INTRODUCTION TO DATA COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

Introduction
Information that has been processed, organized, and stored is call data.
Data can be alphabetic, numeric, or symbolic and consist of any one or
combination of binary-code alpha/numeric symbols, microprocessor op-codes,
control codes, user address, program data, or data base information. Data
communications simply mean the transferring of digital information (usually in
binary form) between two or more points (terminals). At both the source and
destination, data are in digital form; however, during transmission, they can be in
digital or analog form.
History of Data Communication
According to the History, Data communication has its earliest roots in
Samuel Morse's 1837 exhibition of a telegraph system. An account of data
communication history posted by telecommunications experts at General
Telecom, LLC also points to a telegraph patent that inventor Charles Wheatstone
filed that same year. By 1843, telegraph service had become adopted by the
Great Western Railway, an endorsement that allowed the service to expand
across the nation. While improving on the telegraph; Alexander Graham Bell
introduced the telephone in 1876. Though standard telephone lines did not carry
data traffic until nearly a hundred years later, the development of early
telecommunications coupled with an 1895 invention by Guglielmo Marconi, the
radio laid the groundwork for numerous subsequent developments in
communication technology. In 1947, Bell Labs introduced the transistor, a device
that found integration in myriad subsequent electronic products. The U.S.
government expanded on these technologies in 1958 with its launch of a
communications-oriented satellite, and the first facsimile transmission over
standard

telephone

lines

occurred

four

years

later.

After the first fax transmission in 1962, the modulation of data into sound for
transmission across telephone lines spread in popularity for several years.

Though modulation/demodulation, or modem, technology continued to carry

slower data traffic for the remainder of the 20th century, according to the History,
the 1969 development of Internet Protocol (IP) marked a significant milestone in
data communication history. Within the following decades, early packet
communication technologies like Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Frame
Relay and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) emerged as a viable
solution for commercial and high-end residential data needs. By 1991, more than
1 million servers had come online using Internet Protocol technology, and the
World Wide Web emerged as the primary component of the Internet by the mid1990s. As wired data communication expanded, a separate form of data
exchange that required no wires experienced a concurrent development.
Wireless technologies developed rapidly during World War I. By 1921, the first
commercial radio voices broadcast, a communication channel that transmitted
data in the form of modulated radio waves, had taken place and police
dispatchers had adopted the technology. In 1974, the Federal Communication
Commission

(FCC)

began

allocating

wireless

spectrums

for

wireless

communication, and wireless companies began integrating radio packet data as

early as 1984. This technology evolved into the various digital wireless packet
data

protocols

used

into

the

21st

century.

Definition of Data Communication

Data Communications is the transfer of data or information between a
source and a receiver. The source transmits the data and the receiver receives it.
The actual generation of the information is not part of Data Communications nor
is the resulting action of the information at the receiver. Data Communication is
interested in the transfer of data, the method of transfer and the preservation of
the data during the transfer process. The purpose of Data Communications is to
provide the rules and regulations that allow computers with different disk
operating systems, languages, cabling and locations to share resources. The
rules and regulations are called protocols and standards in Data

Communications. In shorter explanation, the exchange of information between

two digital devices is data communication.
Communication Model

The
process
of

transferring a message between sender and receiver is more easily

implemented by breaking it down into simpler components. Instead of a single
layer, a group of layers are used, dividing up the tasks required for network
communications. The best known network model is the OSI models (see table
below).
Open System Interconnect (OSI) L model was created by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO). It was patterned after and is similar to the
IBM layered networking scheme, Systems Network Architecture (SNA). The OSI

Reference Model provides a common basis for the coordination of standards

development for systems interconnection, while allowing existing standards to be
placed into perspective within the overall OSI Reference Model.

The models seven layers from high to low are:

APPLICATION LAYER
PRESENTATION LAYER
SESSION LAYER
TRANSPORT LAYER
NETWORK LAYER
DATA LINK LAYER
PHYSICAL LAYER

1. PHYSICAL LAYER
Responsible for the transmission of bit stream over a communication
channel.
Transmits the unstructured raw bit stream over a physical medium and
describes the electrical, mechanical and functional interface to the
carrier.
Performs transmission and reception on the network medium.
Functional, electrical, physical specifications.
2. DATA LINK LAYER
Provide error free transmission of information between two end
stations attached to the same physical cable.
Manages the flow of the data bit stream in and out of each network
node.
Transfers units of information to other end of physical link.
Framing and synchronization.
Error control and recovery.
Message sequence control.
Message acknowledgement.

 Link initialization and disconnection.

Addressing
3. NETWORK LAYER
Controls the operation of the network or sub-network.
Decides which physical pathway the data should take based on the
network conditions, priorities of service and other factors.
Switches and routes information to any node .
Provides the means to establish, maintain and terminate connections
between systems
4. TRANSPORT LAYER
Forms the interface between the higher application-oriented layers and
the underlying network-dependent protocol layers.
Provides end-to-end data integrity and quality of service.
Allows end users to communicate oblivious to network constraints
imposed by the lower levels.
5. SESSION LAYER
Provides the means for two application layer entities to synchronize
and manage their data exchange.
Coordinates interaction between end-to-end application processes.
Sets up communication channels, manages the communication and
terminates the connections.

 It is the users true interface to the network.

Handles the log-on / log-off functions and describes the authentication
procedures
6. PRESENTATION LAYER
Formats the data to be presented to the Application Layer.
Can be viewed as a translator for the network and provides a common
representation for data that can be used between the application
processes.
Provides code conversion and data reformatting.
Handles display functions, file formatting, code conversion, and data
compression and encryption.
7. APPLICATION LAYER
Serves as a window for the application process to access the
networking environment.
Represents the services that directly support users and application
tasks.
Selects appropriate service for applications (user interface).
Contains recommendations for the specific user programs.

Summary of OSI Layers Functions

Simplified Block Diagram of Data Communication System

In the above block diagram, there is a source of digital information (source

system) a transmission medium and a destination (destination system). The
source system is usually a mainframe computer/workstation with its own set of
local terminals and peripheral equipment. The digital information is then

transferred by using the transmission medium such as free-space radio

transmission (terrestrial and satellite microwave), metallic cable facilities (both
digital and analog systems), and fiber-optic cable (light wave propagation). The
said information will then go to destination system or the receiver of the data
transmitted. Examples are Printer, Terminal, Mainframe and Computer. The
interface between the Source & the Medium, and the Medium & the Destination
is called the DCE (Data Communication Equipment) and is a physical piece of
equipment. Data communications equipment (DCE) simply means the
equipment that converts digital signals to the analog signals and interfaces the
data terminal equipment to the analog transmission medium. DCE is nothing but
a modem (modulator / demodulator). It converts binary digital signals to analog
signals such as FSK, PSK, and QAM, and vice versa. The further details of DCE
will be discussed in the next unit.
Communication Tasks

Transmission system utilization

Addressing

Interfacing

Routing

Signal generation

Recovery

Synchronization

Message formatting

Exchange management

Security

Error detection and correction

Network management

Flow Control

LAGUNA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY

SANTA CRUZ CAMPUS

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
SANTA CRUZ, LAGUNA

RESEARCH PAPER IN DATA COMMUNICATION

SUBMITTED BY:
LUMIDAO, CHARIZE ANGELI Q.
ECE-5B
SUBMITTED TO:
ENGR. MA. ERLYN EROLES
DATE:
DEC. 12, 2014