IPpakettikytkentään

IPpakettikytkentään is the Finnish term for IP packet switching. It refers to the method used in the Internet Protocol (IP) to route data. In packet switching, data is broken down into small units called packets. Each packet contains not only a portion of the data but also addressing information, indicating its origin and destination.

When a device sends data, it is divided into these packets. These packets are then sent independently across the network. Routers, which are specialized network devices, examine the destination address of each packet and forward it along the most efficient path available at that moment. Unlike circuit switching, where a dedicated communication path is established for the duration of the transmission, packet switching does not require a continuous connection. Packets can take different routes to reach their destination, and they may arrive out of order. The receiving device is responsible for reassembling the packets in the correct sequence to reconstruct the original data. This approach makes the network more resilient and efficient, as network resources are shared among multiple users and data streams.