Glossary
Section 5
WR850
5-7
called an Ethernet address, physical address, hardware address,
or NIC address.
MB
One megabyte; equals 1,024 x 1,024 bytes, 1,024 kilobytes, or
about 8 million bits.
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.
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.
