<s>
An	O
inverse	B-Protocol
multiplexer	I-Protocol
(	O
often	O
abbreviated	O
to	O
inverse	O
MUX	O
or	O
IMUX	B-Protocol
)	O
allows	O
a	O
data	B-General_Concept
stream	I-General_Concept
to	O
be	O
broken	O
into	O
multiple	O
lower	O
data	O
rate	O
communication	O
links	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
inverse	B-Protocol
multiplexer	I-Protocol
differs	O
from	O
a	O
demultiplexer	O
because	O
the	O
multiple	O
output	O
streams	O
from	O
the	O
former	O
stay	O
inter-related	O
,	O
whereas	O
those	O
from	O
the	O
latter	O
are	O
unrelated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
inverse	B-Protocol
multiplexer	I-Protocol
is	O
the	O
opposite	O
of	O
a	O
multiplexer	B-Protocol
in	O
that	O
it	O
divides	O
one	O
high-speed	O
link	O
into	O
multiple	O
low-speed	O
links	O
,	O
whereas	O
a	O
multiplexer	B-Protocol
combines	O
multiple	O
low-speed	O
links	O
into	O
one	O
high-speed	O
link	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Note	O
that	O
,	O
as	O
with	O
multiplexers	B-Protocol
,	O
links	O
are	O
often	O
used	O
in	O
bi-directional	O
pairs	O
and	O
,	O
at	O
either	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
link	O
,	O
an	O
inverse	B-Protocol
multiplexer	I-Protocol
will	O
be	O
combined	O
with	O
its	O
reverse	O
(	O
an	O
inverse	O
demultiplexer	O
)	O
and	O
still	O
be	O
called	O
an	O
inverse	O
MUX	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inverse	B-Protocol
multiplexers	I-Protocol
are	O
used	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
to	O
combine	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
ISDN	B-Protocol
channels	O
together	O
into	O
one	O
high	O
rate	O
circuit	O
,	O
where	O
a	O
higher	O
rate	O
connection	O
than	O
is	O
available	O
from	O
a	O
single	O
ISDN	B-Protocol
connection	O
is	O
needed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
alternative	O
to	O
an	O
inverse	B-Protocol
multiplexer	I-Protocol
is	O
to	O
use	O
separate	O
links	O
and	O
load	B-Application
sharing	I-Application
of	O
data	O
between	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Advantages	O
of	O
using	O
inverse	B-Protocol
multiplexing	I-Protocol
over	O
separate	O
links	O
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
simple	O
analogy	O
to	O
transport	O
can	O
help	O
explain	O
the	O
distinction	O
between	O
multiplexing	O
and	O
inverse	B-Protocol
multiplexing	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
small	O
cargoes	O
such	O
as	O
pencils	B-Device
are	O
shipped	O
overseas	O
,	O
they	O
are	O
generally	O
not	O
carried	O
one	O
at	O
a	O
time	O
,	O
but	O
are	O
assembled	O
into	O
small	O
boxes	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
grouped	O
into	O
larger	O
cartons	O
,	O
which	O
go	O
into	O
intermodal	O
containers	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
packed	O
onto	O
a	O
container	O
ship	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
analogous	O
to	O
inverse	B-Protocol
multiplexing	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
