Data terminal equipment

A data terminal equipment (ETD) is that component of a data circuit that acts as a source or destination of information.

For example, it can be a terminal, a printer or even a computer.

The defining characteristic of an ETD is not efficiency or computing power, it is the function it performs: being the origin or destination of a communication.

• A source ETD usually contains the information stored on a permanent main memory device (which is modified without a continuous electronic flow).
• The destination ETD is the one that receives information or data directly or indirectly, without altering the content of the information during the entire process.

If the DTE only processes the data and sends it unchanged to a third party, it is called a data circuit terminal equipment (DCE), eg a computer.