For 802.2 and X.25 links, multiple connections can use the same physical link supported by a single instance of the SNALink software.
For each connection to a remote station, there is a LINK LPI connection and a STATION LPI connection (this is different from SDLC multipoint as described in SDLC Multipoint Connections). Hence, there can be multiple pairs of LPI connections between a local node and an SNALink. For each connection, the local node issues an Open(LINK) Request and, after XID exchange, an Open(STATION) Request.
The local node is configured with a maximum number of connections that can be active at any one time. In addition, each potential connection is configured with the address of the remote station. This information is required when activating a connection, and is included in the Open(LINK) Request for an outgoing connection.