(1) Short for Data Link Control, the second lowest layer in the OSI Reference Model. Every network interface card (NIC) has a DLC address or DLC identifier (DLCI) that uniquely identifies the node on the network. Some network protocols, such as Ethernet and Token-Ring use the DLC addresses exclusively. Other protocols, such as TCP/IP, use a logical address at the Network Layer to identify nodes. Ultimately, however, all network addresses must be translated to DLC addresses. In TCP/IP networks, this translation is performed with the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP).
