concentrator

A device that combines several communications channels into one. It is often used to tie multiple terminals together into one line. It differs from a multiplexor, which also combines several lines into one, because the total bandwidth of a concentrator's inputs is not equal to its outputs. A concentrator may temporarily store data to allow for this discrepancy, whereas a multiplexor does not.

An Ethernet hub, which is a multiport repeater, is sometimes called a "concentrator."

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(communications)

concentrator - A device that combines the data streams from many simultaneously active inputs into one shared channel in such a way that the streams can be separated after transmission. The concentrator's output bandwidth must be at least as great as the total bandwidth of all simultaneously active inputs. A concentrator is one kind of multiplexing device. For example, a concentrator may be used to connect 24 2400 bps TTYs to a host via a 57600 bps channel.