User Manual

User’s Guide Glossary
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network A group of computers that are connected together, allowing
them to communicate with each other and share resources,
such as software, files, etc. A network can be small, such as
a LAN, or very large, such as the Internet.
network mask A network mask is a sequence of bits applied to an IP
address to select the network ID while ignoring the host ID.
Bits set to 1 mean "select this bit" while bits set to 0 mean
"ignore this bit." For example, if the network mask
255.255.255.0 is applied to the IP address 100.10.50.1, the
network ID is 100.10.50, and the host ID is 1. See binary, IP
address, subnet.
NIC Network Interface Card
An adapter card that plugs into your computer and provides
the physical interface to your network cabling. For Ethernet
NICs this is typically an RJ-45 connector. See Ethernet, RJ-
45.
packet Data transmitted on a network consists of units called
packets. Each packet contains a payload (the data), plus
overhead information such as where it came from (source
address) and where it should go (destination address).
ping Packet Internet (or Inter-Network) Groper
A program used to verify whether the host associated with an
IP address is online. It can also be used to reveal the IP
address for a given domain name.
port A physical access point to a device such as a computer or
Router, through which data flows into and out of the device.
PPP Point-to-Point Protocol
A protocol for serial data transmission that is used to carry IP
(and other protocol) data between your ISP and your
computer. The WAN interface on the Wireless ADSL2+
Router uses two forms of PPP called PPPoA and PPPoE.
See PPPoA, PPPoE.
PPPoA Point-to-Point Protocol over ATM
One of the two types of PPP interfaces you can define for a
Virtual Circuit (VC), the other type being PPPoE. You can
define only one PPPoA interface per VC.
PPPoE Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet
One of the two types of PPP interfaces you can define for a
Virtual Circuit (VC), the other type being PPPoA. You can
define one or more PPPoE interfaces per VC.
protocol A set of rules governing the transmission of data. In order for
a data transmission to work, both ends of the connection
have to follow the rules of the protocol.
remote In a physically separate location. For example, an employee
away on travel who logs in to the company’s intranet is a
remote user.
RIP Routing Information Protocol
The original TCP/IP routing protocol. There are two versions
of RIP: version I and version II.
RJ-11 Registered Jack Standard-11
The standard plug used to connect telephones, fax machines,
modems, etc. to a telephone port. It is a 6-pin connector
usually containing four wires.