Packet switching is a technique used in computer networks to transmit data in the form of packets, which are small units of data that are transmitted independently across the network. Each packet contains a header, which includes information about the packet’s source and destination, as well as the data payload¹.

One of the main advantages of packet switching is that it allows multiple packets to be transmitted simultaneously across the network, which makes more efficient use of network resources than circuit switching. However, packet switching can also introduce delays into the transmission process, which can impact the performance of network applications¹.

Here are some of the types of delays that can occur in packet switching¹:

• Transmission delay: This is the time it takes to transmit a packet over a link. It is affected by the size of the packet and the bandwidth of the link.

• Propagation delay: This is the time it takes for a packet to travel from the source to the destination. It is affected by the distance between the two nodes and the speed of light in the medium.

• Processing delay: This is the time it takes for a node to process a packet, such as checking its header, routing it to the appropriate output link, or performing error detection and correction.

• Queuing delay: This is the time it takes for a packet to wait in a buffer before being transmitted over a link. It is affected by the traffic intensity and the scheduling policy of the node.

The total end-to-end delay of a packet is the sum of all these delays along its path from source to destination¹.