Circuit switching

Circuit switching is a methodology of implementing a telecommunications network in which two network nodes establish a dedicated communications channel (circuit) through the network before the nodes may communicate. The circuit guarantees the full bandwidth of the channel and remains connected for the duration of the communication session. The circuit functions as if the nodes were physically connected as with an electrical circuit.

The defining example of a circuit-switched network is the early analog telephone network. When a call is made from one telephone to another, switches within thetelephone exchanges create a continuous wire circuit between the two telephones, for as long as the call lasts.