[1] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

wormhole routing
     
         a property of a message passing system in which
        each part of a message is transmitted independently and one
        part can be forwarded to the next node before the whole
        message has been received.  all parts of a single message
        follow the same route.
     
        the independent parts are normally small, e.g. one 32-bit
        word.  this reduces the latency and the storage requirements
        on each node when compared with message switching where a
        node receives the whole message before it starts to forward it
        to the next node.  it is more complex than message switching
        because each node must keep track of the messages currently
        flowing through it.
     
        with cut-through switching, wormhole routing is applied to
        packets in a packet switching system so that forwarding of
        a packet starts as soon as its destination is known, before
        the whole packet had arrived.
     
        2003-05-15
     
     
see also:
message passing node latency message switching cut-through switching packets 
packet switching 

Wormhole >> W Words
Wormhole, definition of term: Wormhole
wormhole_pag1.html

Routing >> R Words
Routing, definition of term: Routing
routing_pag1.html