Digital Switching

SPACE DIVISION SWITCHING

• The simplest switching structure is a rectangular array of cross-
points as shown in Figure 5.2.
• This switching matrix can be used to connect any one of N inlets
to any one of M outlets.
• If the inlets and outlets are connected to two-wire circuits, only
one cross-point per connection is required.
• Rectangular cross-point arrays are designed to provide intergroup
(transit) connections only, that is, from an inlet group to an outlet
group.
• Applications for this type of an operation occur in the following:
– Remote concentrators.
– Call distributors.
– The portion of a PBX or end-office switch that provides transit switching.
– Single stages in multiple stage switches.
SPACE DIVISION SWITCHING
 SPACE DIVISION SWITCHING

• In most of the foregoing applications, it is not necessary that the

inlets be connectable to every outlet.
• In situations involving large groups of outlets, considerable savings
in total cross-points can be achieved if each inlet can access only a
limited number of outlets.
• When such a situation occurs "limited availability" is said to exist.
• By overlapping the available outlet groups for various inlet groups,
a technique called "grading" is established.
• An example of a graded switching matrix is shown in Figure 5.3.
• Notice that if outlet connections are judiciously chosen, the
adverse effect of limited availability is minimized.
• For example, if inlets 1 and 8 in Figure 5.3 request a connection to
the outlet group, outlets 1 and 3 should be chosen instead of outlets
1 and 4 to avoid future blocking for inlet 2.
SPACE DIVISION SWITCHING
 SPACE DIVISION SWITCHING
• Graded switching structures were often used for access to large trunk
groups in electromechanical switches where cross-points were
expensive and individual switching modules were limited in size.
• Intragroup switching, as for loop-to-loop switching, requires each loop
to be connectable to every other loop.
• Thus full availability from all inlets to all outlets of the switching
matrix is required.
• Figure 5.4 shows two matrix structures that can be used to fully
interconnect two-wire lines.
• The dashed lines indicate that corresponding inlets and outlets of two-
wire switching matrices are actually connected together to provide
bidirectional transmission on two-wire circuits.
• For purposes of describing switching matrices, however, it is
convenient to consider the inlets and outlets of two-wire switching
matrices as being distinct.
 SPACE DIVISION SWITCHING
• Both structures in Figure 5.4 allow any connection to be established by
selecting a single cross-point.
• The square matrix, which is also called a two-sided matrix, allows any
particular connection to be established in two ways.
• For example, if input link i is to be connected to input link j, the
selected cross-point can be at the intersection of inlet i and outlet j—or
at the intersection of inlet j; and outlet i.
• For simplicity these cross-points are referred to as (i,j) and (j, i),
respectively.
• In a typical implementation cross-point (i,j) is used when input i
requests service, and crosspoint (j, i) is used when input j requests
service.
 SPACE DIVISION SWITCHING

• In the triangular matrix of Figure 5.4, the redundant cross-points are

eliminated.
• The cross-point reduction does not come without complications,
however. Before setting up a connection between switch input i and
switch input j, the switch control element must determine which is
larger: i or j.
• If i is larger, cross-point (i, j) is selected. If i is smaller, cross-point (j, i)
must be selected.
• With computer controlled switching, the line number comparison does
not represent a significant imposition.
 SPACE DIVISION SWITCHING
• Switching machines for four-wire circuits require separate connections
for the go and return branches of a circuit.
• Thus two separate connections must be established for each service
request.
• Figure 5.5 depicts a square matrix structure used to provide both
connections.
• The structure is identical to the square matrix shown in Figure 5.4 for
two-wire switching.
• The difference corresponding inlets and outlets are not connected to a
common two-wire input.
• All of the inlets of the four-wire switch are connected to the wire pair
carrying the incoming direction of transmission, and all of the outlets
are connected to the outgoing pairs.
• When setting up a connection between four-wire circuits i and j, the
matrix in Figure 5.5 must select both crosspoints (i,j) and (j,i).
• In actual operation these two crosspoints may be selected in unison and
implemented as a common module.
SPACE DIVISION SWITCHING
 Multiple Stage Switching
• In the switching structures described to this point, an inlet is connected
directly to an outlet through a single crosspoint. For this reason, these
switching structures are referred to as "single stage" switches
• Single stage switches have the property that each individual crosspoint
can only be used to interconnect one particular inlet/outlet pair.
• Since the number of inlet/outlet pairs is equal to N(N - 1)/2 for a
triangular array, or N(N - 1) for a square array, the number of
crosspoints required for a large switch is prohibitive.
• Furthermore, the large number of crosspoints on each inlet and outlet
line imply a large amount of capacitive loading on the message paths.
• Another fundamental deficiency of single stage switches is that one
specific crosspoint is needed for each specific connection. If that
crosspoint fails, the associated connection cannot be established.
 Multiple Stage Switching
• To increase the utilization efficiency of the crosspoints and thereby
reduce the total number, it is necessary that any particular crosspoint
be usable for more than one potential connection.
• If crosspoints are to be shared, however, it is also necessary that more
than one path be available for any potential connection so that blocking
does not occur.
• The alternate paths serve to eliminate or reduce blocking and also to
provide protection against failures.
• The sharing of crosspoints for potential paths through the switch is
accomplished by multiple stage switching.
• A block diagram of one particular form of a multiple stage switch is
shown in Figure 5.6.
Multiple Stage Switching
 Multiple Stage Switching
• The switch of Figure 5.6 is a three-stage switch in which the inlets and
outlets are partitioned into subgroups of n inlets and n outlets each.
• The inlets of each subgroup are serviced by a rectangular array of
crosspoints.
• The inlet arrays (first stage) are n x k arrays where each one of the k
outputs is connected to one of the k center stage arrays.
• The interstage connections are often called junctors. The third stage
consists of k x n rectangular arrays that provide connections from each
center stage array to the groups of n outlets.
• All center stage arrays are N/n by N/n arrays that provide connections
from any first-stage array to any third-stage array.