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APPENDIX D: GLOSSARY
TABLE D-1. TERMINOLOGY
TERM
MEANING
3G
Third-generation cellular technology. The standards that determine 3G call for greater bandwidth and higher
speeds for cellular networks.
AES
The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is a new block cipher standard to replace DES, developed by NIST,
the US National Institute of Standards and Technology. AES ciphers use a 128-bit block and 128-, 192-, or
256-bit keys. The larger block size helps resist birthday attacks while the large key size prevents brute force
attacks.
APN
Access Point Name (APN) is used by carriers to identify an IP packet data network that a mobile data user
wants to communicate with and the type of wireless service.
Authentication
Authentication is the technique by which a process verifies that its communication partner is who it is
supposed to be and not an imposter. Authentication confirms that data is sent to the intended recipient and
assures the recipient that the data originated from the expected sender and has not been altered on route.
BIOS
Basic Input/Output System is the built-in software in a computer that are executed on startup (boot) and that
determine what the computer can do without accessing programs from a disk. On PCs, the BIOS contains all
the code required to control the keyboard, display screen, disk drives, serial communications, and a number of
miscellaneous functions.
Bonding
Ethernet Bonding or Failover is the ability to detect communication failure transparently, and switch from one
LAN connection to another.
BOOTP
Bootstrap Protocol. A protocol that allows a network user to automatically receive an IP address and have an
operating system boot without user interaction. BOOTP is the basis for the more advanced DHCP.
Certificates
A digitally signed statement that contains information about an entity and the entity's public key, thus binding
these two pieces of information together. A certificate is issued by a trusted organization (or entity) called a
Certification Authority (CA) after the CA has verified that the entity is who it says it is.
Certificate Authority
A Certificate Authority is a trusted third party, which certifies public key's to truly belong to their claimed
owners. It is a key part of any Public Key Infrastructure, since it allows users to trust that a given public key is
the one they wish to use, either to send a private message to its owner or to verify the signature on a message
sent by that owner.
Certificate Revocation List
A list of certificates that have been revoked by the CA before they expired. This may be necessary if the private
key certificate has been compromised or if the holder of the certificate is to be denied the ability to establish a
connection to the console server.
CHAP
Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) is used to verify a user's name and password for PPP
Internet connections. It is more secure than PAP, the other main authentication protocol.
DES
The Data Encryption Standard is a block cipher with 64-bit blocks and a 56-bit key.
DHCP
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. A communications protocol that assigns IP addresses to computers
when they are connected to the network.
DNS
The Domain Name System allocates Internet domain names and translates them into IP addresses. A domain
name is a meaningful and easy to remember name for an IP address.
DUN
Dial-up Networking.
Encryption
The technique for converting a readable message (plaintext) into apparently random material (ciphertext)
which cannot be read if intercepted. The proper decryption key is required to read the message.
Ethernet
A physical network layer protocol based upon IEEE standards.
Firewall
A network gateway device that protects a private network from users on other networks. A firewall is usually
installed to allow users on an intranet access to the public Internet without allowing public Internet users
access to the intranet.
