Serial TransmissionWhat is it?Serial transmission is the transfer of data between two separate devices using only a single transmission line over long distances. It transmit data as single bits. There are two types of serial transmission, synchronous and asynchronous. In synchronous transmissions, bits are grouped into frames and are sent continuously no matter if there is or isn't data to be transmitted. In asynchronous transmissions, bits are sent in independent units in groups. They have no start/stop flags and no data link synchronisation. This allows for random size gaps between frames.
Advantages/DisadvantagesAdvantages of serial transmission are that, since it only uses a single transmission line, it is more cost-effective, covers longer distances and because there is only one wire, there is no timing problem from one wire being longer than another. However, the disadvantages are that it is a lot slower, as bits are sent one after the other and the overall transmission cost may increase due to the conversion devices at the source and destination.
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Parallel TransmissionsWhat is it?Parallel transmission, on the other hand, is the transfer of data using multiple, parallel wires over short distances. This form of transmission is synchronised with a clock. When transmitting data n bits, n wires are used to transmit simultaneously.
Advantages/DisadvantagesAdvantages of parallel transmission are that it is faster, since it transfers data using multiple wires simultaneously. Another advantage is that clock frequency can be kept low without affecting the speed of the operation. A disadvantage is that it’s more expensive since n bits requires n wires.
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