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Switching Techniques
Data is efficiently transmitted over the network using switching techniques. Let us understand what these switching
techniques are exactly. There are two types of switching techniques used today to facilitate communication between
two computers on a network:
Switching Techniques
Circuit Switching Packet Switching
Circuit Switching
A communication technique in which a dedicated and continuous connection is established between a sender
and receiver to communicate with each other is called circuit switching. It requires a physical connection between
computers to work. Following figure shows the implementation of circuit switching technique:
Dedicated
Connections Link
Terminal (1) Terminal (4)
Link
Switch (1) Switch (2)
Link Link
Terminal (2) Switch (3) Terminal (5)
Dedicated Dedicated
Link Connections Connections
Switch (4) Switch (5)
Terminal (3) Terminal (6)
Features of Circuit Switching
Some of the common features of circuit switching technique are as follows:
Ð ÐIt provides full bandwidth and remains connected until the connection is terminated.
Ð ÐIt is still unavailable to other users, even if there is no communication on a dedicated circuit.
Ð ÐOne of the best examples of circuit switching technique is an early analog telephone network. This type of network
is known as circuit-switched network. When a call is made from one phone to another, switches in the telephone
exchange generate a continuous wire circuit between the two phones that lasts for the duration of the call.
Packet Switching
Packet switching is a data switching technique in which a data, to be sent, is divide into small pieces. These small pieces
are known as packets (fixed-size blocks of data with any content, type, or structure). These packets are then routed
individually between nodes through shared data lines. Following figure shows the implementation of the packet
switching technique:
Basics of Networking and Web Architecture 109

