Why is circuit switching less efficient for bursty data than packet switching?

Reserved bandwidth is wasted during silence or idle periods

It uses store and forward at each node

What happens under congestion in each technique?

Circuit: call blocked (busy tone); packet: packets delayed or dropped

Circuit: packets dropped; packet: call blocked

Which statement about delay is correct?

Circuit: delay at set-up then fixed and low; packet: queuing delay at each node, variable

Circuit: variable queuing delay; packet: fixed delay

Packet switching has no delay since there is no set-up

Which pairing of technique with best use is correct?

Circuit - real-time voice; packet - bursty data

Circuit - bursty data; packet - real-time voice

Packet - billing by time and distance

Circuit - billing by data volume

2075 Chaitra · 4 marks

Circuit switch vs packet switch

Short answer

Circuit switching sets up a dedicated fixed path for the whole call, reserving bandwidth, and is best for real-time voice. Packet switching breaks data into packets, uses store-and-forward with shared links, and is efficient for bursty data. Examples: PSTN versus Internet IP.

Differentiate between circuit switch and packet switch.

In a circuit switch a dedicated end-to-end path is set up for the whole call, as in the PSTN. In a packet switch data is broken into packets that share links and are stored and forwarded at each node, as in the Internet.

Point	Circuit switching	Packet switching
Path	Dedicated, fixed for whole call	Shared; per packet or per VC
Set-up	Call set-up needed	None (datagram) or VC set-up
Bandwidth	Reserved, wasted in silence	Used on demand, efficient
Delay	Only at set-up; then fixed, low	Queuing delay at each node, variable
Store and forward	No	Yes
Congestion effect	Call blocked (busy tone)	Packets delayed or dropped
Billing	By time and distance	By data volume
Speed/code conversion	Not possible	Possible
Best for	Real-time voice	Bursty data
Example	PSTN, GSM voice	Internet (IP), X.25

Circuit:  A ==[S1]==[S2]==[S3]== B   (one fixed path)
Packet:   A --[S1]--[S2]-------- B
               \     /
                [S4]                 (packets may differ)

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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