Wan Connections

Leased lines are dedicated point-to-point lines that provide a single established WAN communication path from the customer’s network to the remote network. Leased Lines are usually employed over synchronous connections. They are generally expensive and are always up.

Circuit-switched connections are dedicated for only the duration of the call. The telephone system and ISDN are examples of circuit-switched networks.

Packet-switched connections use virtual circuits (VCs) to provide end-to-end connectivity. Packet-switched connections are similar to leased lines, except that the line is shared by other customers. A packet knows how to reach its destination by programming of switches. Frame Relay is an example of a packet-switched connection.