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Lsn3Switching Techniques

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15 views5 pages

Lsn3Switching Techniques

Uploaded by

Golden Kahwema
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Switching Techniques

Organisations and individuals can transfer data over large and complicated networks where data
can take multiple paths from sender to receiver. A number of signal switching or signal routing
techniques will decide the best route for data transmission. The 3 basic switching techniques that
can be used are as follows:

- Circuit switching
- Message switching
- Packet switching

The following diagram summarises the above switching methods.

Fig 3.24 Switching methods

Circuit Switching
A signal routing method in which the path (route) is first established from sender to receiver
immediately before data transmission can start. An end-to-end path has to be established before
communication can occur. Thus, a circuit must be established first.
The circuit is maintained for the whole duration of transmission. This provides a dedicated
communication path between two stations and offers bandwidth that cannot be infringed upon by
other users. It implies that the communicating parties would monopolise the whole
communication channel during transmission. It is only after completion of communication that
the channel will be released for use by other parties.
Fig 3.25 Circuit switching

Circuit switching has the following major phases:


i. Circuit establishment – a transmitter to receiver circuit is established.
ii. Data transfer – data is now sent over the dedicated channel.
iii. Circuit disconnect – connection termination.

In circuit switching,
- There is no need for waiting period for data. There is continuous transmission that ensures
better utilisation of the channel’s bandwidth.
- The sender and receiver must send and receive data at the same rate.
- The transmission path remains open (connected) for the sender and the receiver until
transmission is complete.
- After transmission, the path can now be released for others to use.
- If no path is established, transmission cannot occur
- Similar to normal telephone systems whereby a specific line is routed from point A to point
B and is dedicated but not necessarily used all the time.
- Data is not necessarily split, thus is send as it is.
- Data signals are received in the same order they are send, therefore no need for processing at
the receiving end.
- Used in telephone conversations, live broadcast feeds, audio messages, etc
- Suitable for real-time systems

Advantages of circuit switching


- No congestion is encountered.
- Dedicated transmission channel with guaranteed fixed high data transfer rate.
- Less transmission errors as data in send in its entirety

Disadvantages of circuit switching


- No data can be sent by other parties even if there is no data being transferred. This also
wastes the bandwidth.
- Long delays in connection setup, takes about 10 seconds to establish a circuit connection
with no data having been send.
- Expensive as dedicated connection is required every time when sending data

Message Switching
- Also called a store and forward network
- Message switching is a switching technique in which a message is transferred as a complete
unit and routed through intermediate nodes at which it is stored and forwarded.

Fig 3.26 Message switching

- The whole message may be routed by any convenient route.


- No physical/dedicated path is established in advance between sender and receiver
- Data is stored at a hop (which may be router) then forwarded one hop later.
- Each block is received in its entity form and inspected for errors
- Data is not transmitted in real time.
- Blocking cannot occur
- Delays are very common
- Sender and receiver need not be compatible since sending will be done by routers, which
can change data format, bit rate and then revert it back to original format on receiving or
submit it in different form.
- Storing data solves congested networks since data can be stored in queue and forwarded
later when channel becomes free
- Priorities can be used to manage networks
- Very slow if the number of nodes is many since each node stores before forwarding the data
- Now implemented over packet or circuit switched data networks.
- Each message is treated as a separate entity.
- Each message contains addressing information, which is used by switches for transfer to the
next destination.
- Used in e-mails and in telex forwarding
- There is often no real limit on the message / block size.

Advantages of circuit switching


- more devices can share network bandwidth
- reduced traffic congestion
- one message can be sent to many destinations through broadcast addresses
- Message priority can be used to manage the network
- It supports the data of unlimited size.

Disadvantages of Circuit switching


- often costly – must have large storage devices to hold potentially long messages
- not compatible with most real time applications as data can stored and then forwarded when
channels becomes free

Packet Switching:
- Data is first split into smaller chunks called packets (or datagrams) which may take different
routes and then reassembled to the original order at their destination.
- Each packet is assigned a unique number that would be used in determining the reassembling
order at the receiver
- Packets are routed to the next (intermediate) node along an appropriate route, which can store
and transmit the packet until the destination.
- Each packet takes its own convenient path and then re-assembled at the receiving end.
- Packets take the shortest path necessary.
- Packets do not necessarily arrive at the same time or in correct order.
- At the destination, packets are re-grouped to the original message.
- Packets can be of fixed size
- Each packet has the following data: source address, destination address, error control signal,
packet size, packet sequence number, etc.
- If any packet is missing or corrupted, then the sender would be asked to resend the whole
message.
- If the correct order of the packets is reached, then the acknowledgment message will be sent.

Advantages of packet switching:


- Makes more efficient use of communication lines
- Cheap as cost depends on number of packets send, not distance, so all data can be
transmitted at local call rates
- Less likely to be affected by network failure since an alternative route is used from each
node.
- Security is better since packets follow different routes
- No call set-up is required.
- Fast and suitable for interactive applications

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