Switching Systems - Introduction and Network Evolution

Lecture notes
Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen
Switching Systems
Jorma Kekalainen
Switching Systems
Introduction
Introduction and network evolution
Page 1
Lecture notes
Goals of the course

Understand principal concepts of switching
systems
the basic structure and functions of a switching
system
the role of a switching system in a transport
network
Course outline
Introduction to switching
Transport and switching
Switch fabrics
Switch implementations
Optical switching
Page 2
Lecture notes
Sources
1.
Usually, the most precise sources are the original

sources, i.e. standards, recommendations or other
specifications.
You can pull them from the Internet e.g.
ITU-T www.itu.int/ITU-T/
IETF www.ietf.org
3GPP www.3gpp.org
or from elsewhere.
2. You can look for material from corresponding

courses using some search engine
3. Some may find that the books are easier to read.
4. Lecture notes are sufficient to pass the course.
5
Books
Ericsson & Telia, Understanding Telecommunications 1
Hui, Switching and traffic theory for integrated broadband
networks
Freeman, Telecommunication System Engineering.
Chao, Lam and Oki, Broadband Packet Switching Technologies
A Practical Guide to ATM Switches and IP routers
Penman, Interconnections: Bridges, Routers, Switches and
Internetworking Protocols
Stern, Bala, Multiwavelength Optical Networks: A Layered
Approach
Davie, Doolan and Rekhter, Switching in IP networks
Page 3
Lecture notes
Motivation
Switches allow reduction in overall network cost by
reducing number and cost of transmission links
Limited number of physical connections implies need
for sharing of transport resources, which means
better utilization of transport capacity
use of switching
Switching systems are central components in

communications networks
History of switching
Manual systems
manually operated switching equipment (the first one in
1878)
Electromechanical systems
manual exchanges were replaced by electromechanical
switching systems
a patent for automated telephone exchange in 1889
more efficient routing of traffic through transmission
network
increased traffic capacity at lower cost
Page 4
Lecture notes
Modern times
1950-2000
Computer-controlled and fully electronic switching systems
The first computer controlled exchange put into service in 1960
1ESS (Electronic Switching System)
Packet switching and routers
N-ISDN network combined telephone exchange and packet data

switches
Cell switching (ATM) formed basis for B-ISDN
Label switching (MPLS)
Optical switching
optical switching with electronic switch control
all optical switching in the horizon
Development of switching technologies
10
Page 5
Lecture notes
History of switching
11
End-Office evolution
Switching
System
Operation
Method of
Switching
Type of Control
1878 manual
operator
manual
space/analog
1892 step-by-step
electromechanical
space/analog
distributed stageby-stage
1918 cross-bar
electromechanical
space/analog
common control
1960 ESS - first

generation
semielectronic
space/analog
common control
1972 ESS second

generation
electronic
space/analog
stored program
control
1976 ESS - third

generation
electronic
time/digital
stored program
common
control
human
12
Page 6
Lecture notes
The Hierarchy of Telecom Switching Systems
13
Public Circuit Switched Network
A private branch exchange (PBX) is a telephone exchange that serves a particular

business or office, as opposed to one that a common carrier or telephone company. PBXs
are also referred to as: PABX - private automatic branch exchange
14
Page 7
Lecture notes
Telecom Components
Subscriber
Devices attached to network
Subscriber line
Link between subscriber and network
Also called Local Loop or Subscriber Loop
Range from few km up to tens of km
Exchange
Switching center in the network
End office specific switching center that supports
subscribers
Trunks
Branches between exchanges
Multiplexed
15
Circuit Establishment
16
Page 8
Lecture notes
Switched network
For transmission of data beyond a local area,
communication is typically achieved by transmitting
data from source to destination through a series of
interlinked nodes, called switches.
Switching nodes will move the data from node to node
until they reach their destination.
The end devices that wish to communicate may be
referred to as stations or hosts.
The stations may be computers, telephones, or other
communicating devices.
The nodes are connected to one another in some
topology by transmission links.
Each station attaches to a node, and the collection of
switched nodes is referred to as a switched network.
17
Switched network
18
Page 9
Lecture notes
Switched network
19
Alternative topologies
Whenever we have multiple devices, we have the problem of how
to connect them to make one-to-one communication possible.
We can make a point-to-point connection
between each pair of devices (a mesh topology) or
between a central device and every other device (a star
topology).
These methods are impractical and wasteful when applied to
very large networks.
the links require too much infrastructure and
the majority of those links would be idle most of the time.
not cost-effective
Other topologies employing multipoint connections, such as a
bus, are ruled out because the distances between devices and
the total number of devices increase beyond the capacities of
the media and equipment.
A better solution is switching.
20
Page 10
Lecture notes
Example: Full mesh networks

Each terminal directly
connects to every other
terminal
Uneconomical: Large
number N(N-1) of
poorly utilized
connections
21
Example: Broadcast and select networks
Each terminal connects to a

common shared medium.
Sources broadcast information.
Destinations select appropriate
information.
Poor scalability: Shared medium
is a bottleneck.
As the number of nodes
increases transmission time
spent arbitrating access (e.g.
Ethernet collisions) also
increases
Poor security: Information is
visible to all nodes.
Poor reliability: Single failure
point.
or
A system whose performance improves after adding hardware,

proportionally to the capacity added, is said to be a scalable system.
22
Page 11
Lecture notes
Example: Switched networks

Most traffic is
directed (broadcast=bad) and
bursty (mesh=bad)
Switches
Forward traffic only towards its
destination(s)
Multiplex traffic from multiple sources
23
Switched networks
Advantages
Economical for large
scale
Smaller collision
domains:
Objections
Switches cost
Switches may get congested
or block
Switches introduce delay
less time spent

arbitrating access
Relative secure
Reliable e.g. choice of
path
Simple to upgrade
24
Page 12
Lecture notes
Definition of switch
Switch: Any device with multiple ports that direct
traffic only to one output port that leads to the
destination.
Note1: Router: A switch that uses network layer (e.g. IP)
headers to decide which port to forward packets on.
Note2: ITU-T specification for switching:
The establishing, on-demand, of an individual connection
from a desired inlet to a desired outlet within a set of
inlets and outlets for as long as is required for the
transfer of information.
Note3:
Ports are also known as interfaces.
inlet/outlet = a line or a channel
25
Switches
Switches are devices capable of creating
temporary connections between two or more
devices linked to the switch.
In a switched network, some of these nodes
are connected to the end systems (computers
or telephones).
Others are used only for routing.
Data can be switched on bit, octet, frame,
packet or message level
26
Page 13
Lecture notes
Examples of switching
Electronic switching
Computer network
Telephone network
Non-electronic switching
Vehicular traffic
railway switching yards
automotive traffic (lane
switching)
Irrigation systems
Utility networks (water,
sewerage. electricity,
gas ...)
27
Example: Full connectivity between

stations
28
Page 14
Lecture notes
Example: Centralized switching
29
Example: Switching network to connect

hosts
30
Page 15
Lecture notes
Example: Hierarchy of switching networks
31
Heterogeneity by switching
Switching systems allow heterogeneity among
terminals and transmission links by providing a
variety of interface types
various data rates

different link layer framing
optical and electrical interfaces
various line codes
32
Page 16
Lecture notes
Heterogeneity by switching
33
Types of switching networks (1)

Statically switched networks
connections established for longer periods of time (typically
for months or years)
management system used for connection manipulation
Dynamically switched networks

connections established for short periods of time (typically
from seconds to tens of minutes)
active signaling needed to manipulate connections
Routing networks
no connections established - no signaling
each data unit routed individually through a network
routing decision made dynamically or statically
34
Page 17
Lecture notes
Types of switching networks (2)

We can divide networks into three broad categories:
circuit-switched, packet-switched and messageswitched networks.
Packet-switched networks can further be divided into
two subcategories datagram networks and virtualcircuit networks.
The virtual-circuit networks have some common
characteristics with circuit-switched and datagram
networks.
35
Taxonomy of switched networks
36
Page 18
Lecture notes
Packet and message switching

In packet switching station breaks long message into
packets
Packets are sent one at a time to the network
Packets are handled in two ways
Datagram
Virtual circuit
In message switching, each switch stores the whole

message and forwards it to the next switch.
Packet switching has replaced message switching in
general communications.
37
Circuit Switching
Originated in public telephone networks
Well suited to both analog and digital transmission of
voice signal, but can also handle digital data
A dedicated path is established between two stations
for communication
Three phases: establish, transfer, disconnect
The connection is transparent:
Once it is established, it appears to attached devices as if there
were a direct connection
Network must have switching capacity and channel

capacity to establish connection
Network must have intelligence to work out routing
In circuit switching, a direct physical connection
between two devices is created by space-division
switches, time-division switches, or both.
38
Page 19
Lecture notes
Space- and time division switch

In a space-division switch, the path from one device
to another is spatially separate from other paths.
A crossbar is the most common space-division switch.
It connects n inputs to m outputs via n m
crosspoints.
Multistage switches can reduce the number of
crosspoints needed, but blocking may result.
Blocking occurs when not every input has its own
unique path to every output.
In a time-division switch, the inputs are divided in
time, using TDM.
A control unit sends the input to the correct output
device.
A TDM buses are simple time-division switches.
Space- and time-division switches may be combined.
39
Telephone network
Smart Network
Dumb Terminals
40
Page 20
Lecture notes
Packet Switching: Basic Operation

Data transmitted in small packets
Typically 1000 octets (8 bit byte)
Longer messages split into series of packets
Each packet contains a portion of user data plus
some control info
Control info
Routing (addressing) info
Packets are received, stored briefly

(buffered) and passed on to the next node
Store and forward
41
Datagram
Each packet is treated independently

Packets can take any practical route
Packets may arrive out of order
Packets may go missing
Up to receiver to re-order packets and
recover from missing packets
42
Page 21
Lecture notes
Internet
Dumb Network
Smart Terminals
43
Virtual Circuit
Preplanned route established before any
packets sent
Call request and call accept packets establish
connection (handshake)
Each packet contains a virtual circuit
identifier instead of destination address
No routing decisions required for each packet
Clear request to drop circuit
Not a dedicated path
44
Page 22
Lecture notes
Combined datagram and VC

In packet switching we can combine datagram
networks and virtual-circuit networks.
Network route the first packet based on
the datagram addressing idea, but then a
virtual-circuit network is created for the rest
of the packets coming from the same source
and going to the same destination.
45
OSI definitions for switching and routing
46
Page 23
Lecture notes
The interaction between layers in the OSI model
47
Physical layer
The physical layer is responsible for movements of

individual bits from one hop (node) to the next.
48
Page 24
Lecture notes
Data link layer
The data link layer is responsible for moving

frames from one hop (node) to the next.
49
Hop-to-hop delivery
50
Page 25
Lecture notes
Network layer
The network layer is responsible for the

delivery of individual packets from
the source host to the destination host.
51
Source-to-destination delivery
52
Page 26
Lecture notes
Transport layer
Processes
The transport layer is responsible for the delivery

of a message from one process to another.
53
Reliable process-to-process delivery of a message
54
Page 27
Lecture notes
Summary of layers
55
Main building blocks of a switch
56
Page 28
Lecture notes
Abilities of modern switching

Support of different traffic profiles
constant and variable bit rates, bursty traffic
Switching of highly different data rates

kbits/s - Gbits/s
Support of varying delay requirements

constant and variable delays
Scalability
number of input/output links, link bit rates
High reliability
Low cost/throughput ratio
57
Switching Systems
Network evolution and
switching modes
58
Page 29
Lecture notes
Narrowband network evolution

Early telephone systems used analog technology frequency division multiplexing (FDM) and space
division switching (SDS)
With the help of digital technology time division
multiplexing (TDM) and time division switching (TDS)
became possible
Development of electronic components enabled
integration of TDM and TDS => Integrated Digital
Network (IDN)
Different communications networks were developed
circuit switching for voice-only services
packet switching for (low-speed) data services
dedicated networks, e.g. for video and specialized data
services
59
Network evolution (1)

Different communications networks
circuit switching for voice-only services
packet switching for (low-speed) data services
dedicated networks, e.g. for video and specialized data

services
60
UNI=User Network
Interface
Page 30
Lecture notes
Network evolution (2)

Service integration became to better utilize
communications resources then
IDN ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)
ISDN offered
integrated transport and full digital access

inter-node signaling (based on packet switching)
packet and circuit switched end-to-end digital connections
three types of channels (B=64 kbit/s, D=16 kbit/s and
H=nx64 kbit/s)
Three types of long-distance interconnections

circuit switched, packet switched and signaling connections
61
Note. Broadband services continued to be supported by separate dedicated networks
Broadband network evolution (1)
Progress in optical technologies enabled huge transport capacities

integration of transmission of all the different networks BB became
possible
Switching nodes of different networks co-located to configure
multifunctional switches
Each type of traffic handled by its own switching module

narrow-band integrated access and broad-band integrated
transmission
62
NNI=Network-to-Network Interface
Page 31
Lecture notes
Broadband network evolution (2)

For elimination the limitations of N-ISDN:
low bit rate channels
no support for variable bit rates
no support for large bandwidth services
connection oriented packet switching scheme (ATM), was

developed
B-ISDN concept
integrated broadband transport and switching (no more need for

specialized switching modules or dedicated networks)
NNI=Network-to-Network Interface
63
UNI=User Network
Interface
Switching modes
Circuit switching
Cell and frame switching
Packet switching
Routing
Layer 3+ switching
Label switching
64
Page 32
Lecture notes
Circuit switching
End-to-end circuit established for a connection
Signaling used to set-up, maintain and release circuits

Circuit offers constant bit rate and constant transport delay
Equal quality offered to all connections
Transport capacity of a circuit cannot be shared
Applied in conventional telecommunications networks (e.g.
PDH/PCM and N-ISDN)
65
Cell switching
Virtual circuit (VC) established for a connection
Data transported in fixed length frames (cells), which

carry information needed for routing cells along
established VCs
Forwarding tables in network nodes
66
Page 33
Lecture notes
Cell switching
Signaling used to set-up, maintain and release VCs as
well as update forwarding tables
VCs offer constant or variable bit rates and
transport delay
Transport capacity of links shared by a number of
connections (statistical multiplexing)
Different quality classes supported
Applied in ATM networks
67
Frame switching
Virtual circuits (VC) established usually for virtual
LAN connections
Data transported in variable length frames (e.g.
Ethernet frames), which carry information needed
for routing frames along established VCs
68
Page 34
Lecture notes
Frame switching (2)

Signaling used to set-up, maintain and release
VCs as well as update forwarding tables
VCs offer constant or variable bit rates and
transport delay
Transport capacity of links shared by a
number of connections (statistical
multiplexing)
Different quality classes supported
Applied, e.g. in offering virtual LAN services
for business customers
69
Packet switching
No special transport path established for a
connection
Variable length data packets carry information used
by network
Nodes in making forwarding decisions
No signaling needed for connection setup
70
Page 35
Lecture notes
Packet switching (2)

Forwarding tables in network nodes are
updated by routing protocols
No guarantees for bit rate or transport delay
Best effort service for all connections in
conventional packet switched networks
Transport capacity of links shared effectively
Applied in IP (Internet Protocol) based
networks
71
Layer 3 - 7 switching
L3-switching evolved from the need to speed up (IP
based) packet routing
L3-switching separates routing and forwarding
A communication path is established based on the
first packet associated with a flow of data
Succeeding packets are switched along the path (i.e.
software based routing combined with hardware
based one)
Note: In wire-speed routing, traditional routing is
implemented in hardware to eliminate performance
bottlenecks associated with software based routing
(i.e., conventional routing reaches/surpasses L3switching speeds)
72
Page 36
Lecture notes
Layer 3 - 7 switching (2)

In L4 - L7 switching, forwarding decisions are
based not only on MAC address of L2 and
destination/source address of L3, but also on
application port number of L4 (TCP/UDP) and
on information of layers above L4
73
Label switching
Evolved from the need to speed up
connectionless packet switching and utilize
L2-switching in packet forwarding
A label switched path (LSP) established for a
connection
74
Page 37
Lecture notes
Label switching (2)

Signaling used to set-up, maintain and release LSPs
A label is inserted in front of a L3 packet (behind L2
frame header)
Packets forwarded along established LSPs by using
labels in L2 frames
Quality of service supported
Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a
standardized label switching concept and is used to
carry IP packet, e.g. over ATM, Ethernet and PPP
Generalized label switching scheme (GMPLS) extends
MPLS to be applied also in optical networks, i.e.,
enables light waves to be used as LSPs
75
Page 38

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Lecture notes

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Goals of the course

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Usually, the most precise sources are the original

2. You can look for material from corresponding

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Switching systems are central components in

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

N-ISDN network combined telephone exchange and packet data

Development of switching technologies

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

1960 ESS - first

1972 ESS second

1976 ESS - third

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

The Hierarchy of Telecom Switching Systems

Public Circuit Switched Network

A private branch exchange (PBX) is a telephone exchange that serves a particular

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Range from few km up to tens of km

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Example: Full mesh networks

Example: Broadcast and select networks

Each terminal connects to a

A system whose performance improves after adding hardware,

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Example: Switched networks

less time spent

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Example: Full connectivity between

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Example: Centralized switching

Example: Switching network to connect

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Example: Hierarchy of switching networks

various data rates

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Types of switching networks (1)

Dynamically switched networks

Introduction and network evolution

Switching Systems by Jorma Kekalainen

Types of switching networks (2)

Taxonomy of switched networks