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 Show understanding of circuit switching and where it is applicable

Circuit-Switching
Circuit switching is a mechanism of assigning a predefined path from source node to destination
node during the entire period of connection. Plain old telephone system (POTS) is a well-known
example of analogue 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.

Circuit-switched is a type of network in which a physical path is obtained for and dedicated to a
single connection between two end-points in the network for the duration of the connection.
Ordinary voice phone service is circuit-switched. The telephone company reserves a specific
physical path to the number you are calling for the duration of your call. During that time, no one
else can use the physical lines involved.

The defining example of a circuit-switched network is the early 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.

Circuit switching contrasts with packet switching which divides the data to be transmitted into
packets transmitted through the network independently. In packet switching, instead of being
dedicated to one communication session at a time, network links are shared by packets from
multiple competing communication sessions, resulting in the loss of the quality of service guarantees
that are provided by circuit switching.

In circuit switching, the bit delay is constant during a connection, as opposed to packet switching,
where packet queues may cause varying and potentially indefinitely long packet transfer delays.
No circuit can be degraded by competing users because it is protected from use by other callers
until the circuit is released and a new connection is set up. Even if no actual communication is taking
place, the channel remains reserved and protected from competing users.

Virtual circuit switching is a packet switching technology that emulates circuit switching, in the sense
that the connection is established before any packets are transferred, and packets are delivered in
order.

While circuit switching is commonly used for connecting voice circuits, the concept of a dedicated
path persisting between two communicating parties or nodes can be extended to signal content
other than voice. Its advantage is that it provides for continuous transfer without the overhead
associated with packets making maximal use of available bandwidth for that communication. Its
disadvantage is that it can be relatively inefficient because unused capacity guaranteed to a
connection cannot be used by other connections on the same network.

Examples of circuit-switched networks

 Public switched telephone network (PSTN)
 ISDN B-channel
 Circuit Switched Data (CSD) and High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data (HSCSD) service in cellular
systems such as GSM
 Datakit
 X.21 (Used in the German DATEX-L and Scandinavian DATEX circuit switched data network)
 Optical mesh network

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"A circuit-switched network is good for certain kinds of applications with limited points to go to. If
you're doing voice applications solely, it's great," says Maloff. "But if you have multiple locations to
get to and large amounts of data to transmit, it's better to break it down into packets."

Voice-over-IP vendors point out that IP-based calls are cheaper than circuit-based ones, but analysts
say it will be a long time before corporations abandon proven PBX systems and use packet-based
networks for data, voice and video. The biggest impediment to voice-over-IP is poor voice quality
and call latency, says analyst Michael Arellano at Degas Communications Group Inc. in Westport,
Conn. "With packet-switched networks, what happens if the packets containing voice signals arrive
at different times or in a different order? (A congested network) can also drop packets."

"Currently, there's a PBX side of the house and an IT side of the house," Westfall says. "But if you survey
IT managers, they're not hopping up and down to put voice on data networks. They have enough
challenges maintaining the data network."

"PBX is a proven technology. Although it's proprietary, it's efficient at delivering voice traffic and
offering features like voice mail," Westfall says.

"Packet switching is more efficient," Maloff agrees. "But we'll have hybrid systems for the next several
years."

 Show understanding of packet switching

Packet switching is the method by which the internet works, it features delivery of packets of data
between devices over a shared network. For example the school web server sending you a
webpage over the internet or you sending an email to a friend. To get from one device to another
the data packets will have to travel through network adapters, switches, routers and other network
nodes. The route taken by each packet might vary and at times there might be a lot of data
travelling through these nodes meaning packets will be queued. This will result in varying times it takes
to send data from one device to another depending on the traffic load in the network.

If you play computer games online you might have heard the term latency (or lag), this is the time
taken to send data from one device to another. The higher the latency (time taken to send data),
the less responsive your game will be. People with very low latency tend to do better at games as
their machines will be more responsive.

Example: The ping command

To see the time it takes to send a message using packet switching you can use the ping command
to time how long it takes to send data to another device, in this case we have used the command
prompt to ping the www.example.com server:

# ping -c 5 www.example.com
PING www.example.com (192.0.43.10) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 43-10.any.icann.org (192.0.43.10): icmp_seq=1 ttl=250 time=80.5 ms
64 bytes from 43-10.any.icann.org (192.0.43.10): icmp_seq=2 ttl=250 time=180.1 ms
64 bytes from 43-10.any.icann.org (192.0.43.10): icmp_seq=3 ttl=250 time=80.3 ms

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64 bytes from 43-10.any.icann.org (192.0.43.10): icmp_seq=4 ttl=250 time=80.3 ms

64 bytes from 43-10.any.icann.org (192.0.43.10): icmp_seq=5 ttl=250 time=80.4 ms

As you can see the same data is being sent to the same location in all 5 attempts, but the second
attempt met traffic on the way and took much longer. However, at 180.1 milliseconds you probably
wouldn't notice.

As packet switching doesn't define a set route for data to be sent by, any disruption in the network
can be circumnavigated by re-routing:

Example: The trace command

The tracert command is used to map the route from one machine to another on the internet showing
all the intermediate nodes, in this case, the message took ten steps to get there. The code above
shows a trace from a home network to the www.google.com website. You can see that the 4th hop
got lost and the data had to be re-routed.

# tracert www.google.com

Tracing route to www.l.google.com [209.85.147.99]

over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 62 ms 99 ms 99 ms bebox.config [192.168.1.254]
2 53 ms 19 ms 18 ms 87-194-56-8.bethere.co.uk [87.194.56.8]
3 * * 83 ms 10.1.2.177
4 * * * Request timed out.
5 20 ms 17 ms 17 ms 64.233.175.25
6 20 ms 38 ms 19 ms 209.85.253.92
7 26 ms 56 ms 23 ms 66.249.95.173
8 45 ms 24 ms 24 ms 72.14.236.191
9 33 ms 35 ms 35 ms 216.239.46.221
10 27 ms 22 ms 22 ms bru01m01-in-f99.1e100.net [209.85.147.99]

Trace complete.

If you want to try this at home there are different commands used on different operating systems:
 Windows - tracert
 Linux - tracepath or traceroute
 Mac - traceroute

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 Explain how packet switching is used to pass messages across a network, including the Internet

Packet switching steps

1. Data split into chunks (packets)
2. Each packet has a from address, to address and payload (data chunk)
3. If data requires multiple chunks then the order of each packet is noted
4. Packets sent onto the network, moving from router to router taking different paths (set by the
router). Each packet's journey time can therefore differ.
5. Once packets arrive they are re-ordered
6. Message sent from recipient to sender indicating that the message has been received
7. If no confirmation message, sender transmits data again

Exercise: Internet/Intranet/World Wide Web

1. For the following packets (Green, Blue, Red), assuming each step from router to router takes an
equal time. What order will the packets arrive at their destination? How do we make sure that
the packets are read in the correct order?

A.
1. Green
2. Red
3. Blue

Each packet has a sequence number attached to it, so that it can be ordered when it reaches
its destination.

2. What happens if a packet gets permanently lost on the way to a host?

A. The packet will be resent until a confirmation message is returned from the recipient

3. What happens if a router on the network fails? How will the packets get to their destination?
A. The packets will be re-routed around the failed node

 Show understanding of the function of a router in packet switching

Routers
Router - a device that interconnects with two or more computer networks, which then interchange
packets with each other

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To link multiple computers together we need to use devices called routers or switches. These devices
co-ordinate sending messages from one system to another, making sure that packets get to their
destinations

Routers are advanced networking components that can divide a single network into two logically
separate networks. While Ethernet broadcasts cross bridges in their search to find every node on the
network, they do not cross routers, because the router forms a logical boundary for the network.
Routers operate based on protocols that are independent of the specific networking technology,
like Ethernet or token ring (we'll discuss token ring later). This allows routers to easily interconnect
various network technologies, both local and wide area, and has led to their widespread
deployment in connecting devices around the world as part of the global Internet.

Internet data, whether in the form of a Web page, a downloaded file or an e-mail message, travels
over a system known as a packet-switching network. In this system, the data in a message or file is
broken up into packages about 1,500 bytes long. Each of these packages gets a wrapper that
includes information on the sender's address, the receiver's address, the package's place in the
entire message, and how the receiving computer can be sure that the package arrived intact. Each
data package, called a packet, is then sent off to its destination via the best available route -- a
route that might be taken by all the other packets in the message or by none of the other packets
in the message. This might seem very complicated compared to the circuit approach used by the
telephone system, but in a network designed for data there are two huge advantages to the
packet-switching plan.

The network can balance the load across various pieces of equipment on a millisecond-by-
millisecond basis.

If there is a problem with one piece of equipment in the network while a message is being transferred,
packets can be routed around the problem, ensuring the delivery of the entire message.

The Path of a Packet

The routers that make up the main part of the Internet can reconfigure the paths that packets take
because they look at the information surrounding the data packet, and they tell each other about
line conditions, such as delays in receiving and sending data and traffic on various pieces of the
network. Not all routers do so many jobs, however. Routers come in different sizes. For example:

If you have enabled Internet connection sharing between two Windows 98-based computers, you're
using one of the computers (the computer with the Internet connection) as a simple router. In this
instance, the router does so little -- simply looking at data to see whether it's intended for one
computer or the other -- that it can operate in the background of the system without significantly
affecting the other programs you might be running.

Slightly larger routers, the sort used to connect a small office network to the Internet, will do a bit
more. These routers frequently enforce rules concerning security for the office network (trying to
secure the network from certain attacks). They handle enough traffic that they're generally stand-
alone devices rather than software running on a server.

The largest routers, those used to handle data at the major traffic points on the Internet, handle
millions of data packets every second and work to configure the network most efficiently. These
routers are large stand-alone systems that have far more in common with supercomputers than with
your office server.

Knowing Where to Send Data

Routers are one of several types of devices that make up the "plumbing" of a computer network.
Hubs, switches and routers all take signals from computers or networks and pass them along to other
computers and networks, but a router is the only one of these devices that examines each bundle

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of data as it passes and makes a decision about exactly where it should go. To make these decisions,
routers must first know about two kinds of information: addresses and network structure.
When a friend mails a birthday card to be delivered to you at your house, he probably uses an
address that looks something like this:

Joe Smith 123 Maple Street Smalltown, FL 45678

The address has several pieces, each of which helps the people in the postal service move the letter
along to your house. The ZIP code can speed the process up; but even without the ZIP code, the
card will get to your house as long as your friend includes your state, city and street address. You
can think of this address as a logical address because it describes a way someone can get a
message to you. This logical address is connected to a physical address that you generally only see
when you're buying or selling a piece of property. The survey plot of the land and house, with latitude,
longitude or section bearings, gives the legal description, or address, of the property.
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/router3.htm

 Circuit Switching vs Packet Switching

In circuit switching network dedicated channel has to be established before the call is made
between users. The channel is reserved between the users till the connection is active. For half duplex
communication, one channel is allocated and for full duplex communication, two channels are
allocated. It is mainly used for voice communication requiring real time services without any much
delay

As shown in the figure 1, if user-A wants to use the network; it need to first ask for the request to obtain
the one and then user-A can communicate with user-C. During the connection phase if user-B tries
to call/communicate with user-D or any other user it will get busy signal from the network.

Packet Switching
In packet switching network unlike CS network, it is not required to establish the connection initially.
The connection/channel is available to use by many users. But when capacity or number of users
increases then it will lead to congestion in the network. Packet switched networks are mainly used
for data and voice applications requiring non-real time scenarios.

As shown in the figure 2, if user-A wants to send data/information to user-C and if user-B wants to
send data to user-D, it is simultaneously possible. Here information is padded with header which

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contains addresses of source and destination. This header is sniffed by intermediate switching nodes
to determine their route and destination.

In packet switching, station breaks long message into packets. Packets are sent one at a time to the
network. Packets are handled in two ways, viz. datagram and virtual circuit.

In datagram, each packet is treated independently. Packets can take up any practical route.
Packets may arrive out of order and may go missing.

In virtual circuit, preplanned route is established before any packets are transmitted. The
handshake is established using call request and call accept messages. Here each packet contains
virtual circuit identifier(VCI) instead of the destination address. In this type, routing decisions for
each packet are not needed.

Comparison between CS vs. PS networks

As shown above in Packet switched (PS) networks quality of service (QoS) is not guaranteed while in
circuit switched (CS) networks quality is guaranteed.

PS is used for time insensitive applications such as internet/email/SMS/MMS/VOIP etc.

In CS even if user is not talking the channel cannot be used by any other users, this will waste the
resource capacity at those intervals.

The example of circuit switched network is PSTN and example of packet switched network is
GPRS/EDGE.
Following table summarizes difference between circuit switching and packet switching of type
datagram and virtual circuit.

PACKET SWITCHING(DATAGRAM PACKET SWITCHING(VIRTUAL CIRCUIT

CIRCUIT SWITCHING
TYPE) TYPE)
Dedicated path No Dedicated path No Dedicated path
Path is established for entire Route is established for each Route is established for entire
conversation packet conversation
call setup delay as well as packet
Call setup delay packet transmission delay
transmission delay
Overload may block call Overload may block call setup and
Overload increases packet delay
setup increases packet delay
Fixed bandwidth Dynamic bandwidth Dynamic bandwidth
No overhead bits after call
overhead bits in each packet overhead bits in each packet
setup

 What is a Packet

It turns out that everything you do on the Internet involves packets. For example, every Web page
that you receive comes as a series of packets, and every e-mail you send leaves as a series of
packets. Networks that ship data around in small packets are called packet switched networks.

On the Internet, the network breaks an e-mail message into parts of a certain size in bytes. These are
the packets. Each packet carries the information that will help it get to its destination -- the sender's
IP address, the intended receiver's IP address, something that tells the network how many packets
this e-mail message has been broken into and the number of this particular packet. The packets
carry the data in the protocols that the Internet uses: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol

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(TCP/IP). Each packet contains part of the body of your message. A typical packet contains perhaps
1,000 or 1,500 bytes.

Each packet is then sent off to its destination by the best available route -- a route that might be
taken by all the other packets in the message or by none of the other packets in the message. This
makes the network more efficient. First, the network can balance the load across various pieces of
equipment on a millisecond-by-millisecond basis. Second, if there is a problem with one piece of
equipment in the network while a message is being transferred, packets can be routed around the
problem, ensuring the delivery of the entire message.

Depending on the type of network, packets may be referred to by another name:

 frame
 block
 cell
 segment

NETWORK PACKET STRUCTURE

Most network packets are split into three parts:

Header - The header contains instructions about the data carried by the packet. These instructions
may include:
 Length of packet (some networks have fixed-length packets, while others rely on the header to
contain this information)
 Synchronization (a few bits that help the packet match up to the network)
 Packet number (which packet this is in a sequence of packets)
 Protocol (on networks that carry multiple types of information, the protocol defines what type of
packet is being transmitted: e-mail, Web page, streaming video)
 Destination address (where the packet is going)

Payload - Also called the body or data of a packet. This is the actual data that the packet is
delivering to the destination. If a packet is fixed-length, then the payload may be padded with blank
information to make it the right size.

Trailer - The trailer, sometimes called the footer, typically contains a couple of bits that tell the
receiving device that it has reached the end of the packet. It may also have some type of error
checking. The most common error checking used in packets is Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC).
CRC is pretty neat. Here is how it works in certain computer networks: It takes the sum of all the 1s in
the payload and adds them together. The result is stored as a hexadecimal value in the trailer. The
receiving device adds up the 1s in the payload and compares the result to the value stored in the
trailer. If the values match, the packet is good. But if the values do not match, the receiving device
sends a request to the originating device to resend the packet.

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