Data Communications TDC 362 / TDC 460

Circuit Switching and Packet Switching

8.1 Circuit Switching Space-Division Switch Time-Division Switch TDM Bus Combinations
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Figure 8.1 Circuit-switched network

Figure 8.2 A circuit switch

Blocking or Non-blocking
Blocking
A network is unable to connect stations because all paths are in use A blocking network allows this Used on voice systems
Short duration calls

Non-blocking
Permits all stations to connect (in pairs) at once Used for some data connections
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Figure 8.4 Crossbar switch

Figure 8.5 Multistage switch

Figure 8.6 Switching path

Three Stage Switch

Figure 8.7 Time-division multiplexing, without and with a Time-slot interchange

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Figure 8.8 Time-slot interchange

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Figure 8.9 TDM bus

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Figure 8.10 TST (Time-space-time) switch

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Circuit-Switched Routing
Many connections will need paths through more than one switch Need to find a route
Efficiency Resilience

Public telephone switches are a tree structure

Static routing uses the same approach all the time

Dynamic routing allows for changes in routing depending on traffic

Uses a peer structure for nodes
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Alternate Routing
Possible routes between end offices predefined Originating switch selects appropriate route Routes listed in preference order Different sets of routes may be used at different times

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Alternate Routing Diagram

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Control Signaling Functions

Audible communication with subscriber Transmission of dialed number Call can not be completed indication Call ended indication Signal to ring phone Billing info Equipment and trunk status info Diagnostic info Control of specialist equipment
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Control Signals

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Location of Signaling
Subscriber to network
Depends on subscriber device and switch

Within network
Management of subscriber calls and network ore complex

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In Channel Signaling
Use same channel for signaling and call
Requires no additional transmission facilities

Inband
Uses same frequencies as voice signal Can go anywhere a voice signal can Impossible to set up a call on a faulty speech path

Out-of-band
Voice signals do not use full 4kHz bandwidth Narrow signal band within 4kHz used for control Can be sent whether or not voice signals are present Need extra electronics Slower signal rate (narrow bandwidth)
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Drawbacks of In Channel Signaling

Limited transfer rate Delay between entering address (dialing) and connection Overcome by use of common channel signaling

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Common Channel Signaling

Control signals carried over paths independent of voice channel One control signal channel can carry signals for a number of subscriber channels Common control channel for these subscriber lines Associated Mode
Common channel closely tracks interswitch trunks

Disassociated Mode
Additional nodes (signal transfer points) Effectively two separate networks
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Common vs. In Channel Signaling

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Signaling Modes

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Signaling System Number 7

SS7 Most widely used common channel signaling scheme Internationally standardized and general purpose

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SS7
SS7 network and protocol used for:
Basic call setup, management, tear down Wireless services such as PCS, roaming, authentication Toll free and toll (900) wireline services Enhanced features such as call forwarding, caller ID, 3-way calling Efficient and secure worldwide telecommunications

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SS7
SS7 messages are exchanged between central offices and specialized databases via signal transfer points (packet switches). Control plane
Responsible for establishing and managing connections

Information plane
Once a connection is set up, info is transferred in the information plane

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SS7 Signaling Network Elements

Service switching point (SSP)
SSPs enable central offices to communicate with SS7 databases (the user entry point into SS7)

Signal transfer point (STP)

A signaling point (packet switch) capable of routing control messages

Service control point (SCP)

SCPs contain databases with call routing instructions

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SS7
SCP

SCP

STP SSP

Central Office STP SSP

Central Office Central Office

SSP

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SS7 Characteristics
SSPs are telephone switches that send signaling messages to other SSPs to setup, manage, and release voice circuits An SSP may also send a query message to a centralized database (an SCP) to determine how to route a call (e.g. a toll-free number) Because the SS7 network is critical to call processing, SCPs and STPs are deployed in mated pair configurations in separate physical locations Links between signaling points are also in pairs
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Packet Switching Principles

Circuit switching designed for voice
Resources dedicated to a particular call Much of the time a data connection is idle Data rate is fixed
Both ends must operate at the same rate

What if we don t want a dedicated call, or the data rate is bursty? You want packet switching!

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Basic Operation
Data transmitted in small packets
Typically 1000 bytes Longer messages split into series of packets Each packet contains a portion of user data plus some control info (such as addressing info or packet type)

Packets are received, stored briefly (buffered) and passed on to the next node
Store and forward (only ATM does not do this)

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Advantages
Line efficiency
Single node to node link can be shared by many packets over time Packets queued and transmitted as fast as possible

Data rate conversion

Each station connects to the local node at its own speed Nodes buffer data if required to equalize rates

Packets are accepted even when network is busy

Delivery may slow down

Priorities can be used

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Two Basic Forms of Packet Switching

Packets handled in two ways
Datagram Virtual circuit

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Datagram
Each packet treated independently Packets can take any practical route Packets may arrive out of order Packets may get lost or delayed Up to receiver to re-order packets and recover from missing packets

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Virtual Circuit
Preplanned route established before any packets sent Call request and call accept packets establish connection (handshake) Each packet contains a virtual circuit identifier instead of destination address No routing decisions required for each packet Clear request to drop circuit Not a dedicated path
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Figure 18.2 Virtual Circuit Identifier (VCI)

VCI is known only between two switches. (It is not a global address.)

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Figure 18.4 Switch and table

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Figure 18.5 Source-to-destination data transfer

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S(witched)VC vs. P(ermanent)VC setup

A virtual circuit can be either switched or permanent. If permanent, an outgoing VCI is given to the source, and an incoming VCI is given to the destination. The source always uses this VCI to send frames to this particular destination. The destination knows that the frame is coming from that particular source if the frame carries the corresponding incoming VCI. If a duplex connection is needed, two virtual circuits are established.

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S(witched)VC vs. P(ermanent)VC setup

A PVC has several drawbacks: 1. Always connected, so always paying 2. Connection is between two parties only. If you need a connection to another point, you need another PVC. Don t like these disadvantages? Use an SVC.

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Figure 18.6 SVC setup request

1 - Setup frame sent from A to Switch I. Note how the Outgoing VCI is not yet known.
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Figure 18.7 SVC setup acknowledgment

As the acknowledgment frame goes back, the VCI number is placed into the Outgoing VCI entry in each table.
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Virtual Circuits vs Datagram

Virtual circuits
Network can provide sequencing and error control Packets are forwarded more quickly
No routing decisions to make

Less reliable
Loss of a node looses all circuits through that node

Datagram
No call setup phase
Better if few packets

More flexible
Routing can be used to avoid congested parts of the network
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Packet Size

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Event Timing

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Routing
Complex, crucial aspect of packet switched networks Characteristics required
Correctness Simplicity Robustness Stability Fairness Optimality Efficiency
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Performance Criteria
Used for selection of route Minimum hop Least cost
Dijkstra s algorithm most common Finds the least cost path from one starting node to all other nodes Algorithm can be repeated for each starting node

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Dijkstras Least Cost Example

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Dijkstras Least Cost Example

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Decision Time and Place

Time
Packet or virtual circuit basis

Place
Distributed
Made by each node

Centralized - dead Source - dead

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Basic Routing Strategies

Adaptive versus Fixed (dead?) Distributed versus Centralized (dead?) Flooding

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Centralized and Distributed Routing Tables

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Flooding
No network info required Packet sent by node to every neighbor Incoming packets retransmitted on every link except incoming link Eventually a number of copies will arrive at destination Each packet is uniquely numbered so duplicates can be discarded Nodes can remember packets already forwarded to keep network load in bounds Can include a hop count in packets

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Flooding Example

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Properties of Flooding
All possible routes are tried
Very robust

At least one packet will have taken minimum hop count route
Can be used to set up virtual circuit

All nodes are visited

Useful to distribute information (e.g. routing)

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Adaptive Routing
Used by almost all packet switching networks Routing decisions change as conditions on the network change
Failure Congestion

Requires info about network Decisions more complex Tradeoff between quality of network info and overhead Reacting too quickly can cause oscillation Reacts too slow to be relevant

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Adaptive Routing - Advantages

Improved performance Aid congestion control Complex system
May not realize theoretical benefits

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Where does routing info come from?

Local (isolated)
Route to outgoing link with shortest queue Can include bias for each destination Rarely used - do not make use of easily available info

Adjacent (neighbor) nodes only All nodes in network

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Chapter 21

Unicast Routing Overview:

Routing Protocols
(Details in TDC 365/463)
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Figure 21.1 Unicasting

In unicast routing, the router forwards the received packet through only one of its ports. Three basic unicast routing protocols: RIP, OSPF, BGP

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Figure 21.3 Autonomous systems

R1, R2, R3 and R4 use an interior and exterior routing protocol. The other routers use only an interior protocol. RIP and OSPF are interior, BGP is exterior.
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RIP

RIP (Routing Information Protocol) is an interior routing Protocol based on distance vector routing which uses the Bellman-Ford algorithm. Each router shares its routing knowledge with its neighbors, every 30 seconds. This shared information is used to update a routers routing table. An entry in the routing table consists of the destination network address, the shortest distance to reach the destination in hop count, and the next router to which the packet should be delivered. (see next slide)
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Table 21.1 A distance vector routing table

Destination Hop Count 7 Next Router 172.6.23.4 Other information

163.5.0.0

197.5.13.0 189.45.0.0 115.0.0.0

5 4 6

176.3.6.17 200.5.1.6 131.4.7.19

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RIP Updating Algorithm

Receive: a response RIP message 1. Add one hop to the hop count for each advertised destination. 2. Repeat the following steps for each advertised destination: 1. If (destination not in the routing table) 1. Add the advertised information to the table. 2. Else 1. If (next-hop field is the same) 1. Replace entry in the table with the advertised one. 2. Else 1. If (advertised hop count smaller than one in the table) 1. Replace entry in the routing table. 3. Return.

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Figure 21.4 Example of updating a routing table

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OSPF

OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) protocol is another interior routing protocol for autonomous systems. Special routers called autonomous system boundary routers are responsible for dissipating information about other autonomous systems into the current system. To handle routing efficiently and in a timely manner, OSPF divides an autonomous system into areas.

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Figure 21.7 Areas in an autonomous system

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OSPF

In OSPF, each router sends the state of its neighborhood to every other router in the area. It does this by flooding. The state of its neighborhood is only shared when there is new information. This generates much less traffic than does distance vector routing (RIP). OSPF keeps information on its links (the connection between two routers). There are 4 types of links: point-to-point, transient, stub, and virtual. To share information about their neighbors, each entity distributes link state advertisements (LSAs).
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OSPF

There are 5 different types of LSAs: router link, network link, summary link to network, summary link to AS boundary router, and external link. Every router in an area receives the router link LSAs and network link LSAs from every other router and forms a link state database. Dijkstras least cost algorithm is applied to this link state database to create the routing table. The routing table shows the cost of reaching each network in the area.

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BGP

RIP and OSPF have shortcomings. RIP (distance vector routing) is not always optimal because The smallest hop count is not always the optimal route. Plus, bad news moves slowly. OSPF (link state routing) has the shortcoming of a possibly huge routing table. To use link state routing for the whole internet would require each router to have a huge database. What about BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)? It is an interautonomous system routing protocol and is based on a routing method called path vector routing.
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