switching: The controlling or routing of signals in circuits to execute logical or arithmetic operations or to transmit data between specific points

in a network.
Switching is used for local exchange and long distance carrier.

switch In a telecommunications network, a switch is a device that channels incoming data from any of multiple input ports to the specific output port that will take the data toward its intended destination packet A packet is the unit of data that is routed between an origin and a destination on the Internet or any other packet-switched network.

Packet switched network Packet-switched describes the type of network in which relatively small units of data called packets are routed through a network based on the destination address contained within each packet. Breaking communication down into packets allows the same data path to be shared among many users in the network. This type of communication between sender and receiver is known as connectionless (rather than dedicated). Most traffic over the Internet uses packet switching and the Internet is basically a connectionless network.

Packet switching
Refers to protocols in which messages are divided into packets before they are sent. Each packet is then transmitted individually and can even follow different routes to its destination. Once all the packets forming a message arrive at the destination, they are recompiled into the original message. Most modern Wide Area Network (WAN) protocols, including TCP/IP, X.25, and Frame Relay, are based on packetswitching technologies Packet switching is more efficient and robust for data that can withstand some delays in transmission, such as e-mail messages and Web pages.

Example:
1. VoIP 2. GPRS 2. IP, Ethernet, Frame Relay, ... VoIP uses packet switching. Packet switching is preferred over circuit switching because it saves time and money. Since circuit switching uses a dedicated path, the path remains exclusive for the entire conversation and is released when the session ends. Other people cannot make use of it at the same time. Using the packet switching network will reduce the call cost and also increases the speed. GPRS is a technology using packet switching where mobile subscribers can benefit high bit rates for data transmissions. The constantly changing demands on the speed of transmission channel while using Internet makes circuit switching not more supportive than packet switching. Circuit switching cannot provide users the flexible bandwidths depending on the price. Rather they provide a fixed bandwidth.

Hop
Definition: In computer networking, a hop represents one portion of the path between source and destination. When communicating over the Internet, for example, data passes through a number of intermediate devices (like routers) rather than flowing directly over a

single wire. Each such device causes data to "hop" between one point-to-point network connection and another. In networking, the hop count represents the total number of devices a given piece of data (packet) passes through. Generally speaking, the more hops data must traverse to reach their destination, the greater the transmission delay incurred.