Data Communication – The Lifeblood of Digital Networks

Data communication is vital to our ever-growing digital world. Understanding how different methods of data transmission function is key to constructing reliable and efficient networks. From the simple one-way nature of simplex communication to the bidirectional nature of full-duplex communication, different methods dictate the way data is transferred and received.

Hardware in a communications circuit uses a variety of methods to send data effectively. These include desmultiplexing and multiplexing. These are processes that combine or separate signals, and then send them as a combined signal. This maximizes bandwidth utilization and decreases the cost. Error-detection code and signal amplifiers also reduce data corruption due to electric disturbances, or even momentary electrical noises that can alter bits of data as they travel over the communication channel.

Data communications also include rules (protocol) that are followed by both the sender and receiver computers. These rules ensure that the message is received and understood.

The sender is the device or computer that creates and sends out the message, which may be in the form of numbers, text, pictures, sound or video. The receiver is the computer or device which receives the message which can be the same as the sender, or different. The transmission medium is the physical path between the sender and the receiver. It could be a wired medium such as twisted pair wire fiber optic cable or wireless such as lasers, radio waves or microwaves.

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