2. Basic Switching Notions

Subsections in the current document:

• 2.1 Packet versus Circuit Switching
• 2.2 Output Contention, Internal Blocking
• 2.3 FIFO Queueing and Head-of-Line Blocking
• 2.4 Store-and-Forward, Cut-Through
• 2.5 Multiplexing
• 2.6 Applications: Non-Blocking Switches using Multiplexing
• 2.7 Three Generations of Switch Architectures
• 2.8 Datapath and Control in Switches

2.1 Packet versus Circuit Switching:

2.2 Output Contention, Internal Blocking:

2.3 FIFO Queueing and Head-of-Line Blocking:

2.4 Store-and-Forward, Cut-Through:

2.5 Multiplexing:

2.6 Applications: Non-Blocking Switches using Multiplexing

2.7 Three Generations of Switch Architectures

According to Keshav's book, chapter 8, the packet switch architectures can be categorized in three generations:

2.8 Datapath and Control in Switches