Link (Networking)

networking

Definition

Link (Networking)

Let $N=(V,E)$ be a computer network modelled as a directed graph.

A link is an edge $e=(u,v)\in E$ connecting two nodes $u,v\in V$. It is a physical or logical communication channel over which data is transmitted.

A link $e$ is characterised by:

Property	Notation	Meaning
Capacity / bandwidth	$R_e$ [bits/s]	Maximum transmission rate
Propagation delay	$d_{\text{prop},e}$ [s]	Time for a bit to cross the medium
Transmission delay	$d_{\text{trans},e}=L/R_e$ [s]	Time to push $L$ bits onto the link

A link may be point-to-point (dedicated connection between two nodes) or broadcast (shared medium with multiple nodes attached).