Information Technology in

Business:
Telecommunications,
Networks and Internet Basics
MIS 221 2
Learning Objectives
When you finish this chapter, you will:
Recognize why successful managers must be familiar
with telecommunications concepts and terminology.
Know the principles of communication within a
computer system and among computers.
Be able to identify the major media and devices that
are used in telecommunications.
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Learning Objectives
Be able to list and explain the functions of different
network layouts and the concept of protocols.
Understand how telecommunications can improve
operations in organizations.
Know the latest developments in telecommunications
media and transmission speeds.
Understand the historical development of the Internet
Understand the main structural components of the
Internet
Understand how HTML, HTTP, browsers and servers
work together to form the WWW
MIS 221 4
Telecommunications in
Business
Telecommunications
Any form of long distance communication,
including telephone, television and radio
Telecommunications has improved
business in three main ways:
Better communication
Higher efficiency
Better distribution of data
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What is Data Communications?
Data Communications

Any transfer of data within a computer, between a
computer and another device, or between two
computers
Integration
Business are increasingly integrated in their use of
computers, telephony, video and data networks
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What is a Telecommunications
System?
Compatible hardware and software used to
communicate information from one place to
another
Will include voice, text, graphics, documents and
video

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A Generalized
Telecommunications System
Hardware (Host computer, front end
communication processor, modem,
multiplexor)
Communications media (Cable or wireless)
Communications software
Data communications providers
Communications protocols
Communications applications (EDI,
videoconferencing, EFT, etc.)
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Electronic Signals
Analog
Information imbedded in the changing
characteristics of the wave
Amplitude or frequency based
Digital
Information imbedded as 1 or 0, on or off

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Modulation
Figure 6.8 Signal modulation
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Modulation
Amplitude Modulation (AM)

Frequency Modulation (FM)

Phase Modulation

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Multiplexing
Figure 6.9 Multiplexing
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Communications Devices
Modems
Devices that modulate and demodulate signals,
converting from analog to digital and digital to
analog
Multiplexers
Devices that allow several telephones or computers
to transmit data through a single line
Frequency-division multiplexing
Time-division multiplexing
Front End Processors
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Channels and Media
Communication Channel
Physical medium through which data
can be communicated.

Channel Capacity
Narrow band
Broadband
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Channels and Media
Media
A medium is any means by which data can be
transmitted.
Transmission speed
A mediums capacity is determined by the
range of bits per second at which it can
operate.
Baud
Repeater
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Channels and Media
Twisted Pair
Telephone line made of a pair of copper wires twisted
to reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI)

Coaxial Cable
Commonly used for cable television transmission
More expensive than twisted pair
Greater transmission rate than twisted pair
Much less susceptible to EMI

MIS 221 16
Channels and Media
Microwaves
High-frequency, short radio-frequency (RF) waves
Terrestrial microwave
Satellite microwave
Optical Fiber
Fiber-optic technology uses light instead of electricity
to transmit data.
Cellular and Wireless
Radio frequency technologies
Fixed or mobile



MIS 221 17
Channels and Media
Figure 6.5 Transmission speed measurement unit
MIS 221 18
Channels and Media
Figure 6.6 Telecommunications transmission speeds of different media
MIS 221 19
Channels and Media
Figure 6.7 Characteristics of channel media
MIS 221 20
A Variety of Services
Figure 6.15
Services offered by
telecommunications
firms
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What is Data
Communications?
Figure 6.1 Parallel and serial transmission
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Communication Direction
Three Modes of Communication
Between Devices
Simplex
One direction only
Half-Duplex
Both directions, but only one at a time
Full-Duplex
Simultaneous in both directions

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Communication Direction
Figure 6.2 Simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex communication
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Communication Direction
Asynchronous Communication
In asynchronous transmission, the devices are not
synchronized by any timing aids.
Advantage
Does not need sophisticated and expensive timing
hardware
Disadvantage
Overhead, time spent transmitting bits that are not
a part of the primary data


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Communication Modes
Figure 6.3 The character D transmitted in asynchronous mode
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Communication Modes
Synchronous Communication
In synchronous communication, data are transmitted
using timing devices.

Messages are transmitted in packets.

Advantage of synchronous communication
Overhead in synchronous communication is
significantly smaller than in asynchronous
communication.

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Communication Modes
Figure 6.4 Synchronous transmission
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Protocols
Definition
Rules and procedures governing transmission across
a network
Line access
Collision avoidance
TCP/IP
Standard protocol of the Internet and intranets
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
Designed for sending large files across unreliable networks
Utilizes packets of information
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OSI Standard
Seven Layer Model
Governs peer-to-peer communication
between software at each layer
From physical layer (how bits are transmitted
over a channel)
To application layer (file transfer, security, etc)
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Open Systems Interconnect Model
Figure 6.14 The seven layers of the OSI model
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Networks
LANs (Local Area Networks)
Networks within a building, or within a group
of adjacent buildings
WANs (Wide Area Networks)
Networks across significant distances, either within a
single organization or spanning multiple organizations
Value-added networks (VANs)
Wireless communication

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Network Topology
Figure 6.12 Network topologies
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Networks Devices
Bridge
Connects two networks at the data link layer
Router
Connects two networks at network layer
Provides intelligent routing, some network
management functions and security
Gateways
Connect networks using different protocols
Switches
Incorporate features of bridges and gateways

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Other Standards (or lack
thereof)
Operating Systems
No standard exists
Graphical User Interface
X Windows
Software Applications
No standard for programming language,
DBMS, etc.



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Client/Server Computing
Enabled by proliferation of powerful
desktop computers and decentralized
servers
Principle
Processing functions divided between to
separate, distinct computers
One requests services of a server (the
client)
One delivers a service upon request (the
server)

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Example of Client/Server
Computing
Email
Email client (Outlook) sends request to
POP server for messages
POP Server receives and validates
request to download email
Client processes data received (formats,
displays, stores messages)


MIS 221 37
Example of Client/Server
Computing
Database Transaction
Client program running on PC sends
query to DBMS running on central server
DBMS on server parses and executes
the query
DBMS assembles resulting data (or
status result) and sends it to client
Client receives data and processes it
(displays it, sends message to user, etc)


MIS 221 38
Benefits of Client/Server
Computing
Potential to reduce cost
By offloading computing cycles to
cheaper and underutilized desktop PC
Improved performance
Has enabled high-performing graphical
user interfaces