9/25/2016 Topic Print View
Week 2: Physical Layer and Data Link Layer Discussion
Communication Media Minicase (graded)
Eureka! is a telephone and Internetbased concierge service that specializes in obtaining things that are hard to
find (e.g., Super Bowl tickets, firstedition books from the 1500s, Fabergé eggs). It currently employees 60 staff
members who work 24 hours per day (over three shifts). Staff members answer phone calls and respond to
requests entered on the Eureka! website. Currently, each staff member has a desktop PC with two monitors and
a twisted pair connection (Cat5e) that offers speeds up to 100 Mbps. Some employees made a suggestion to the
CEO of Eureka! to upgrade their connection to a fiberoptic cable that can provide speeds up to 1 Gbps. What do
you think about this idea?
Responses
Response Author Date/Time
Communication Media Professor Gander 9/3/2016 10:53:42 PM
Class, you may have heard the terms physical and logical circuits in the textbook and
discussions. How do these circuits differ?
RE: Communication Media Jermaine Huggins 9/4/2016 9:43:20 AM
I think upgrading to a fiber‐op堀쐄c cable besides the high speed up to 1 Gbps it is a cost‐
effec堀쐄ve solu堀쐄on that provides a huge amount of bandwidth that can carry large
amount of data at fast data rates, because it carries a digital signal, that in the case of
Eureka it will ideal since fiber‐op堀쐄c cable is capable to transmit simultaneously voice,
data, and visual signals. Another advantage is other interferences cannot interrupt the
performance of transmission, allows much longer distances between amplifiers, and
since is made from fiber glass is not object to corrup堀쐄on and has high resistance to
heat. Upgrading from the current copper infrastructure (Cat5e) it should not be as
difficult as copper wire connec堀쐄on and fiber model requires less space than copper
which also represents long‐term costs savings.
RE: Communication
Brian Silver 9/4/2016 10:16:37 PM
Media
Physical circuit—the actual wire—used to connect two devices. In this case, we are referring to
the physical media that carry the message we transmit, such as the twisted pair wire used to
connect a computer to the LAN in an office. In other cases, we are referring to a logical circuit
used to connect two devices, which refers to the transmission characteristics of the connection,
such as when we say a company has a T1 connection into the Internet. In this case, T1 refers
not to the physical media (i.e., what type of wire is used) but rather to how fast data can be
sent through the connection.1 Often, each physical circuit is also a logical circuit, but
sometimes it is possible to have one physical circuit—one wire—carry several separate logical
circuits, or to have one logical circuit travel over several physical circuits. There are two
fundamentally different types of data that can flow through the circuit: digital and analog.
Computers produce digital data that are binary, either on or off, 0 or 1. In contrast, telephones
http://threadcontent.next.ecollege.com/(NEXT(9aa8e367917140bc999f3323f7766024))/Main/CourseMode/Topic/TopicPrintView.ed?topicID=6000009372546&so… 1/38
,9/25/2016 Topic Print View
produce analog data whose electrical signals are shaped like the sound waves they transfer;
they can take on any value in a wide range of possibilities, not just 0 or 1.
RE:
Communication Carlos Flores 9/7/2016 8:18:24 PM
Media
Yes. The way we identify the patterns in how we are going to set up the
infrastructure. How is the circuit going to perform and how it's going to be in its most
effective diagram. The differences also are found in the different types of materials
that are going to be used. The connection between the devices, but also the
connections between the internet producer and the company that receives the
service.
RE: Communication
Melody Barnhill 9/4/2016 10:47:36 PM
Media
A book on WAN technologies divides circuits into physical and logical. Physical circuits are subdivided
into exclusiveuse (like a printer
cable or an RS232 cable to a modem) and shareduse (Ethernet or Token Ring between a PC and a
server). A logical or virtual circuit is defined as "a communications path that appears to be a single circuit
between the source and destination nodes. A virtual circuit is not a physical circuit; it is a logical
conection between devices configured over one or more physical circuits." These are subdivided into
PVCs and SVCs.
RE:
Communication Jermaine Huggins 9/6/2016 7:21:58 AM
Media
Every device that connects to an IEEE 802 network, whether is Ethernet or WiFi has
a MAC or also called physical identifier. A MAC address is a unique identifier assigned
to the network interface of the device, these can be 48 or 64 bits. With this being said
every NIC has a MAC, if a device has more than one NIC then each NIC will have its
own unique MAC. A MAC can also be referred to as a BIA (burnedinaddress) since
this is a hardwired/hard coded into the network interface of the device.
Each manufacturer has a organizational unique identifier, below the OUI for other
some wellknown manufacturers.
Dell: 001422
Nortel: 0004DC
Cisco: 004096
Belkin: 0030BD
RE: Communication Media Karly Derosena 9/5/2016 12:11:28 AM
The word circuit has two very different meanings in networking, and sometimes it is hard
to understand which meaning is intended. Sometimes, we use the word circuit to refer to the
physical circuit—the actual wire—used to connect two devices. In this case, we are referring to the
http://threadcontent.next.ecollege.com/(NEXT(9aa8e367917140bc999f3323f7766024))/Main/CourseMode/Topic/TopicPrintView.ed?topicID=6000009372546&so… 2/38
,9/25/2016 Topic Print View
physical circuit—the actual wire—used to connect two devices. In this case, we are referring to the
physical media that carry the message we transmit, such as the twisted pair wire used to connect a
computer to the LAN in an office. In other cases, we are referring to a logical circuit used to
connect two devices, which refers to the transmission characteristics of the connection, such as when
we say a company has a T1 connection into the Internet.
Business Data Communications and Networking 12th Edition by Jerry Fitzgerald; Alan Dennis;
Alexandra Durchikova Wiley, August 2014 FitzGerald, J., Dennis, A., & Durchikova, A. (2014). Business
data communications and networking (12th ed.). J. Wiley & Sons.
RE: Communication
Christopher Grindey 9/5/2016 11:07:53 AM
Media
A physical circuit is talking about the path an electrical current travels between two or more
points. A logical circuit, also referred to as a virtual circuit, may seem like a path between two or
more points that is a fixed path, but actually is a path, which could be one of many different
physically arraigned paths.
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/circuit
RE:
Communication Jeremy Rak 9/8/2016 7:18:31 AM
Media
I agree that the physical circuit is between two points but the term describes more
the wire or cable itself. For example with a twisted pair wire describes the cables inner
makeup of twisting two wires together although from the outside it has a smooth
coating. The logical circuit describes the rate at which data is being transmitted
within the physical circuit.
~Jeremy
FitzGerald, J, Dennis, A, Durcikova, A. (2014). Business Data Communications and
Networking, 12th Edition. Wiley, 08/2014. VitalBook file.
RE: Communication
Elh Ibrahima Barry 9/5/2016 11:59:45 AM
Media
As mentioned in this week's reading, a circuit is a path that a signal travels on. This signal can
take the form of electrons through copper, as in twisted pair communication or of radio
transmissions through the air, such as in wireless radio communication. In the world of
networking, we divide circuits into two categories: physical and logical. Physical circuits are
referred as physical lines, such as copper, fiber, and the like. Optical fiber is a powerful medium
which is faster for the transfer of digital data. We can get more than 10 Terabit per second over
a fiber. Logical circuits might be for example "saying that we have a T1 out to the Internet."
In this case, T1 represents a speed, not a physical medium, therefore the T1 is actually a
logical circuit.
RE:
Communication Omolabake Dawodu 9/6/2016 5:41:07 PM
Media
according to our text, a circuit is a path between two or more pints along which and
electrical current can be carried. A logical circuit is a path between two or more points.
The logical circuit used to connect two devices, which refers to the transmission
http://threadcontent.next.ecollege.com/(NEXT(9aa8e367917140bc999f3323f7766024))/Main/CourseMode/Topic/TopicPrintView.ed?topicID=6000009372546&so… 3/38
, 9/25/2016 Topic Print View
characteristics of the connection, such as when a company connect a T1 connection
into the internet. The logical circuit consist of logic gates and does logical operations
on data, whereas physical circuit consists of physical ports group together.
RE: Communication
Shauna Allen 9/5/2016 12:19:41 PM
Media
The physical circuit is the actual wire used to connect two devices.
The logical circuit, used to connect two devices, is the transmission characteristics of the
connection, such as a T1 connection into the Internet.
The fiberoptic upgrade is an excellent idea! Because, "fiberoptic technology is a revolutionary
departure from the traditional copper wires of twisted pair cable or coaxial cable. One of the
main advantages of fiber optics is that it can carry huge amounts of information at
extremely fast data rates. This capacity makes it ideal for the simultaneous transmission of
voice, data, and image signals" (FitzGerald & Durcikova, 2015, p. 68).
Eureka! is really fast paced and could really benefit from the speed capability of fiberoptic
cable. And because the employees work 24/7, I believe this would be considered a harsh
environment, which is another advantage of the fiberoptic cable it works better under harsh
environments.
FitzGerald, J., Dennis, A., Durcikova, A. (2015). Business Data Communications and
Networking, 12th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from
https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781119127857/
RE:
Communication Leslie Thames 9/5/2016 8:43:06 PM
Media
Highlevel versus lowlevel. Logical suggests a higher perspective than the physical.
Clients identify with information legitimately by data component name;
notwithstanding, the real fields of information are physically situated in parts on a
circle. For instance, to discover which clients requested what number of a specific
item, the sensible perspective is client name and amount. Its physical association may
have client name in a client record and amount in a request document cross
referenced by client number. The physical grouping of the client record could be filed,
while the succession of the requested document could be consecutive.
RE: Communication
Winifred Oloni 9/5/2016 8:59:27 PM
Media
The physical circuit is the cable/wire used to connect two devices. Physical circuits are
subdivided into exclusiveuse (like a printer cable or an RS232 cable to a modem) and shared
use (Ethernet or Token
Ring between a PC and a server).
A logical or virtual circuit is defined as "a communications path that appears to be a single
circuit between the source and destination nodes. A virtual circuit is not a physical circuit; it is
a logical
connection between devices configured over one or more physical circuits." These are
subdivided into PVC's and SVCs.
FitzGerald, J., Dennis, A., Durcikova, A. (2015). Business Data Communications and
Networking, 12th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved
from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781119127857/
http://forums.cablingdesign.com/telecomtech/t1physicalvslogicalcircuit3516.htm
http://threadcontent.next.ecollege.com/(NEXT(9aa8e367917140bc999f3323f7766024))/Main/CourseMode/Topic/TopicPrintView.ed?topicID=6000009372546&so… 4/38
Week 2: Physical Layer and Data Link Layer Discussion
Communication Media Minicase (graded)
Eureka! is a telephone and Internetbased concierge service that specializes in obtaining things that are hard to
find (e.g., Super Bowl tickets, firstedition books from the 1500s, Fabergé eggs). It currently employees 60 staff
members who work 24 hours per day (over three shifts). Staff members answer phone calls and respond to
requests entered on the Eureka! website. Currently, each staff member has a desktop PC with two monitors and
a twisted pair connection (Cat5e) that offers speeds up to 100 Mbps. Some employees made a suggestion to the
CEO of Eureka! to upgrade their connection to a fiberoptic cable that can provide speeds up to 1 Gbps. What do
you think about this idea?
Responses
Response Author Date/Time
Communication Media Professor Gander 9/3/2016 10:53:42 PM
Class, you may have heard the terms physical and logical circuits in the textbook and
discussions. How do these circuits differ?
RE: Communication Media Jermaine Huggins 9/4/2016 9:43:20 AM
I think upgrading to a fiber‐op堀쐄c cable besides the high speed up to 1 Gbps it is a cost‐
effec堀쐄ve solu堀쐄on that provides a huge amount of bandwidth that can carry large
amount of data at fast data rates, because it carries a digital signal, that in the case of
Eureka it will ideal since fiber‐op堀쐄c cable is capable to transmit simultaneously voice,
data, and visual signals. Another advantage is other interferences cannot interrupt the
performance of transmission, allows much longer distances between amplifiers, and
since is made from fiber glass is not object to corrup堀쐄on and has high resistance to
heat. Upgrading from the current copper infrastructure (Cat5e) it should not be as
difficult as copper wire connec堀쐄on and fiber model requires less space than copper
which also represents long‐term costs savings.
RE: Communication
Brian Silver 9/4/2016 10:16:37 PM
Media
Physical circuit—the actual wire—used to connect two devices. In this case, we are referring to
the physical media that carry the message we transmit, such as the twisted pair wire used to
connect a computer to the LAN in an office. In other cases, we are referring to a logical circuit
used to connect two devices, which refers to the transmission characteristics of the connection,
such as when we say a company has a T1 connection into the Internet. In this case, T1 refers
not to the physical media (i.e., what type of wire is used) but rather to how fast data can be
sent through the connection.1 Often, each physical circuit is also a logical circuit, but
sometimes it is possible to have one physical circuit—one wire—carry several separate logical
circuits, or to have one logical circuit travel over several physical circuits. There are two
fundamentally different types of data that can flow through the circuit: digital and analog.
Computers produce digital data that are binary, either on or off, 0 or 1. In contrast, telephones
http://threadcontent.next.ecollege.com/(NEXT(9aa8e367917140bc999f3323f7766024))/Main/CourseMode/Topic/TopicPrintView.ed?topicID=6000009372546&so… 1/38
,9/25/2016 Topic Print View
produce analog data whose electrical signals are shaped like the sound waves they transfer;
they can take on any value in a wide range of possibilities, not just 0 or 1.
RE:
Communication Carlos Flores 9/7/2016 8:18:24 PM
Media
Yes. The way we identify the patterns in how we are going to set up the
infrastructure. How is the circuit going to perform and how it's going to be in its most
effective diagram. The differences also are found in the different types of materials
that are going to be used. The connection between the devices, but also the
connections between the internet producer and the company that receives the
service.
RE: Communication
Melody Barnhill 9/4/2016 10:47:36 PM
Media
A book on WAN technologies divides circuits into physical and logical. Physical circuits are subdivided
into exclusiveuse (like a printer
cable or an RS232 cable to a modem) and shareduse (Ethernet or Token Ring between a PC and a
server). A logical or virtual circuit is defined as "a communications path that appears to be a single circuit
between the source and destination nodes. A virtual circuit is not a physical circuit; it is a logical
conection between devices configured over one or more physical circuits." These are subdivided into
PVCs and SVCs.
RE:
Communication Jermaine Huggins 9/6/2016 7:21:58 AM
Media
Every device that connects to an IEEE 802 network, whether is Ethernet or WiFi has
a MAC or also called physical identifier. A MAC address is a unique identifier assigned
to the network interface of the device, these can be 48 or 64 bits. With this being said
every NIC has a MAC, if a device has more than one NIC then each NIC will have its
own unique MAC. A MAC can also be referred to as a BIA (burnedinaddress) since
this is a hardwired/hard coded into the network interface of the device.
Each manufacturer has a organizational unique identifier, below the OUI for other
some wellknown manufacturers.
Dell: 001422
Nortel: 0004DC
Cisco: 004096
Belkin: 0030BD
RE: Communication Media Karly Derosena 9/5/2016 12:11:28 AM
The word circuit has two very different meanings in networking, and sometimes it is hard
to understand which meaning is intended. Sometimes, we use the word circuit to refer to the
physical circuit—the actual wire—used to connect two devices. In this case, we are referring to the
http://threadcontent.next.ecollege.com/(NEXT(9aa8e367917140bc999f3323f7766024))/Main/CourseMode/Topic/TopicPrintView.ed?topicID=6000009372546&so… 2/38
,9/25/2016 Topic Print View
physical circuit—the actual wire—used to connect two devices. In this case, we are referring to the
physical media that carry the message we transmit, such as the twisted pair wire used to connect a
computer to the LAN in an office. In other cases, we are referring to a logical circuit used to
connect two devices, which refers to the transmission characteristics of the connection, such as when
we say a company has a T1 connection into the Internet.
Business Data Communications and Networking 12th Edition by Jerry Fitzgerald; Alan Dennis;
Alexandra Durchikova Wiley, August 2014 FitzGerald, J., Dennis, A., & Durchikova, A. (2014). Business
data communications and networking (12th ed.). J. Wiley & Sons.
RE: Communication
Christopher Grindey 9/5/2016 11:07:53 AM
Media
A physical circuit is talking about the path an electrical current travels between two or more
points. A logical circuit, also referred to as a virtual circuit, may seem like a path between two or
more points that is a fixed path, but actually is a path, which could be one of many different
physically arraigned paths.
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/circuit
RE:
Communication Jeremy Rak 9/8/2016 7:18:31 AM
Media
I agree that the physical circuit is between two points but the term describes more
the wire or cable itself. For example with a twisted pair wire describes the cables inner
makeup of twisting two wires together although from the outside it has a smooth
coating. The logical circuit describes the rate at which data is being transmitted
within the physical circuit.
~Jeremy
FitzGerald, J, Dennis, A, Durcikova, A. (2014). Business Data Communications and
Networking, 12th Edition. Wiley, 08/2014. VitalBook file.
RE: Communication
Elh Ibrahima Barry 9/5/2016 11:59:45 AM
Media
As mentioned in this week's reading, a circuit is a path that a signal travels on. This signal can
take the form of electrons through copper, as in twisted pair communication or of radio
transmissions through the air, such as in wireless radio communication. In the world of
networking, we divide circuits into two categories: physical and logical. Physical circuits are
referred as physical lines, such as copper, fiber, and the like. Optical fiber is a powerful medium
which is faster for the transfer of digital data. We can get more than 10 Terabit per second over
a fiber. Logical circuits might be for example "saying that we have a T1 out to the Internet."
In this case, T1 represents a speed, not a physical medium, therefore the T1 is actually a
logical circuit.
RE:
Communication Omolabake Dawodu 9/6/2016 5:41:07 PM
Media
according to our text, a circuit is a path between two or more pints along which and
electrical current can be carried. A logical circuit is a path between two or more points.
The logical circuit used to connect two devices, which refers to the transmission
http://threadcontent.next.ecollege.com/(NEXT(9aa8e367917140bc999f3323f7766024))/Main/CourseMode/Topic/TopicPrintView.ed?topicID=6000009372546&so… 3/38
, 9/25/2016 Topic Print View
characteristics of the connection, such as when a company connect a T1 connection
into the internet. The logical circuit consist of logic gates and does logical operations
on data, whereas physical circuit consists of physical ports group together.
RE: Communication
Shauna Allen 9/5/2016 12:19:41 PM
Media
The physical circuit is the actual wire used to connect two devices.
The logical circuit, used to connect two devices, is the transmission characteristics of the
connection, such as a T1 connection into the Internet.
The fiberoptic upgrade is an excellent idea! Because, "fiberoptic technology is a revolutionary
departure from the traditional copper wires of twisted pair cable or coaxial cable. One of the
main advantages of fiber optics is that it can carry huge amounts of information at
extremely fast data rates. This capacity makes it ideal for the simultaneous transmission of
voice, data, and image signals" (FitzGerald & Durcikova, 2015, p. 68).
Eureka! is really fast paced and could really benefit from the speed capability of fiberoptic
cable. And because the employees work 24/7, I believe this would be considered a harsh
environment, which is another advantage of the fiberoptic cable it works better under harsh
environments.
FitzGerald, J., Dennis, A., Durcikova, A. (2015). Business Data Communications and
Networking, 12th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from
https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781119127857/
RE:
Communication Leslie Thames 9/5/2016 8:43:06 PM
Media
Highlevel versus lowlevel. Logical suggests a higher perspective than the physical.
Clients identify with information legitimately by data component name;
notwithstanding, the real fields of information are physically situated in parts on a
circle. For instance, to discover which clients requested what number of a specific
item, the sensible perspective is client name and amount. Its physical association may
have client name in a client record and amount in a request document cross
referenced by client number. The physical grouping of the client record could be filed,
while the succession of the requested document could be consecutive.
RE: Communication
Winifred Oloni 9/5/2016 8:59:27 PM
Media
The physical circuit is the cable/wire used to connect two devices. Physical circuits are
subdivided into exclusiveuse (like a printer cable or an RS232 cable to a modem) and shared
use (Ethernet or Token
Ring between a PC and a server).
A logical or virtual circuit is defined as "a communications path that appears to be a single
circuit between the source and destination nodes. A virtual circuit is not a physical circuit; it is
a logical
connection between devices configured over one or more physical circuits." These are
subdivided into PVC's and SVCs.
FitzGerald, J., Dennis, A., Durcikova, A. (2015). Business Data Communications and
Networking, 12th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved
from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781119127857/
http://forums.cablingdesign.com/telecomtech/t1physicalvslogicalcircuit3516.htm
http://threadcontent.next.ecollege.com/(NEXT(9aa8e367917140bc999f3323f7766024))/Main/CourseMode/Topic/TopicPrintView.ed?topicID=6000009372546&so… 4/38
