Updated April 7, 2023
Introduction to Packet Switching
The following article provides an outline for Packet Switching Advantages. Packet switching is used for transmitting data through various networking devices across digital networks efficiently as it breaks down the data into small packets or blocks and transfers it through the network devices. The data is broken down into packets every time, and then the most efficient route is determined to send the data across the network. The packets are then routed towards the destination through the network devices, and the receiver reassembles the packets and makes the packets informative.
Advantages of Packet Switching with Different Types of Packet Switching
Once we start understanding the advantages of packet switching, it’s necessary to understand the types of packet switching initially, as it will help in understanding the benefits of packet switching.
Types of Packet Switching:
Given below are the type of packet switching:
1. Connectionless Packet Switching
This type of packet switching has multiple packets, and all of them are individually routed. Every packet contains the complete routing information, and sometimes the packets are prone to multiple paths of transmission and out of order delivery, which depends on the fluctuations in loads of the network nodes. This packet switching is also called datagram switching.
The following information is contained in the header of a connectionless packet:
- Total number of packets.
- Source address.
- Sequence number (Seq#) for reassembly.
- Destination address.
After the packets reach the destination through the different routes and the receiver arranges the packets to complete the file’s original structure.
2. Connection-Oriented Packet Switching
Connection-oriented packet switching is a type of packet switching that first assembles the packets and numbers them. After this, the packets start travelling through the defined route in a sequential manner. The information about the address of the destination is not required in this type of packet switching as the packets are sent in a sequential manner. This packet switching is also called circuit switching or virtual circuit switching.
Advantages of Packet Switching:
Given below are the different advantages of packet switching:
1. Efficiency
Efficiency is one of the major need for transmitting and receiving data over a network. Packet switching is very efficient as it prevents network bandwidth wastage. There is no need to reserve a circuit in packet switching if it is not in use and makes the system more effective and efficient. Not reserving a circuit for a single form of data or channel also helps in reducing the cost as the circuit can be used for sending different other information while it is vacant and utilising the circuit efficiently. Constantly, reserving a circuit always leads to the wastage of network bandwidth and decreases the network efficiency, which can be solved by packet switching.
2. Speed
Speed is a major requirement while transferring data as no one wants to wait even a fraction of a second for receiving data. Sending data into small packets makes it easier to transfer the data quickly and efficiently. Small packets of data don’t create much congestion in the network compared to a complete sent file, which helps enhance the speed of the network. Less congestion means less friction in the network for the data and eventually leads to increased speed. In packet switching, the transmission speed is optimal with minimum latency.
The different types of delays which can occur while transferring the date and can affect the speed of a network are as follows:
- Transmission Delay: Transmission delay is when all the packets of a file take to reach the destination. Transmission delay depends on the length of the packet and the bandwidth of the network.
- Queuing Delay: Traffic of a network causes queuing delays. It is the time for which the packets wait in the queue before getting executed.
- Processing Delay: The time taken for processing a packet is called a processing delay. It is the time needed to check the determined output link, bit errors, or other packet attributes.
3. Improved Fault Tolerance
Fault over a network can occur any time during the transfer of data, and it can lead to data loss. There are many times when outages occur, or the network gets disrupted, and the packets start bouncing from different routers and don’t reach the destination address due to the disrupted network. A high amount of the lost data packets can congest the network and decline its performance.
The data packets which bounce a lot of time in a network may get lost. In these times, the packets are rerouted, and a different path is selected for sending the packets to the destination. As the originally designated pathway can get disrupted many times and can cause a delay in transmission or data loss, making package switching highly fault-tolerant.
4. Budget
Budget is an important aspect of setting up a network as cost-efficient networks are easy to operate for a company organisation. Package switching is cost-effective and very simple to implement if compared to its counterparts. Moreover, in packet switching, the billings are only based on the duration of connectivity which is not in the case of other switching which are billed on the basis of the connection’s duration and distance. As the circuit is not always reserved, and the billing depends on the duration of communication, it makes packet switching highly cost-efficient.
5. Digital
Nowadays, most of the data is being transferred digitally, and the requirements of circuits are lowered. In this case, we need a robust switching technique that can perform efficient data transfers digitally without hampering the quality of the data. For data communications that are transmitted digitally to the destination, package switching is very beneficial. In package switching, data transmission is done maintaining very high quality as in such networks, error detection and data distribution is highly important, and error-free transmissions are necessary.
Conclusion
On the basis of the above article, we saw the concept of package switching and how it is advantageous for a network to transmit data efficiently. Different advantages are seen in this article which makes package switching important for a network.
Recommended Articles
This is a guide to Packet Switching Advantages. Here we discuss the introduction and advantages of packet switching with different types of packet switching. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more-
