Switching is the process of sending packets from one port to the another port.

A communicating device includes multiple number of nodes in the system. They are mostly of two types:

• Connectionless:The data is send based on the wireless  network.

• Connection Oriented:  The data is send based on the physical and dedicated wired network.

Circuit Switching

When nodes communicate through the physical dedicated path it is called circuit switching.The route is decided in advance and no deviation is permitted .In circuit switching, to transfer the data, circuit must be established so that the data transfer can take place.

Circuits can be permanent or temporary. Applications which use circuit switching may have to go through three phases:

• Establish a circuit

• Transfer the data

• Disconnect the circuit

Message Switching

This technique is somewhat between packet and circuit switching. The data is sent in its entirety as a whole.

A switch working on message switching, receive the message and buffer it till the receiver gets empty to receive the data.