Chapter 3
Data and Signals
3.1 Copyright The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Note
To be transmitted, data must be
transformed to electromagnetic signals.
3.2
31ANALOGANDDIGITAL
Data can be analog or digital. The term analog data refers
to information that is continuous; digital data refers to
information that has discrete states. Analog data take on
continuous values. Digital data take on discrete values.
Topics discussed in this section:
Analog and Digital Data
Analog and Digital Signals
Periodic and Nonperiodic Signals
3.3
Note
Data can be analog or digital.
Analog data are continuous and take
continuous values.
Digital data have discrete states and
take discrete values.
3.4
Note
Signals can be analog or digital.
Analog signals can have an infinite
number of values in a range; digital
signals can have only a limited
number of values.
3.5
Figure 3.1 Comparison of analog and digital signals
3.6
Note
In data communications, we commonly
use periodic analog signals and
nonperiodic digital signals.
3.7
32PERIODICANALOGSIGNALS
Periodic analog signals can be classified as simple or
composite. A simple periodic analog signal, a sine wave,
cannot be decomposed into simpler signals. A composite
periodic analog signal is composed of multiple sine
waves.
Topics discussed in this section:
Sine Wave
Wavelength
Time and Frequency Domain
Composite Signals
Bandwidth
3.8
Figure 3.2 A sine wave
3.9
Note
Frequency and period are the inverse of
each other.
3.10
Note
Frequency is the rate of change with
respect to time.
Change in a short span of time
means high frequency.
Change over a long span of
time means low frequency.
3.11
Note
If a signal does not change at all, its
frequency is zero.
If a signal changes instantaneously, its
frequency is infinite.
3.12
Note
Phase describes the position of the
waveform relative to time 0.
3.13
Figure 3.5 Three sine waves with the same amplitude and frequency,
but different phases
3.14
Figure 3.6 Wavelength and period
3.15
Figure 3.7 The time-domain and frequency-domain plots of a sine wave
3.16
Note
A complete sine wave in the time
domain can be represented by one
single spike in the frequency domain.
3.17
Note
The bandwidth of a composite signal is
the difference between the
highest and the lowest frequencies
contained in that signal.
3.18
33DIGITALSIGNALS
In addition to being represented by an analog signal,
information can also be represented by a digital signal.
For example, a 1 can be encoded as a positive voltage
and a 0 as zero voltage. A digital signal can have more
than two levels. In this case, we can send more than 1 bit
for each level.
Topics discussed in this section:
Bit Rate
Bit Length
Digital Signal as a Composite Analog Signal
Application Layer
3.19
Figure 3.16 Two digital signals: one with two signal levels and the other
with four signal levels
3.20
Note
Appendix C reviews information about
Appendix C reviews information about exponential and logarithmic
exponential and functions.
logarithmic functions.
3.21
Figure 3.18 Baseband transmission
3.22
Note
A digital signal is a composite analog
signal with an infinite bandwidth.
3.23
Figure 3.19 Bandwidths of two low-pass channels
3.24
Figure 3.20 Baseband transmission using a dedicated medium
3.25
Note
Baseband transmission of a digital
signal that preserves the shape of the
digital signal is possible only if we have
a low-pass channel with an infinite or
very wide bandwidth.
3.26
Note
In baseband transmission, the required
In baseband transmission, the required bandwidth is proportional to
bandwidth is proportional the bit rate; to the bit rate;
if we
if weneed to send
need to send bits
bits faster, faster,
we need we need
more bandwidth.
more bandwidth.
3.27
Table 3.2 Bandwidth requirements
3.28
Figure 3.23 Bandwidth of a bandpass channel
3.29
Note
If the available channel is a bandpass
channel, we cannot send the digital
signal directly to the channel;
we need to convert the digital signal to
an analog signal before transmission.
3.30
Figure 3.24 Modulation of a digital signal for transmission on a bandpass
channel
3.31
34TRANSMISSIONIMPAIRMENT
Signals travel through transmission media, which are not
perfect. The imperfection causes signal impairment. This
means that the signal at the beginning of the medium is
not the same as the signal at the end of the medium.
What is sent is not what is received. Three causes of
impairment are attenuation, distortion, and noise.
Topics discussed in this section:
Attenuation
Distortion
Noise
3.32
Figure 3.25 Causes of impairment
3.33
Figure 3.26 Attenuation
3.34
Figure 3.28 Distortion
3.35
Figure 3.29 Noise
3.36
Figure 3.30 Two cases of SNR: a high SNR and a low SNR
3.37
35DATARATELIMITS
A very important consideration in data communications
is how fast we can send data, in bits per second, over a
channel. Data rate depends on three factors:
1. The bandwidth available
2. The level of the signals we use
3. The quality of the channel (the level of noise)
Topics discussed in this section:
Noiseless Channel: Nyquist Bit Rate
Noisy Channel: Shannon Capacity
Using Both Limits
3.38
Note
Increasing the levels of a signal may
reduce the reliability of the system.
3.39
Note
The Shannon capacity gives us the
upper limit; the Nyquist formula tells us
how many signal levels we need.
3.40
36PERFORMANCE
One important issue in networking is the performance of
the networkhow good is it? We discuss quality of
service, an overall measurement of network
performance, in greater detail in Chapter 24. In this
section, we introduce terms that we need for future
chapters.
Topics discussed in this section:
Bandwidth
Throughput
Latency (Delay)
Bandwidth-Delay Product
3.41
Note
In networking, we use the term
bandwidth in two contexts.
The first, bandwidth in hertz, refers to
the range of frequencies in a
composite signal or the range of
frequencies that a channel can pass.
The second, bandwidth in bits per
second, refers to the speed of bit
transmission in a channel or link.
3.42
Note
The bandwidth-delay product defines
the number of bits that can fill the link.
3.43
Figure 3.33 Concept of bandwidth-delay product
3.44