Packet Switching

Packet Switching

In packet switching, the message to be sent is not transmitted as one continuous stream. Instead, it is broken down into smaller, manageable units called packets. Each packet travels independently through the network, and different packets belonging to the same message may take different routes to reach the destination, depending on the availability of network paths at that moment.

Every packet consists of two parts:

• Header — contains the destination address and other control information needed for routing.
• Payload — the actual data (the main message part).

When all the packets arrive at the destination, they are reassembled in the correct order to reconstruct the complete message.

A key difference from circuit switching is that a channel is occupied only during the transmission of a packet. Once a packet has been sent, the channel becomes free and can be used for transferring packets from other communicating parties. This makes packet switching far more efficient for bursty data traffic.

Applications Mentioned in the Textbook …