F.
MULTIPLEXING AND SWITCHING
Aims and Learning Outcomes
That students can:
1. Define the basic multiplexing methods and their role in data
transmission.
2. Explain the analog multiplexing and how the signals are
transmitted on a communication medium.
3. Discuss the types of digital multiplexing and how this
technique is used to transmit a signal over a single
communication channel.
4. Explain the process of switching in forwarding a packets from
one port to another.
MULTIPLEXING
Multiplexing is the process of combining multiple signals into one signal,
over a shared medium. If analog signals are multiplexed, it is Analog
Multiplexing and if digital signals are multiplexed, that process is Digital
Multiplexing.
Communication is possible over the air (radio frequency), using a
physical media (cable), and light (optical fiber). All mediums are capable of
multiplexing.
When multiple senders try to send over a single medium, a device called
Multiplexer divides the physical channel and allocates one to each. On the
other end of communication, a De-multiplexer receives data from a single
medium, identifies each, and sends to different receivers.
Multiplexer is a device that has multiple inputs and a single line output.
The select lines determine which input is connected to the output, and also to
increase the amount of data that can be sent over a network within certain time.
De-multiplexer is also a device with one input and multiple output lines.
It is used to send a signal to one of the many devices.
Types of Multiplexers
There are mainly two types of multiplexers, namely analog and
digital. They are further divided into FDM, WDM, and TDM.
Analog Multiplexing
The analog multiplexing techniques involve signals which are
analog in nature. The analog signals are multiplexed according to their
frequency (FDM) or wavelength (WDM).
Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)
In analog multiplexing, the most used technique is Frequency
Division Multiplexing FDM. This technique uses various frequencies
to combine streams of data, for sending them on a communication
medium, as a single signal.
A number of signals are transmitted at the same time, and
each source transfers its signals in the allotted frequency range.
Example: A traditional television transmitter, which sends a
number of channels through a single cable, uses FDM.
Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)
Wavelength Division Multiplexing is an analog technique, in
which many data streams of different wavelengths are transmitted in
the light spectrum. If the wavelength increases, the frequency of the
signal decreases.
Example: Optical fibre Communications use the WDM
technique, to merge different wavelengths into a single light for the
communication.
Digital Multiplexing
The term digital represents the discrete bits of information. Hence
the available data is in the form of frames or packets, which are discrete.
Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)
In TDM, the time frame is divided into slots. This technique is
used to transmit a signal over a single communication channel, with
allotting one slot for each message. Of all the types of TDM, the main
ones are Synchronous and Asynchronous TDM.
Synchronous TDM
o A Synchronous TDM is a technique in which time slot is
preassigned to every device.
o In Synchronous TDM, each device is given some time slot
irrespective of the fact that the device contains the data or not.
o If the device does not have any data, then the slot will remain
empty.
o In Synchronous TDM, signals are sent in the form of frames. Time
slots are organized in the form of frames.
o If a device does not have data for a particular time slot, then the
empty slot will be transmitted.
.
In the above figure, the Synchronous TDM technique is
implemented. Each device is allocated with same time slot. The time
slots are transmitted irrespective of whether the sender has data to
send or not.
Asynchronous TDM
o Other name of asynchronous TDM is statistical division
multiplexing.
o It is a technique in which time slots are not fixed as in the
case of Synchronous TDM.
o Time slots are allocated to only those devices which have the
data to send.
o Therefore, we can say that Asynchronous Time Division
multiplexor transmits only the data from active workstations.
o If the allotted device, for a time-slot, transmits nothing and
sits idle, then that slot is allotted to another device, unlike
synchronous.
In the above diagram, there are 4 devices, but only two
devices are sending the data, i.e., A and C. Therefore, the data of A
and C are only transmitted through the transmission line.
SWITCHING
Switching is a mechanism by which data/information sent from
source towards destination which are not directly connected. Networks
have interconnecting devices, which receives data from directly
connected sources, stores data, analyze it and then forwards to the next
interconnecting device closest to the destination.
Switching is process to forward packets coming in from one port to a
port leading towards the destination. When data comes on a port it is called
Ingress, and when data leaves a port or goes out it is called Egress.
Circuit Switching
When two nodes communicate with each other over a dedicated
communication path, it is called circuit switching. There is a need of pre-
specified route from which data travels and no other data is permitted. In
circuit switching to transfer the data, circuit must be established so that the
data transfer can take place. Circuits can be permanent or temporary.
Applications which use circuit switching may have to go through three
phases:
Establish a circuit
Transfer the data
Disconnect the circuit
Telephone is the best suitable example of circuit switching. Before a
user can make a call, a virtual path between caller and callee is established
over the network.
Message Switching
This technique was somewhere in middle of circuit switching and
packet switching. In message switching, the whole message is treated as a
data unit and is transferred in its entirety. A switch working on message
switching, first receives the whole message and buffers it until there are
resources available to transfer it to the next hop. If the next hop is not having
enough resource to accommodate large size message, the message is
stored and switch waits.
This technique was considered substitute to circuit switching.
Message switching has the following drawbacks:
Every switch in transit path needs enough storage to
accommodate entire message.
Because of store-and-forward technique and waits included
until resources are available, message switching is very slow.
Message switching was not a solution for streaming media
and real-time applications.
Packet Switching
Shortcomings of message switching gave birth to an idea of packet
switching. The entire message is divided and grouped into a number of units
called Packets that are individually routed from the source to the
destination.
The switching information is added in the header of each packet and
transmitted independently. It is easier for intermediate networking devices
to store small size packets and they do not take much resources either on
carrier path or in the internal memory of switches.
