Glossary
Section 5
WE800G 5-7
Mbps
Million bits per second (megabits per second). A rate of data
transfer.
MTU
The Maximum Transmission Unit is the largest amount of data
that can be transmitted in one discrete message on a given
physical network. The MTU places an upper bound limit on the
size of a message that can be transferred by the network in a
single frame. Messages exceeding the MTU must be fragmented
before transmission, and reassembled at the destination.
Multicast
A data transmission sent from one sender to multiple receivers.
See also broadcast and unicast.
N
NAT
Network Address Translation is an Internet standard for a LAN to
use one set of IP addresses for internal traffic and a second set
of IP addresses for external traffic. NAT provides some security
because the IP addresses of LAN computers are invisible on the
Internet.
Network
Two or more computers connected to communicate with each
other. Networks have traditionally been connected using some
kind of wiring.
NIC
A Network Interface Card converts computer data to serial data in
a packet format that it sends over the LAN. A NIC is installed in
an expansion slot or can be built-in. Every Ethernet NIC has a
MAC address permanently saved in its ROM.
P
Packet
The unit of data that is routed between the sender and
destination on the Internet or other packet-switched network.
