WBJECA 2025 — Computer PYQ

Packet switching is the fundamental technology that enables the modern Internet. Unlike circuit switching (which dedicates a physical path for the entire duration of a communication), packet switching breaks data down into smaller, manageable units called packets.

• Process:

  1. The source device divides the data stream into packets.

  2. Each packet is routed through the network independently, often taking different paths based on current network congestion.

  3. The destination device reassembles these packets into the original data stream.

We can define the data transmission logic as:

$$\text{Data}=\{P_1,P_2,P_3,\dots ,P_n\}$$

Where each packet $P_i$ contains:

$$\text{Packet Structure}=\{\text{Header (Destination, Sequence)}\}\cup \{\text{Payload Data}\}$$

• Option (A) describes a streaming-like behavior often associated with circuit-switched or constant-bit-rate connections.

• Option (B) describes Circuit Switching, where a dedicated path exists.

• Option (D) describes physical patch-panel switching, which is not the basis for network data communication.

Because packet switching allows for efficient bandwidth utilization by interleaving packets from various sources and dynamically routing them, (C) is the correct definition.