7. Glossary

Control Station

The station which has overall responsibility for the communication line.

Data Block

A contiguous piece of information passed on the communication line.

Header

The identifying field at the front of a data block.

Multidrop

A configuration in which a connection is established between more than two terminal installations.

Polling

The process of inviting another station to become a Temporary Master Station. Performed by the Control Station.

Selecting

Performed by the Temporary Master Station. Establishes a communication between the Temporary Master Station and a Slave Station.

Slave Station

A station which (has been Selected and) is intended to receive an information message from a Temporary Master Station.

Temporary Master Station

The station which at any given instant, has the right to select and to transmit an information message to a slave station.

Transmission Control Characters

Characters from the IA5 alphabet, which are used to control in the process controlling transmission of data blocks on the communication line.