circuit switching
circuit switched, circuit switch
circuit switching - “A method of communications that is used in telephone systems and requires a physical transmission path — a circuit — to exist between the two devices wishing to communicate. The end-to-end path must exist before data can be sent. The only delay to which the data is subject is the propagation delay along the transmission medium (6 microseconds per 100 km for copper telephone lines). Since the path is reserved during the entire connection, any unused bandwidth is wasted. Compare message switching, packet switching, virtual circuit.” (Fair Use ODCS)
- Snippet from Wikipedia: Circuit switching
Circuit switching is a method of implementing a telecommunications network in which two network nodes establish a dedicated communications channel (circuit) through the network before the nodes may communicate. The circuit guarantees the full bandwidth of the channel and remains connected for the duration of the communication session. The circuit functions as if the nodes were physically connected as with an electrical circuit.
Circuit switching originated in analog telephone networks where the network created a dedicated circuit between two telephones for the duration of a telephone call. It contrasts with message switching and packet switching used in modern digital networks in which the trunklines between switching centers carry data between many different nodes in the form of data packets without dedicated circuits.