| Also known as a "Multidrop" link, a Multipoint link is a link that connects two or more nodes. Also known as general topology networks, these include ATM and Frame Relay links, as well as X.25 networks when used as links for a network layer protocol like IP. Unlike broadcast links, there is no mechanism to efficiently send a single message to all other nodes without copying and retransmitting the message.
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. This term is also often used as a synonym for multipoint, as defined above.
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