Communication Flashcards
what is serial transmission
sending data one bit at a time over a single channel
what is parallel transmission
sending multiple bits of data simultaneously
when is serial transmission used
long haul communication
when is parallel tranmission used
short range high speed connections
give 2 advantages of serial transmission
reliable over long distance - only one bit is sent at a time
cheaper - physical size of cable is smaller and more flexible
doesnt suffer from skew
give 2 advantages of parallel tranmission
lower latency
high data transfer rates
explain what skew is
bits transmitted over different channels arrive at different times
what are the 2 types of serial transmission
synchronous transmission
asynchronous transmission
explain what synchronous transmission is
data is transfered at regular intervals
they are synchronised by a clock signal
explain what asynchronous transmission is
one character at a time with a start, stop and parity bit sent for each character
data is sent in packets
define bit rate
the number of bits transferred between devices per second
define baud rate
number of times a signal in a communications channel changes state in a second
what is meant by latency
the delay between an action being started and its effect being noticed
what is a protocol
strict set of rules
explain what a “handshake” is
when two devices exchange signals in order to set up a communication link
define bandwidth
the maximum amount of data transfer over a single channel
what is the relationship between bit rate and bandwidth
Bit rate is directly proportionate to bandwidth.
what’s the difference between baud rate and bit rate?
Bit rate can be higher than baud rate if more than one bit is encoded in each signal change.
