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Service Access Point
A Service Access Point or SAP is an identifying label for network endpoints used in OSI networking.
When using the OSI networking layer (CONS or CLNS), the base for constructing an address for a network element is a NSAP address, similar in concept to an IP address. OSI application layer protocols as well as ATM can use Transport (TSAP), Session (SSAP) or Presentation (PSAP) service access points to specify a destination address for a connection. These SAPs consist of NSAP addresses combined with optional transport, session and presentation selectors, which can differentiate at any of the three layers between multiple services at that layer provided by a network element.
Service access points are also used in Logical Link Control in Ethernet and similar Data link layer protocols.
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