Throughswitch

Throughswitch is a term used in electronics and networking to describe a switching element intended to provide direct, continuous connections from inputs to outputs with minimal processing or buffering. The concept emphasizes passing signals through a fixed route as quickly as possible, rather than performing intensive packet processing or store-and-forward operations.

In practice, throughswitching is often realized with a fixed crosspoint matrix or a minimal-buffering fabric controlled by digital logic or firmware. When an input is assigned to an output, the corresponding switches are closed to establish a direct path, and data flows with low latency and deterministic timing. Because the switch does not typically examine or modify traffic, throughput depends on the fabric capacity and the quality of the physical links.

Throughswitching is discussed in contexts such as high-speed telecom equipment, data-center interconnects, and laboratory test rigs where predictable latency is important. It is also used in some modular or reconfigurable switch fabrics where routing flexibility is provided by the control plane rather than by per-packet processing.

Limitations include limited flexibility for dynamic routing, potential contention in fixed-path architectures, and the need for careful coordination to prevent collisions when multiple inputs target the same output. The term is not widely standardized and may appear only in vendor documentation or theoretical discussions. In some sources, throughswitching is described as a direct-path or pass-through approach and is contrasted with store-and-forward or more feature-rich routing.

See also: crossbar switch, cut-through switching, store-and-forward switching.