# Circuit Switching **A method of [[multiplexing]] which establishes a dedicated channel of constant bandwidth between two nodes during transmission.** ![[CircuitSwitching.svg]] *A circuit switched network in which each link consists of a single circuit; any device that wishes to transmit is provided the entirety of a circuit connection* **Circuit switching** is a method of [[multiplexing]] which establishes a *dedicated channel* of *constant bandwidth* between two nodes for the duration of their communication. This dedicated channel functions as though it is a *physical connected* by an electrical circuit. Circuit switching has the advantage that every connection is guaranteed a constant bandwidth with constant delays and is *not affected* by additional connections. This constant bandwidth is, however, not a *minimum* guaranteed bandwidth and cannot facilitate varying bandwidth requirements Circuit switched networks are also less efficient than [[Packet Switching|packet switched]] networks as resources which are not being used by idle connections are *never reallocated*. Circuit switching networks are most commonly divided into dedicated channels through [[Frequency-Division Multiplexing|frequency-division]] and [[time-division multiplexing]].