3.

Multiplexing and Switching

3. Multiplexing and Switching

3.1 Multiplexing
Multiplexing is the set of techniques that allows the simultaneous transmission of multiple signals across
a single data link. For example, one cable can carry a hundred channels of TV. For Multiplexing, the link
can be shared whenever the bandwidth of a medium linking the two devices is greater than the bandwidth
needs of the devices. Thus, in a multiplexed system, n lines share the bandwidth of the one link. That is,
the MUX (Multiplexer) combines data from n input lines and transmit over a single high data capacity
data link. The DEMUX (Demultiplexer) at the other side, accepts data string, separates the data according
the channel and delivers them to the appropriate output lines as shown in the figure 3.1.

1 link, n channels D
n I/P Lines M E n O/P Lines
U M
X U
X

Fig. 3.1 Multiplexing

In the figure above, the four lines on the left direct their transmission streams to a MUX, which combines
them into a single stream and at the receiver end, that stream is fed into a DEMUX, which separates the
stream back into its component transmissions and directs them to their corresponding lines.
Multiplexing can be done in one of the three basic techniques : - FDM(Frequency Division
Multiplexing), TDM(Time Division Multiplexing) & WDM(Wavelength Division Multiplexing).

3.1 FDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing)

FDM is an analog technique (used for analog signals) in which the signals generated by different carrier
frequencies are combined into a single composite signal that can be transported by the link. Here, the
bandwidth of the link is greater than the combined bandwidths of the signals to be transmitted. In FDM,
the frequency spectrum is divided into bands called sub-channels or logical channels. These sub-
channels are separated by some unused channels called guard bands so as to prevent signals from
overlapping and thus prevent interference.
In FDM, the total bandwidth required is equal to the sum of the individual bandwidth of the signals to be
transmitted plus the guard bands that are required.

1 link, 3 channels D
M Channel 1 E
U M
Channel 2
X U
Channel 3
X

Fig. 3.2 FDM

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

The most natural example of frequency-division multiplexing is radio and television broadcasting, in
which multiple radio signals at different frequencies pass through the air at the same time. Another
example is cable television, in which many television channels are carried simultaneously on a single
cable.
An analogous technique called wavelength division multiplexing is used in fiber optic communication, in
which multiple channels of data are transmitted over a single optical fiber using
different wavelengths (frequencies) of light.
3.2 TDM (Time Division Multiplexing)
TDM is a digital process that allows several connections to share the high bandwidth of a link. Instead of
sharing a portion of the bandwidth as in FDM, time is shared. Each connection occupies a portion of time
in the link. The figure 3.2 shown below shows the conceptual view of TDM. In TDM, the link is shared
with time reference than by frequency.

1 Data Flow
D
M E
2
U M
X 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1
U
X
3
Fig. 3.3 TDM

3T 3T 3T
A3 A2 A1

3T 3T
B3 B2 C3 B3 A3 B2 A2 C1 A1
M
U
X Each frame is 3 time slots.
3T 3T Each time slot duration is T seconds.
C3 C1

Data are taken from each

line every 3T seconds Fig. 3.4 TDM
Each time slot duration
is T seconds.
In TDM, the data flow of each connection is divided into units, and the link combines one unit of each
connection to make a frame. The size of the unit can be 1 bit or several bits. For n input connections, a
frame is organized into a minimum of n time slots, each slot carrying one unit from each connection. Then
the data rate of the link that carries data from n connections must be n times the data rate of a connection
to guarantee the flow of data. The time slots are grouped into frames and a frame consists of one complete
cycle of time slots, with one slot dedicated to each sending device. In a system with n input lines, each
frame has n slots, with each slot allocated to carrying data from a specific input line.

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

Examples - Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), The GSM (Global System for Mobile
Communications) telephone system

Synchronous TDM
- the multiplexer allocates exactly the same slot to each device at all times , whether or not a device
has something to transmit.
- requires a common clock signal at both the ends ( sender & receiver)
- if there are n input lines, the frame contains a fixed no. of at least ‘n’ TM slots
- Time slot 1, for example, is assigned to device 1 alone and cannot be used by any other device as
shown in the figure.

Fig. 3.5 Synchronous TDM

Frames: In synchronous TDM, a frame consists of one complete cycle of time slots. Thus the number of
slots in frame is equal to the number of inputs. Figures (3.6 A & 3.6 B) below are example of how the
synchronous TDM works.

Fig. 3.6 Example of Synchronous TDM

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

Asynchronous TDM
- if the device has nothing to transmit then its time slot is allotted to another device.
- doesn’t require a common clock.
- In asynchronous TDM, each slot in a frame is not dedicated to the fix device. Each slot contains an
index of the device to be sent to and a message. Thus, the number of slots in a frame is not
necessary to be the same as the number of input devices.
- if there are n input lines, the frame contains not more than m slots where m<= n

Fig. 3.7 Asynchronous TDM

Frames : In asynchronous TDM, a frame contains a fix number of time slots. Each slot has an index of
which device to receive.
Figures (3.8 A & 3.8 B) are examples of how asynchronous TDM works

Fig. 3.8 Examples of Asynchronous TDM

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

3.2 Modems and Modulation and its Types (Pulse, Amplitude, Frequency and Phase)
An analog signal is a continuously varying electromagnetic wave that may be propagated over a variety
of media such are wire media (i.e. twisted pair cable, coaxial cable, fiber optics cable) and unguided
media, such as atmosphere or space propagation. The analog signal carries the analog data like the audio
or the human voice.
Sine Wave :
The sine wave is the most fundamental form of a periodic analog signal which is visualized as a simple
oscillating curve and its change over the course of cycle is smooth continuous and consistent.
Mathematically, a sine wave can be expressed as :
x(t) = A sin(2πf t + Φ)
where x(t) is the instantaneous amplitude, A is the peak value of the amplitude , f is the frequency and Φ
is the phase.

Amplitude (volts)

0
Time, t

Fig.3.9 Illustration of a sine wave

Amplitude :
The amplitude of a signal indicates the absolute value of the intensity. Then the maximum strength of a
signal is called the peak amplitude. It is measured in volts.
Value
Peak Amplitude

….
Time

Fig.3.10 Amplitude.
Frequency :
Period is the amount of time taken in seconds to complete one cycle and frequency is defined as the
number of periods in one second. It is the rate of change of signal with respect to time. It is measured in
Hertz (Hz) or cycles per second. If T is the period, then
Amplitude (volts)
Six period in 1 S Frequency = 6 Hz
1S
0 Time, t

T
Period = 1/6 Sec.
Fig.3.11 Illustration of period & frequency
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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

Frequency, f = 1/T.
Thus the frequency in the above figure is 6 Hz.
If the value of a signal changes over a very short period of time, then its frequency is high and if it
changes over a long period of time, its frequency is low.

Phase
Phase of a signal defines the position of the waveform relative to time zero. If the wave can be shifted
backward or forward along the time axis, then phase describes the amount of that shift. It indicates the
status of the first cycle.
Phase is measured in degrees or radians [ 360° is 2π rad; 1° is 2π/360 rad, and 1 rad is 360/(2π)]. Then a
phase shift of 360° corresponds to a shift of a complete period; a phaseAmplitude
shift of 180° corresponds to a shift
of one-half of a period; and a phase shift of 90° corresponds to a shift of one-quarter of a period.
Amplitude Amplitude
Time, t

Time, t Time, t (a) 180°

(c) 0° (b) 90°

Modulation
When audio signals are transmitted over thousands of kilometers through radio transmission, the audio
frequencies that lie within the frequency range of 15 Hertz to 20 Kilohertz have very small signal power
and thus cannot be transmitted via antenna for communication purposes. The radiation of electrical energy
is only possible at frequencies above 20 Kilohertz. The main advantage of high frequency signals is that
they can be transmitted over very long distances by dissipating very small power. Thus, the audio signals
must be sent along with the high frequency signals for communication. This can be done by
superimposing electrical audio signals on a high frequency wave called the carrier wave. Thus, when the
audio-frequency signal is superimposed on a carrier wave, the resulting wave gets all the characteristics of
the audio signal. The method of superimposing an audio signal over the carrier wave is called modulation.
After modulation is done, the resulting wave can be given to the antenna and the signal can be transmitted
over a long distance.
The process of impressing low-frequency information to be transmitted on to a high-frequency wave,
called the carrier wave, by changing the characteristics of its amplitude, or, frequency, or phase angle is
called modulation.

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

Another definition for modulation is:

The process of altering the characteristics of the amplitude, frequency, or phase angle of the high-
frequency signal in accordance with the instantaneous value of the modulating wave is called
modulation.
Modem
A modem (modulator-demodulator) is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital
information and demodulates the signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce
a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data.
That is, a modem is a device or program that enables a computer to transmit data over, for example,
telephone or cable lines. Computer information is stored digitally, whereas information transmitted over
telephone lines is transmitted in the form of analog waves. A modem converts between these two forms.

Fig. 3.13 Modem

The most familiar type is a voice band modem that turns the digital data of a computer into
modulated electrical signals in the voice frequency range of a telephone channel. These signals can be
transmitted over telephone lines and demodulated by another modem at the receiver side to recover the
digital data.
Modems are generally classified by the amount of data they can send in a given unit of time, usually
expressed in bits per second (bit/s or bps), or bytes per second (B/s). Modems can also be classified by
their symbol rate, measured in baud. The baud unit denotes symbols per second, or the number of times
per second the modem sends a new signal.

Need for Modulation

The reason why low frequency signals cannot be transmitted over long distances through space is listed
below:
1. Short Operating Range – When a wave has a large frequency, the energy associated with it will also
be large. Thus low frequency signals have less power that does not enable them to travel over long
distances.
2. Poor Radiation Efficiency – The radiation efficiency becomes very poor for low frequency signals.
3. Mutual Interference – If all audio frequencies are send continuously from different sources, they
would all get mixed up and cause erroneous interference air. If modulation is done, each signal will
occupy different frequency levels and can be transmitted simultaneously without any error.
Eg - If two musical programs were played at the same time within distance, it would be difficult for
anyone to listen to one source and not hear the second source. Since all musical sounds have

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

approximately the same frequency range, from about 50 Hz to 10KHz. If a desired program is shifted
up to a band of frequencies between 100KHz and 110KHz, and the second program shifted up to the
band between 120KHz and 130KHz, Then both programs gave still 10KHz bandwidth and the listener
can (by band selection) retrieve the program of his own choice. The receiver would down shift only
the selected band of frequencies to a suitable range of 50Hz to 10KHz.
4. Huge Antenna Requirement – For an effective signal transmission, the sending and receiving antenna
should be at least 1/4th of the wave length of the signal. Thus, for small frequencies, the antenna will
have kilometers of length. But if the signal has the range of MegaHertz frequency, then the antenna
size would be less. The carrier wave cannot be used alone for transmission purposes. Since its
amplitude, frequency, and phase angle are constant with respect to some preference.
Eg- A second more technical reason to shift the message signal to a higher frequency is related to
antenna size. It is to be noted that the antenna size is inversely proportional to the frequency to be
radiated. This is 75 meters at 1 MHz but at 15KHz it has increased to 5000 meters (or just over
16,000 feet) a vertical antenna of this size is impossible.

Fig. 3.14 Modulation

Types of Modulation
Since the three variables in the analog signal are the amplitude, frequency, and phase angle, the
modulation can be done by varying any one of them. We can modulate the information bearing signal into
two main types as;
1. Analog Modulation
2. Digital Modulation
Analog modulation takes an analog signal while digital modulation takes a digital signal. The Analog
modulation has a range of valid values while digital modulation only has two that is 0 & 1.
Though the analog modulation is cheaper to implement, digital modulation produces more accurate
output than analog modulation.
The analog modulation is also divided into three different types as follows:
1. Amplitude Modulation (AM)
2. Frequency Modulation (FM) Modulation
3. Phase Modulation (PM)
Analog Digital

Amplitude Frequency Phase Amplitude Frequency Phase

Modulation Modulation Modulation Shift Keying Shift Keying Shift Keying

Fig. Types of Modulation

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

Amplitude Modulation (AM)

The method of varying amplitude of a high frequency carrier wave in accordance with the information to
be transmitted, keeping the frequency and phase of the carrier wave unchanged is called Amplitude
Modulation. The information is considered as the modulating signal and it is superimposed on the carrier
wave by applying both of them to the modulator. The detailed diagram showing the amplitude modulation
process is given below.

Fig. 3.15 Amplitude Modulation

As shown above, the carrier wave has positive and negative half cycles. Both these cycles are varied
according to the information to be sent. The carrier then consists of sine waves whose amplitudes follow
the amplitude variations of the modulating wave. The carrier is kept in an envelope formed by the
modulating wave. From the figure, it can also seen that the amplitude variation of the high frequency
carrier is at the signal frequency and the frequency of the carrier wave is the same as the frequency of the
resulting wave.

Amplitude modulation (AM) is the modulation method used in the AM radio broadcast band. In this
system the intensity, or amplitude, of the carrier wave varies in accordance with the modulating signal.
When the carrier is thus modulated, a fraction of the power is converted to sidebands extending above and
below the carrier frequency by an amount equal to the highest modulating frequency. If the modulated
carrier is rectified (see rectifier) and the carrier frequency filtered out, the modulating signal can be
recovered. This form of modulation is not a very efficient way to send information; the power required is
relatively large because the carrier, which contains no information, is sent along with the information.

Frequency Modulation
In frequency modulation (FM), the frequency of the carrier wave is varied in such a way that the change
in frequency at any instant is proportional to another signal that varies with time. Its principal application
is also in radio, where it offers increased noise immunity and decreased distortion over the AM
transmissions at the expense of greatly increased bandwidth. The FM band has become the choice of

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

music listeners because of its low-noise, wide-bandwidth qualities; it is also used for the audio portion of
a television broadcast.

Phase modulation
Phase modulation, like frequency modulation, is a form of angle modulation (so called because the angle
of the sine wave carrier is changed by the modulating wave).
In phase modulation, the carrier signal is systematically shifted to 0 or 180 degrees at uniformly spaced
intervals. A better scheme is to use shifts of 45,135,225 or 315 degrees to transmit 2 bits of information
per time interval. The phase modulation makes it easier for the receiver to recognize the boundaries of the
time intervals.

Unlike its more popular counterpart, frequency modulation (FM), PM is not very widely used for radio
transmissions. This is because it tends to require more complex receiving hardware and there can be
ambiguity problems in determining whether, for example, the signal has changed phase by +180° or -
180°. PM is used, however, in digital music synthesizers such as the Yamaha DX7, even though these
instruments are usually referred to as "FM" synthesizers (both modulation types sound very similar, but
PM is usually easier to implement in this area).

Digital Modulation

For a better quality and efficient communication, digital modulation technique is employed. The main
advantages of the digital modulation over analog modulation include available bandwidth, high noise
immunity and permissible power. In digital modulation, a message signal is converted from analog to
digital message, and then modulated by using a carrier wave.

The carrier wave is switched on and off to create pulses such that the signal is modulated. Similar to the
analog, in this system, the type of the digital modulation is decided by the variation of the carrier wave
parameters like amplitude, phase and frequency.

The most important digital modulation techniques are based on keying such as Amplitude Shift Keying,
Frequency Shift Keying, Phase Shift Keying

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

In an Amplitude shift keying, the amplitude of the carrier wave changes based on the message signal or
on the base-band signal, which is in digital format. It is sensitive to noise and used for low-band
requirements.

In frequency shift keying, the frequency of the carrier wave is varied for each symbol in the digital data. It
needs larger bandwidths.

Similarly, the phase shift keying changes the phase of the carrier for each symbol and it is less sensitive to
noise.

Fig. 3.16 (a) A binary signal. (b) Amplitude Shift Keying. (c) Frequency Shift Keying. (d) Phase
Shift Keying.

Pulse Modulation
Pulse modulation involves modulating a carrier that is a train of regularly recurrent pulses. The
modulation might vary the amplitude (PAM or pulse amplitude modulation), the duration (PDM or pulse
duration modulation), or the presence of the pulses (PCM or pulse code modulation). PCM can be used to
send digital data; audio signals on a compact disc use pulse code modulation. Developed in 1939 by the
English inventor Alec H. Reeves, pulse code modulation is the most important form of pulse modulation
because it can be used to transmit information over long distances with hardly any interference or
distortion; for this reason, it has become increasingly important in the transmission of data in the space
program and between computers. Although PCM transmits digital instead of analog signals, the
modulating wave is continuous.
Pulse code modulation (PCM) is a digital scheme for transmitting analog data. The signals in PCM are
binary; that is, there are only two possible states, represented by logic 1 (high) and logic0 (low). This is

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

true no matter how complex the analog waveform happens to be. Using PCM, it is possible to digitize all
forms of analog data, including full-motion video, voices, music, telemetry, and virtual reality (VR).
Digital modulation begins with a digital modulating signal. The two most common digital modulating
techniques are phase-shift keying (PSK) and frequency-shift keying (FSK).

3.3 Switching and its Types:

Switching is process of channeling data received from any number of input ports to another destined port
that will transmit the data to its desired destination.
Switching is a technique which is used in large network; it means those networks that contain large
number of node, wire, device etc. In larger networks, there can be multiple paths from sender to receiver
and it is difficult to connect nodes point to point. So, the switching technique will decide the best route for
data transmission. In simple words, Switch is a hardware or software device which creates a connection
between one or more than one device/node/computer.
Network Switching can be of different types; Circuit Switching, Packet Switching & Message Switching.

Circuit switching
Circuit switching is a methodology of implementing a telecommunications network in which
two network nodes establish a dedicated communications channel (circuit) through the network before the
nodes may communicate.
Dedicated channel (or circuit) is established for the duration of a transmission.
The circuit guarantees the full bandwidth of the channel and remains connected for the duration of the
communication session.
Circuit-switching systems are ideal for communications that require data to be transmitted in real-time.
The defining example of a circuit-switched network is the analog telephone network. When a call is made
from one telephone to another, switches within the telephone exchanges create a continuous wire circuit
between the two telephones, for as long as the call lasts.

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

The channel remains open and in use throughout the whole call and cannot be used by any other data or
phone calls. This is shown in figure below.
In circuit switching, it is required to set up an end-to-end path before any data can be sent. The elapsed
time between the end of dialing and the start of ringing can easily be 10 sec, or more on long-distance or
international calls. During this time interval, the telephone system is hunting for a path as shown in the
figure (a).
It is quite notable that before the data transmission can even begin, the call request signal must propagate
all the way to the destination and be acknowledged.

Fig.3.17 Circuit Switching

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

Fig. 3.18 (a) Circuit Switching Fig. (b) Message Switching Fig. (c) Packet Swtiching

However, the circuit switching is considered inefficient as the equipment may be unused for a lot of the
call if no data is being sent.

Communication through circuit switching has 3 phases:

o Circuit establishment
o Data transfer
o Circuit Disconnect

Circuit Switching can use either of the two technologies:

Space Division Switches:
o Space Division Switching is a circuit switching technology in which a single transmission path is
accomplished in a switch by using a physically separate set of crosspoints.
o Space Division Switching can be achieved by using crossbar switch. A crossbar switch is a
metallic crosspoint or semiconductor gate that can be enabled or disabled by a control unit.
o The Crossbar switch is made by using the semiconductor. For example, Xilinx crossbar switch
using FPGAs.
o Space Division Switching has high speed, high capacity, and nonblocking switches.
Space Division Switches can be categorized in two ways:
o Crossbar Switch
o Multistage Switch
Crossbar Switch
The Crossbar switch is a switch that has n input lines and
n output lines. The crossbar switch has n2 intersection
points known as crosspoints.
Disadvantage of Crossbar switch:
The number of crosspoints increases as the number of stations is increased. Therefore, it becomes very
expensive for a large switch. The solution to this is to use a multistage switch.
Multistage Switch
o Multistage Switch is made by splitting the
crossbar switch into the smaller units and then
interconnecting them.
o It reduces the number of crosspoints.

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

o If one path fails, then there will be an availability of another path.

Time Division Switching

Time division switching involves the sharing of crosspoints for shorter periods of time i.e. the switches
can be used for different transmissions at different time slots. This paves way for the reassign of
crosspoints and its associated circuits for other needed connections.

Advantages Of Circuit Switching:

o In the case of Circuit Switching technique, the communication channel is dedicated.
o It has fixed bandwidth.
Disadvantages Of Circuit Switching:
o Once the dedicated path is established, the only delay occurs in the speed of data transmission.
o It takes a long time to establish a connection approx 10 seconds during which no data can be
transmitted.
o It is more expensive than other switching techniques as a dedicated path is required for each
connection.
o It is inefficient to use because once the path is established and no data is transferred, then the
capacity of the path is wasted.
o In this case, the connection is dedicated therefore no other data can be transferred even if the
channel is free.

Message Switching
Message switching is a network switching technique in which data is routed in its entirety from the source
node to the destination node, one hop at a time. During message routing, every intermediate switch in the
network stores the whole message. If the entire network's resources are engaged or the network becomes
blocked, the message-switched network stores and delays the message until ample resources become
available for effective transmission of the message i.e. it also uses store-and-forward technique. In this

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

technique a node receive a message and store the message until the free and appropriate route is found and
if found then send it otherwise stored it.

The main difference between Message and Packet Switching is that - in Message Switching, the message
is stored and related from Secondary memory while in Packet Switching, the message is stored and
forwarded from primary storage.
Before the advancements in packet switching, message switching acted as an efficient substitute for
circuit switching.

Packet Switching:
Packet switching is a digital networking communications method that groups all transmitted data –
regardless of content, type, or structure – into suitably sized blocks, called packets.
Packet switching features delivery of variable bit-rate data streams (sequences of packets) over a shared
network which allocates transmission resources as needed using statistical multiplexing or dynamic
bandwidth allocation techniques. With this technology, packets are sent as soon as they are available, and
there is no need to set up a dedicated path in advance, unlike with circuit switching. It is up to the routers
to use store-and-forward transmission to send each packet on its way to the destination on its own,
whereas in circuit switching, all data on the circuit follows the same path.

 In packet-based networks, the message gets broken into small data packets.
 These packets are sent out from the computer and they travel around the network seeking out the most
efficient route to travel as circuits become available.
 This does not necessarily mean that they seek out the shortest route.
 Each packet may go a different route from the others.
 Each packet is sent with a ‘header address’ which tells it where its final destination is, so it knows
where to go.

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

 The header address also describes the sequence for reassembly at the destination computer so that the
packets are put back into the correct order.
 One packet also contains details of how many packets should be arriving so that the recipient
computer knows if one packet has failed to turn up.
 If a packet fails to arrive, the recipient computer sends a message back to the computer which
originally sent the data, asking for the missing packet to be resent.

There are two approaches to Packet Switching:

Datagram Packet switching (Connectionless Packet Switching):
o It is a packet switching technology in which packet is known as a datagram, is considered as an
independent entity. Each packet contains the information about the destination and switch uses
this information to forward the packet to the correct destination.
o The packets are reassembled at the receiving end in correct order.
o In Datagram Packet Switching technique, the path is not fixed. The transmission occurs without
any prior connection establishment between the communicating devices and no acknowledgement
policy is facilitated
o Intermediate nodes take the routing decisions to forward the packets.
o Datagram Packet Switching is also known as connectionless switching.
Virtual Circuit Switching (Connection-oriented Packet Switching)
o Virtual Circuit Switching is also known as connection-oriented switching.
o In the case of Virtual circuit switching, a preplanned route is established before the messages are
sent. That is, each device in communication shares the handshaking signal for connection
establishment prior to data transmission. Each packet sent and received is acknowledged by the
receiver, so it is more reliable.
o Call request and call accept packets are used to establish the connection between sender and
receiver.
o In this case, the path is fixed for the duration of a logical connection.
o The Virtual Circuit Switching can also exist as PVC and SVC.
Permanent Virtual Circuit (PVC)
A permanent virtual circuit (PVC) is a permanent association between two DTEs that is established
when a user subscribes to a public network. Many providers charge a flat rate per month for a PVC in
addition to the charge per unit of data.
Switched Virtual Circuit (SVC)
A switched virtual circuit (SVC) is a temporary association between two DTEs that exists only for the
duration of a call. Most providers charge per minute for an SVC in addition to a charge per unit of
data.

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 3. Multiplexing and Switching

Advantages of Packet Switching

» More Security options
» Bandwidth used to full potential
» Devices of different speeds can communicate
» Not affected by line failure (redirects signal), the packets may be transferred through alternate routes.
» Availability – no waiting for a direct connection to become available
» During a crisis or disaster, when the public telephone network might stop working, e-mails and texts
can still be sent via packet switching

Disadvantages of Packet Switching

» Since no bandwidth is reserved with the packet switching, packets may have to wait to be forwarded,
which introduces queuing delay and congestion if many packets are sent at the same time. So, under
heavy use, there can be a delay
» Data packets can get lost or become corrupted
» Protocols are needed for a reliable transfer
» Not so good for some types data streams (e.g. real-time video streams can lose frames due to the way
packets arrive out of sequence)

Comparison of Circuit-Switched and Packet-Switched networks

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