Computer Network Freaks

Ever wondered how Bandwidth is shared on a link in a network?

The two core methods are TDM and FDM. TDM stands for Time Division Multiplexing. FDM stands for Frequency Division Multiplexing.



Time Division Multiplexing(TDM):-
Here bandwidth is shared with respect to time i.e whole of bandwidth is given to a computer for some specific interval of time.

Frequency Division Multiplexing(FDM).
Here Bandwidth is shared with respect to frequency ie if two computer are connected on a shared link,each computer will get half of the total bandwidth.


Let us take an example:-
Suppose there are two computer connected on a shared link of bandwidth 1Mbps.

Now if we use TDM each user will get the full 1Mbps bandwidth for 1sec(just for example). i.e If computer A gets 1 Mbps for 1 sec,computer B will get that bandwidth for the next 1 sec

Now if we use FDM,the links bandwidth will get shared i.e each computer will use 500 kbps bandwidth.

The methods explained above is not the one implemented in current technologies but is basis of understanding the current technologies.