Circuit Switching vs. Packet Switching

Question 1

Examples for Circuit Switching

Answer 1

• POTS (plain old telephone service)
• PSTN (public switched telephone network)
• T1 / E1 / T3 / E3 (circuit between two sites)
• ISDN (phone number to call other ISDN modem)

Question 2

Key points of Circuit Switching

Answer 2

Dedicated physical pathway (connection always there);

nobody else can use

Question 3

Key points Packet Switching

Answer 3

• data grouped into packets
• media is usually shared
• one connection may have more bandwidth than another (how much to spend?)
• two types of communication paths: permanent virtual circuits (PVC) + switched virtual circuits (SVC)

Question 4

Examples for Packet SwitchingExamples for Circuit Switching

Answer 4

• SONET, ATM
• DSL
• Frame Relay
• MPLS
• Cable Modem
• Satellite
• Wireless