The data-link layer provides basic time-critical messaging communications between devices in an automation environment.

This protocol provides communication opportunities to all participating data-link entities, sequentially and in a cyclic synchronous manner. Foreground scheduled access is available for time-critical activities together with background unscheduled access for less critical activities.

Deterministic and synchronized transfers can be provided at cyclic intervals up to 1 ms and device separations of 25 km. This performance is adjustable dynamically and on-line by re-configuring the parameters of the local link whilst normal operation continues. By similar means, DL connections and new devices may be added or removed during normal operation.

This protocol provides means to maintain clock synchronization across an extended link with a precision better than 10 μs.

This protocol optimizes each access opportunity by concatenating multiple DLSDUs and associated DLPCI into a single DLPDU, thereby improving data transfer efficiency for data-link entities that actively source multiple streams of data.

The maximum system size is an unlimited number of links of 99 nodes, each with 255 DLSAP-addresses. Each link has a maximum of 2²⁴ related peer and publisher DLCEPs.