Data Terminal Equipment
<communications, hardware> (DTE) A device which acts as the source and/or destination of data and which controls the communication channel.
DTE includes terminals, computers, protocol converters, and multiplexors.
DTE is usually connected via an EIA-232 serial line to Data Communication Equipment (DCE), typically a modem.
It is necessary to distinguish these two types of device because their connectors must be wired differently if a "straight-through" cable (pin 1 to pin 1, pin 2 to pin 2 etc.) is to be used.
DTE should have a male connector and should transmit on pin three and receive on pin two.
It is a curious fact that many modems are actually "DTE" according to the original standard.
| < Previous Terms | Terms Containing Data Terminal Equipment | Next Terms > |
| DataStage Datastorm Technologies, Inc. data striping data structure Data Structures Language | channel service unit/data service unit Data Communication Equipment data service unit Data Terminal Ready DTE | Data Terminal Ready DATA-TEXT data transfer rate DATATRIEVE data type |
