Point-to-point
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Point-to-Point telecommunications is most recently (2003) referenced regarding wireless data communications for Internet or Voice over IP via radio frequencies in the multi-gigahertz range. It also includes technologies such as laser for telecommunications but in all cases expects that the transmission medium is line of sight and capable of being fairly tightly beamed from transmitter to receiver.
Point-to-Point is sometimes incorrectly referred to the peer-to-peer initialisms P2P, or Pt2Pt, or variations of this. P2P refers to peer-to-peer file sharing networks.
Point-to-Point is distinct from point-to-multipoint and broadcast.
In the telecommunications signal typically is bi-directional, either Time domain Multi-plexed or channelized.
In hubs and switches, a hub provides a point-to-multipoint (or simply multipoint) circuit which divides the total bandwidth supplied by the hub among each connected client node. A switch on the other hand provides a series of point-to-point circuits, via microsegmentation, which allows each client node to have a dedicated circuit and the added advantage of having full-duplex connections
Other meanings
- Point-to-Point is also used to describe a type of SAN Point-to-Point topology used in Fibre Channel.
- Point-to-Point is also a form of horse race in which the riders race from a start point to a finish point, with no restrictions on the route taken between them.
- Point-to-Point Transit refers to the route structure common among low-fare airlines, which involves direct transit between cities served, in contrast to the hub-and-spoke model used by major carriers.