Store-and-forward Packet Switching describes a means of packet-switched network communications whereby packet switches must receive a packet in its entirety before forwarding to the next switch in the network.
As an example, consider two network end systems; A and B connected by a single network switch X. System A transmits 5 packets of data that are received by X. Each of these packets arrives as a stream of bits.
As switch X starts to receive bits from packet 1, it must wait until the last bits are received before beginning transmission of those bits to System B.
