EtherFast
®
Managed 24-Port with Dual Gigabit Switch
IEEE - The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The IEEE
describes itself as “the world’s largest technical professional society—promot-
ing the development and application of electrotechnology and allied sciences
for the benefit of humanity, the advancement of the profession, and the well-
being of our members.”
The IEEE fosters the development of standards that often become national and
international standards. The organization publishes a number of journals, has
many local chapters, and has several large societies in special areas, such as the
IEEE Computer Society.
IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) - A multicast host registration
protocol that allows any host to inform its local router that it wants to receive
transmissions addressed to a specific multicast group.
LAN - A local area network (LAN) is a group of computers and associated
devices that share a common communications line and typically share the
resources of a single processor or server within a small geographic area (for
example, within an office building).
Latency - The time delay between when the first bit of a packet is received and
the last bit is forwarded.
Layer 2 - Data Link layer in the ISO 7-Layer Data Communications Protocol.
This is directly related to the hardware interface for network devices and pass-
es traffic based on MAC addresses.
Layer 3 - Network layer in the ISO 7-Layer Data Communications Protocol.
This layer handles the routing functions for data moving from one open system
to another.
MAC Address - The MAC (Media Access Control) address is your computer’s
unique hardware number.
Mbps (MegaBits Per Second) - One million bits per second; unit of measure-
ment for data transmission.
Multicast Routing Protocol - A routing protocol that supports multicast pack-
ets (one to many).
Multicasting - Sends data to a group of nodes instead of a single destination.
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EtherFast
®
Series
100
DVMRP (Distance-Vector Multicast Routing Protocol) - Used for routing multi-
cast messages through the Internet.
Dynamic Routing - The ability for a router to forward data via a different route
based on the current conditions of the communications circuits. For example, it
can adjust for overloaded traffic or failing lines and is much more flexible than
static routing, which uses a fixed forwarding path.
Ethernet - IEEE standard network protocol that specifies how data is placed on
and retrieved from a common transmission medium. Has a transfer rate of
10Mbps. Forms the underlying transport vehicle used by several upper-level pro-
tocols, including TCP/IP and XNS.
Fast Ethernet - A 100 Mbps technology based on the 10Base-T Ethernet
CSMA/CD network access method.
Full Duplex - The ability of a device or line to transmit data simultaneously in
both directions.
GARP (General Attributes Registration Protocol) - A standard for registering or
deregistering client attributes for client services within a bridged LAN.
GMRP (GARP Multicast Registration Protocol) - Allows network devices to
register endstations with multicast groups. GMRP requires that any participat-
ing network devices or endstations comply with the IEEE 802.1p standard.
GVRP (GARP VLAN Registration Protocol) - Defines a way for switches to
exchange VLAN information in order to register VLAN members on ports
across the network.
Half Duplex - Data transmission that can occur in two directions over a single
line, but only one direction at a time.
Hardware - Hardware is the physical aspect of computers, telecommunications,
and other information technology devices. The term arose as a way to distinguish
the “box” and the electronic circuitry and components of a computer from the pro-
gram you put in it to make it do things. The program came to be known as the soft-
ware.
Hub - The device that serves as the central location for attaching wires from
workstations. Can be passive, where there is no amplification of the signals; or
active, where the hubs are used like repeaters to provide an extension of the
cable that connects to a workstation.
