Switching Methods:
Circuit and Packet Switching
Professor Izhak Rubin
Electrical Engineering Department
UCLA
[email protected] 2014-2015 by Professor Izhak Rubin
Switching Methods
Circuit Switching
Example: Telephone Networks
Packet Switching: store & forward switching
Connectionless, datagram
Example: INTERNET
Connection oriented, virtual circuit switching
Examples: X.25, BISDN (Broadband Integrated
Services Digital Networks) ATM (Asynchronous
Transfer Mode) Networks, Frame Relay Networks
Prof. Izhak Rubin
Line Sharing: Fixed vs.
Statistical
Time frame
1
Time frame
4
Time frame
4
Circuit switched transmission across TDM circuit 1
Packet switched transmission of packets
Prof. Izhak Rubin
Circuit switching
Link
L(1,2)
Messages
(N1,N5)
(N1,N4)
N2
N4
N1
(N1,N4)
N5
(N1,N5)
(N1,N5)
(N1,N4)
N3
Circuit Switching concept: Connection Oriented; user signals the network; network sets up a
connection; a circuit is established to support transport of messages that are part of the
connection; circuit consists of dedicated link capacity resources along the selected path.
Prof. Izhak Rubin
Circuit switching: Circuits
Time frame
Link
(N1,N3)
Time frame
Time frame
Link
(N3,N5)
Time frame
Time frame
Time frame
Circuit (N1,N5) established across links (N1,N3) and (N3, N5) through
dedicated TDM slots; e.g., slot 1 in each frame is dedicated to this
circuit
Prof. Izhak Rubin
Circuit switching: Circuits
Time frame
Link
(N1,N3)
Time frame
Time frame
Link
(N3,N4)
Time frame
Time frame
Time frame
Circuit (N1,N4) established across links (N1,N3) and (N3,N4)
through dedicated TDM slots
Prof. Izhak Rubin
Circuit switching: Principles
Link
L(1,2)
Circuit switch
N2
N4
N1
(N1,N4)
N5
(N1,N5)
(N1,N5)
(N1,N4)
N3
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Principle of circuit switching
A connection is established
A dedicated-bandwidth circuit is allocated to
each connection across a selected path/route
The circuit consists of a tandem collection of
link-circuits along the route links
While multiple link-circuits can be multiplexed
across a link, a single connection is permitted
to use the circuit BW resources
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Example: Circuit allocated for
a connection
Circuit/path (N1, N5) consists of link-circuits/links
(N1, N3) and (N3, N5). This circuit is dedicated to
an (N1, N5) connection.
Circuit entails:
Selected path: N1-N3-N5
Dedicated time slots (or other communications capacity
resources) allocated across each link along the path.
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Circuit switching: signaling
Phases of circuit switching
Phase 1 (signaling): circuit set-up phase
The signaling network is used to set-up a
circuit for the requesting connection
In-band vs. out-of-band (common channel
signaling CCS) signaling channels and
networks
Route is selected
Circuit switches are notified; switching matrices
are set
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Switching Table at a Circuit
Switch
Connection ID
Line-In
Time Slot-In
Line-Out
Time Slot-Out
Set by signaling
system
Set by signaling
system
Set by signaling
data received
from preceding
switch
Set by signaling
system
Set by switch in
selecting
available slots
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Time-Space-Time Switching
Space Switching
TD_Demux
TD_Mux
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Signaling
Example: time-space-time circuit switch
whereby incoming/outgoing links (lines)
and time-slots are recorded in the
switching matrix of each switch across the
route.
The signaling network is used to set-up a
circuit (FDX or HDX) for the requesting
connection
Multicast circuits can also be set-up for
conference sessions (using conference bridges)
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Circuit Switching: Phases
Phase 2: Information transport
Information belonging to a connection is
transported across the circuit established for
this connection
Phase 3 (signaling): circuit
disestablishment phase
When the user signals the network that the
session has terminated the connection is
disestablished and the circuit is torn-down; the
circuits resources are returned to the pool of
available communications transport resources.
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Circuit switching: performance
Delay
Circuit set-up delay key delay measure
Information transmission latency across circuit switch
(such as for time-slot interchange) minimal of the
order of a time frame
Circuit tear-down delay
Blocking and throughput
Grade of service (GOS) = probability that a connection
request is blocked (Pb) key call throughput measure
Information throughput per connection = circuit
capacity
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Features of Circuit Switching
Networking Operations: Advantages
Guaranteed quality of service (QoS) for
transport across the circuit configured by
the signaling system
Message throughput and delay
performance can be guaranteed to
messages that are issued by admitted
connections
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Features of Circuit Switching
Networking Operations: Advantages
Good capacity utilization of circuit resources
when source generated message traffic or
streams at a steady basis or at a relatively
high duty cycle, so that the circuit is kept
busy high fraction of the time
Due to configuration of switching tables by
the signaling system, the switching operation
can be implemented to be hardware focused
and proceed at ultra high rates.
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Features of Circuit Switching Networking
Operations: Disadvantages
Requires the implementation, operation
and maintenance of a signaling system
Low capacity utilization of circuit
resources when the source is bursty,
generating message traffic at a low
duty cycle, so that the circuit capacity is
unused high fraction of the time
Example: interactive personal user
terminal generated data applications
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Connectionless (Datagram)
packet switching: principles
(N1,N5)
(N1,N5)
Messages
segmented
into packets
N2
N4
(N1,N4)
N1
(N1,N4)
(N1,N5)
(N1,N4)
(N1,N5)
(N1,N5)
(N1,N4)
(N1,N4)
N3
Packet header
information field
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N5
Packets
assembled
into
messages
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Connectionless (Datagram) packet
switching: Statistical Multiplexing
Under a packet switching operation, messages that
belong to a single flow are not bound to be
transmitted across the communications lines only
during pre-set slots
Rather, a flows messages occupy capacity
resources of communications lines only when
generated and transported across them.
Thus, messages (belong to multitudes of flows)
share the communications lines across which they
are transported in a statistical multiplexing manner.
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Datagram Networking Principles
Messages are segmented into network-layer packets
Each packet carries in its header information sufficient
for its routing across the network
Under network-layer connectionless operation, no
connection is set-up prior to the start of transport of
packets across the network. Each packet contains an
header which identifies the packets source and
destination nodes.
A packet is switched and routed in the network on a
store-and-forward basis, as a datagram
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Datagram Switch Operation
Header is read; using the routing
discipline and routing table, the output
line is determined
The packet is switched to the output
line
The packet is queued at the output line
buffer; it is transmitted across the
output line on a FCFS or priority basis
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Connectionless (datagram) packet
switching: switch/router system
Spatial diversity induces variable message rate feeding output
queues, leading to queuing delays at the output buffers
Switching/routing rate measured
in packets/sec
Input
Buffers
Header
processor
Switching
fabric
Routing
table
Output
Buffers
Output
line
Output
line
Router: Provides switching and routing services; engages in
calculating routes and configuring its routing table.
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Illustrative Switching Table at
a Datagram (IP) Router
Destination
Address
Mask
Line-Out
Distance
Measure
Time
validity
IP Address
e.g., subnetwork
and hierarchical
routing structure;
to reduce table
size, group
addresses of
packets that
travel along the
same outgoing
link
along the
shortest (best)
path
e.g., number of
hops, delay,
throughput or
$cost oriented
measures
Forwarding entry
is discarded as
its validity time
expires
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Connection oriented (VCS)
packet switching: Principles
Link
L(1,2)
packet switch
N2
N4
N1
(N1,N4)
N5
(N1,N5)
(N1,N5)
(N1,N4)
N3
packet
Signaling
packets
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Connection oriented (VCS)
packet switching: Principles
Connection oriented: a signaling system is used to
setup connections
Packet switching method: communications lines are
shared on a statistical multiplexing basis
Route is selected during signaling setup phase
Virtual circuit identifies the selected route for a given
connection
Virtual circuit identifier (VCI) is used to identify
packets that belong to the same connection
VCI is swapped at each switch
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Phases of connection oriented packet
switching virtual circuit switching
Phase 1 (signaling): virtual circuit set-up
phase
The signaling network is used to set-up a logical
path/connection (virtual circuit VC)
A virtual circuit identifier (VCI) is selected to
identify the logical connection
The VC table of each switch is updated
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Switching Table at a Virtual
Circuit Switch
Connection ID
Line-In
VCI-In
Line-Out
VCI-Out
Set by signaling
system
Set by
signaling
system
Set by
signaling
data
received
from
preceding
switch
Set by
signaling
system
Set by switch
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Virtual circuit switching
networking phases (Cont.)
Phase 2: information transport
Information belonging to a connection is
transported across the established VC
Phase 3 (signaling): call is
terminated; VC disestablishment
phase
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Connection oriented (VCS) packet
switching: network transport
Link
L(1,2)
Messages
(N1,N5)
(N1,N4)
N2
N4
N1
(N1,N4)
VC(N1,N3)
VC(N1,N4)
(N1,N5)
N5
VC(N1,N4)
(N1,N5)
(N1,N4)
packet
VC(N1,N3)
N3
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VCS Switch Operation
Header is read; using the VC routing
table, the output line is determined
The packet is switched to the output line
The packet is queued at the output line
buffer; it is transmitted across the
output line on a FCFS or priority basis
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VCS: Switch System
Spatial diversity induces variable message rate feeding output
queues, leading to queuing delays at the output buffers
VCI
Input
Buffers
Switching/routing rate
measured in packets/sec
Header
processor
Switching
fabric
VCI
VCI
VCI
VC
Routing
table
Output
Buffers
Output
line
Output
line
Signaling system (or network management) is used for calculating
routes and configuring the VC routing table.
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Datagram Packet switching:
performance
Delay
Queueing and processing delays at
packet switch processors
Queueing delays and transmission
latencies across lines
Routing Operation
Router engaged in setting up and
continuous dynamic (and periodic)
updating of the routing tables
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Datagram Packet switching:
performance
Effective link utilization through
statistical multiplexing
Flow is typically not provided QoS
guarantees
Easy to operate when packets are
provided Best Effort type services
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Datagram Packet switching:
performance
No signaling based end-to end connection
setup and connection oriented resource
prescriptions imply simple and flexible
interfaces between IP networks, leading to
modular and flexible growth of networking
coverage and of mixing of heterogeneous
networking technologies
Easy to support nets that employ distinct
communications media and operate over
different environmental conditions
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Datagram Packet switching:
performance
Rapid reaction to link / node failures /
degradations
Periodic and dynamlic updating of
forwarding entries in the routing tables in
fast reaction to such failures
A packet arriving at a router can be rapidly
directed to an alternate route, rather then be
discarded or queued until a new route is
established.
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VCS Packet switching:
performance
Delay
VC set-up delay
Queueing and processing delays at packet switch
processors
Queueing delays and transmission latencies across
lines
Blocking and throughput
Grade of service (GOS) = probability that a call
connection request is blocked (Pb)
Information throughput per connection is variable
depending on the source; accommodates VBR
(variable bit rate connections)
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VCS Packet switching:
performance
Requires a signaling subsystem for dynamic
connection setup
Effective use can be made of the connection
subsystem, in conjunction with a Call Admission
Control (CAC) process to admit a call and
(statistically) configure resources across the VC so
that call packets are (statistically) guaranteed
desired QoS
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VCS Packet switching:
performance
Upon failure, the connection and
associated VC must be re-configured,
inducing delays
Switching nodes require a simplified
hardware based operation, leading to
higher switching speeds
Internetworking involves splicing of
VCs.
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Packet Switching
Key phenomena:
Statistical multiplexing across the links
Occurrences of congestion hot spots
As a result: employ adaptive flow and
congestion control mechanisms; call
admission controls; adaptive routing
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QoS Oriented Operation over
IP Networks
Signaling / control system implemented to
select routes and statistically assign capacity
resources at the switches in conjunction with
a label switching based operation
Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS)
Integrated Services approach
Through reservation process
e.g., Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks
Differentiated Services approach
Through the use of packet service preference
identifiers (DSCIs)
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