33
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Broadband
- A data-transmission scheme in which multiple signals share the
bandwidth of a medium. This allows the transmission of voice, data and video
signals over a single medium. Cable television uses broadband techniques to
deliver dozens of channels over one cable.
Browser
- A browser is an application program that provides a way to look at
and interact with all the information on the World Wide Web or PC. The word
"browser" seems to have originated prior to the Web as a generic term for user
interfaces that let you browse text files online.
Buffer
- A buffer is a shared or assigned memory area used by hardware
devices or program processes that operate at different speeds or with different
sets of priorities. The buffer allows each device or process to operate without
being held up by the other. In order for a buffer to be effective, the size of the
buffer and the algorithms for moving data into and out of the buffer need to be
considered by the buffer designer. Like a cache, a buffer is a "midpoint holding
place" but exists not so much to accelerate the speed of an activity as to sup-
port the coordination of separate activities.
Cable Modem
- A device that connects a computer to the cable television net-
work, which in turn connects to the Internet. Once connected, cable modem
users have a continuous connection to the Internet. Cable modems feature
asymmetric transfer rates: around 36 Mbps downstream (from the Internet to
the computer), and from 200 Kbps to 2 Mbps upstream (from the computer to
the Internet).
Category 5
- ANSI/EIA (American National Standards Institute/Electronic
Industries Association) Standard 568 is one of several standards that specify
"categories" (the singular is commonly referred to as "CAT") of twisted pair
cabling systems (wires, junctions, and connectors) in terms of the data rates
that they can sustain. CAT 5 cable has a maximum throughput of 100 Mbps and
is usually utilized for 100BaseTX networks.
Default Gateway
- The routing device used to forward all traffic that is not
addressed to a station within the local subnet.
DHCP
(
D
ynamic
H
ost
C
onfiguration
P
rotocol) - A protocol that lets network
administrators manage centrally and automate the assignment of Internet
Protocol (IP) addresses in an organization's network. Using the Internet's set of
protocol (TCP/IP), each machine that can connect to the Internet needs a
unique IP address. When an organization sets up its computer users with a con-
nection to the Internet, an IP address must be assigned to each machine.
Appendix B: Glossary
10BaseT
- An Ethernet standard that uses twisted wire pairs.
100BaseTX
- IEEE physical layer specification for 100 Mbps over two pairs of
Category 5 UTP or STP wire.
802.11b
- One of the IEEE standards for wireless networking hardware.
Products that adhere to a specific IEEE standard will work with each other,
even if they are manufactured by different companies. The 802.11b standard
specifies a maximum data transfer rate of 11Mbps, an operating frequency of
2.4GHz, and WEP encryption for security. 802.11b networks are also referred
to as Wi-Fi networks.
802.11g
- A wireless networking standard that specifies a maximum data trans-
fer rate of 54Mbps using OFDM modulation, an operating frequency of
2.4GHz, backward compatibility with IEEE 802.11b devices, and WEP
encryption for security.
Adapter
- Printed circuit board that plugs into a PC to add to capabilities or
connectivity to a PC. In a networked environment, a network interface card
(NIC) is the typical adapter that allows the PC or server to connect to the
intranet and/or Internet.
Auto-negotiate
- To automatically determine the correct settings. The term is
often used with communications and networking. For example, Ethernet
10/100 cards, hubs and switches can determine the highest speed of the node
they are connected to and adjust their transmission rate accordingly.
Bit
- A binary digit. The value - 0 or 1-used in the binary numbering system.
Also, the smallest form of data.
Boot
- To cause the computer to start executing instructions. Personal comput-
ers contain built-in instructions in a ROM chip that are automatically executed
on startup. These instructions search for the operating system, load it and pass
control to it.
