Concentrator

In telecommunications, the term concentrator has the following meanings:

  • In data transmission, a functional unit that permits a common path to handle more data sources than there are channels currently available within the path. A concentrator usually provides communication capability between many low-speed, usually asynchronous channels and one or more high-speed, usually synchronous channels. Usually different speeds, codes, and protocols can be accommodated on the low-speed side. The low-speed channels usually operate in contention and require buffering.[1]
  • A device that connects a number of links with only one destination, the main function of this device is to make a kind of load balancing between two or more servers connected together, data distribution is done according to the server processing rate.[1]
  • A patch panel or other component in the cable plant where cable runs converge.[citation needed]
  • ISP used concentrators to enable modem dialing; this kind of concentrator is sometimes called a modem concentrator or a remote access concentrator. The term "access concentrator" is also used to describe similar provider edge equipment used in computer networks that doesn't rely on modems anymore, e.g. FTTH.[2]
  1. ^ a b "Federal Standard 1037C". Archived from the original on 2011-03-13. Retrieved 2010-09-12.
  2. ^ See how the term is used in RFC 2516 (PPPoE) for example