In our increasingly connected digital world data communication is the lifeblood that connects us. Understanding how different methods of data transmission function is key in the design of reliable and efficient networks. Different methods determine how data is transmitted.
Hardware in a communications circuit employs a variety of techniques to efficiently transmit data. These include multiplexing and desmultiplexing. These are processes that combine or separate signals and send them as a single multi-channel signal. This maximizes the utilization of bandwidth and reduces the cost. Signal amplifiers and error-detecting codes reduce data corruption caused by noise or electrical disturbances.
Data communications also come with a set of rules (protocol) that are followed by both the computers of the sender and receiver. These rules ensure that the message is properly understood and accepted.
The sender is the computer or device that generates and transmits the message, which could be in the form of numbers, text images, sound or video. The computer or device that receives the message could be the same or different from the sender. The transmission medium is the physical way between the sender and the receiver, which can be a wired media such as twisted pair wire, fiber optic cable or wireless like microwaves, or radio waves.