An Introduction to Computer Networking for Teachers

1.4
when + Gerundio = al + Infinitivo//ever increasing =cada vez mayor// send down=enviar//stick= mantener//

Transmitting Data
In this step you’ll learn about serial data transmission, the data rate, and some measures to
make sure that data can reliably be sent across a local wired connection.

Serial transmission

Within a computer, data is represented as a series of electrical voltages: a positive voltage

(5 V or 3.3 V) represents a logic 1, and 0 V represents a logic 0. These logic 1s and 0s are
the binary digits, bits for short, that represent numbers, text, pictures, videos, sounds — all
the information a computer can store and transmit.

Sending data from one computer to another involves putting these series of voltages on a
wire on the first computer, connecting the wire to the second computer, and getting that
computer to ‘read’ the voltage on the wire to check whether 0V or 5 V/3.3 V is being
transmitted. These voltages are called ‘signals’, because they are signalling a binary 1 or 0.

The transmitting and receiving computers need to agree (acordar) how fast the transmitter
will transmit the signals, so that the receiver works at the same rate and can keep up (seguir
el ritmo o el paso) when reading (al leer) the signals that come in.(s.m.o. el relo le avisa en
que momento leer)
This is called serial transmission: the data bits are sent in series, one after the other, on a
single wire. It’s distinct from parallel transmission, which is used inside a computer and
on some early peripherals. Using parallel transmission, several bits are sent at the same
time on their own dedicated wires. These connections are know as ‘busses’ and typically
are 8, 16, or 32 bits wide. Because of the interference between the wires, parallel
transmission only works over short distances.
Data rate and speed

The number of bits a computer sends each second (bits per second, or bps) is called the data
rate; the higher the data rate is, the faster data arrives. In the early days of the internet, data
rates were in the thousands (kilo) of bits per second (kbps). Now common data rates are in
the millions (Mega) or billions (Giga) of bits per second (Mbps or Gbps).

The speed of the signals themselves as (a medida que) they move along the wire is close to
the speed of light. The time it takes for a signal to travel through the transmission system is
called the latency, or delay, and this is usually a few milliseconds.

S.m.o. el data rate tiene q ver con la velocidad a la que se genera y se lee la informacion en
bits,en cambio la velocidad de la señal es la velocidad a la que viaja por el medio de
transmision.

Common misconception (malentendido):

Often the speed of a link, which is measured in bps, is confused with the speed of the
signal.

Nota: https://superuser.com/questions/548327/what-is-the-difference-between-link-speed-and-propagation-speed-of-a-network-lin

Link transmission rate (Data Transmission speed) is the number of bits per second that can be transmitted.

Propagation speed is the speed at which a bit (signal) moves through a medium. It generally is within the range of 2x10^8m/s to less
than the speed of light (3x10^8m/s).

So... Data transmission rate depends on the switch/router that has to push the packet bit-wise onto the link, while the speed at which
the bit travels is called the propagation speed.

Transmissions and parity

In the early days of data transmission, transmissions were prone (vulnerables) to electrical
interference (called noise), and the longer the cable, the more noisy the signal. Typically,
one in a thousand bits would be corrupted, i.e. a logic 1 would be read as a logic 0, or vice
versa.
To allow the receiving end(extremo receptor) to detect this error, a parity bit was
introduced: the final bit in a byte rather than (en lugar de) representing data, was set
(configurado) depending on the previous set of bits in the byte. It was set to make the total
number of 1s in the byte odd for odd parity, or even for even parity(fue configurado para
hacer el numero total de 1s en el byte impar ,para paridad impar, o par para paridad par). As
long as (siempre y cuando) the receiver knew whether the transmitter was using odd or
even parity, it could detect whether a single bit error(s.m.o. sirve solo para un error de bit)
had occurred. Of course, using a parity bit meant that only seven bits could be used to send
actual data.

Let’s look at some examples to see how this works. In the following table, a parity bit has
been added to keep the number of 1s even (par).

Example Original data Even parity added Data received Conclusion

1 0110101 01101010 01101010 No Error

2 0110101 01101010 01100010 Error

3 0100101 01001011 01001011 No Error

4 0100101 01001011 11001011 Error

 In example 2, there is an error in the fifth bit

 In example 4, there is an error in the first bit
The receiver notes that in these two examples, there is an odd number of 1s. Therefore, it
knows that an error has occurred.

Note: including a parity bit means the receiver detects the presence of an error, but it does
not know the position of the erroneous bit.

Connecting computers locally

The type of cable first used to connect computer was the coaxial cable, which is similar to
cables used for television. A coaxial cable’s inner core carries the signal; the outer braiding
(trenzado) shields (blinda o protege) the inner conductor, and because the braiding is
earthed (esta conectado a tierra), it protects the signal from electrical interference (noise).
However, coaxial cables had numerous issues with poor connections, and these issues,
combined with the development of cheaper alternatives and improved electronics, led to
this cable type falling out of use (quedara fuera de uso).

Advances in electrical circuitry resulted in the development of a new type of cable: the
Unshielded Twisted Pair, or UTP. In such a cable, a pair of wires carry the electrical
signal using a balanced voltage, and the pair of wires is individually twisted. The balanced
voltage and twisting mean that any interference would affect both wires of the pair in the
same way, thus cancelling out the interference. Therefore, there is no need for any outer
braiding to shield the inner conductors, and a simple outer plastic cover holds the pairs or
wires together. Hence this cable type’s name: Unshielded Twisted Pair.
UTP cabling can typically transmit data at a rate of 100 Mbps or 1 Gbps. However, due to
the Ethernet protocol (which we will discuss later), UTP cabling can only transmit data
over a distance of up to 100 metres (a una distancia de hasta 100 metros). Whilst this allows
for connecting computers in the same room, it prohibits direct connection to another
network miles away (a kilometros de distancia).

As demand for internet access grew, different solutions were needed to connect the ever
increasing (el cada vez mayor) numbers of users in homes and businesses to their internet
service providers (ISP). These solutions are what we’ll look at in the next step.

Questions for discussion

 With parity bits, what happens if two errors occur in a byte?

Remember from the text that a parity bit can only do two things, set itself to 0 to denote an
even number of 1s in the byte or to 1 to denote an odd number of 1s in the byte.

 What might limit the amount of data we can send down a wire?

If a wire gets interference from other nearby electrical signals operating in the same
frequency, then it could degrade the signal and be a limiting factor.

Connecting computers over longer distances

dial up = conectarse mediante llamada telefónica.//telephone exchange=central telefónica//

In the late 1980s, a telephone network was well established in the majority of the western
world (mayor parte del mundo occidental). The electrical signals transmitted via UTP
cables cannot be sent directly over telephone wires. People solved this problem by using
one tone (e.g 2kHz) for a logic 1, and a different tone (e.g 1kHz) for a logic 0. Changing
signals in this way is called modulation, and recovering the original signal is called
demodulation. Hence the term modulator-demodulator, or modem, was born.
Early modems operated in the same frequency range as the human voice, meaning that you
could use the telephone line to make a call or to send digital data, but not both at the same
time. To connect, your computer actually dialled (marco) the number of the internet service
provider (ISP), which is why this system was called dial-up (marcacion).

Improvements in modulation techniques allowed an increase of data rates to 56 kbps;

because of the frequency range of the telephone circuits, this was the maximum. Also, the
further a computer was from the telephone exchange, the longer its line was, which meant
more interference and, as a result, the need for a lower and more reliable modulation rate.

Modern modems make use of the fact that we now have special electronics at the telephone
exchanges that allow use a wider range of frequencies above the human voice. This means
we can use the internet at the same time as making a call — on the same cable. At the
consumer end, a special filter, called a splitter, is used to separate the voice from the data.

This technology is known as ADSL, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Loop. It’s called
asymmetric because it can have different data rates in different directions. The maximum
download data rate is typically 24 Mbps; the maximum upload rate is typically 1 Mbps.
Just like dial-up, increasing the distance from the exchange introduces noise, and ADSL
modems default to a lower data rate to ensure reliable transmissions.

Due to their higher data rates compared to dial-up, ADSL and other fast transmission
technologies are often referred to as broadband.
Fibre-optics

Where UTP cable and ADSL reach their limits in terms of transmission distance (due to
electrical interference) and data rate, the best alternative is fibre-optic cable. A fibre-optic
cable is essentially like a mirrored tube, which ensures that light entering one end does not
leak out and can travel for many miles with very little data loss. This cable type also has the
advantage of not being affected by electrical interference. To be transmitted via fibre-
optics, binary data is converted into pulses of light (using LEDs or lasers) and sent into the
cable.

Fibre optic cables can run for up to 100 km at data rates of up to 100 Gbps, making them
ideal to interconnect cities. Beyond 100 km, signal losses and timing issues mean the signal
becomes too weak to be reliably detected. Where longer distances are needed, such as
under the sea, the signal is ‘re-boosted’ back to its original strength. This process is called
regeneration, and the devices that boost the signal are called repeaters.

Wireless data transmission

We can also modulate binary data as high-frequency radio waves for transmission through
the air. The government licenses different radio frequency bands. Short-range WiFi or long-
range cellular connections don’t interfere with other wavelengths of the electromagnetic
spectrum in use (e.g. TV and radio).

If multiple devices are working on the same frequency, the signals will interfere and the
system will not work. Hence the standards specify a range of channels (frequencies) in
these bands, which devices dynamically allocate as other channels become congested.
Areas with a high density of users often find the spectrum congested, and as a result, users
experience slower data rates.

For WiFi, devices called access points are connected via cables to the internet and, through
their antennae, they provide an internet connection to the surrounding area. WiFi
connections operate in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands and offer data rates of 11–74 Mbps,
typically with a range of around 50 m. The frequency range used for WiFi was chosen
carefully so that short-range signals do not interfere with other nearby WiFi services.

A plethora of choices

Which connections people use depends on availability, price, data rate, and convenience.

Wired UTP Wired fibre Mobile 3G/4G WiFi

Within cellular
Range 100 m 40 km 50 m from access point
network
 Wired UTP Wired fibre Mobile 3G/4G WiFi

Data
100 Mbps or 1 Gbps 100 Gbps 60 Mbps 74 Mbps
rate

Connecting to a
Connecting devices Connecting networks Connecting to the
network when in the
Uses together in an office together between cities internet when
vicinity of an access
or classroom and around the world roaming
point

The term communications media, or just media, refers to the technology we use to
transmit data.

Next up

In the next step, you’ll explore how to arrange these connections to build networks.

Questions for discussion

 Why are there different data rates for upload and download over ADSL?
 Can you think of situations where you had to switch between network connections? Why
did you need to change, and did you make the right choice?

ROY BLAKE :SISTEMAS ELECTRONICOS DE COMUNICACIONES