The first switching device, the switchboard literally was a series of small, mechanical switches mounted on a board.The operator manually switched the wires from one contact to another to establish a unique physical and electrical path or circuit to connect two parties in order that they might engage in a voice conversation. As all of the links, contacts, and switches are physically separated, a switchboard is a type of space division switch. Although the switchboard was superseded by the cordboard, the term remains widely used to refer to an operator console. See also cordboard and switch.