{"id":4634,"date":"2013-02-15T14:57:44","date_gmt":"2013-02-15T14:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/packet-switched-network\/"},"modified":"2017-02-02T14:12:44","modified_gmt":"2017-02-02T14:12:44","slug":"packet-switched-network","status":"publish","type":"definition","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/5729\/packet-switched-network-psn","title":{"rendered":"Packet Switched Network"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span id=\"what_does_packet_switched_network_mean\">What Does Packet Switched Network Mean?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A packet switched network (PSN) is a type of computer communications network that groups and sends data in the form of small packets. It enables the sending of data or network packets between a source and destination node over a network channel that is shared between multiple users and\/or applications.\n<\/p>\n<p>A packet switched is also known as a connectionless network, as it does not create a permanent connection between a source and destination node.\n<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"techopedia_explains_packet_switched_network\">Techopedia Explains Packet Switched Network<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A packet switched network is one of the most commonly used computer networks. It is widely implemented on local networks and the Internet.\n<\/p>\n<p>A PSN generally works on the Transmission Control Protocol\/Internet Protocol (TCP\/IP) protocol suite or the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) layer. For data to be transmitted over a network, it is first distributed into small packets, which depend on the data&#8217;s protocol and overall size. Each packet contains various details, such as a source IP address, destination IP address and unique data and packet identifiers.\n<\/p>\n<p>The segregation of data into small packets enables efficient data transportation and better utilization of the network medium\/channel. More than one user, application and\/or node may take turns sending and receiving data without permanently retaining the underlying medium\/channel, as in a circuit switched network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Does Packet Switched Network Mean? A packet switched network (PSN) is a type of computer communications network that groups and sends data in the form of small packets. It enables the sending of data or network packets between a source and destination node over a network channel that is shared between multiple users and\/or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7813,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"definitioncat":[227,236,219],"class_list":["post-4634","definition","type-definition","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","definitioncat-data-management","definitioncat-network-management","definitioncat-networks"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.2 (Yoast SEO v24.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is a Packet Switched Network (PSN)? - Definition from Techopedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Packet Switched Network and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Packet Switched Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Packet Switched Network and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/5729\/packet-switched-network-psn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Techopedia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-02-02T14:12:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@techopedia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/5729\/packet-switched-network-psn#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/5729\/packet-switched-network-psn\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Margaret Rouse\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5\"},\"headline\":\"Packet Switched Network\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-02-15T14:57:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-02-02T14:12:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/5729\/packet-switched-network-psn\"},\"wordCount\":226,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/5729\/packet-switched-network-psn#respond\"]}],\"articleSection\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/5729\/packet-switched-network-psn\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/5729\/packet-switched-network-psn\",\"name\":\"What is a Packet Switched Network (PSN)? 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