Message Switching: Advantages and Disadvantages

This page explores the advantages and disadvantages of message switching. It outlines the benefits and drawbacks of this switching type, and also provides links to comparisons between message switching and packet switching.

What is Message Switching?

Introduction:

Figure 1 illustrates the operation of message switching.

Figure 1: Message Switching Operation

As the figure shows, each router in the network waits until it has received the entire message before forwarding it to the next link in the path. This process continues until the message reaches its final destination. Message switching is typically used for non-realtime message transmission between two parties.

Unlike packet switching, message switching has a lower overhead. It’s also generally considered more reliable and less complex, as a single message is either fully received or lost entirely, following a single network path. However, message switching can be slower than packet switching because the entire message must be stored at each hop point until it is completely received.

Refer to the article on message switching vs. packet switching for a detailed comparison.

Benefits or Advantages of Message Switching

Here are some of the key advantages of message switching:

• Higher Channel Efficiency: More devices can share the same channel simultaneously for message transfer compared to circuit switching.
• Congestion Reduction: Messages are temporarily stored en-route, which helps in reducing network congestion.
• Prioritization: Messages can be assigned priorities due to the store-and-forward technique used for delivery.
• Unlimited Message Length: Message switching supports messages of unlimited size.
• No Physical Connection Required: Unlike circuit switching, message switching doesn’t require a dedicated physical connection between the source and destination devices.
• Broadcasting Support: A single message can be broadcast to multiple receivers by appending a broadcast address. This is utilized by advertisement agencies for delivering ads to specific regions served by cell sites, and by government agencies to transmit warnings and security-related messages.
• Useful for Criminal Investigations: Due to its storage mechanism, message switching can be helpful for police in criminal cases.

Drawbacks or Disadvantages of Message Switching

Here are some of the disadvantages of message switching:

• Not Suitable for Interactive Applications: Due to the longer message delivery times, message switching is not suitable for interactive applications like voice and video.
• Costly: The store-and-forward devices used in message switching are expensive, mainly due to the large storage requirements for long messages.
• Security Issues: If hacked by intruders, message switching can lead to security vulnerabilities. Sensitive information like banking details and passwords should not be avoided to be included in the messages.
• Lack of Awareness: As the system can be complex, users might not always be aware of whether their messages have been successfully transferred.
• Unreliable Communication: Message switching does not establish a dedicated path between devices. Because there’s no direct link between sender and receiver, it is not considered a reliable communication method.