Abstract: A method of communicating between a primary station and a secondary station wherein variable sized packets of information are transferred asynchronously (or in start/stop mode) between the primary station and the secondary station. A communication control (e.g., "BREAK" in the preferred embodiment) indicates the end of each packet. To permit the high speed transfer of data, the secondary station receives a high-speed clocking signal externally, from the primary in the preferred embodiment. The primary station generates and transmits a sequence number in connection with each packet, and the secondary responds to each packet with a status, but without generating a sequence number of its own or transmitting a sequence number.