<s>
In	O
telecommunications	O
,	O
a	O
point-to-point	B-Architecture
connection	I-Architecture
refers	O
to	O
a	O
communications	O
connection	O
between	O
two	O
communication	B-Protocol
endpoints	I-Protocol
or	O
nodes	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
contrasted	O
with	O
a	O
point-to-multipoint	B-General_Concept
or	O
broadcast	B-Operating_System
connection	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
many	O
nodes	B-Protocol
can	O
receive	O
information	O
transmitted	O
by	O
one	O
node	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
examples	O
of	O
point-to-point	B-Architecture
communications	O
links	O
are	O
leased	B-Architecture
lines	I-Architecture
and	O
microwave	B-Application
radio	I-Application
relay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
is	O
also	O
used	O
in	O
computer	B-Architecture
networking	I-Architecture
and	O
computer	B-General_Concept
architecture	I-General_Concept
to	O
refer	O
to	O
a	O
wire	O
or	O
other	O
connection	O
that	O
links	O
only	O
two	O
computers	O
or	O
circuits	O
,	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
other	O
network	B-Architecture
topologies	I-Architecture
such	O
as	O
buses	B-General_Concept
or	O
crossbar	O
switches	B-Protocol
which	O
can	O
connect	O
many	O
communications	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Point-to-point	B-Architecture
is	O
sometimes	O
abbreviated	O
as	O
P2P	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
traditional	O
point-to-point	B-Architecture
data	O
link	O
is	O
a	O
communications	O
medium	O
with	O
exactly	O
two	O
endpoints	O
and	O
no	O
data	O
or	O
packet	B-Protocol
formatting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
connected	O
at	O
a	O
distance	O
,	O
each	O
endpoint	O
would	O
be	O
fitted	O
with	O
a	O
modem	B-Application
to	O
convert	O
analog	O
telecommunications	O
signals	O
into	O
a	O
digital	O
data	O
stream	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
connection	O
uses	O
a	O
telecommunications	O
provider	O
,	O
the	O
connection	O
is	O
called	O
a	O
dedicated	B-Protocol
,	O
leased	B-Architecture
,	O
or	O
private	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ARPANET	O
used	O
leased	B-Architecture
lines	I-Architecture
to	O
provide	O
point-to-point	B-Architecture
data	O
links	O
between	O
its	O
packet-switching	B-Protocol
nodes	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
were	O
called	O
Interface	B-Protocol
Message	I-Protocol
Processors	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
modern	O
computer	B-Architecture
networking	I-Architecture
,	O
the	O
term	O
point-to-point	B-Architecture
telecommunications	I-Architecture
means	O
a	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
data	O
link	O
between	O
two	O
fixed	O
points	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
be	O
a	O
microwave	B-Application
relay	I-Application
link	O
consisting	O
of	O
a	O
transmitter	O
which	O
transmits	O
a	O
narrow	O
beam	O
of	O
microwaves	O
with	O
a	O
parabolic	O
dish	O
antenna	O
to	O
a	O
second	O
parabolic	O
dish	O
at	O
the	O
receiver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
local	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
,	O
repeater	B-Protocol
hubs	I-Protocol
or	O
switches	B-Protocol
provide	O
basic	O
connectivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
hub	B-Protocol
provides	O
a	O
point-to-multipoint	B-General_Concept
(	O
or	O
simply	O
multipoint	O
)	O
circuit	O
in	O
which	O
all	O
connected	O
client	O
nodes	B-Protocol
share	O
the	O
network	O
bandwidth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
switch	O
on	O
the	O
other	O
hand	O
provides	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
point-to-point	B-Architecture
circuits	O
,	O
via	O
microsegmentation	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
each	O
client	O
node	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
dedicated	B-Architecture
circuit	I-Architecture
and	O
the	O
added	O
advantage	O
of	O
having	O
full-duplex	O
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
the	O
OSI	O
model	O
's	O
layer	O
perspective	O
,	O
both	O
switches	B-Protocol
and	O
repeater	B-Protocol
hubs	I-Protocol
provide	O
point-to-point	B-Architecture
connections	O
on	O
the	O
physical	B-Application
layer	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
on	O
the	O
data	B-Protocol
link	I-Protocol
layer	I-Protocol
,	O
a	O
repeater	B-Protocol
hub	I-Protocol
provides	O
point-to-multipoint	B-General_Concept
connectivity	O
–	O
each	O
frame	B-Protocol
is	O
forwarded	O
to	O
all	O
nodes	B-Protocol
–	O
while	O
a	O
switch	O
provides	O
virtual	O
point-to-point	B-Architecture
connections	O
–	O
each	O
unicast	B-Protocol
frame	B-Protocol
is	O
only	O
forwarded	O
to	O
the	O
destination	O
node	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
many	O
switched	B-Protocol
telecommunications	I-Protocol
systems	I-Protocol
,	O
it	O
is	O
possible	O
to	O
establish	O
a	O
permanent	O
circuit	O
.	O
</s>
