The specification covers two types of components, and the AC-Link digital interface between them: AC'97 defines a high-quality, 16- or 24-bit audio architecture with 5.1 surround sound support for the PC.
The AC-Link is a digital link that connects the DC97 (the controller) with the audio "codecs."
The link carries a bidirectional serial data stream at a fixed bitrate (12.288 Mbit/s) between the controller and one or more codecs.
However, slots can be combined to provide a 96 kHz sampling rate for the L, R and C channels.
Lower sample rates (such as 44.1 kHz) are implemented using a handshake protocol between the controller and codec which skips data during certain frames.
Alternatively, sample rate conversion could be performed in the DC97 (controller) or in the software driver.)