Switching

A switched network consists of a series of interlinked nodes, called switches. Switches are
devices capable of creating temporary connections between two or more devices linked to the
switch. Figure 2.1 shows a switched network.

Fig 2.1 Switched network

Traditionally, three methods of switching have been important: circuit switching, packet
switching, and message switching. We can divide networks into three broad categories: circuitswitched networks, packet-switched networks, and message-switched. Packet-switched networks
can further be divided into two subcategories-virtual-circuit networks and datagram networks.
1) CIRCUIT-SWITCHED NETWORKS
A circuit-switched network consists of a set of switches connected by physical links. Each
link is normally divided into n channels by using FDM or TDM.
Figure 2.2 shows a trivial circuit-switched network with four switches and four links. Each
link is divided into n (n is 3 in the figure) channels by using FDM or TDM. The end systems,
such as computers or telephones, are directly connected to a switch.
When A needs to communicate with end system M, system A needs to request a connection
to M that must be accepted by all switches as well as by M itself. This is called the setup phase.
After the dedicated path made of connected circuits (channels) is established, data transfer can
take place. After all data have been transferred, the circuits are torn down. We need to emphasize
several points here:
1. Circuit switching takes place at the physical layer.

2. Before starting communication, the stations must make a reservation for the resources to be
usedduring the communication.
3. Data transferred between the two stations are not packetized. The data are a continuous flow
sent by the source station and received by the destination station.
4. There is no addressing involved during data transfer.

Fig 2.2 Circuit switching

Three Phases:
The actual communication in a circuit-switched network requires three phases: connection setup,
data transfer, and connection teardown.
1. Setup Phase
Before the two parties (or multiple parties in a conference call) can communicate, a dedicated
circuit (combination of channels in links) needs to be established.For example, in Figure , when
system A needs to connect to system M, it sends a setup request that includes the address of
system M, to switch I. Switch I finds a channel between itself and switch IV that can be
dedicated for this purpose. Switch I then sends the request to switch IV, which finds a dedicated
channel between itself and switch III. Switch III informs system M of system A's intention at this
time. In the next step to make a connection, an acknowledgment from system M needs to be sent
in the opposite direction to system A. Only after A receives this acknowledgment is the
connection established.
2. Data Transfer Phase
After the establishment of the dedicated circuit (channels), the two parties can transfer data.
3. Teardown Phase
When one of the parties needs to disconnect, a signal is sent to each switch to release the
resources.

Efficiency:
It can be argued that circuit-switched networks are not as efficient as the other two types of
networks because resources are allocated during the entire duration of the connection. These
resources are unavailable to other connections. In a telephone network, people normally
terminate the communication when they have finished their conversation.
Delay:
Although a circuit-switched network normally has low efficiency, the delay in this type of
network is minimal. During data transfer the data are not delayed at each switch; the resources
are allocated for the duration of the connection.
Figure 2.3 shows the idea of delay in a circuit-switched network when only two switches are
involved. As Figure 2.3 shows, there is no waiting time at each switch. The total delay is due to
the time needed to create the connection, transfer data, and disconnect the circuit. The delay
caused by the setup is the sum of four parts: the propagation time of the source computer request,
the request signal transfer time, the propagation time of the acknowledgment from the
destination computer, and the signal transfer time of the acknowledgment. The delay due to data
transfer is the sum of two parts: the propagation time and data transfer time, which can be very
long. The third box shows the time needed to tear down the circuit. We have shown the case, in
which the receiver requests disconnection, which creates the maximum delay.

Fig. 2.3 Delay in Circuit switched network

Circuit-Switched Technology in Telephone Networks:
Switching at the physical layer in the traditional telephone network uses the circuit-switching
approach. For example, the telephone number is used as the global address, and a signalling
system is used for the setup and teardown phases.
2) DATAGRAM NETWORKS

In data communications, we need to send messages from one end system to another. If the
message is going to pass through a packet-switched network, it needs to be divided into packets
of fixed or variable size.
The size of the packet is determined by the network and the governing protocol.
In packet switching, there is no resource allocation for a packet. This means that there is no
reserved bandwidth on the links, and there is no scheduled processing time for each packet.
Resources are allocated on demand. The allocation is done on a first-come, first-served
basis.
For example, if we do not have a reservation at a restaurant, we might have to wait. In a
packetswitched network, there is no resource reservation; resources are allocated on demand. .
Packets in this approach are referred to as datagrams.
Datagram switching is normally done at the network layer.

Fig 2.4 Datagram Packet Switching

Figure 2.4 shows how the datagram approach is used to deliver four packets from station A to
station X. The switches in a datagram network are traditionally referred to as routers. That is why
we use a different symbol for the switches in the figure. In this example, all four packets (or
datagrams) belong to the same message, but may travel different paths to reach their destination.
This approach can cause the datagrams of a transmission to arrive at their destination out of order
with different delays between the packets. Packets may also be lost or dropped because of a lack
of resources. In most protocols, it is the responsibility of an upper- layer protocol to reorder the
datagrams or ask for lost datagrams before passing them on to the application. The datagram
networks are sometimes referred to as connectionless networks. There are no setup or teardown
phases. Each packet is treated the same by a switch regardless of its source or destination.
Routing Table
A switch in a datagram network uses a routing table that is based on the destination address. The

routing tables are dynamic and are updated periodically. The destination addresses and the
corresponding forwarding output ports are recorded in thetables. This is different from the table
of a circuit switched network in which each entry is created whenthe setup phase is completed
and deleted when the teardown phase is over. Figure 2.4 shows the routing table for a switch.
Destination Address
Every packet in a datagram network carries a header that contains, among other information, the
destination address of the packet which remains the same during the entire journey of the packet.
When the switch receives the packet, this destination address is examined; the routing table is
consulted to find the corresponding port through which the packet should be forwarded.

Fig: 2.5Routing Table in a datagram Network

Efficiency
The efficiency of a datagram network is better than that of a circuit-switched network; resources
are allocated only when there are packets to be transferred.
Delay
There may be greater delay in a datagram network than in a virtual-circuit network. Although
there are no setup and teardown phases, each packet may experience a wait at aswitch before it is
forwarded. In addition, since not all packets in a message necessarily travel through the same
switches, the delay is not uniform for the packets of a message.
Figure 2.6 gives an example of delay in a datagram network for one single packet. The packet
travels through two switches. There are three transmission times (3T), three propagation delays
(slopes 3't of the lines), and two waiting times (WI + w2).
The total delay is Total delay =3T + 3t + WI + W2

Figure 2.6 Delay in a datagram Network

Datagram Networks in the Internet
The Internet has chosen the datagram approach to switching at the network layer. It uses the
universal addresses defined in the network layer to route packets from the source to the
destination.
3) VIRTUAL-CIRCUIT NETWORKS
A virtual-circuit network is a cross between a circuit-switched network and a datagram network.
It has some characteristics of both.
1. As in a circuit-switched network, there are setup and teardown phases in addition to the data
transfer phase.
2. Resources can be allocated during the setup phase, as in a circuit-switched network, or on
demand, as in a datagram network.
3. As in a datagram network, data are packetized and each packet carries an address in the
header.
4. 4. As in a circuit-switched network, all packets follow the same path established during the
connection.
5. A virtual-circuit network is normally implemented in the data link layer, while a circuitswitched network is implemented in the physical layer and a datagram network in the network
layer. But this may change in the future. Figure 2.7 is an example of a virtual-circuit network.
The network has switches that allow traffic from sources to destinations.

Figure 2.7 Virtual-Cicuit Network

Addressing
In a virtual-circuit network, two types of addressing are involved: global and local (virtual-circuit
identifier).
1. Global Addressing
A source or a destination needs to have a global address-an address that can be unique, if the
network is part of an international network. A global address in virtual-circuit networks is used
only to create a virtual-circuit identifier
Virtual-Circuit Identifier:
The identifier that is actually used for data transfer is called the virtual-circuit identifier. It is
used by a frame between two switches. When a frame arrives at a switch, it has aVCI; when it
leaves, it has a different VCl. Figure 2.8 shows how the VCI in a data frame changes from one
switch to another.

Figure 2.8 Virtual Circuit Identifier

Three Phases
Phases in a virtual-circuit network: setup, data transfer, and teardown. In the setup phase, the
source and destination use their global addresses to help switches make table entries for the
connection. In the teardown phase, the source and destination inform the switches to delete the
corresponding entry.
Data transfer occurs between these two phases.
1. Data Transfer Phase
To transfer a frame from a source to its destination, all switches need to have a table entry
for this virtual circuit.
The table, in its simplest form, has four columns. This means that the switch holds four
pieces of information for each virtual circuit that is already set up.
Figure 2.9 shows such a switch and its corresponding table. It shows a frame arriving at port 1
with a VCI of 14. When the frame arrives, the switch looks in its table to find port 1 and a VCI
of 14. When it is found, the switch knows to change the VCI to 22 and send out the frame from
port 3.

Figure 2.9 Switch and Tables in a Virtual-Circuit Network

Figure 2.10 shows how a frame from source A reaches destination B and how its VCI changes
during the trip. The process creates a virtual circuit, not a real circuit, between the source and
destination.

Figure 2.10 Source to- destination data transfer in a virtual-circuit network

2. Setup Phase
In the setup phase, a switch creates an entry for a virtual circuit. For example, suppose source A
needs to create a virtual circuit to B. Two steps are required: the setup request and the
acknowledgment.
Setup Request: A setup request frame is sent from the source to the destination. Figure 2.11
shows the process.
a. Source A sends a setup frame to switch 1.
b. Switch 1 receives the setup request frame. It knows that a frame going from A to B goes out
through port 3. The switch creates an entry in its table for this virtual circuit, but it is only able to
fill three of the four columns. The switch assigns the incoming port (1) and chooses an available
incoming VCI (14) and the outgoing port (3). It does not yet know the outgoing VCI, which will
be found during the acknowledgment step. The switch then forwards the frame through port 3 to
switch 2.
c. Switch 2 receives the setup request frame. The same events happen here as at switch 1; three
columns of the table are completed: in this case, incoming port (l), incoming VCI (66), and
outgoing port (2).
d. Switch 3 receives the setup request frame. Again, three columns are completed: incoming port
(2), incoming VCI (22), and outgoing port (3).
e. Destination B receives the setup frame, and if it is ready to receive frames from A, it assigns a
VCI to the incoming frames that come from A, in this case 77. This VCI lets the destination
know that the frames come from A, and not other sources.

Figure 2.11 Setup Request in a Virtual-Circuit Network

Acknowledgment: A special frame, called the acknowledgment frame, completes the entries in
the switching tables. Figure 2.30 shows the process.

Figure 2.12 Setup Acknowledgements in a Virtual-Circuit Network

a. The destination sends an acknowledgment to switch 3. Switch 3 uses the VCI to complete the
outgoing VCI column for this entry. Note that 77 is the incoming VCI for destination B, but the
outgoing VCI for switch 3.
b. Switch 3 sends an acknowledgment to switch 2 that contains its incoming VCI in the table,
chosen in the previous step. Switch 2 uses this as the outgoing VCI in the table.
c. Switch 2 sends an acknowledgment to switch 1 that contains its incoming VCI in the table,
chosen in the previous step. Switch 1 uses this as the outgoing VCI in the table.
d. Finally switch 1 sends an acknowledgment to source A that contains its incoming VCI in the
table, chosen in the previous step.
e. The source uses this as the outgoing VCI for the data frames to be sent to destination B.
3. Teardown Phase
In this phase, source A, after sending all frames to B, sends a special frame called a teardown
request. Destination B responds with a teardown confirmation frame. All switches delete the
corresponding entry from their tables.

Efficiency
As we said before, resource reservation in a virtual-circuit network can be made during the setup
or can be on demand during the data transfer phase.In the first case, the delay for each packet is
the same; in the second case, each packet may encounter different delays.
There is one big advantage in a virtual-circuit network even if resource allocation is on demand.

Delay in Virtual-Circuit Networks

In a virtual-circuit network, there is a one-time delay for setup and a one-time delay for
teardown. If resources are allocated during the setup phase, there is no wait time for individual
packets. Figure 2.13shows the delay for a packet travelling through two switches in a virtualcircuit network.
The packet is travelling through two switches (routers). There are three transmission times (3T),
three propagation times (3't), a setup and a tear down.
Total delay = 3T+ 3't + setup delay + teardown delay

Figure 2.13 Delay in Virtual-Circuit Network

Circuit-Switched Technology in WANs

Virtual-circuit networks are used in switched WANs such as Frame Relay and ATM networks.