Packet Switching vs. Circuit Switching

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PACKET SWITCHING AND CIRCUIT SWITCHING IS AS FOLLOW:

Switched networks today get data across the network through packet switching, the concept of circuit switching should be no
mystery to the average tech, let alone the tech wannabe.

There are at least two good reasons to learn the difference.

First of all, there is plenty of legacy hardware out there to support.

Second, and perhaps more or at least very important, it could well turn up on the test. If one question stands between you
and passing, don’t make this the one you miss.

In principle, circuit switching and packet switching both are used in high-capacity networks. In circuit-switched networks, network resources are static, set in “copper” if you will, from the sender to receiver before the start of the transfer, thus creating a “circuit”. The resources remain dedicated to the circuit during the entire transfer and the entire message follows the same path. In packet-switched networks, the message is broken into packets, each of which can take a different route to the destination where the packets are recompiled into the original message.

All the above can be handled by a router or a switch but much of IT today is going toward flat switched networks. So when we’re talking about circuit switching or packet switching, we are more and more talking about doing it on a switch.