This International Standard is one of a set of international standards produced to facilitate the interconnection of computers and terminals on a Local Area Network (LAN). It is related to the other international standards by the Reference Model for Open Systems Interconnection (OSI). This International Standard describes the functions, features, protocol, and services of the Logical Link Control (LLC) sublayer in the ISO/IEC 8802 LAN Protocol. The LLC sublayer constitutes the top sublayer in the data link layer (see figure 1) and is common to the various medium access methods that are defined and supported by the ISO/IEC 8802 activity. Separate International Standards describe each medium access method individually and indicate the additional features and functions that are provided by the Medium Access Control (MAC) sublayer in each case to complete the functionality of the data link layer as defined in the LAN architectural reference model. This International Standard describes the LLC sublayer service specifications to the network layer (Layer 3), to the MAC sublayer, and to the LLC sublayer management function. The service specification to the network layer provides a description of the various services that the LLC sublayer, plus underlying layers and sublayers, offer to the network layer, as viewed from the network layer. The service specification to the MAC sublayer provides a description of the services that the LLC sublayer requires of the MAC sublayer. These services are defined so as to be independent of the form of the medium access methodology, and of the nature of the medium itself. The service specification to the LLC sublayer management function provides a description of the management services that are provided to the LLC sublayer. All of the above service specifications are given in the form of primitives that represent in an abstract way the logical exchange of information and control between the LLC sublayer and the identified service function (network layer, MAC sublayer, or LLC sublayer management function). They do not specify or constrain the implementation of entities or interfaces. This International Standard provides a description of the peer-to-peer protocol procedures that are defined for the transfer of information and control between any pair of data link layer service access points on a LAN. The LLC procedures are independent of the type of medium access method used in the particular LAN. To satisfy a broad range of potential applications, three types of data link control operation are included (see clause ). The first type of operation (see clause ) provides a data-link-connectionless-mode service across a data link with minimum protocol complexity. This type of operation may be useful when higher layers provide any essential recovery and sequencing services so that these do not need replicating in the data link layer. In addition, this type of operation may prove useful in applications where it is not essential to guarantee the delivery of every data link layer data unit. This type of service is described in this International Standard in terms of "logical data links." The second type of operation (see clause) provides a data-link-connection-mode service across a data link comparable to existing data link control procedures provided in International Standards such as HDLC (see ISO/IEC 13239:1997).