Glossary
Glossary-2
Attachment Unit Interface (AUI)
A 15-pin logical, electrical, and mechanical interface specified by the IEEE
802.3 standard for connecting a PC, server, workstation, or other device to a
thickwire Ethernet backbone. This port can be connected to a variety of Ethernet
media (including BNC or fiber-optic) using an Ethernet transceiver or Media
Access Unit (MAU).
BNC
A connector with a half-twist locking shell specified by the IEEE 802.3 standard
to connect a PC, server, or workstation using ThinWire coaxial cable.
boot ROM
Read-only memory chip that allows a PC or workstation to communicate with a
file server to read a DOS boot program from the server.
bus topology
A network topological arrangement where only one path exists between any two
nodes and data transmitted by any node is concurrently available to all other
nodes on the same transmission medium.
broadcast
The process of sending a message to all stations on a network.
configuration
The way to set up a computer, server, or local area network.
collision
A condition in which two packets transmitted over a medium interfere with each
other, making both signals unintelligible. The transmitting devices have to halt
transmission for a random period of time before trying to send data again. Note
that collisions do not occur on full-duplex connections.
connection
A logical binding between two or more users of an interconnection service.
