Nodes) Connected by Communication Links.: (CITATION Mat17 /L 1033)

By Isaiah Musenga
DATA COMMUNICATION AND NETWORKING
This article introduces the basic concepts of Data Communication and Networking.
Introduction: Communication is simply a dialog between two corresponding sides. In our

everyday life, data communication has been a way of how we disseminate information. Data is a
collection of facts, such as numbers, words, measurements, observations or just description of
things. [ CITATION mat17 \l 1033 ]. Hence Data Communication are the exchange of data between
two devices via some form of transmission medium such as a wire cable. The main purpose of
communication is to convey or disseminate information, and for this information to be conveyed,
a network is required. In computer networking, a network is a set of devices (often referred to as
nodes) connected by communication links.
Communication is drawn from the term telecommunication, which includes telephony,

telegraphy, and television, means communication at a distance (tele is Greek for "far"). 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
effectiveness of a data communications system depends on four fundamental characteristics:
delivery, accuracy, timeliness, and jitter.
Delivery: As the term suggest, the system must deliver data to the correct destination. Data must
be received by the intended device or user and only by that device or user. Accuracy: The
system must deliver the data accurately. Data that have been altered in transmission and left
uncorrected are unusable. Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data
delivered late are useless. In the case of video and audio, timely delivery means delivering data
as they are produced, in the same order that they are produced, and without significant delay.
This kind of delivery is called real-time transmission. Jitter: Jitter refers to the variation in the
packet arrival time. It is the uneven delay in the delivery of audio or video packets.
Data Communication has five major components that assist with the dissemination of
information from the source to the destination i.e. Message, Sender, Receiver, Medium and
Protocol.
A Message is the information (data) to be communicated. And popular forms of information
include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and video.
Sender refers to the device that sends the data message. It can be a computer, workstation,
telephone handset, video camera, and so on.
Receiver is the device that receives the message. It can be a computer, workstation, telephone
handset, television, and so on.
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, fiber-optic cable,
and radio waves.
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.
A Data Communication Diagram

Information in today’s world is represented in different form such as numbers, text , images ,
videos and audio.
Text
In data communications, text is represented as a bit pattern, a sequence of bits (Os or
Is). Different sets of bit patterns have been designed to represent text symbols. Each set
is called a code, and the process of representing symbols is called coding. Today, the
prevalent coding system is called Unicode, which uses 32 bits to represent a symbol or
character used in any language in the world. The American Standard Code for Information
Interchange (ASCII), developed some decades ago in the United States, now
constitutes the first 127 characters in Unicode and is also referred to as Basic Latin.
Appendix A includes part of the Unicode.
Numbers
Numbers are also represented by bit patterns. However, a code such as ASCII is not used
to represent numbers; the number is directly converted to a binary number to simplify
mathematical operations. Appendix B discusses several different numbering systems.
Images
Images are also represented by bit patterns. In its simplest form, an image is composed
of a matrix of pixels (picture elements), where each pixel is a small dot. The size of the
pixel depends on the resolution. For example, an image can be divided into 1000 pixels
or 10,000 pixels. In the second case, there is a better representation of the image (better
resolution), but more memory is needed to store the image.
After an image is divided into pixels, each pixel is assigned a bit pattern. The size
and the value of the pattern depend on the image. For an image made of only black and-
white dots (e.g., a chessboard), a I-bit pattern is enough to represent a pixel.
If an image is not made of pure white and pure black pixels, you can increase the
size of the bit pattern to include gray scale. For example, to show four levels of gray
scale, you can use 2-bit patterns. A black pixel can be represented by 00, a dark gray
pixel by 01, a light gray pixel by 10, and a white pixel by 11. There are several methods to
represent color images. One method is called RGB, so called because each color is made of a
combination of three primary colors: red, green, and blue. The intensity of each color is
measured, and a bit pattern is assigned to it. Another method is called YCM, in which a color is
made of a combination of three other primary colors: yellow, cyan, and magenta.
Audio
Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting of sound or music. Audio is by nature
different from text, numbers, or images. It is continuous, not discrete. Even when we use a
microphone to change voice or music to an electric signal, we create a continuous signal. In Chapters
4 and 5, we learn how to change sound or music to a digital or an analog signal.
Video
Video refers to the recording or broadcasting of a picture or movie. Video can either be
produced as a continuous entity (e.g., by a TV camera), or it can be a combination of
images, each a discrete entity, arranged to convey the idea of motion.
For communication to occur in computer networks, it follows three standard modes which include,
simplex mode, half duplex mode and full duplex mode.
Simplex
In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way street. Only one
of the two devices on a link can transmit; the other can only receive. Keyboards and traditional
monitors are examples of simplex devices. The keyboard can only introduce input; the monitor can
only accept output. The simplex mode can use the entire capacity of the channel to send data in one
direction.
Half-Duplex
In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same time. When one
device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa. The half-duplex mode is like a one-
lane road with traffic allowed in both directions. When cars are traveling in one direction, cars
going the other way must wait. In a half-duplex transmission, the entire capacity of a channel is
taken over by whichever of the two devices is transmitting at the time. Walkie-talkies and CB
(citizens band) radios are both half-duplex systems. The half-duplex mode is used in cases where
there is no need for communication in both directions at the same time; the entire capacity of the
channel can be utilized for each direction.
The full-duplex mode is used when communication in both directions is required
all the time. The capacity of the channel, however, must be divided between the two
directions.

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By Isaiah Musenga

DATA COMMUNICATION AND NETWORKING

Introduction: Communication is simply a dialog between two corresponding sides. In our

Communication is drawn from the term telecommunication, which includes telephony,

A Data Communication Diagram

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