Data circuit-terminating equipment

[citation needed] Usually, the DTE device is the terminal (or computer), and the DCE is a modem.

In a data station, the DCE performs functions such as signal conversion, coding, and line clocking and may be a part of the DTE or intermediate equipment.

Although the terms are most commonly used with RS-232, several data communication standards define different types of interfaces between a DCE and a DTE.

D-sub connectors follow another rule for pin assignment.

When two devices, that are both DTE or both DCE, must be connected together without a modem or a similar media translator between them, a crossover cable must be used, e.g. a null modem for RS-232 or an Ethernet crossover cable/body