Search

HOME

TECHNOLOGYMOTIVATION

ARTICLE

Distinguish between Datagram Packet switching and

virtual Circuit switching
BY DINESH THAKUR

Conceivedinthe1960's,packetswitching
is a more recent technology than circuit
switchingwhichaddressesadisadvantage
of circuit switching: the need to allocate
resourcesforacircuit,thusincurringlink
capacity wastes when no data flows on a
circuit.

DISCUSSIONFORUM

Switching

ABOUTUS

Computer

Techniques

Fundamental
Computer

Packet Switching

Networking
Computer

Distinguish
Between
Datagram Packet

Network
Comm.
Networks
Network

Switching And

Tech.
Multiple

Virtual Circuit

Access
Switching

Switching
Message
Switching What
Is Message
Switching?
Circuit Switching
What Is Circuit
Switching?

IP Address
Sys

Routing
Services /

App.
Security
Structured
Query (SQL)
Java Script
HTML Language

Cell Switching
(ATM)
What Is Time

Cascading Style
Sheet
C Programming

Space Switching?

(Theory)
C Programming

PointToPoint

(Pratical)
Visual Basic

Packet switching introduces the idea of

cutting data on a flow into packets which
are transmitted over a network without
anyresourcebeingallocated.Ifnodatais
available at the sender at some point
during a communication, then no packet
is transmitted over the network and no
resourcesarewasted.

Protocol (PPP)

PPP Protocol
What Are
Difference
Between

C++
Programming
Java
Programming
Java Servlet
Java Server

Circuits,

Pages
Computer

Channels And

Graphics
Electronic

Multichanneling?

Commerce
Management

Comparison
Between Virtual
Circuit And
Datagram

(MIS)
Data Structures
Software
Engineering
Digital

Packet Switching
And Circuit
Switching
Difference
Between Virtual

Electronics
C# Programming
Database System
Struts 2 Tutorial

Follow Us

Circuit (VC) And

Permanent
Virtual Circuit
(PVC)
What Are The
PointToPoint
Figure:DatagramPacketSwitching.Packetsfromagivenflowareindependent
andaroutercanforwardtwopacketsfromthesameflowontwodifferentlinks.
Protocol (PPP)

Four Distinct

Phases?

ATM Structure

Cell Relay What

Since each packet is processed individually by a router, all

packetssentbyahosttoanotherhostarenotguaranteedtouse
the same physical links. If the routing algorithm decides to
change the routing tables of the network between the instants
twopacketsaresent,thenthesepacketswilltakedifferentpaths
andcanevenarriveoutoforder.

InthisFigureforinstance,packetsusetwodifferentpathstogo
from User 1 to User 5. Second, on a network topology change
such as a link failure, the routing protocol will automatically
recompute routing tables so as to take the new topology into
account and avoid the failed link. As opposed to circuit
switching,noadditionaltrafficengineeringalgorithmisrequired
toreroutetraffic.

Virtualcircuitpacketswitching

Is Cell Relay?
Wavelength
Division
Multiplexing
(WDM)
Logical Channels
What Is Duplex?

+1 Recomme

Figure:Virtualcircuitpacketswitching.Allpacketsfromthesame
flowusethesamevirtualcircuit.

Virtual circuit packet switching (VCswitching) is a packet

switching technique which merges datagram packet switching
and circuit switching to extract both of their advantages. VC
switching is a variation of datagram packet switching where
packets flow on socalled logical circuits for which no physical
resourceslikefrequenciesortimeslotsareallocated(seeFigure).

Each packet carries a circuit identifier, which is local to a link

and updated by each switch on the path of the packet from its
source to its destination. A virtual circuit is defined by the
sequence of the mappings between a link taken by packets and
thecircuitidentifierpacketscarryonthislink.InVCswitching,
routingisperformedatcircuitestablishmenttimetokeeppacket
forwardingfast.

OtheradvantagesofVCswitchingincludethetrafficengineering
capabilityofcircuitswitching,andtheresourcesusageefficiency
ofdatagrampacketswitching.Nevertheless,amainissueofVC
Switchednetworksisthebehavioronatopologychange.


As opposed to Datagram Packet Switched networks which
automaticallyrecomputeroutingtablesonatopologychangelike
a link failure, in VCswitching all virtual circuits that pass
through a failed link are interrupted. Hence, rerouting in VC
switchingreliesontrafficengineeringtechniques.

There are a number of important differences between virtual

circuit and datagram networks. The choice strongly impacts
complexity of the different types of node. Use of datagrams
betweenintermediatenodesallowsrelativelysimpleprotocolsat
this level, but at the expense of making the end (user) nodes
morecomplexwhenendtoendvirtualcircuitserviceisdesired.

The Internet transmits datagrams between intermediate nodes

using IP. Most Internet users need additional functions such as
endtoend error and sequence control to give a reliable service
(equivalent to that provided by virtual circuits). This reliability
may be provided by the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP),
whichisusedendtoendacrosstheInternet,orbyapplications
suchasthetrivialfiletransferprotocol(TFTP)runningontopof
theUserDatagramProtocol(UDP)

Connect Us On FaceBook and Google+

Dinesh Thakur is a Technology Columinist and founder of Computer Notes and Technology Motivation. Mail Me At (@Computer
Notes)