a) Between the switch in the upper left and the switch in the upper right we can have 4 connections. Similarly we can have four connections between each of the 3 other pairs of adjacent switches. Thus, this network can support up to 16 connections.
b) We can 4 connections passing through the switch in the upper-right-hand corner and another 4 connections passing through the switch in the lower-left-hand corner, giving a total of 8 connections.
c) Yes. For the connections between A and C, we route two connections through B and two connections through D. For the connections between B and D, we route two connections through A and two connections through C. In this manner, there are at most 4 connections passing through any link.