Data communication
This or that
Sender or Receiver? Medium or Protocol? Quick Recall
Do you know the difference? Answer each pair before I do.
Quick check · tap an answer to continue
Lesson notes
Identify the five components of data communication and explain each one's role in a given scenario
Key points
- Protocol / Medium: Your WhatsApp rules are the protocol; the fibre and airwaves carrying them are the medium.
- Sender / Receiver: In Accra your phone is the sender; your friend's phone in Kumasi is the receiver.
- Message / Protocol: The message is the data itself; the protocol is the agreed rules for formatting and sending it.
- Protocol / Router: A router is hardware you can touch; a protocol is a set of rules, never a device.
Takeaway: Five components: message, sender, receiver, medium, protocol (rules).
Quick check: When a lecturer streams a lecture to UMaT students, what is the lecture video?
- The protocol
- The message
- The transmission medium
The message is the data being communicated; the medium and protocol only carry and govern it.
senderreceivertransmission mediumprotocol
Lessons like this, for your syllabus.
Short narrated study videos written for your course, level and exam. Free to start.
Get lessons for your own syllabus