A switching technique, used by bridges and switches, in which complete packets of information are stored in internal buffers before they are sent to another port.

(1) Technique in which a message is received from the originator and held in storage until a circuit to the addressee becomes available. (2) Transmittal of complete network messages or packets into storage before sending them forward to the next center. (3) Capture of transaction data on magnetic media for subsequent batch input to a computer.

Switching feature where the receiving port receives the entire incoming frame and stores it in the buffers before forwarding it to the destination port.

Transmission of static images or audio-video clips to a remote data storage device, from which they can be retrieved by a medical practitioner for review and consultation at any time, obviating the need for the simultaneous availability of the consulting parties and reducing transmission costs due to low bandwidth requirements.

Captured audio clips, video clips, still images, or data that are transmitted or received at a later time (sometimes no more than a minute). E-mail is a store-and-forward system. Enables dissynchronous communication, with the advantage of not needing concurrent participant involvement. Compare to real time.

A delivery method for data within a network in which information moves from one node to another toward its target. If any node in the paths is unavailable, the last active node in the chain holds the information until that node becomes available, at which time the transfer continues. The originator need not maintain the information as each node receiving the object accepts responsibility for its delivery. Although store-and-forward is most often associated with electronic mail, it can be used for file transfer, software updates and other functions that do not require a "quick" or synchronised response.

E-mail systems which use a central computer to store messages until the recipient wishes to retrieve them.