Contents:
- Channel
- Bandwidth
- Data Transfer Rate
Communication Channel/Channel:
A channel is a communication medium, the path that data takes from source to destination. A channel can be comprised of so many different things: wires, free space, and entire networks. Signals can be routed from one type of network to another network with completely different characteristics. On the internet, a data packet can be sent over a wired, wireless or any combination of these medium to reach the destination
- Types of Channel/Medium:
- Wired:Also known as guided media are types of channel where physical object like copper wire, glass fibers are used to transfer data. Example are Twisted pair copper wire, Ethernet Cable, Coaxial Cable, Optical fiber etc
- Wireless:Also known as unguided media are types of channel where data is transitted with electromagnetic waves like microwaves, radio waves, infrared etc. Example are wifi, bluetooth, Satellite connection
Bandwidth:
Bandwidth is the maximum rate of data that can be trasmitted over a channel. Technically its the difference the upper and the lower frequency of a communication channel. Bandwidth is measured in hertz(Hz). Note 1KHz=1000Hz , 1MHz=1000KHz
Data Transfer rate:
Also known as bitrate, measure the rate of data transfer in bits. Bandwidth is also use to measure rate of data but Bandwidth uses frequency as measuring unit but bitrate uses bits per seconds. While purchasing a internet connection, we pay to the ISP according to the bitrate. The bit rate is quantified using the bits per second unit