Glossary
10BaseT:
10BaseT is an Ethernet specification. It operates at the speed of 10 Mega Bits per second and it uses two pairs of twisted pair cables. In which one of the pair is used to send data and the other is used in receiving of data. The major drawback of 10BaseT is that, it is restricted to the distance of 100m.
100BaseT:
This is the fast Ethernet specification that operates at 100 Mega Bits per second and it uses UTP wiring for its functionality.
Address Resolution Protocol:
This is a network protocol that is used to map IP addresses to the MAC addresses that are found in the Network Interface Card (NIC).
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL):
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line is a technology for transmitting data over the existing telephone lines at a higher bandwidth. Since, ADSL is asymmetric it uses only the smaller part of channel for receiving data from the user and the rest for transmitting downstream to the users.
Bootstrap Protocol:
Bootstrap Protocol abbreviated as BootP, is a network protocol that is used to assign the gateways and Internet Protocol addresses to the clients dynamically.
Broadband:
Broadband is a data transmission technology that enables us to share multiple signals over single cable.
Crossover Cable:
It is a type of Ethernet cable that is used to connect one host computer to the other without using any intermediate devices. Hub to hub, switch to switch connection is also possible with crossover cable.
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL):
DSL is a telecommunication technology that is used to bring information and data directly to the users through the ordinary copper telephone lines with high bandwidth. And there are many DSL technologies like ADSL, RADSL, and HDSL.
Domain Name System (DNS):
Domain Name System is a naming system that is used to resolve domain names to the IP addresses. And it will be done by the DNS server and the address of DNS server will be provided to the clients dynamically by the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.
Dynamic IP Addresses:
A dynamic IP address is allocated by the Internet Service Providers whenever their clients are connecting to the network and it changes each time when they are connecting. It is assigned by the DHCP.
Fast Ethernet:
It is an Ethernet specification that operates at the speed of 100 Mega Bits per Second. And now 1000 mbps (i.e.) 1 Gbps Ethernet cards are also available in the market.
Firewall:
It acts as a barrier between the global network to any other private network or individual systems. And it helps in preventing unauthorised packets passing through the network.
Hub:
It is a network device that functions similar like a multiport repeater. It amplifies the incoming electrical digital signal and forwards it to all segments except to the one from which the signal has been received.
Internet Protocol:
Internet Protocol is a network layer protocol that resides below the transport layer in TCP/IP stack and it provides connectionless service.
IP Address:
This is an address that is used to uniquely identify a device on the network. There are two versions of IP addresses and they are IPV4 and IPV6.
Local Area Network (LAN):
It is network of computers within a small geographical area.
MAC Address:
It is a hardware address found in the Network Interface Card uniquely given by the manufacturer. And it is used to uniquely identify a computer within any network. These MAC addresses are permanent one and cannot be configured manually.
Modem:
Modem – abbreviated form of Modulator and Demodulator. It is a network device that is used to convert analogue signals to digital signals and vice versa. The digital electrical signals are converted in to analogue signals so as to transmit it through the telephone lines.
Network Address Translation:
It is an algorithm that is used to enable the host computers on a private network to connect to the globally available internet without the need of unique Internet addresses.
Point to Point Protocol:
Point to Point Protocol usually abbreviated as PPP that is most commonly used for dial up internet connection.
Point to Point Protocol over Internet:
Point to Point Protocol over Internet is the protocol used to connect client computers to a remote location through the standard telephone connections. And it is most commonly used by many ADSL Internet Service Providers.
Port Address Translation:
It is an algorithm that enables a single Internet address to provide access to multiple resources by changing the source Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port numbers.
Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP):
RARP is a network protocol that is used to map the MAC addresses to the Internet Addresses (IP addresses). It does the reverse functionality of ARP protocol.
Router:
It is a network device also called as Gateway. And it is used to identify the shortest path to be used for the transmission of data packets through the network. It uses various algorithms like Distance Vector Routing, etc to identify the best path and the process is usually called as Routing.
Switch:
Switch is a network device similar to a hub with some additional intelligence. The major difference between these two is that, the switch won’t forward the signals to all the segments. Instead it forwards the signal only to the segment which is required by the signal to reach its destination host. And so it helps in reducing the packet collisions and improving the performance of the network.
Transmission Control Protocol:
It is a reliable, connection oriented protocol that acts at the transport layer of the TCP/IP protocol layer stack.
User Datagram Protocol:
It is connectionless protocol that acts at the transport layer. It simply transfers the datagram without any acknowledgements. Hence, the reliability is less when compared to Transmission Control Protocol.
