantages:
1. The reliability of network is high because the failure of the computer in the network
does not affect the functioning for other computers.
2. Addition of new computer to network is easy.
3. High rate of data transmission is possible.
4. Less expensive to install.
Disadvantage
1. Power - a good LAN is required to be on all the times.
2. Security - each computer and device become another point of entry for undesirables.
3. Investment in Higher Costs due to server systems.
4. Frustration if having a problem setting up.
5. A lot of times a network shares one Internet connection - if all computers running at
once, can reduce speed for each.
 6. Area covered is limited.

MAN
A Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is a large computer network that distances a
metropolitan area or campus. A MAN typically covers an area up to 10 km (city). The
best example of MAN is the cable Television network, available in many cities. For an
organization, the common use of a MAN is to extend their LAN connectivity between
buildings/offices that are within the same city or urban area (hence the name Metropolitan
Area Network). The organization can pass their Ethernet frames to the service provider
MAN; the service provider will carry their frames across the MAN; and then deliver the
frames to the destination site. From the customer's point of view, the MAN looks like one
big (long) Ethernet link between their offices. The different sites could belong to the same
IP subnet, and from the customer's viewpoint, no routing is required between their sites.

Advantages:
1. MAN distances large geographical area than LAN.
2. MAN falls in between the LAN and WAN hence, increases the efficiency at handling
data.
WAN
WAN is wide area network. WAN is a long-distance communication
network that covers a wide geographic area, such as state or country. The
most common example is internet. A WAN provides long-distance
transmission of data, voice, image and video information over larger
geographical areas that may comprise a country or even whole world.

Advantages:
1. WAN can connect the computer to a wider area geographically.
2. WAN shares software & resources with connecting workstations.
1.7 Network Architecture:
Peer-to-Peer
Peer networks are deficiency of central control over network. There are no fixed division
into client & server. In this individual who forms a loose group can communicate with
other in the group as shown in fig.

Each computer is responsible for accessing & maintaining its own security & resources.
In Peer-to- Peer network every computer can function both as client & server. In this type
of network user simply share disk space & resources.
1. Peer to Peer networks do not have a central control system. There are no servers in peer
networks.
2. In this type of network users simply share disk space and resources, such as printers
and faxes.
3. Peer networks are organized into workgroups. Workgroup have very little security.
There is no central login process.
4. If the user has logged into one peer on the network he can use any resources on the
network that are not controlled by a specific password.
5. Access to individual resource can be controlled if the user who shared the resources
requires a password to access it.
6. Since there is on central security, the user will have to know individual password for
each secured shared resource he wishes to access.

The peer to peer network is suitable/used for the following working conditions.
1. If security is not important.
2. If the number of users is less than 10.
3. If all the users are situated in the same area.
4. If the possibility of future expansion is less.
Advantages:
1. No extra investment in server hardware & software is required.
2. Easy setup.
3. No network administrator required.
Disadvantages:
1. Additional load due to sharing of resources.
2. Deficiency of central organization, which can make data hard to find.
3. Weak security.

Client Server Network

Definitions: -
server: “The central computer which is more powerful than the clients & which allows
the clients to access its software & database is called as the server.”
Client: “The employees have simpler machines, called clients, on their desks, with which
they access remote data.”
Client-server model
Server based networks are defined by presence of servers on a network that provides
security & administration of network. Server-based network divide processing takes
between client & servers. Client request service such as file printing & servers deliver
them. Servers are more powerful than client computers.

Advantages:
1. Strong central security
2. Ability to share expensive equipment’s such as printer.
3. Ability of server to pull available hardware & software.
4. Easy manageability of large user.
Disadvantages:
1. Expensive dedicated hardware.
2. Expensive network operating system software & client license.
3. A dedicated network administrator.