FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF KASHERE

P.M.B. 0182, GOMBE STATE.

GROUP ASSIGNMENT ON

DATA COMMUNICATION AND COMPUTER NETWORKS (CSC 4309)

TOPIC: SWITCHING AND ROUTING TECHNIQUES

BY

GROUP 6

S/N Matric Number Group Ass Ind Ass C.A Test Total C.A
(10 Marks) (10 Marks) (10 Marks) (30 Marks)
1 FUKU/SCI/20/COM/0016
2 FUKU/SCI/20/COM/0046
3 FUKU/EDU/20/COM/0026
4 FUKD/EDU/21/COM/0046
5 FUKU/EDU/19/COM/0056
6 FUKU/SCI/20/COM/0076
7 FUKU/SCI/20/COM/0096
8 FUKU/SCI/19/COM/0116
9 FUKU/SCI/20/COM/0116
10 FUKU/SCI/19/COM/0126
11 FUKU/SCI/20/COM/0136
12 FUKU/SCI/20/COM/0146
13 FUKU/SCI/20/COM/0156
14 FUKU/SCI/20/COM/0186
15 FUKU/SCI/20/COM/0196
16 FUKD/SCI/21/COM/0196
17 FUKU/SCI/20/COM/0206
18 FUKU/SCI/20/COM/0216
19 FUKU/SCI/20/COM/0226

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SWITCHING TECHNIQUES
In large networks there might be multiple paths linking sender and receiver. Information may
be switched as it travels through various communication channels. There are three typical
switching techniques available for digital traffic.

1. Circuit Switching
2. Message Switching
3. Packet Switching

CIRCUIT SWITCHING

Circuit switching is a technique that directly connects the sender and the receiver in
an unbroken path. Telephone switching equipment, for example, establishes a path that
connects the caller's telephone to the receiver's telephone by making a physical
connection.
In this type of switching technique, once a connection is established, a dedicated path exists
between both ends until the connection is terminated. Routing decisions must be made when
the circuit is first established, but decisions cannot be made after that time.
Circuit switching networks operate almost the same way as the telephone system works. A
complete end-to-end path must exist before communication can take place. The computer
initiating the data transfer must ask for a connection to the destination. Before the establishment
of the connection, the destination must send the acknowledge to the source node to indicate that
it is ready and willing to send/receive data.

ADVANTAGE
i. The communication channel (once established) is dedicated.

DISADVANTAGES
i. Possible long wait to establish a connection, (10 seconds, more on long-
distance or international calls.) during which no data can be transmitted.
ii. More expensive than any other switching techniques, because a dedicated
path is required for each connection.
iii. Inefficient use of the communication channel, because the channel is not used
when the connected systems are not using it.

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MESSAGE SWITCHING

In message switching there is no need to establish a dedicated path between two stations.
When a station sends a message, the destination address is appended to the message. The
message is then transmitted through the network, in its entirety, from node to node. Each
node receives the entire message, stores it in its entirety on disk, and then transmits the
message to the next node. This type of network is called a store-and-forward network.

A message-switching node is typically a general-purpose computer. The device

needs sufficient secondary-storage capacity to store the incoming messages,
which could be long. A time delay is introduced using this type of scheme due
to store- and-forward time, plus the time required to find the next node in the
transmission path.

ADVANTAGES
i. Channel efficiency can be greater compared to circuit- switched systems,
because more devices are sharing the channel.
ii. Traffic congestion can be reduced, because messages may be temporarily
stored in route.
iii. Message priorities can be established due to store-and-forward technique.
iv. Message broadcasting can be achieved with the use of broadcast address
appended in the message.

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DISADVANTAGES
i. Message switching is not compatible with interactive
applications.
ii. Store-and-forward devices are expensive, because they
must have large disks to hold potentially long messages.

PACKET SWITCHING

Packet switching can be seen as a solution that tries to combine the advantages of message
and circuit switching and to minimize the disadvantages of both. There are two methods of
packet switching: Datagram and virtual circuit.

In both packet switching methods, a message is broken into small parts, called packets.
Each packet is tagged with appropriate source and destination addresses. Since packets
have a strictly defined maximum length, they can be stored in main memory instead of
disk, therefore access delay and cost are minimized. Also, the transmission speeds,
between nodes, are optimized. With current technology, packets are generally accepted

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onto the network on a first-come, first-served basis. If the network becomes
overloaded, packets are delayed or discarded (“dropped'').

PACKET SIZE
The size of the packet can be:
✓ 180 bits for the Datakit® virtual circuit switch designed by Bell Labs for
communications and business applications.
✓ 1,024 or 2,048 bits for the 1PSS® switch, also designed by Bell Labs for public
data networking.
✓ 53 bytes for ATM switching, such as Lucent
Technologies' packet switches

In packet switching, the analog signal from your phone is converted into a digital data
stream. That series of digital bits is then divided into relatively tiny clusters of bits,
called packets. Each packet has at its beginning the digital address -- a long number --
to which it is being sent. The system blasts out all those tiny packets, as fast as it can,
and they travel across the nation's digital backbone systems to their destination: the
telephone, or rather the telephone system, of the person you're calling.
They do not necessarily travel together; they do not travel sequentially. They don't
even all travel via the same route. But eventually they arrive at the right point -- that
digital address added to the front of each string of digital data -- and at their
destination are reassembled into the correct order, then converted to analog form, so
your friend can understand what you're saying.

PACKET SWITCHING: DATAGRAM

Datagram packet switching is similar to message switching in that each packet is a self-
contained unit with complete addressing information attached. This allows packets to
take a variety of possible paths through the network. So, the packets, each with the same
destination address, do not follow the same route, and they may arrive out of sequence
at the exit point node (or the destination). Reordering is done at the destination point
based on the sequence number of the packets. It is possible for a packet to be destroyed
if one of the nodes on its way is crashed momentarily. Thus, all its queued packets may
be lost.

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PACKET SWITCHING: VIRTUAL CIRCUIT

In the virtual circuit approach, a preplanned route is established before any data packets
are sent. A logical connection is established when
1. a sender sends a "call request packet" to the receiver and
2. the receiver sends back an acknowledge packet "call accepted packet" to the sender if
the receiver agrees on conversational parameters.

The conversational parameters can be maximum packet sizes, path to be taken, and
other variables necessary to establish and maintain the conversation.

Virtual circuits imply acknowledgements, flow control, and error control, so virtual circuits are
reliable. That is, they have the capability to inform upper-protocol layers if a transmission
problem occurs.
In virtual circuit, the route between stations does not mean that this is a dedicated path, as in
circuit switching. A packet is still buffered at each node and queued for output over a line. The
difference between virtual circuit and datagram approaches:

1. With virtual circuit, the node does not need to make a routing decision for
each packet.
2. It is made only once for all packets using that virtual circuit.

VC guarantees that
a. the packets arrive in the order they sent
b. there are no duplicates or omissions.
c. there are no errors (with high probability) regardless of how they are
implemented internally.

ADVANTAGES
i. Packet switching is cost effective, because switching devices do not need
massive amount of secondary storage.
ii. Packet switching offers improved delay characteristics, because there are
no long messages in the queue (maximum packet size is fixed).
iii. Packet can be rerouted if there is any problem, such as, busy or disabled
links.
iv. The advantage of packet switching is that many network users can share
the same channel at the same time. Packet switching can maximize link
efficiency by making optimal use of link bandwidth.
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DISADVANTAGES
i. Protocols for packet switching are typically more complex.
ii. It can add some initial costs in implementation.
iii. If packet is lost, sender needs to retransmit the data.
iv. Another disadvantage is that packet-switched systems still can’t deliver the same
quality as dedicated circuits in applications requiring very little delay - like voice
conversations or moving images.

ROUTING ALGORITHMS
ROUTING
A Router is a process of selecting path along which the data can be transferred from
source to the destination. Routing is performed by a special device known as a
router. A Router works at the network layer in the OSI model and internet layer in
TCP/IP model A router is a networking device that forwards the packet based on the
information available in the packet header and forwarding table.
The routing algorithms are used for routing the packets. The routing algorithm is
nothing but a software responsible for deciding the optimal path through which
packet can be transmitted.
The routing protocols use the metric to determine the best path for the packet
delivery. The metric is the standard of measurement such as hop count, bandwidth,
delay, current load on the path, etc. used by the routing algorithm to determine the
optimal path to the destination.
The routing algorithm initializes and maintains the routing table for the process of
path determination.

DISTANCE VECTOR ROUTING ALGORITHM

The Distance vector algorithm is iterative, asynchronous and distributed.
i. Distributed: It is distributed in that each node receives information from
one or more of its directly attached neighbors, performs calculation and
then distributes the result back to its neighbors.
ii. Iterative: It is iterative in that its process continues until no more
information is available to be exchanged between neighbors.
iii. Asynchronous: It does not require that all of its nodes operate in the lock
step with each other.

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The Distance vector algorithm is a dynamic algorithm. It is mainly used in ARPANET, and
RIP. Each router maintains a distance table known as Vector.

Three Keys to understand the working of Distance Vector Routing Algorithm:

1. Knowledge about the whole network: Each router shares its knowledge
through the entire network. The Router sends its collected knowledge about
the network to its neighbors.
2. Routing only to neighbors: The router sends its knowledge about the
network to only those routers which have direct links. The router sends
whatever it has about the network through the ports. The information is
received by the router and uses the information to update its own routing
table.
3. Information sharing at regular intervals: Within 30 seconds, the router
sends the information to the neighboring routers.

LINK STATE ROUTING

Link state routing is a technique in which each router shares the knowledge of its
neighborhood with every other router in the internetwork.

The three keys to understand the Link State Routing algorithm:

o Knowledge about the neighborhood: Instead of sending its routing
table, a router sends the information about its neighborhood only. A
router broadcast its identities and cost of the directly attached links to
other routers.
o Flooding: Each router sends the information to every other router on
the internetwork except its neighbors. This process is known as
Flooding. Every router that receives the packet sends the copies to all
its neighbors. Finally, each and every router receives a copy of the
same information.
o Information sharing: A router sends the information to every other
router only when the change occurs in the information.

Link State Routing has two phases:

Reliable Flooding
o Initial state: Each node knows the cost of its neighbors.
Final state: Each node knows the entire graph.

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DYNAMIC ROUTING
It is also known as Adaptive Routing. It is a technique in which a router adds a new route in
the routing table for each packet in response to the changes in the condition or topology of
the network. Dynamic protocols are used to discover the new routes to reach the destination.
In Dynamic Routing, RIP and OSPF are the protocols used to discover the new routes. If any
route goes down, then the automatic adjustment will be made to reach the destination.

The Dynamic protocol should have the following features:

1. All the routers must have the same dynamic routing protocol in order to
exchange the routes.
2. If the router discovers any change in the condition or topology, then router
broadcast this information to all other routers.

ADVANTAGES OF DYNAMIC ROUTING:

i. It is easier to configure.
ii. It is more effective in selecting the best route in response to the
changes in the condition or topology.
DISADVANTAGES OF DYNAMIC ROUTING:
i. It is more expensive in terms of CPU and bandwidth usage.
ii. It is less secure as compared to default and static routing.

Routing algorithm

i. In order to transfer the packets from source to the destination, the

network layer must determine the best route through which packets
can be transmitted.
ii. Whether the network layer provides datagram service or virtual
circuit service, the main job of the network layer is to provide the
best route. The routing protocol provides this job.
iii. The routing protocol is a routing algorithm that provides the best
path from the source to the destination. The best path is the path
that has the "least-cost path" from source to the destination.
iv. Routing is the process of forwarding the packets from source to
the destination but the best route to send the packets is determined
by the routing algorithm.

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 Three typical types of routing protocol are chosen as the simulation
samples: RIP, OSPF and BGP.
1. RIP (Routing Information Protocol) is one of the oldest routing
protocols still in service. RIP Treats each network as equals i.e. The cost of
passing through each network is the same.
2. OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) is the most widely used IGP (Interior
Gateway Protocol) for large enterprise networks. It allows administrators to
assign a cost for passing through a network based on the type of serviced
required. Each router applies the Dijkstra algorithm to form its link state
database.
3. BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) is an inter- autonomous system
routing protocol based on the path vector routing method.

Static Routing and Dynamic Routing.

Protocols can fall into two groups: static routing and dynamic routing.
1. Static routing is simply the process of manually entering routes into a device’s
routing table via a configuration file that is loaded when the routing device starts
up. In static routing, all the changes in the logical network layout need to be
manually done by the system administrator.
2. Dynamic routing allows routers to select the best path when there is a real time
logical network layout change. In our project, we will discuss the difference
between the BGP, RIP and OSPF. All of them are dynamic routing protocols.
a. RIP is a standardized vector distance routing protocol and uses a form of
distance as hop count metric. It is a distance vector.
b. A distance vector routing protocol uses a distance calculation and a vector
direction of next hop router as reported by neighboring routers to choose
the best path.
c. Typically, the maximum number of hops allowed for RIP is 15.
d. Since the maximum number of hop counts allowed for RIP is 15, as long as
the number goes beyond 15, the route will be considered as unreachable.
e. OSPF is an interior Gateway Protocol used to distribute
routing information within an AS (Autonomous System).
f. OSPF is the most widely used routing protocol in large enterprise
networks.
g. OSPF is based on link-state technology by using Dijkstra algorithm
which calculates the shortest path.
h. It is worth noting that OSPF packets are
encapsulated in IP datagrams.
i. The cost (metric) of OSPF is the cost of sending packets across a certain
interface. The formula to calcite the cost is: cost= 10000 0000 /bandwidth
in bps. If the bandwidth is wider, the cost would be lower.
j. BGP is an inter-autonomous system routing protocol based on the
path vector routing method i.e the path is not based on the smallest
hop count or the minimum metric but on the policy imposed on
the router by the administrator.
k. BGP message are encapsulated in TCP and it uses the services of TCP
on port 179.
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ADVANTAGES/COMPARISON.
i. Compare to RIP, OSPF has no limitation due to hops (RIP has
a limit of 15 hops so any network with more than 15 hops
cannot be achieved by RIP.
ii. OSPF can handle Variable Length Subnet Masks (VLSM) but
RIP cannot.
iii. The most important is that OSPF converges much faster than
RIP due to its calculation algorithm.
iv. BGP is the fastest amongst the 3.
v. OSPF and RIP has much longer initialization time than BGP.
vi. RIP has a very slow convergence (a change somewhere in the
internet) and its unstable.

CONFIGURATION AND ROUTING TABLE MANAGEMENT

Configuration and routing table management are crucial aspects of network management,
ensuring proper communication between devices and efficient data delivery across networks.
Here's an overview:
1. Configuration Management This involves setting up and maintaining the network devices
to ensure proper functionality.
Key Steps:
Device Configuration: Assign IP addresses (static or dynamic using DHCP). Configure
subnets using subnet masks.
Set up DNS servers for name resolution.
Enable features like NAT (Network Address Translation) or firewalls.
Interface Configuration: Enable/disable interfaces.
Set bandwidth and duplex settings.
Configure VLANs (for switches).
Protocols Setup: Enable routing protocols (e.g., OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, RIP).
Set authentication for secure routing.
Backup and Recovery: Regularly back up configurations.
Restore configurations from backups if needed.
Monitoring Tools:
Use SNMP, NetFlow, or network monitoring tools to track performance.

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2. Routing Table Management A routing table is a data structure stored in routers that directs
packet forwarding.
Key Components:
Destination Network: Specifies the network address.
Subnet Mask: Defines the network range.
Next Hop: The next device (router or gateway) packets are forwarded to.
Metric: Indicates the cost of the route (e.g., hop count, delay).
Interface: Specifies the outgoing interface for the route.
Types of Routes:
Static Routes: Manually configured by administrators.
Dynamic Routes: Automatically learned through routing protocols.
Default Routes: Used when no specific route is found in the table.
3. Routing Protocols Routing protocols dynamically build and maintain routing tables.
Interior Gateway Protocols (IGPs):
RIP: Simple but limited; uses hop count as a metric.
OSPF: Link-state protocol; supports large networks.
EIGRP: Advanced distance vector protocol; fast convergence.
Exterior Gateway Protocols (EGPs):
BGP: Used for interdomain routing (e.g., between ISPs).
4. Managing the Routing Table
Viewing the Table:
On Linux: Use route -n or ip route show.
On Windows: Use route print.
On Cisco routers: Use show ip route.
Adding/Modifying Routes:
Static route (Linux):
ip route add [destination] via [gateway] dev [interface]
Static route (Windows):
route add [destination] mask [subnet mask] [gateway]
Prioritizing Routes:

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Metrics or administrative distance define route preference.
Lower values have higher priority.
Troubleshooting:
Ping/Traceroute: Verify connectivity.
Debug Tools: Analyze routing protocol operations.
Logs: Check for routing table updates or errors

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 CSC 4309 GROUP 6 QUESTIONS

1. What is one key characteristic of circuit switching?

A. Messages are broken into packets.

B. A dedicated path is established before communication starts.
C. Messages are stored and forwarded.
D. Routes are selected dynamically.

Answer: B

2. Which is a disadvantage of circuit switching?

A. Efficient use of the communication channel

B. Expensive implementation
C. Allows message broadcasting
D. Supports interactive applications

Answer: B

3. What technique is referred to as "store-and-forward"?

A. Circuit switching
B. Datagram packet switching
C. Message switching
D. Virtual circuit switching

Answer: C

4. What is one advantage of message switching?

A. Interactive applications compatibility

B. Inefficient use of the channel
C. Establishing message priorities
D. Requirement for long-term dedicated paths

Answer: C

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5. In packet switching, what is the role of packets?

A. They ensure messages take the same path.

B. They contain source and destination addresses.
C. They eliminate the need for retransmission.
D. They require dedicated channels.

Answer: B

6. What is a common disadvantage of packet switching?

A. High delay in voice communication

B. Requires dedicated storage devices
C. Only supports sequential data delivery
D. Inefficient bandwidth usage

Answer: A

7. What routing technique is used by RIP?

A. Link-state routing
B. Distance vector routing
C. Flooding
D. Adaptive routing

Answer: B

8. How often does the distance vector algorithm share information with
neighbors?

A. Every second
B. Every 15 seconds
C. Every 30 seconds
D. Once every hour

Answer: C

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9. What does "dynamic routing" involve?

A. Manually entering routes

B. Responding to real-time topology changes
C. Restricting routes to 15 hops
D. Pre-planned static configurations

Answer: B

10. What device is responsible for path selection in routing?

A. Switch
B. Router
C. Hub
D. Gateway

Answer: B

11. What is the first step in the link-state routing process?

A. Flooding
B. Sharing routing tables
C. Broadcasting neighbors' identities
D. Acknowledging packets

Answer: C

12. What is a disadvantage of dynamic routing?

A. Requires manual configuration

B. Ineffective in handling topology changes
C. Higher CPU and bandwidth usage
D. Limited scalability

Answer: C

13. What are the three typical switching techniques?

A. Packet Switching, Datagram, and Virtual Circuit

B. Circuit Switching, Message Switching, and Packet Switching
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C. Static Routing, Dynamic Routing, and Flooding
D. Distance Vector, Link State, and Adaptive Routing

Answer: B

14. In circuit switching, when is the routing decision made?

A. After data transfer begins

B. During packet transmission
C. When the circuit is first established
D. At regular intervals

Answer: C

15. What does a router use to determine the best path for packet delivery?

A. Routing algorithms
B. Switches
C. Broadcast addresses
D. Packet size

Answer: A

16. Which switching technique uses a "store-and-forward" approach?

A. Circuit Switching
B. Message Switching
C. Datagram Packet Switching
D. Virtual Circuit Switching

Answer: B

17. What happens if a packet is lost in packet switching?

A. The receiver sends an acknowledgment.

B. The sender retransmits the packet.
C. The communication terminates.
D. The data is stored on disk.

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Answer: B

18. What is the primary purpose of a routing protocol?

A. To define packet sizes

B. To establish physical connections
C. To determine the best path for data transmission
D. To configure network interfaces

Answer: C

19. What is the main role of a router in a network?

A. Forward packets based on headers and routing tables

B. Convert analog signals to digital
C. Establish dedicated circuits
D. Store large amounts of data

Answer: A

20. What is the process of sending information to all routers in a network called?

A. Flooding
B. Broadcasting
C. Packet tagging
D. Forwarding

Answer: A

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