Physical layer

Physical layer in the OSI model plays the role of interacting with actual hardware and signaling
mechanism.

Physical layer is the only layer of OSI network model which actually deals with the physical connectivity
of two different stations. This layer defines the hardware equipment, cabling, wiring, frequencies, pulses
used to represent binary signals etc.

Physical layer provides its services to Data-link layer. Data-link layer hands over frames to physical layer.

Physical layer converts them to electrical pulses, which represent binary data. The binary data is then
sent over the wired or wireless media.
Signals

When data is sent over physical medium, it needs to be first converted into
electromagnetic signals. Data itself can be analog such as human voice, or digital such
as file on the disk. Both analog and digital data can be represented in digital or analog
signals.
Digital Signals
• Digital signals are discrete in nature and represent sequence of voltage pulses. Digital
signals are used within the circuitry of a computer system.
Analog Signals
• Analog signals are in continuous wave form in nature and represented by continuous
electromagnetic waves.
Transmission Impairment

When signals travel through the medium they tend to deteriorate. This may have many reasons as
given:
Attenuation
For the receiver to interpret the data accurately, the signal must be sufficiently strong. When the
signal passes through the medium, it tends to get weaker. As it covers distance, it loses strength.
Dispersion
As signal travels through the media, it tends to spread and overlaps. The amount of dispersion
depends upon the frequency used.
Delay distortion
Signals are sent over media with pre-defined speed and frequency. If the signal speed and
frequency do not match, there are possibilities that signal reaches destination in arbitrary fashion.
In digital media, this is very critical that some bits reach earlier than the previously sent ones.
 Random disturbance or fluctuation in analog or digital signal is said to be Noise in signal, which
may distort the actual information being carried. Noise can be characterized in one of the
Noise
following class:
Thermal Noise
Heat agitates the electronic conductors of a medium which may introduce noise in the media. Up
to a certain level, thermal noise is unavoidable.
Intermodulation
When multiple frequencies share a medium, their interference can cause noise in the medium.
Intermodulation noise occurs if two different frequencies are sharing a medium and one of them
has excessive strength or the component itself is not functioning properly, then the resultant
frequency may not be delivered as expected.
Crosstalk
This sort of noise happens when a foreign signal enters into the media. This is because signal in
one medium affects the signal of second medium.
Impulse
This noise is introduced because of irregular disturbances such as lightening, electricity, short-
circuit, or faulty components. Digital data is mostly affected by this sort of noise.
Channel Capacity
The speed of transmission of information is said to be the channel capacity.
We count it as data rate in digital world. It depends on numerous factors such
as:
• Bandwidth: The physical limitation of underlying media.
• Bandwidth describes the maximum data transfer rate of a network or
Internet connection. It measures how much data can be sent over a specific
connection in a given amount of time.
• Bandwidth also refers to a range of frequencies used to transmit a signal.
This type of bandwidth is measured in hertz and is often referenced in signal
processing applications.
• Error-rate: Incorrect reception of information because of noise.
Data rate
• The data rate is a term to denote the transmission speed, or the number of bits per
second transferred.
• The useful data rate for the user is usually less than the actual data rate transported on
the network.
• One reason for this is that additional bits are transferred for e.g. signalling, the address,
the recovery of timing information at the receiver or error correction to compensate for
possible transmission errors.
• In telecommunications, it is common use to express the data rate in bits per seconds
(bit/s).
• In data communication, the data rate is often expressed in bytes per second (B/s).
Modulation
• It is very important to modulate the signals before sending them to the receiver
section for larger distance transfer, accurate data transfer and low-noise data
reception.
• Modulation is a process of changing the characteristics of the wave to be
transmitted by superimposing the message signal on the high frequency signal.
In this process video, voice and other data signals modify high frequency signals –
also known as carrier wave.
• This carrier wave can be DC or AC or pulse chain depending on the application
used. Usually high frequency sine wave is used as a carrier wave signal.
• These modulation techniques are classified into two major types: analog and
digital or pulse modulation.
Multiplexing

Multiplexing is a technique to mix and send multiple data streams over a single
medium.

This technique requires system hardware called multiplexer (MUX) for multiplexing
the streams and sending them on a medium, and de-multiplexer (DMUX) which
takes information from the medium and distributes to different destinations.
Switching
Switching is a mechanism by which
data/information sent from source towards
destination which are not directly connected.
Networks have interconnecting devices,
which receives data from directly connected
sources, stores data, analyze it and then
forwards to the next interconnecting device
closest to the destination.
Example of Virtual Approach
Transmission Media

The media over which the information between two computer systems is sent, called
transmission media. Transmission media comes in two forms.
• Guided Media
All communication wires/cables are guided media, such as UTP, coaxial cables, and fiber
Optics. In this media, the sender and receiver are directly connected and the information is
send (guided) through it.
• Unguided Media
Wireless or open air space is said to be unguided media, because there is no connectivity
between the sender and receiver. Information is spread over the air, and anyone including
the actual recipient may collect the information.
Transmission Media
Guided Media:

• It is also referred to as Wired or Bounded transmission media. Signals being transmitted are
directed and confined in a narrow pathway by using physical links.
Features:
• High Speed
• Secure
• Used for comparatively shorter distances

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Twisted Pair Cable
• It consists of 2 separately insulated conductor wires wound about
each other. Generally, several such pairs are bundled together in a
protective sheath. They are the most widely used Transmission
Media.

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Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP):
UTP consists of two insulated copper wires twisted around
one another. This type of cable has the ability to block interference and
does not depend on a physical shield for this purpose. It is used for
telephonic applications.
• Advantages:
• ⇢ Least expensive
• ⇢ Easy to install
• ⇢ High-speed capacity
• Disadvantages:
• ⇢ Susceptible to external interference
• ⇢ Lower capacity and performance in comparison to STP
• ⇢ Short distance transmission due to attenuation

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Shielded Twisted Pair (STP):
This type of cable consists of a special jacket (a copper braid covering
or a foil shield) to block external interference. It is used in fast-data-
rate Ethernet and in voice and data channels of telephone lines.
• Advantages:
• ⇢ Better performance at a higher data rate in comparison to UTP
• ⇢ Eliminates crosstalk
• ⇢ Comparatively faster
• Disadvantages:
• ⇢ Comparatively difficult to install and manufacture
• ⇢ More expensive
• ⇢ Bulky

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Coaxial Cable –
• It has an outer plastic covering containing an insulation layer made of PVC or
Teflon and 2 parallel conductors each having a separate insulated protection
cover.
• The coaxial cable transmits information in two modes: Baseband
mode(dedicated cable bandwidth) and Broadband mode(cable bandwidth is split
into separate ranges).
Advantages:
• High Bandwidth
• Better noise Immunity
• Easy to install and expand
• Inexpensive
Disadvantages:
• Single cable failure can disrupt the entire network
Applications:
Radio frequency signals are sent over coaxial wire. It can be used for cable
television signal distribution, digital audio (S/PDIF), computer network connections
(like Ethernet), and feedlines that connect radio transmitters and receivers to their
antennas.
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Optical Fiber Cable
It uses the concept of refraction of light through a core made up of glass or plastic.
The core is surrounded by a less dense glass or plastic covering called the cladding.
It is used for the transmission of large volumes of data.
The cable can be unidirectional or bidirectional. The WDM (Wavelength Division
Multiplexer) supports two modes, namely unidirectional and bidirectional mode.
Advantages:
• Increased capacity and bandwidth
• Lightweight
• Less signal attenuation
• Immunity to electromagnetic interference
• Resistance to corrosive materials
Disadvantages:
• Difficult to install and maintain
• High cost & Fragile
• Applications:
• Radio frequency signals are sent over coaxial wire. It can be used for cable
television signal distribution, digital audio (S/PDIF), computer network
connections (like Ethernet), and feedlines that connect radio transmitters and
receivers to their antennas. 24
 Stripline

• Stripline is a transverse electromagnetic (TEM) transmission line medium invented by Robert

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Unguided Media:
It is also referred to as Wireless or Unbounded transmission media. No
physical medium is required for the transmission of electromagnetic
signals.
Features:
• The signal is broadcasted through air
• Less Secure
• Used for larger distances
There are 3 types of Signals transmitted through unguided media:
(i) Radio waves –
These are easy to generate and can penetrate through buildings. The
sending and receiving antennas need not be aligned. Frequency
Range:3KHz – 1GHz. AM and FM radios and cordless phones use Radio
waves for transmission.
Further Categorized as (i) Terrestrial and (ii) Satellite.

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 Radio waves
These are easy to generate and can penetrate through buildings. The sending
and receiving antennas need not be aligned. Frequency Range:3KHz – 1GHz.
AM and FM radios and cordless phones use Radio waves for transmission.
Further Categorized as (i) Terrestrial and (ii) Satellite.

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 Microwaves

It is a line of sight transmission i.e. the sending and receiving antennas need to be properly
aligned with each other. The distance covered by the signal is directly proportional to the
height of the antenna. Frequency Range:1GHz – 300GHz. These are majorly used for mobile
phone communication and television distribution.

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Infrared

Infrared waves are used for very short distance communication. They
cannot penetrate through obstacles. This prevents interference
between systems. Frequency Range:300GHz – 400THz. It is used in TV
remotes, wireless mouse, keyboard, printer, etc.

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