Multiplexing and Switching 93

1 0 1 1

Original signal

10110100101101001011010010110100

Spreading
code

10110100010010111011010010110100

Spread
signal

Figure 5.15 DSSS Example

15. What is meant by the term switching?
Ans: On a network, switching means routing traffic by setting up temporary connections between
two or more network points. This is done by devices located at different locations on the network,
called switches (or exchanges). Switches create temporary connections amongst two or more devices
connected to them. In a switched network, some switches are directly connected to the communicating
devices, while others are used for routing or forwarding information.

III
I VI

IV

II VII
V

Figure 5.16 Switched Network

Figure 5.16 depicts a switched network in which communicating devices are labelled A,  B,  C
and so on and switches are labelled I,  II,  III,  IV and so on. Each switch is connected either

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 94 Data Communications and Computer Networks

to a communicating device or to any other switch for forwarding information. Notice that multiple
switches are used to complete the connection between any two communicating devices at a time,
hence saving the extra links required in case of a point-to-point connection.

16. Explain different types of switching techniques along with their advantages and disad-
vantages.
Ans: There are three different types of switching techniques; namely, circuit switching, message
switching and packet switching.

Circuit Switching
When a device wants to communicate with another device, circuit switching technique creates a fixed
bandwidth channel, called a circuit, between the source and the destination. This circuit is a physical
path that is reserved exclusively for a particular information flow, and no other flow can use it. Other
circuits are isolated from each other, and thus their environment is well controlled. For example, in
Figure 5.17, if device A wants to communicate with device D, sets of resources (switches I,  II and
III) are allocated which act as a circuit for the communication to take place. The path taken by data
between its source and destination is determined by the circuit on which it is flowing, and does not
change during the lifetime of the connection. The circuit is terminated when the connection is closed.
Therefore, this method is called circuit switching.

III
I II

IV

Figure 5.17 Circuit Switching

Some advantages of circuit switching are as follows:

‰‰ It is a simple method and does not require the use of any special facilities.
‰‰ After a circuit is determined and established, data is transmitted with just a minimal propagation
delay and without congestion.
‰‰ It is the preferred choice for the transmission of real-time data and voice.
Some disadvantages of circuit switching are as follows:
‰‰ The time required to establish a dedicated circuit between two stations is 10 s approximately and
this time duration increases more depending upon the distance between the stations. For many
­applications, this is unsuitable and undesirable.

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 Multiplexing and Switching 95

‰‰ The resources are not efficiently utilized during circuit switching in a computer network
‰‰ For communication amongst stations that use costly and high-speed transmission lines, circuit
switching is not cost effective and economical, as communication between stations occurs gener-
ally in fast and small time gaps.

Packet Switching
Packet switching introduces the idea of breaking data into packets, which are discrete units of poten-
tially variable length blocks of data. Apart from data, these packets also contain a header with control
information such as the destination address and the priority of the message. These packets are passed
by the source point to their local packet switching exchange (PSE). When the PSE receives a packet,
it inspects the destination address contained in the packet. Each PSE contains a navigation directory
specifying the outgoing links to be used for each network address. On ­receipt of each packet, the PSE
examines the packet header information and then either removes the header or forwards the packet to
another system. If the communication channel is not free, then the packet is placed in a queue until
the channel becomes free. As each packet is received at each transitional PSE along the route, it is
­forwarded on the appropriate link mixed with other packets. At the destination PSE, the packet is finally
passed to its destination. Note that not all packets of the same message, travelling between the same two
points, will necessarily follow the same route. Therefore, after reaching their destination, each packet is
put into order by a packet assembler and disassembler (PAD).
For example, in Figure 5.18, four packets (1, 2, 3 and 4) once divided on machine A are transmitted
via various routes, which arrive on the destination machine D in an unordered manner. The destination
machine then assembles the arrived packets in order and retrieves the information.

4 3 2 1 1
1
3
3 1

4 3
2 4 3
4 1

4
2 2 4 2341

Figure 5.18 Packet Switching

Some advantages of packet switching are as follows:
‰‰ It is a fault-tolerant technique.
‰‰ It provides a much fairer and cost-efficient sharing of the resources. In addition, if no data is avail-
able to the sender at some point during a communication, then no packet is transmitted over the
network and no resources are wasted.

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 96 Data Communications and Computer Networks

‰‰ It requires lesser storage capacity for stations.

‰‰ The transmission rate in packet switching is fast.
Some disadvantages of packet switching are as follows:
‰‰ As packets do not follow a specific path, they may arrive out of order at the destination
‰‰ The cost incurred per packet is large.

Message Switching
A message is a unit of information which can be of varying length. Message switching is one of the
earliest types of switching techniques, which was common in the 1960s and 1970s. This switching tech-
nique employs two mechanisms; they are store-and-forward mechanism and broadcast mechanism. In
store-and-forward mechanism (Figure 5.19), a special device (usually, a computer system with large
storage capacity) in the network receives the message from a communicating device and stores it into
its memory. Then, it finds a free route and sends the stored information to the intended receiver. In such
kind of switching, a message is always delivered to one intermediate device where it is stored and then
rerouted to its final destination

Store and Forward Store and Forward

D B
D

B D
D

Store and Forward Store and Forward

Figure 5.19 Store-and-Forward Mechanism of Message Switching

In broadcast switching mechanism, the message is broadcasted over a broadcast channel as shown
in Figure 5.20. As the messages pass by the broadcast channel, every station connected to the ­channel
checks the destination address of each message. A station accepts only the message that is ­addressed
to it.
Some advantages of message switching are as follows:
‰‰ In message switching technique, no physical path is established in advance.
‰‰ The transmission channels are used very effectively in message switching, as they are allotted only
when they are required.
Some disadvantages of message switching are as follows:
‰‰ It is a slow process.

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 Multiplexing and Switching 97

Station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Station n

Message

Figure 5.20 Broadcast Mechanism of Message Switching

‰‰ It involves propagation and queuing delay; in addition, a large capacity of data storage is required.
‰‰ With unlimited message length, the switching nodes needed to have a larger storage space to buffer
the message.
17. Compare circuit switching, packet switching and message switching techniques.
Ans: The comparison of circuit switching, packet switching and message switching is summarized
in Table 5.1.

Table 5.1 Comparison of Circuit Switching, Packet Switching and Message Switching

Circuit switching Packet switching Message switching

• A physical circuit is established • No physical circuit is established • No physical circuit is established
before transmission begins. before transmission. before transmission.
• Message to be transmitted is in • Message to be transmitted is in • Message to be transmitted is in
the form of packets. the form of packets. the form of blocks.
• Store-and-forward technique is • Store-and-forward technique is • Store-and-forward technique is
not used. used. used.
• It can be used with real-time • It can be used with real-time • It cannot be used with real-time
applications. applications. applications.
• It is used in telephone network for • It is used for the Internet. • It was used in the transmission of
bi-directional, fast and real-time voice signals and messages.
data transfer.

18. Describe the major components of a telephone network?

Ans: The traditional telephone network, referred to as plain old telephone system (POTS), was purely
an analog system used to transmit voice. However, with advancement in computing technologies, they
were used to transmit other data along with voice. Three major components of a telephone network are
local loops, trunks and switching office (Figure 5.21). These components are described as follows:
‰‰ Local Loops: A twisted-pair cable connection between each subscriber’s telephone and the near-
est end office of telephone company (also called local central offic ) is referred to as a local loop.
Generally, the distance between the subscribers’ telephone and the nearest end office is 1–10 km.

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