The Facts About A Multiplexer or MUX | Telecommunications Device

A multiplexer, also called a mux or data selector, is an electronic device. It has the ability to select one of many digital or analog input signals and forward that input into one line. These devices are commonly used as a way to increase the amount of information that can be sent through a network over a specific bandwidth or period of time.

Multiplexers allow several signals to share one resource or device. A demultiplexer, or demux, takes a single input signal and, uses one of the several data-output lines that are connected with the single input. Generally, multiplexers are used with demultiplexers on the receiving side.

There are some similarities and differences between the mux and demux devices. Mux is considered multiple input, single output. On the other hand, demux is single input, multiple output. These structures are identified by their schematic symbol. The symbol includes an isosceles trapezoid with a long parallel side, which has input pins, and a short parallel side, which has the single output pin.

The mux device is used in telecommunications. It serves as a device that connects several input data signals into one output signal that can carry multiple communication channels through the multiplex technique. In these regards, the demultiplexer is a device capable of taking one single input signal and carrying it over several channels, separating it over many output signals. Within the large spectrum of telecommunications, there are different types of mux that may be used, including frequency-division mux, time-division mux, and statistical mux.

These devices are also beneficial in cost savings. Connecting a mux and a demux together, over one channel, can save costs. Sometimes the cost to implement channels for each data source is more expensive than the cost of using mux and demux functions. Demux and mux devices are often combined into one device, usually called a multiplexer. There are digital mux and demux devices available.

Mux may be chained together. For instance, to make a large multiplexer, smaller mux may be chained together. An eight-to-one multiplexer can be constructed using two four-to-one and one two-to-one multiplexers.

A mux can be used as a programmable logic device, PLD. Customized logic circuits are developed by setting up the logic arrangement in the input signals. The selector inputs then serve as logic inputs. This is particularly helpful in situations where modularity is desired and cost is a factor.

Devices such as these are predominately used in computer and telecommunication networks. Their overall purpose is to share an expensive resource. Inverse multiplexing, also referred to as imux, does the opposite of multiplexing. It aims to break up one data stream into several data streams, transfer them across multiple communication channels, and then recreate the original stream. The different types of multiplexing: space division, frequency division, time division and code division. Within each of these there are variations as well. Multiplexing is also done in wireless communications through polarization on the adjacent channels and satellites or by way of phased multi-antenna array and a multiple-input, multiple-output communications setup.