Data link

In telecommunications a data link is the means of connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information. It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a transmitter and a receiver [two data terminal equipment]s ([[DTEs)] and the interconnecting data telecommunication circuit. These are governed by a link protocol enabling digital data to be transferred from a data source to a data sink.

There are at least three types of basic data-link configurations that can be conceived of and used:


 * Simplex communications -- most commonly meaning all communications in one direction only.
 * [Half-duplex communication]]s -- meaning communications in both directions, but not both ways simultaneously.
 * Duplex communications -- communications in both directions simultaneously.