Definitions for "Packet-Switched Network"
A communications network, such as the Internet, in which a message or data file is broken into segments called packets which contain the destination address. The packets travel independently through the network, taking the most efficient path to their destination, where they are reassembled into the original file.
A PSN transports information by breaking up the bit stream into addressable digital “packets” that are transmitted independently and then reassembled in the correct sequence at the destination. Because these networks allow “sharing” of communications links, they are more efficient than circuit-switched networks.
A network in which data exchanged between nodes are broken into packets that contain origin and destination information, packet length data, the actual data, and a flag that the packet has ended. The Internet is a packet-switched network.