3/10/2025

Switching and Multiplexing

Switching
• An internet is a switched network in which a switch connects at least
Switching and Multiplexing two links together.
• A switch needs to forward data from a network to another network
when required.
Swagat Ranjan Sahoo • The two most common types of switched networks
Assistant Professor • Circuit switched networks
• Packet switched networks
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
GL Bajaj Institute of Technology and Management, Greater Noida-201306,
India

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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Circuit Switched Network Circuit Switched Network
• In a circuit switched network, a dedicated connection, called a circuit, is • We have used telephone sets instead of computers as an end system
always available between the two end systems the switch can only make because circuit switching was very common in telephone networks in
it active or inactive the past, although part of the telephone network today is a packet
• Figure shows a very simple switched network that connects four switched network
telephones to each end

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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Circuit Switched Network Circuit Switched Network
Advantages Disadvantages
• Guaranteed bandwidth: Provides a dedicated path for communication, • Inefficient use of bandwidth: Because the bandwidth is reserved for the
ensuring that bandwidth is guaranteed for the duration of the call. entire duration of the call even when no data is being transmitted.
• Low latency: Provides low latency because the path is predetermined, • Limited scalability: Because the number of circuits that can be
and there is no need to establish a connection for each packet. established is finite which can limit the number of simultaneous calls
• Predictable performance: Because the bandwidth is reserved, and there that can be made.
is no competition for resources. • High cost: Because it requires dedicated resources, such as hardware
• Suitable for real-time communication: Suitable for real-time and bandwidth for the duration of the call.
communication, such as voice and video, because it provides low
latency and predictable performance.
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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Packet Switched Network Packet Switched Network
• Communication between the • A router in a packet switched network has a queue that can store and
two ends is done in blocks of forward the packet
data called packets • Now assume that the capacity of the thick line is only twice the capacity
• Figure shows a small packet of the data line connecting the computers to the routers
switched network that connects • If packets arrive at one router, when the thick line is already working at
four computers at one site to its full capacity, the packets should be stored and forwarded in the order
four computers at the other site they arrived.

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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Packet Switched Network Packet Switched Network
Advantages Disadvantages of Packet Switching
• Efficient use of bandwidth: Because bandwidth is shared among • Higher latency: Higher latency than circuit switching because packets
multiple users and resources are allocated only when data needs to be must be routed through multiple nodes which can cause delay.
transmitted. • Limited QoS: Provides limited QoS guarantees. It means that different
• Flexible: Flexible and can handle a wide range of data rates and packet types of traffic may be treated equally.
sizes. • Packet loss: Result in packet loss due to congestion on the network or
• Scalable: Highly scalable and can handle large amounts of traffic on a errors in transmission.
network.
• Lower cost: Less expensive than circuit switching because resources are
shared
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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Circuit Switching Packet Switching MULTIPLEXING
A dedicated communication path is established Data is divided into packets, which are sent • Multiplexing is the transmission of information from more than one
between the sender and receiver before data independently over the network and source to more than one destination over the same transmission
transmission. reassembled at the destination. medium.
Connection-oriented Connection-less (mostly)
• Multiplexing is the sharing of a medium or bandwidth. It is the process
Data transmission is Continuous and ordered Data transmission is Packet-based and may in which multiple signals coming from multiple sources are combined
arrive out of order and transmitted over a single communication/physical line.
Fixed bandwidth is reserved for the entire Bandwidth is dynamically shared among
duration of communication. multiple users.
Low delay once the circuit is established, but Lower setup time, but packets may experience
high setup time. variable delays.
Poor scalability due to dedicated resources. Highly scalable due to resource sharing.
Traditional telephone networks (PSTN). Internet, VoIP, and most modern
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communication networks.

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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

MULTIPLEXING Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)
There are three types of Multiplexing • A multiplexing technique by which multiple data signals can be
• Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM) transmitted over a common communication channel in different time
• Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) slots is known as Time Division Multiplexing (TDM).
• Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) • It allows the division of the overall time domain into various fixed length
time slots.
• A single frame is said to be transmitted when it’s all signal components
gets transmitted over the channel.
• Each user is allotted a particular a time interval called time slot or time
slice during which the data is transmitted by that user.

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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)
• Each sending device takes control of entire bandwidth of the channel for • The TDM system can be used to multiplex analog or digital signals,
fixed amount of time. however it is more suitable for the digital signal multiplexing.
• In TDM, data rate capacity of the transmission medium should be
greater than the data rate required by sending or receiving devices.
• In TDM, all the signals to be transmitted are not transmitted
simultaneously. Instead, they are transmitted one-by-one.
• Each signal will be transmitted for a very short time.

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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) Synchronous TDM
Time Division Multiplexing Types • In synchronous TDM, each device is given same time slot to transmit the
• Synchronous TDM data over the link, irrespective of the fact that the device has any data to
transmit or not.
• Asynchronous or Statistical TDM
• Synchronous TDM, total speed of various input lines should not exceed
the capacity of path.
• Each device places its data onto the link when its time slot
arrives i.e. each device is given the possession of line turn by turn.
• If any device does not have data to send then its time slot remains
empty.
• The various time slots are organized into frames and each frame consists
of one or more time slots dedicated to each sending device.
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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Synchronous TDM Synchronous TDM
• If there are n sending devices, there will be n slots in frame i.e. one slot Disadvantages
for each device. • The channel capacity cannot be fully utilized.
• Some of the slots go empty in certain frames. As shown in fig only first
two frames are completely filled. The last three frames have 6 empty
slots. It means out of 20 slots in all, 6 slots are empty.
• This wastes the l/4th capacity of links.

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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Synchronous TDM Statistical TDM
Disadvantages • Output frame collects data from the input frame till it is full, not leaving
• The capacity of single communication line that is used to carry the an empty slot like in Synchronous TDM.
various transmissions should be greater than the total speed of • Asynchronous TDM is called so because is this type of multiplexing,
input lines. time slots are not fixed i.e. the slots are flexible.
• Here, the total speed of input lines can be greater than the capacity of
the path.

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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Statistical TDM Statistical TDM:
• In synchronous TDM, if we have n input lines then there are n slots in • The multiplexer scans the various input lines, accepts the data from the
one frame. But in asynchronous it is not so. lines that have data to send, fills the frame and then sends the frame
• In asynchronous TDM, if we have n input lines then the frame contains across the link.
not more than m slots, with m less than n (m < n). • If there are not enough data to fill all the slots in a frame, then the
• In asynchronous TDM, the number of time slots in a frame is based on frames are transmitted partially filled.
a statistical analysis of number of input lines. Advantages of TDM: Disadvantages of TDM:
• In this system slots are not predefined, the slots are allocated to any of  Full available channel bandwidth can be utilized for  Synchronization is essential for proper
the device that has data to send. each channel. operation.
 lntermodulation distortion is absent.
 TDM circuitry is not very complex.

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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)
• FDM is a scheme in which numerous signals are combined for • The frequency spectrum is divided into several logical channels, in
transmission on a single communications line or channel. which every user feels that they possess a particular bandwidth.
• It is analog multiplexing technique. • A number of signals are sent simultaneously at the same time
• In this, a number of signals are transmitted at the same time, and each allocating separate frequency bands or channels to each signal.
source transfers its signals in the allotted frequency range. • It is used in radio and TV transmission.
• There is a suitable frequency gap between the 2 adjacent signals to • Therefore to avoid interference between two successive
avoid over-lapping. channels Guard bands are used.
• Since the signals are transmitted in the allotted frequencies so this
decreases the probability of collision.

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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)
Application of FDM Advantages of FDM
• In the first generation of mobile • A large number of signals (channels)
phones, FDM was used. can be transmitted simultaneously.
• The use of FDM in television • FDM does not need synchronization
broadcasting between its transmitter and receiver for
• FDM is used to broadcast FM and AM proper operation.
radio frequencies. • Demodulation of FDM is easy.
• Similarly FM broadcasting uses a • Due to slow narrow band fading only a
bandwidth of 88 to 108 MHz single channel gets affected.

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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (WDM)
Disadvantages of FDM: • WDM is a technique of multiplexing multiple optical carrier signals
• The communication channel must have through a single optical fibre channel by varying the wavelengths of
a very large bandwidth. laser lights.
• Intermodulation distortion takes place. • WDM allows communication in both the directions in the fibre cable.
• Large number of modulators and filters
are required.
• FDM suffers from the problem of
crosstalk.

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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (WDM) Wavelength-Division Multiplexing
Concept and Process (WDM)
• In WDM, the optical signals from different sources or (transponders) • Example: It has 4 optical signals having
are combined by a multiplexer, which is essentially an optical combiner. 4 different wavelengths.
• They are combined so that their wavelengths are different. • Each of the four senders generates data
streams of a particular wavelength.
• The combined signal is transmitted via a single optical fibre strand.
• The optical combiner multiplexes the
• At the receiving end, a demultiplexer splits the incoming beam into its signals and transmits them over a single
components and each of the beams is send to the corresponding long-haul fibre channel.
receivers.
• At the receiving end, the splitter
demultiplexes the signal into the
original 4 data streams.
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Switching and Multiplexing Switching and Multiplexing

Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (WDM) Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (WDM)
Categories of WDM: Based upon the wavelength, WDM can be divided into two Advantages of WDM
categories
• Enhanced capacity as full-duplex transmission is also possible with a single
• Course WDM (CWDM): CWDM generally operates with 8 channels where the spacing fibre.
between the channels is 20 nm (nanometres) apart.
• It consumes less energy than DWDM and is less expensive. However, the capacity of the links, as • WDM is inherently easier to reconfigure (i.e. adding of removing channels)
well as the distance supported, is lesser.
• Usage of optical components makes it simpler, more reliable and often
• Dense WDM (DWDM): In DWDM, the number of multiplexed channels much larger
than CWDM.
less costly.
• It is either 40 at 100GHz spacing or 80 with 50GHz spacing. Due to this, they can transmit the huge
quantity of data through a single fibre link.
• DWDM is generally applied in core networks of telecommunications and cable networks.

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Switching and Multiplexing

Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (WDM)
Disadvantages of WDM
• Signals cannot be placed so close in the wavelength spectrum that they
interfere with each other.
• The overall signal strength should be approximately the same for each
wavelength which may not be possible. Thank you!
• Light waves carrying WDM are limited to a two-point circuit or a
combination of many two-point circuits that can go only where the cable
goes.

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