•Data transmission refers to the process of sending data from one
device or location to another through a communication medium, such
as cables, wireless signals, or fiber optics. It is essential for
communication between devices, enabling the exchange of
information in the form of bits and bytes, which are converted into
signals that can be transmitted.
•Data transmission can occur in two main forms:
1.Analog Transmission: Data is sent as continuous signals (e.g.,
radio or TV waves).
2.Digital Transmission: Data is sent as discrete binary signals (0s
and 1s), commonly used in modern communication systems like the
internet, emails, and file transfers.
•A data packet is a small unit of data formatted for transmission over
a network. When large amounts of data are sent over a network, they
are broken into smaller, manageable packets. Each packet contains
both the data being transmitted and control information that helps
ensure successful delivery to the destination.
Packet Header
•The packet header consists of:
•The IP address of the sending device.
•The IP address of the receiving device.
•The sequence number of the packet.
•How many packets there are in total for a transmission.
Payload
•The payload consists of the actual data being sent in the packet (this
is usually about 64KiB).
Packet Trailer
•It has some way of identifying the end of the packet; this is essential
to allow each packet to be separated from each other as they travel
from sending to receiving station
•An error checking method; cyclic redundancy checks (CRCs) are
used to check data packets:
•This involves the sending computer adding up all the 1-bits in the
payload and storing this as a hex value in the trailer before it is sent
•Once the packet arrives, the receiving computer recalculates the
number of 1-bits in the payload
•The computer then checks this value against the one sent in the
trailer
•If the two values match, then no transmission errors have occurred;
otherwise, the packet needs to be re-sent.
Packet Switching
•This is a method of transmitting data packets across a network. Each
data packet is able to take an individual pathway across the network.
