Data Communication – The Lifeblood of Digital Networks
In our increasingly connected digital world, data communication is the vital ingredient that connects us. Understanding how different methods of data transmission work is vital in the design of reliable and efficient networks. Different methods determine how data is transmitted.
To transmit data efficiently hardware in a communication circuit will use various techniques like multiplexing and demultiplexing processes, which combine and separate signals into single composite ones for transmission and then back into individual components. This maximizes bandwidth utilization and decreases the cost. Error detecting codes and signal amplifiers reduce data corruption from noise or momentary electrical disturbances which can alter bits of data while they travel along a communication channel.
Data communications also come with a set of rules (protocol) that are followed by both the computer systems that transmit and receive data. These rules ensure that the message is read and accepted without error.
The sender is the computer or device which generates and sends the message, which could be in the form of numbers, text images, sound, or video. The receiver is the computer or device that receives the message which could be the same as the sender, or different. The transmission medium is the physical route between the sender and the receiver. It can be a wired or wireless medium such as twisted pair wire, fiber optic cable, or wireless, such as lasers, microwaves or radio waves.