Multiple choice

Why is the call setup time of a circuit-switched WAN implementation considered a drawback?

  1. Routing protocols are incompatible with this function.

  2. It restricts the communication sent to voice traffic only.

  3. A telephone must be used to initially start transferring data.

  4. Data cannot be transferred until a circuit has been established.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Circuit-switched WAN implementations require establishing a dedicated physical circuit through the network before any data transfer can begin. This call setup time creates a delay before communication can start, which is inefficient for bursty data traffic compared to packet-switched networks. The circuit must be fully established end-to-end first, then data flows, then the circuit is torn down - this setup/teardown overhead is the key drawback. Voice traffic is actually well-suited to circuit switching.

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