How Traffic is routed on a packed switched network

•Data is split into packets

•Each packet has a destination address

•Packets are analysed by each node

•Packets are sent down the most appropriate path (lowest cost / traffic) to reach its destination

•Each node maintains a routing table

•Packets may take different routes.

•Packets are reassembled at their destination

How a packet is routed on a Packed Switched Network

•Packets are given a 'packet number' to identify the order they are in

•The packets will travel across the network, usually in different directions

•taking the shortest route available

•When the individual packets arrive at their destination they will be reassembled back together in the correct order

•Once all of the packets have safely arrived a message will be sent to the original computer as confirmation

•If a packet is missing or corrupted then the message will instead be sent asking for that particular packet to be resent.

Network Collisions

• Network collisions occur when two sets of data are detected on the network simultaneously

• The collision detection process involves continually monitoring the network to identify when a collision occurs

 • Once detected, a computer waits for a short (random) time then sends again.