Link (telecommunications)

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In telecommunications a link is the communications channel that connects two or more communicating devices. This link may be an actual physical link or it may be a logical link link that uses one or more actual physical links. When the link is a logical link the type of physical link should always be specified (e.g., data link, uplink, downlink, fiber optic link, point-to-point link, etc.) This term is widely used in computer networking (see Data link) to refer to the communications facilities that connect nodes of a network.^[1]

Note: Sometimes the communications facilities that provide the communications channel that constitutes a link are also included in the definition of link.

1 Types of links
2 References

[edit] Types of links

[edit] Point-to-point

A point-to-point link is a dedicated link that connects exactly two communications facilities (e.g., two nodes of a network, an intercom station at an entryway with a single internal intercom station, a radio path between two points, etc.).

[edit] Multipoint

Also known as a "multidrop" link, a multipoint link is a link that connects three or more communications facilities (e.g., three or more nodes of a network).

[edit] Point-to-multipoint

A point-to-multipoint link is a specific type of multipoint link which consists of a central connection endpoint (CE) that is connected to multiple peripheral CEs. Any transmission of data that originates from the central CE is received by all of the peripheral CEs while any transmission of data that originates from any of the peripheral CEs is only received by the central CE.

[edit] Private and Public - Accessibility and Ownership

Quite often, links are referred to by terms which refer to the ownership and / or accessibility of the link.

[edit] Private links

A private link is a link that is either owned by a specific entity or a link that is only accessible by a specific entity.

[edit] Public links

A public link is a link that uses the Public switched telephone network or other public utility or entity to provide the link and which may also be accessible by anyone.