Internet: A Packet Switched Network

Yes, Internet uses Packet Switching as a default transmission technique. Basically Internet is a global packet switched network that enables interconnection between networks using the IP (Internet Protocol). The IP is not used just for interconnecting existing network providers; it extends all the way to the end users of these networks. Moreover Internet is Packet Switched network that receives IP formatted packets from connected users and delivers them immediately and unmodified to the destination using IP packet header. TCP/IP protocols are used to simulate connectionless network (Packet Switching).

The additional protocol used on Internet is Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), as the data needs to be transferred on large scale and in less time MPLS uses data forwarding technology that increases speed and controls flow of network traffic. When data enters traditional IP network ,it moves along its prescribed address based on long network address, with this method each router on which data packets land makes its own decision based on routing table; on the other hand MPLS assigns label to each packet to send it along predetermined path.

For e.g. Consider that you want to download a movie from the internet, note that you won’t get that movie in a continuous form instead you get it in the form of data packets where each packets has the address of destination at its header and with the appropriate sequence number user get the whole movie. But if one do not want to use Packet Switching (or IP addressing) one can use Ethernet to transfer data using wires, cables but again the system becomes bulky and can be used in a limited area(LAN).