Wired Network Technologies and Transmission Media

Wired Network Technologies

The wired network is mostly set up using an Ethernet cable. This can be done using three primary technologies:

Twisted Pair Wires

This technology was invented by Alexander Graham Bell. These wires are the oldest means of communication in computer networking. For more than 100 years, phone technology has used these wires. Most of us use these twisted wires in our homes and offices. They are the least expensive mode of communication used in networks.

In this setup, there is a pair of two copper wires, each 1-2 mm thick, twisted around each other in a spiral pattern. These are used to avoid interference from nearby similar pairs. There are a number of pairs bundled together in a cable by wrapping the pairs in a protective shield. A single pair consists of a single communication link.

Coaxial Cables

Coaxial cables, similar to twisted wire cables, consist of two copper wires. However, in this design, the two wires are concentric to each other. Coaxial cables have a wire conductor in the center, a circumferential outer conductor known as a foil shield, and an insulating medium called the dielectric separating these two conductors. The outer conductor is protected by an outer jacket.

Coaxial cables, with this type of formation and special insulation and shielding, can achieve high data transmission rates. Coaxial cables are common in cable television systems.

Fiber Optics

An optical fiber is a flexible, thin, transparent fiber made of high-quality glass or plastic, slightly thicker than a human hair. Alternatively, you can say an optical fiber is a thin, flexible medium that conducts pulses of light, with each pulse representing a bit of your data. Fiber optics can generate high data rates, so they are used for long-distance communications that require high speed and minimal data loss.

Optical fibers have no electromagnetic interference and can process data at Gbps speeds. This quality has made them popular for long-run data transfers. In the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and many other countries, most of them use fiber optics in distance telephone networks.

However, because they are also very expensive, the use of fiber optics in local LANs, institutions, and companies is still not very popular. The joining of two or more optical fibers is still more complex than joining two electrical wires or cables.