Circuit switching vs Packet switching

Question 1

What is the key difference between circuit switching and packet switching?

Answer 1

The key difference is that a circuit-switched network sends data packets along the same route. A packet-switched network sends data packets along different routes.

Question 2

Explain circuit switching

Answer 2

Data is split into packets.
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These packets are transmitted over a network and take the same route to the destination.
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When all the packets have arrived the data is reassembled.
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The telephone system is an example of a circuit-switching network.

Question 3

Explain packet switching

Answer 3

Data is split into packets.
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These packets are transmitted over a network and take different routes to its destination.
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When all the packets have arrived the data is reassembled.
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The Internet is an example of a packet-switching network.

Question 4

Advantages and Dis-Advantages of Circuit Switching

Answer 4

Advantage: Easy to reassemble the data (as the packets arrive in the order that they were sent)
Disadvantage: Not as secure (Hackers could intercept the packets and access the data as they all take the same route)

Question 5

Advantages and Dis-Advantages of Packet Switching

Answer 5

Advantage: Better Security (Harder for a hacker to intercept all packets as they take different routes)
Disadvantage: Longer to reassemble the data at the destination (as the packets arrive out of order)