Question

Which switching technique is used in the Internet?

• A. Circuit switching
• B. Packet switching
• C. Message switching
• D. Line switching

Hint:

Remember that public switched telephone networks (PSTN) use circuit switching, which reserves a dedicated path, whereas data networks like the Internet use packet switching for resource sharing and resilience.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks for the fundamental data transmission mechanism employed by the global Internet to route information from source to destination.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
$\bullet$ The Internet operates primarily on the TCP/IP protocol suite, which relies on packet switching technology.
$\bullet$ In packet switching, data is broken down into smaller, manageable units called packets before transmission.
$\bullet$ Each packet contains a payload (the actual data) and a header (which includes source and destination IP addresses).
$\bullet$ Unlike circuit switching, packet switching does not require a dedicated physical path to be established between the sender and receiver.
$\bullet$ Instead, packets travel independently across the network and can take different paths to reach the same destination.
$\bullet$ Routers along the way examine the destination address in the header of each packet to determine the next hop.
$\bullet$ Once all packets arrive at the destination, they are reassembled in the correct order to recreate the original message.
$\bullet$ This method is highly efficient as it maximizes bandwidth utilization by allowing multiple users to share the same physical communication channels.
$\bullet$ If a packet is lost or corrupted during transit, only that specific packet needs to be retransmitted, rather than the entire message.

Step 3: Final Answer:
Therefore, packet switching is the core switching technique utilized in the Internet, making option (B) the correct answer.