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Reference.org
Media access unit
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<p>A media access unit (MAU), also known as a multistation access unit (MAU or MSAU), is a device to attach multiple network stations in a <a href="/facts/Ring_network/GDnXYWDv">ring topology</a> when the cabling is done in a <a href="/facts/Star_network/HPQDmFkI">star topology</a> as a <a href="/facts/Token_Ring/mfQj6GSx">Token Ring</a> network, internally wired to connect the stations into a logical ring (generally passive i.e. non-switched and unmanaged; however managed Token Ring MAUs do exist in the form of CAUs, or Controlled Access Units). </p><p>Passive Token Ring was an active IBM networking product in the 1997 time frame, after which it was rapidly displaced by <a href="/facts/Switched_network/CnvmhNYT">switched networking</a>. </p>