Switching

1
 Switched Communications Networks
• A switched network consists of a series of interlinked nodes, called
switches.
• Switches are devices capable of creating temporary connections
between two or more devices linked to the switch. In a switched
network, some of these nodes are connected to the end systems
(computers or telephones, for example). Others are used only for
routing.
• Long distance transmission between stations (called “end devices”)
is typically done over a network of switching nodes.
• Switching nodes do not concern with content of data. Their
purpose is to provide a switching facility that will move the data
from node to node until they reach their destination (the end
device).
• In a switched communications network, data entering the network
from a station are routed to the destination by being switched
from node to node.
Simple Switching Network

3
Switching Types
 Circuit Switching
• A circuit-switched network consists of a set of
switches connected by physical links.
• A connection between two stations is a
dedicated path made of one or more links.
• However, each connection uses only one
dedicated channel on each link.
• Each link is normally divided into n channels by
using FDM or TDM
A Circuit Switched Network
 Important points about Circuit Switching
• Circuit switching takes place at the physical layer.
• Before starting communication, the stations must make a
reservation for the resources to be used during the
communication.
• These resources must remain dedicated during the entire
duration of data transfer until the connection terminated.
• Data transferred between the two stations are not
packetized.
• There is no addressing involved during data transfer.
• The switches route the data based on their occupied
bandwidth or time slot, but there is end to end addressing
used during setup phase.
Example of Circuit Switching
 Three Phases in circuit switching

 Set Up Phase

 Data Transfer Phase

 Tear Down Phase

 Circuit Switching Properties
• Inefficiency
– Channel capacity is dedicated for the whole duration
of a connection
– If no data, capacity is wasted
• Delay
– Long initial delay
– Low data delay
• Developed for voice traffic (public
telephone network) but can also applied to
data traffic.
– For voice connections, the resulting circuit will enjoy a
high percentage of utilization because most of the
time one party or the other is talking.
Delay in a circuit-switched network
• Problem of circuit switching
– designed for voice service
– Resources dedicated to a particular call
– For data transmission, much of the time the
connection is idle (say, web browsing)
– Data rate is fixed
• Both ends must operate at the same rate during the
entire period of connection
• Packet switching is designed to address these
problems.
 Packet Switching
• Data are transmitted in short packets
• Each packet contains a portion of user data plus
some control info which contains at least routing
(addressing) info, so as to be routed to the
intended destination
• No resource allocation for a packet
• Works on Store and Forward techniques
– On each switching node, packets are received, stored
briefly (buffered) and passed on to the next node.
Use of Packets
 Packet Switching Technique
Two approaches

• Datagram approach
• Virtual circuit approach
 Datagram Packet Switching
• Each packet is treated independently of all others.
• Packets in this approach are referred to as
datagrams.
• Sometimes it also referred to as connectionless
networks.
• Packets can take any possible route.
• Datagram switching is normally done at the network
layer.
• Packets may arrive at the receiver out of order.
• Packets may go missing. It is up to the receiver to re-
order packets and recover from missing packets.
• Example: Internet
A datagram network with four switches (routers)

17
 Properties of Datagram Switching

• Routing Table:
In this type of network, each switch (or packet switch) has a
routing table which is based on the destination address. The
routing tables are dynamic and are updated periodically. The
destination addresses and the corresponding forwarding output
ports are recorded in the tables.
• Destination Address
Every packet in a datagram network carries a header that
contains, among other information, the destination address of
the packet. When the switch receives the packet, this
destination address is examined; the routing table is consulted
to find the corresponding port through which the packet should
be forwarded. This address, remains the same during the entire
journey of the packet.
 Properties of Datagram Switching Cont…

 Efficiency: The efficiency of a datagram network

is better than that of a circuit-switched network;
resources are allocated only when there are packets
to be transferred.
 Delay: There may be greater delay in a datagram
network than in a virtual-circuit network.
Delay in a datagram network
 Virtual Circuit Network
• It is a cross between a circuit-switched network and
a datagram network.
• A preplanned route is established before any packets
are sent, then all packets follow the same route.
• Each packet contains a virtual circuit identifier
instead of destination address, and each node on
the pre established route knows where to forward
such packets.
– The node need not make a routing decision
for each packet.
• Example: X.25, Frame Relay, ATM 21
 Virtual Circuit Characteristics
• It follow the three phases like circuit switching
• Set-up phase
• Data transfer phase
• Tear-down or connection termination phase
• No dedicated resources reserved for the virtual circuit
• Resources can be allocated during the setup phase or on
demand.
• All packets follow the same path established during the
connection.
• Data are packetized and each packet carries an address
in the header
• It is normally implemented in the data link layer.
Virtual Circuit cont…
 Message Switching
• In message switching, end users communicate by
sending and receiving messages that included the
entire data to be shared.
• Messages are the smallest individual unit. Also,
the sender and receiver are not directly
connected.
• There are a number of intermediate nodes
transfer data and ensure that the message
reaches its destination.
• Message switched data networks are hence called
hop-by-hop systems. 24
 Charecteristics
• Store and Forward
• Message delivery

26
 Store and forward
• The intermediate nodes have the responsibility
of transferring the entire message to the next
node.
• Hence, each node must have storage capacity. A
message will only be delivered if the next hop
and the link connecting it are both available,
otherwise it’ll be stored indefinitely.
• A store-and-forward switch forwards a message
only if sufficient resources are available and the
next hop is accepting data. This is called the
store-and-forward property. 27
 Message Delivery
• This implies wrapping the entire information
in a single message and transferring it from
the source to the destination node.
• Each message must have a header that
contains the message routing information,
including the source and destination.

28
Comparison of
communication
switching
techniques
Difference between Circuit switching, packet switching
and message switching

30