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Process of collecting data from one device and sending it to another device. This process differs from routing because it doesn’t manage moving data from one device to another. Unlike the routing process, forwarding performs some actions and simply forwards the packets which arrive in intermediate routers.
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Both routing and forwarding are performed by the network layer. The device that collects data and sends it to another device is known as the forwarding device.
Switching
Switching is the process of collecting data coming from one port and sending it to another port toward the destination. Switching can be connectionless as well as connection-oriented. In connectionless switching, connection establishment using handshaking is not required. The packets received in a port are sent based on the forwarding table. On the other hand, a connection-oriented switching process uses a predefined circuit along with intermediate nodes ID between the sender and receiver.
We can classify switching techniques into three categories: circuit, message, and packet switching. In circuit switching, we need to establish a circuit before sending the data. In the case of message switching, the whole received data is treated as a message and sent to the intermediate switching devices. Finally, packet switching breaks the data into small chunks called packets. The packets are transmitted independently.