packet switching

or pack·et-switch·ing

[ pak-it-swich-ing ]

noun

1. a method of efficient data transmission whereby the initial message is broken into relatively small units, or packets, that are routed independently and subsequently reassembled.

packet switching

noun

1. computing the concentration of data into units that are allocated an address prior to transmission

packet switching

/ păk′ĭt /

1. A method of network data transmission, in which small blocks of data, or packets , are transmitted over a channel which, for the duration of the packet's transmission, is dedicated to that packet alone and is not interrupted to transmit other packets. This strategy is used in transmitting data over the Internet and often over a LAN, and it capitalizes on the increase in efficiency that is obtained when there are many paths available and there is a large volume of traffic over these paths.

Word History and Origins

Origin of packet switching¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

Kleinrock is in a strong position to know: His pioneering work in the 1970s in developing packet switching, a process through which data is transmitted across digital networks in so-called "packets," was critical in developing ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet.

From Salon

Lick and Taylor both saw the immense potential in creating an interconnected series of computers that could transmit data through packet switching.

From Salon

Leonard Kleinrock, one of three scientists credited with inventing the concept of packet switching in the 1960s, also was present for the first transmission on the rudimentary network that would, years later, become the Internet.

From Washington Post

Packet switching was such a great concept in theory that nobody believed it would work.

From Slate

Those first online computers were underground at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station as part of a system called “packet switching,” which allowed the long-distance transport of data to connect Washington with the mountain hub, where airmen worked to detect Russian missile launches.

From Washington Times