/wiki / networking

Networking — Map of Content

2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z

Map of Content for Networking — 3 concepts. Start here to navigate networking.

Core Concepts

Broadcast Links — concept
Circuit Switching — concept
Packet Switching — concept

Mechanisms & How Things Work

Auto-generated — edit to curate. Pages that explain processes/flows.

Comparisons & Tradeoffs

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broadcast-links

2026-04-11T00:00:00.000Z

The Problem

Multiple machines share a single physical communication channel (like WiFi or Ethernet). When one machine sends data, the signal physically reaches ALL machines on the channel. How do you ensure only the intended recipient processes the message?

Core Idea

Every machine on the network receives every transmission. Each packet contains an address field specifying the intended recipient. Every machine checks the address — if it matches, process the packet; if not, ignore it.

How It Works

Sender puts data on the shared channel
The signal propagates to all connected nodes (physics of the medium)
Each node reads the destination address in the packet header
Only the addressed node processes the packet; all others discard it

Key Properties

Single shared channel — only one transmission can happen at a time (or collisions occur)
Address-based filtering — all nodes see everything, but only the addressed node responds
No routing needed — no intermediate forwarding decisions; the channel itself delivers to all
Collision risk — if two nodes transmit simultaneously, the signals corrupt each other

Connections

Contrasts with: Point-to-Point Links — all-at-once vs pair-by-pair delivery
Related: Packet Switching — broadcast is the delivery mechanism on shared-media packet networks
Related: OSI Model — Seven Layers — broadcast is primarily a Physical + Data Link layer concern
Related: Broadcast Links — the address field mechanism is what makes broadcast work

Edge Cases & Gotchas

Broadcast storms — if many nodes broadcast simultaneously, the channel becomes unusable
Privacy — in unencrypted broadcast networks, any node can eavesdrop on any other node’s traffic
Modern Ethernet — switched Ethernet appears point-to-point but uses broadcast ARP and DHCP at the link layer
Not the same as broadcast addressing — sending to a special “all nodes” address is a deliberate broadcast, not the physical property of the medium

circuit-switching

2026-04-11T00:00:00.000Z

The Problem

Two parties need a guaranteed, dedicated communication channel for the duration of their conversation. They need consistent latency and no interference from other traffic. How do you guarantee this on a shared physical infrastructure?

Core Idea

Before any data is sent, a dedicated physical path is established through the network from source to destination. This path is reserved exclusively for this conversation for its entire duration. No other traffic can use the reserved resources. When the conversation ends, the circuit is torn down and resources are freed.

How It Works

Connection setup — source sends a setup request; each intermediate node reserves bandwidth on its outgoing link
Data transfer — once the circuit is established, data flows continuously along the reserved path
Connection teardown — when done, a teardown signal frees all reserved resources

Key Properties

Reserved bandwidth — the full capacity of the reserved path is guaranteed to this conversation
Fixed latency — no queuing delays from competing traffic once the circuit is established
Setup overhead — the initial setup takes time; short-lived communication pays this cost disproportionately
Resource waste during silence — if no data is being sent, the reserved bandwidth sits idle

Connections

Contrasts with: Packet Switching — dedicated vs shared, fixed vs dynamic, no setup vs setup cost
Related: Connection-Oriented Service — circuit switching is the physical implementation of connection-oriented service
Related: Client-Server Model — the connection setup mirrors the connect-communicate-release pattern

Edge Cases & Gotchas

Wasted capacity — human conversations have ~50% silence time; circuit switching reserves bandwidth even during silence
Scalability limit — the number of simultaneous circuits is bounded by the number of physical channels
Not just telephony — optical networks (WDM) use circuit-switching-like wavelength reservation
Modern hybrid — MPLS and ATM blend circuit-switching predictability with packet-switching flexibility

packet-switching

2026-04-11T00:00:00.000Z

The Problem

You need to send data across a network shared by many users. If you dedicate the entire channel to one conversation (like a phone call), most of the channel sits idle during pauses. That’s wasteful. How do you share a single physical medium among thousands of conversations efficiently?

Core Idea

Break the data into small chunks called packets. Each packet carries the destination address. Packets from different conversations share the same physical links. Each packet may take a different route to the destination. The receiver reassembles them in order.

How It Works

Data is segmented into packets of bounded size
Each packet gets a header with: source address, destination address, sequence number, error-checking info
Packets are forwarded independently by intermediate nodes (routers)
Different packets may take different paths
Destination reassembles based on sequence numbers

Key Properties

Statistical multiplexing — link capacity is shared dynamically, not pre-allocated
No dedicated path — packets from the same conversation compete with others for bandwidth
Store-and-forward — each router receives the full packet, checks it, then forwards
Robust — if one path fails, packets can reroute through other paths

Connections

Contrasts with: Circuit Switching — dedicated path vs shared, fixed bandwidth vs dynamic
Related: Point-to-Point Links — packets are the unit of communication on point-to-point networks
Related: OSI Model — Seven Layers — packets are Network Layer (L3) units
Built from: Layered Architecture in Networking — packets exist because of layering
Related: Broadcast Links — in broadcast networks, all nodes receive every packet but only process addressed ones

Edge Cases & Gotchas

Out-of-order delivery — packets may arrive in different order than sent; reassembly must handle this
Packet loss — if a router’s buffer is full, it drops packets; higher layers must detect and retransmit
Head-of-line blocking — a delayed packet at the front of a queue can block packets behind it
Not the same as message switching — message switching sends the entire message as one unit; packet switching breaks it into smaller pieces

/wiki / networking

Networking — Map of Content

Core Concepts

Mechanisms & How Things Work

Comparisons & Tradeoffs

Suggested Reading Order

broadcast-links

The Problem

Core Idea

How It Works

Key Properties

Connections

Edge Cases & Gotchas

circuit-switching

The Problem

Core Idea

How It Works

Key Properties

Connections

Edge Cases & Gotchas

packet-switching

The Problem

Core Idea

How It Works

Key Properties

Connections

Edge Cases & Gotchas