Syncword
In computer networks, a syncword, sync character, sync sequence or preamble is used to synchronize a data transmission by indicating the end of header information and the start of data. The syncword is a known sequence of data used to identify the start of a frame, and is also called reference signal or midamble in wireless communications.
Prefix codes allow unambiguous identification of synchronization sequences and may serve as self-synchronizing code.
Examples
In an audio receiver receiving a bit stream of data, an example of a syncword is 0x0B77 for an AC-3 encoded stream. The Bisync protocol of the 1960s used a minimum of two ASCII "SYN" characters (0x16…0x16) to achieve character synchronization in an undifferentiated bit stream, then other special characters to synchronize to the beginning of a frame of characters.[1][2]
The syncwords can be seen as a kind of delimiter. Various techniques are used to avoid delimiter collision, or—
Alternatives
In some communication systems, a receiver can achieve character synchronization from an undifferentiated bit stream, or start-of-header synchronization from a byte stream, without the overhead of an explicit syncword. For example, the FSK441 protocol achieves character synchronization by synchronizing on any "space" characters in the message – in effect, every "space" character in the message does double duty as a syncword. For example, CRC-based framing achieves character and start-of-header synchronization.
In a self-synchronizing code, every character is, in effect, a syncword, and can be used to achieve character synchronization in an undifferentiated bit stream.
Preamble
In digital communication, preamble is a sequence of known bits sent in each frame. It is used for frame synchronization such as in Ethernet frames, as well as for channel estimation.
