User Manual
BritePort 8012-V1
47
Netscape Navigator/Communicator - A popular Web browser.
NIC - Network Interface Card — A card that is installed in a computer so that it can be connected to
a network. The NIC manages the flow of network information to and from the computer.
Octet - A group of eight binary bits. A less precise term for an octet is a byte.
Packet - A unit of information, which is data of a fixed length, sent as a whole from one device to
another on a network. It contains a header with destination address and control information and
a payload that has the user data.
Ping - Packet Internet Groper — An Internet program used to determine whether a specific IP address
is accessible. It works by sending a packet to the specified address and waiting for a reply. PING
is used primarily to troubleshoot network connections.
Plug-and-Play - The capability of an operating system to automatically detect any new device
attached to the computer.
POTS - Plain Old Telephone Service — The term refers to the conventional telephone service using
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
POTS Splitter - The POTS splitter box enables the telephone line — the plain old telephone service
(POTS) — to carry voice signals and digital signals simultaneously. The DSL-enabled line is
connected to the POTS splitter and the splitter provides two outputs — one containing both the
POTS and DSL signals and the other containing only the POTS signals. To install a splitter box,
a technician from your telephone company must visit the user’s home. However, on a dedicated
DSL connection, a splitter box is not required. Also ADSL Lite or ADSL G. Lite does not
require the installation of a splitter box at the user’s premises, and this division is achieved with
software rather than hardware. Thus a visit by a telephone company technician is not required.
PPP - Point-to-Point Protocol — A communication protocol that allows a computer to be connected
to the Internet.
Protocol - A set of agreed-upon rules for transmitting data between two devices. From a user’s point
of view, his computer must support the right protocols to make his machine communicate with
other computers.
RADSL - A Rate Adaptive ADSL technology from Globespan Semiconductors.
Reboot - When a computer is shut down and restarted, it is rebooting.
RFC 1483 - A standard method used for linking different devices to communicate with each other
across networks and assure “inter-operability.”
