HP Vectra VL6 7, Administrator'S Manual

Page: 104 / 112

Glossary
English 104
(used in Windows NT) all include
ASCII as a subset.
AUI Attachment Unit Interface. An
IEEE specification for a node or
connection interface to an external
medium attachment unit (MAU).
AUI Cable A cable used to connect
an external transceiver to a
computing device. The AUI cable is
also sometimes known as the
transceiver cable.
backbone Generally, a coax or fiber
optic cable used as the main
transmission medium for connecting
network areas called workgroups.
base address The first address in a
series of addresses in memory: that is,
the beginning location of a section of
code or data. It is often used to
describe the start of a network
interface card's (NIC) I/O: that is, the
I/O base address.
baseband A network that transmits
signals as a pulse rather than as
variations in a carrier wave (signal).
BIOS
Basic Input Output System.
BIOS is built-in software typically
contained in a ROM (Read Only
Memory) chip that determines what a
computer can do without accessing
programs from disk. On IBM PCs,
BIOS contains code required to
control the keyboard, display screen,
disk drives, serial communications,
etc. A Plug and Play BIOS
supplements the BIOS functions with
routines that support Plug and Play
operations.
bit
Binary digit. A bit is the smallest
unit of information represented on a
computer. A bit can contain either a
zero (0) or a one (1).
boot image A boot image is a file on
a server that appears to a client PC as
a bootable disk.
Boot PROM or Boot ROM Boot
Programmable Read Only Memory. A
memory chip that allows the network
workstation to communicate with the
network file server and to read a DOS
boot program from the server. These
diskless workstations are then
capable of operating on the network
without having a disk drive.
bootable disk A disk from which an
operating system can be launched
automatically by the computer when
the computer is switched on. The disk
contains the operating system and
other related files.
broadband A network that
transmits signals as variations of
carrier waves rather than directly as
pulses. Broadband networks provide
greater network bandwidth capacity,
but are also more complex.
broadcast To send a message to all
workstations connected on the
network.
buffer A temporary storage space.
Data may be stored in a buffer before,
during, or after a data transmission.
Buffers are often used to compensate
for the difference between the speed
of data packet transmission and the
speed of data packet processing.