CHAPTER THREE

Communication Network Architecture and Transmission Media

Communication Network Architecture refers to the structural design of communication networks, defining
how different network components interact to provide seamless data transmission. It includes the
organization, protocols, and technologies that enable efficient communication among devices.

Types of Network Architectures

1. Centralized Architecture - A single central node controls communication within the

network, commonly seen in traditional mainframe-based systems.
2. Distributed Architecture - Multiple nodes share control, improving scalability and fault
tolerance.
3. Hybrid Architecture - Combines aspects of both centralized and distributed models,
enhancing flexibility.
Components of Communication Networks
 End Devices- Includes computers, smartphones, and IoT devices.
 Transmission Media- Wired (fiber optics, coaxial cables) and wireless (radio waves,
microwaves).
 Network Nodes - Routers, switches, and gateways are responsible for data forwarding and
network management.
 Protocols and Standards- TCP/IP, Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), ensuring interoperability and
communication efficiency
 Network Topologies: Network topology refers to the arrangement or structure of devices and
connections in a network. Common topologies include: Bus, Star, Ring, Mesh, and Tree.

Network Line Configuration

Network line configurations define how data is transmitted across a network and the physical or logical
connection between devices. The two main types of line configurations are:

Point-to-Point Configuration

In a point-to-point configuration, a direct connection exists between two devices, allowing for a dedicated
communication link. This configuration is commonly used in private communication systems, such as
leased lines and direct communication links.

Multipoint Configuration

In a multipoint configuration, multiple devices share a single communication channel. The communication
is broadcast to all devices on the network, and only the intended recipient processes the data. This setup
is often used in wireless networks and broadcast systems.

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Networking and Internetworking Devices

Networking devices play an essential role in enabling communication between devices in a network. Each
device serves a unique function to ensure efficient data transmission and connection management.

Repeaters

Repeaters are used to amplify and extend signals in long-distance communication. They regenerate signals
to prevent attenuation over extended distances, ensuring data reaches its destination.

Bridges

Bridges connect two or more network segments, filtering traffic based on MAC addresses. They improve
network efficiency by dividing a large network into smaller, more manageable segments.

Switches

Switches operate at the data link layer and facilitate the transmission of data frames between devices
within a network. They manage traffic between devices and reduce collisions, improving the overall
network performance.

Routers

Routers are used to connect different networks, directing packets based on their IP addresses. They are
essential for routing data across the internet and other large networks, ensuring data reaches the correct
destination.

Gateways

Gateways act as intermediaries between different networks that may use different communication
protocols. They enable communication between networks with distinct architectures, translating between
different network protocols as needed.

Connection-Oriented and Connectionless Services

Communication services can be broadly classified into two categories: connection-oriented and
connectionless.

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Connection-Oriented Services

Connection-oriented services require a dedicated communication path between the sender and receiver.
Examples include TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), which ensures reliable data transfer by
establishing a connection before data transmission.

Connectionless Services

Connectionless services do not require a dedicated connection, and data is sent without establishing a
formal connection. UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is an example, offering faster but less reliable
communication.

Routing Strategies

Routing in data communication and computer networking involves determining the best path for data to
travel from source to destination. Several routing strategies are employed to optimize data flow, minimize
latency, and ensure reliable delivery. Below are the main routing strategies:

Fixed routing

In fixed routing, a single permanent route is established for each source-destination pair in the network.
In this case, the routing table of each network device is static, meaning it will not change once assigned.
These routes can be calculated using a shortest path algorithm based on a cost criterion, or for simple
networks, they can be manually assigned by the network administrator. Fixed routing is a simple scheme
that works well in a reliable network with a stable load. However, it does not respond to network failures
or changes in network load, such as congestion.

Flooding Routing

Another simple routing technique is flooding, which requires no network information at all. It works as
follows: a packet is sent by the source to each of its adjacent nodes. At each node, incoming packets are
retransmitted to every outgoing link except the one on which they arrived. If a duplicate packet arrives at
a node, it is discarded. This identification is made possible by attaching a unique identifier to each packet.
With flooding, all possible routes between the source and the destination are tried, so long as a path exists,
at least one packet will reach the destination. This makes flooding a highly robust technique, sometimes
used to send emergency information. Furthermore, at least one packet will have used the least-cost route.

Random Routing

Random routing combines the simplicity and robustness of flooding with far less traffic load. In random
routing, instead of each node forwarding packets to all outgoing links, the node selects only one link for
transmission. This link is chosen at random, excluding the link on which the packet arrived. Often, the
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decision is completely random, but a refinement of this technique involves applying a probability to each
link, which could be based on a performance criterion such as throughput. Like flooding, random routing
requires no network information, and the traffic generated is much reduced compared to flooding.
However, unlike flooding, random routing is not guaranteed to find the shortest route from the source to
the destination.

Adaptive routing

Adaptive routing refers to routing decisions that change as network conditions change. In almost all
packet-switching networks, some form of adaptive routing is used. The two principal factors that
influence changes in routing decisions are node or link failure and congestion (when a particular link
has a heavy load, it is desirable to route packets away from that link). For example, if a link between
node A and node B fails, adaptive routing algorithms will automatically find an alternative route to
ensure data continues to flow. Similarly, if a link experiences congestion, the routing decision may
change to avoid that link, routing packets through less congested paths. At the heart of any routing
protocol is the routing algorithm, which finds the best path from the source router to the destination
router. Two examples of adaptive routing strategies are the link-state routing algorithm and the
distance-vector routing algorithm. In the link-state algorithm, each node shares information about its
directly connected links, and every node in the network builds a complete map of the network to find
the shortest path. For instance, if node A wants to send data to node D, it will use the map to calculate
the most efficient route. In the distance-vector algorithm, each node shares its distance table with
neighbors, and the nodes update their tables based on the information received. The algorithm for a
source node A follows: Initialization: N = {A}; for all nodes v: If v is adjacent to A, then D(v) =
C(A,v); otherwise, D(v) = ∞. In the loop, it finds node w not in N such that D(w) is a minimum, adds
w to N, and updates D(v) for all v adjacent to w and not in N: D(v) = min(D(v), D(w) + c(w,v)),
meaning the new cost to node v is either the old cost or the known shortest path cost from node w to
node v plus the cost from w to v. The algorithm is distributed, meaning each node receives information
from its neighbors, performs calculations, and shares the results. It is iterative, meaning the process
continues until no more information is exchanged between neighbors, and asynchronous, meaning
nodes do not need to operate in lockstep with each other. For example, node A might share its distance
table with node B, and after performing its calculations, node A updates its neighbors with the new
data. Each node’s distance table has a row for each destination and a column for each of its directly
attached neighbors. Consider node X routing to destination Y via directly attached neighbor Z. Node
X’s distance table entry, Dx(Y,Z), is the sum of the cost of the direct link between X and Z, c(X,Z),
plus neighbor Z’s known minimum-cost path from Z to Y: Dx(Y,Z) = c(X,Z) + minw{Dz(Y,w)},
where the minw term is taken over all of Z’s directly attached neighbors, including X.

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The transmission media is nothing but the physical media over which communication takes place in
computer networks.

Magnetic/Guided Media

One of the most convenient way to transfer data from one computer to another, even before the
birth of networking, was to save it on some storage media and transfer physical from one station
to another. Though it may seem old-fashion way in today’s world of high speed internet, but when
the size of data is huge, the magnetic media comes into play.
For example, a bank has to handle and transfer huge data of its customer, which stores a backup
of it at some geographically far-away place for security reasons and to keep it from uncertain
calamities. If the bank needs to store its huge backup data, then its transfer through internet is not
feasible. The WAN links may not support such high speed. Even if they do; the cost is too high to
afford.
In these cases, data backup is stored onto magnetic tapes or magnetic discs and then shifted
physically at remote places.

Twisted Pair Cable

A twisted pair cable is made of two plastic-insulated copper wires twisted together to form a single
media. Out of these two wires, only one carries an actual signal, and another is used for ground
reference. The twists between wires are helpful in reducing noise (electro-magnetic interference)
and crosstalk.

There are two types of twisted pair cables:

 Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Cable
 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable
STP cables come with twisted wire pairs covered in metal foil. This makes it more indifferent to noise
and crosstalk.
UTP has seven categories, each suitable for specific use. In computer networks, Cat-5, Cat-5e, and
Cat-6 cables are mostly used. UTP cables are connected by RJ45 connectors.
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 Coaxial Cable
A coaxial cable has two wires of copper. The core wire lies in the center, and it is made of solid
conductor. The core is enclosed in an insulating sheath. The second wire is wrapped around over
the sheath, and that too, in turn, is encased by an insulator sheath. This all is covered by plastic
cover.

Because of its structure, the coax cable is capable of carrying high frequency signals than that of
twisted pair cable. The wrapped structure provides it a good shield against noise and cross talk.
Coaxial cables provide high bandwidth rates of up to 450 mbps.
There are three categories of coax cables namely, RG-59 (Cable TV), RG-58 (Thin Ethernet), and
RG-11 (Thick Ethernet). RG stands for Radio Government.
Cables are connected using BNC connector and BNC-T. BNC terminator is used to terminate the
wire at the far ends.
Power Lines
Power Line communication (PLC) is Layer-1 (Physical Layer) technology which uses power
cables to transmit data signals. In PLC, modulated data is sent over the cables. The receiver on the
other end de-modulates and interprets the data.
Because power lines are widely deployed, PLC can make all powered devices controlled and
monitored. PLC works in half-duplex.
There are two types of PLCs:
Narrow band PLC
Broad band PLC

Narrow band PLC provides lower data rates up to 100s of kbps, as they work at lower
frequencies (3-5000 kHz). They can be spread over several kilometers.
Broadband PLC provides higher data rates up to 100s of Mbps and works at higher frequencies
(1.8 – 250 MHz). They cannot be as much extended as Narrowband PLC.
Fiber Optics
Fiber Optic works on the properties of light. When light ray hits at critical angle, it tends to
refracts at 90 degree. This property has been used in fiber optic. The core of fiber optic cable is

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 Made of high quality glass or plastic. From one end of it light is emitted, it travels through it and
at the other end light detector detects light stream and converts it to electric data.
Fiber Optic provides the highest mode of speed. It comes in two modes, one is single mode fiber
and second is multimode fiber. Single mode fiber can carry a single ray of light whereas multimode
is capable of carrying multiple beams of light.

Fiber Optic also comes in unidirectional and bidirectional capabilities. To connect and access fiber
optic special type of connectors are used. These can be Subscriber Channel (SC), Straight Tip
(ST), or MT-RJ.

Wireless Transmission
Wireless transmission is a form of unguided media. Wireless communication involves no physical
link established between two or more devices, communicating wirelessly. Wireless signals are
spread over in the air and are received and interpreted by appropriate antennas.
When an antenna is attached to electrical circuit of a computer or wireless device, it converts the
digital data into wireless signals and spread all over within its frequency range. The receptor on
the other end receives these signals and converts them back to digital data.
A little part of electromagnetic spectrum can be used for wireless transmission.

Radio Transmission
Radio frequency is easier to generate and because of its large wavelength it can penetrate through
walls and structures alike. Radio waves can have wavelength from 1mm – 100,000km and have
frequency ranging from 3Hz (Extremely Low Frequency) to 300 GHz (Extremely
HighFrequency). Radio frequencies are sub-divided into six bands.

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Radio waves at lower frequencies can travel through walls whereas higher RF can travel in straight
line and bounce back. The power of low frequency waves decreases sharply as they cover long
distance. High frequency radio waves have more power.
Lower frequencies such as VLF, LF, MF bands can travel on the ground up to 1000 kilometers, over
the earth’s surface.

Radio waves of high frequencies are prone to be absorbed by rain and other obstacles. They use
Ionosphere of earth atmosphere. High frequency radio waves such as HF and VHF bands are
spread upwards. When they reach Ionosphere, they are refracted back to the earth.

Microwave Transmission
Electromagnetic waves above 100MHz tend to travel in a straight line and signals over them can
be sent by beaming those waves towards one particular station. Because Microwaves travels in
straight lines, both sender and receiver must be aligned to be strictly in line-of-sight.
Microwaves can have wavelength ranging from 1mm – 1meter and frequency ranging from
300MHz to 300GHz.

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 Microwave antennas concentrate the waves making a beam of it. As shown in picture
above, multiple antennas can be aligned to reach farther. Microwaves have higher
frequencies and do not penetrate wall like obstacles.
Microwave transmission depends highly upon the weather conditions and the frequency it
is using.
Infrared Transmission
Infrared wave lies in between visible light spectrum and microwaves. It has wavelength of
700nm to 1mm and frequency ranges from 300GHz to 430THz.
Infrared wave is used for very short range communication purposes such as television and
its remote. Infrared travels in a straight line hence it is directional by nature. Because of
high frequency range, Infrared cannot cross wall-like obstacles.
Light Transmission
Highest most electromagnetic spectrum which can be used for data transmission is light or
optical signaling. This is achieved by means of LASER.
Because of frequency light uses, it tends to travel strictly in straight line. Hence the sender
and receiver must be in the line-of-sight. Because laser transmission is unidirectional, at
both ends of communication the laser and the photo-detector needs to be installed. Laser
beam is generally 1mm wide hence it is a work of precision to align two far receptors each
pointing to lasers source.

Laser works as TX (transmitter), and photo-detectors work as Rx (receiver).

Lasers cannot penetrate obstacles such as walls, rain, and thick fog. Additionally, the laser
beam is distorted by wind, atmosphere temperature, or variation in temperature in the path.
Laser is safe for data transmission as it is very difficult to tap a 1mm wide laser without
interrupting the communication channel.

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