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7. Glossary
10Base-T
It is an Ethernet standard for Local Area Network (LAN). 10Base-T uses a twisted
pair cable with maximum length of 100 meters.
AAL
ATM Adaptation Layer that defines the rules governing segmentation and
reassembly of data into cells. Different AAL types are suited to different traffic
classes.
ADSL
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, as its name showing, is an asymmetrical
data transmission technology with high traffic rate downstream and low traffic
rate upstream. ADSL technology satisfies the bandwidth requirement of
applications, which demand “asymmetric” traffic, such as web surfing, file
download and Video-on-demand (VOD).
ATM
Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a layer 2 protocol supporting high-speed
asynchronous data with advanced traffic management and quality of service
features.
bps
Bits per second, a standard measurement of digital transmission speeds.
Bridge
A device that connects two or more physical networks and forwards packets
between them. Bridges can usually be made to filter packets, that is, to forward
only certain traffic. Related devices are: repeaters which simply forward electrical
signals from one cable to the other and full-fledged routers which make routing
decisions based on several criteria.