DCE

(1) Short for Distributed Computing Environment, a suite of technology services developed by The Open Group for creating distributed applications that run on different platforms. DCE services include:

Remote Procedure Calls (RPC)

Security Service

Directory Service

Time Service

Threads Service

Distributed File Service

DCE is a popular choice for very large systems that require robust security and fault tolerance.

(2) Short for Data Communications Equipment, a device that communicates with a Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) device in RS-232C communications. See DTE for more information.