Bahir Dar University Institute of Technology School of Computing and Electrical Engineering

Wireless and mobile communication Assignment

Group Members: Workneh Hailu 366/2000

Yehenew Gashaw 375/2000 Yilkal Andualem 380/2000

Submitted to: Amare K.

1. Describe the difference between circuit switched and packet switched networks

Circuit Switched Networks In circuit switching, a certain path is established between the two communicating devices and stays dedicated for them throughout the conversation. The path is decided upon before the data transmission starts. The system decides on which route to follow, based on a resource-optimizing algorithm, and transmission goes according to the path. For the whole length of the communication session between the two communicating bodies, the route is dedicated and exclusive, and released only when the session terminates. A best example for the circuit switching would be a telephone network as shown below.

The process of establishing connection between callers A and B in this circuit switched network is as follows.

A dials specific number to connect to the B Once A finishes dialing the destination number, it reaches Telephone Switch A. The switch searches and selects any one of the available routes to the destination.

The connection is established (red color line) when the caller B answers his phone. During the whole conversation between caller A and B, the established connection will be used. If anyone of them hangs off the call the established connection will be disconnected immediately. They will need to reconnect again.

Packet Switched Networks In a packet-switched network, data is transferred by dividing the data into individual packets and passing it through the circuits to the other host. Using routing algorithms, each packet may actually take a different route through the network to arrive at the destination host. When received, packets are reassembled in the proper sequence to make up the message/data. In such networks the route is not exclusively determined when the packets hit the wire as opposed to circuit-switched network where a static route is setup and preestablished prior to initializing connections to the host. IP based networks are best examples of packet switched networks as shown in the figure below.

 As shown in the above figure Data is transferred by dividing the data into individual packets (1, 2, 3, and 4) Each packet takes a different route through the network to arrive at the destination host (X) When received, packets are reassembled in the proper sequence to make up the original data In summary, some of the differences between circuit switched and packet switched networks are: Circuit switching establishes fixed bandwidth circuits/channels between nodes and terminals before the users may communicate while in packet switching route is not exclusively determined when the packets hit the wire In circuit switched networks, for the whole length of the communication session between the two communicating bodies, the route is dedicated and exclusive, and released only when the session terminates while in packet switched networks no fixed route is dedicated. Circuit switched networks are preferred for voice communication due to the constant time delay requirements while packet switched networks are preferred for data communication because they are faster and variable delay is not a problem. In packet switched networks, packets are delivered even when network is busy, though delivery may be slow, while in circuit switched networks the message is blocked if network is busy. Since the data in packet networks is sent with the help of packets, the usage of the path is more efficient than it is in Circuit-Switching network.

2. Explain the different between multiplexing and multiple access

systems

Multiplexing: Multiplexing is process to combine multiple signal for transmit it over a single channel or media. Generally multiplexing combines several low-speed signals for transmission over a single high-speed connection using multiplexer. Multiplexing does not provide any type of resources Requires additional hardware at the receiving end to separate the desired signal from the other signal. E.g. Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Statistical Time Division Multiplexing (STDM), Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) Multiple Accesses: Multiple-access is a technique that permits many users to simultaneously access a given channel or link. Multiple access provides dedicated resources to the user in comparison to the multiplexing which does not provide any type of resources. Combine signals from different sources We do not require any additional hardware at the receiving end to separate the desired user from the other users as we do in Multiplexing

There are several different ways to allow access to the channel. E.g frequency division multiple-access (FDMA), time division multiple-access (TDMA), code division multipleaccess (CDMA)

To summarize, multiple access and multiplexing techniques can be distinguished as: Multiplexing simply means that multiple analog message signals or digital data streams are combined into one signal to be transmitted over a certain medium while multiple accesses means that several terminals can access/share a single channel. For example, multiplexing may be used in full-duplex point-to-point communication between nodes in a switched network (TDD duplex), which should not be considered as multiple accesses. Multiplexing is totally provided by the physical layer while multiple access also involves a media access control protocol, which is part of the Data Link Layer. This protocol deals with issues such as addressing, assigning multiplex channels to different users, and avoiding collisions.

Multiple access or channel access schemes are usually based on multiplexing methods that allow several data streams or signals to share the same communication channel or physical medium. Examples of such shared physical media include wireless networks, bus networks, ring networks, hub networks and half-duplex point-to-point links.