What is Packet Switching?
Packet switching is a technology that splits data in network communications into manageable small pieces, called packets. By sending a large file in several small chunks over a network, packet switching minimizes the impact of data transmission errors. Traffic bottlenecks are avoided too, allowing data to flow in the most efficient manner possible over the network. The idea of network communications involves following an exact set of rules to move the data from one location, or node, on the network to another. The Internet is simply a large network, and packet switching occurs when moving all data across the Internet. Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and Frame Relay are examples of packet switching protocols. Some mobile phone technologies also use packet switching technologies. When employing packet switching, the network routing software divides the file into several small packets of data of between 1,000 and 1,500 bytes each, labeling each packet with header inf
” In today’s Cisco CCNA exam prep tutorial we will learn about this term. Packets transmitted from “point A” to “point B” all have to arrive at the same destination, but with packet switching, they do not all have to take the same path to get there. If you and I are standing 10 feet apart and I want to throw a rugby ball to you, I’ve got some options. I could bounce the ball off the floor to you, I could throw it directly to you, or I could send it up into the air to you. Packet switching is pretty the same thing – packets will take different paths to get from source to destination, but the result is that all the packets arrive at the destination. Then they are then reassembled to take the form of the original message. Packet switching may sound a little odd, but this is the most efficient way of transporting the data. Frame Relay is a packet switching technology, as is X.25, and both of these standards are very efficient. When we have packets that must arrive at the destination in the
