HDLC Operational Modes
HDLC offers three different modes of operation. These three modes of operations are:
- Normal Response Mode(NRM)
- Asynchronous Response Mode(ARM)
- Asynchronous Balanced Mode(ABM)
This is the mode in which the primary station initiates transfers to the secondary station. The secondary station can only transmit a response when, and only when, it is instructed to do so by the primary station. In other words, the secondary station must receive explicit permission from the primary station to transfer a response. After receiving permission from the primary station, the secondary station initiates it's transmission. This transmission from the secondary station to the primary station may be much more than just an acknowledgment of a frame. It may in fact be more than one information frame. Once the last frame is transmitted by the secondary station, it must wait once again from explicit permission to transfer anything, from the primary station. Normal Response Mode is only used within an unbalanced configuration.
Asynchronous Response Mode
In this mode, the primary station doesn't initiate transfers to the secondary station. In fact, the secondary station does not have to wait to receive explicit permission from the primary station to transfer any frames. The frames may be more than just acknowledgment frames. They may contain data, or control information regarding the status of the secondary station. This mode can reduce overhead on the link, as no frames need to be transferred in order to give the secondary station permission to initiate a transfer. However some limitations do exist. Due to the fact that this mode is Asynchronous, the secondary station must wait until it detects and idle channel before it can transfer any frames. This is when the ARM link is operating at half-duplex. If the ARM link is operating at full-duplex, the secondary station can transmit at any time. In this mode, the primary station still retains responsibility for error recovery, link setup, and link disconnection.
Asynchronous Balanced Mode
This mode uses combined stations. There is no need for permission on the part of any station in this mode. This is because combined stations do not require any sort of instructions to perform any task on the link.
Normal Response Mode is used most frequently in multi-point lines, where the primary station controls the link. Asynchronous Response Mode is better for point to point links, as it reduces overhead. Asynchronous Balanced Mode is not used widely today.
The "asynchronous" in both ARM and ABM does not refer to the format of the data on the link. It refers to the fact that any given station can transfer frames without explicit permission or instruction from any other station.
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