Connection Less Network Service. A type of protocol used on networks where data is broken into packets, each of which is routed independantly to its destination. Cf. CONS.

Connectionless-oriented network services.

Connectionless network service. Method of data delivery using datagrams with addressing information to route messages on LANs. The OSI equivalent of IP.

Connectionless Network Service. A Layer 3 protocol, similar to Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4). CLNS uses network service access points (NSAP) instead of the prefix addresses found in IPv4 to specify end systems and intermediate systems.

Connectionless Network Service. OSI network layer service that does not require a circuit to be established before data is transmitted. CLNS routes messages to their destinations independently of any other messages. See also CLNP.

CLNS is an abbreviation of Connectionless Network Service.