Glossary …

Random collection of terms you may run across

A   @ home          : Cable Modem IPS (Internet Access Provider)

     Adelphia         : Cable Company.

     ADSL               : high speed, always on internet access through “ regular” phone lines (AsymetricDigitalSubscriberLine). Similar to cable modems.

     AT&T               : Cable & Long Distance Company. Acquired TCI/@home

B   Baud               : bit/sec

     Bandwidth       : amount of data that can be transmitted per time.

     Bit                   : smallest unit of information (1/0)

     Byte                 : 8 Bit

     Bresnan Cable: Cable Company

C   Cat-5                : Category 5 Ethernet Cable. Most frequently used LAN cable these days. Up to 100 Mbite/sec, up to 100m (300 ft) long. CAT-3 is a older version for up to 10 Mbit/sec. Newer version, for even higher speed, are labled CAT-5e or CAT-6.

     CompuServe   : Dialup Internet service Provider (ISP). Part of AOL and soon time Warner

D   Dialup Modem : Modem, which uses regular phone lines to access the Internet.

     DHCP               : Protocol used to automatically assign various network setting, most notably IP addresses

     DNS                 : DomainNamesSystem. Network of servers used to translate domain and host names (e.g.www.cablemodemhelp.com) in to numerical IP addresses.

     DOCSIS           : Cable modem standard (Data Over Cable Systems Interface Specification)

E   Ethernet          : High speed local networking protocol.

F

G

H   Hub                 : Device to network several PCs. Frequently used for smaller home/office networks. Basically a network traffic light that avoids two PCs talking at the same time.

I    ICS                  : Internet Connection Sharing, also name of modem sharing software included with Windows 98 SE.

     ICMP               : Part of the TCP/IP protocol used for network diagnosis.

     IP(Address)      : Unique number used to identify hosts on the internet.

     ISDN                : Older high speed (up to 128 kBit/sec) data transmission protocol for phone lines.

     ISP                  : Internet service Provider, company providing internet access.

J

K   KBit                 : 1000 Bit

     KBit                 : 1024 Bit

L   LAN                 : Local Area Network. Office/home network, usually within a single building

     Latenacy/(Lag)   : (excessive) response time. Time between sending a request to a server (e.g. web page) and receiving the response.

     Linux               : free, open source Operating System

M Media One      : Major US cable company.

N   NAT                 : Network Address Translation, technique used to share a single IP address to provide internet access to a LAN.

     NetBeui           : Microsoft networking protocol used to share resources (files, printers) on a LAN

     Network           : Connection between different PCs which allows data transfer.

O Operating System: Basic Software required for each computer.

     OS/2                : Operating System, developed by IBM.

P   Packet loss      : number of data packets that are lost in transmission.

     Patch Cable    : cable with all pins connected “1-1”

     Ping                : program to measure network latency.

Q QoS                 : Quality of Service. Often used to indicate a certain service level guaranty.

R   RoadRunner    : Cable Modem ISP.

     Router             : intelligent network device which is able to transfer data between different networks.

S   Solaris             : Operating System, developed by SUN.

T   TCP/IP             : Protocol used to Exchange data over the Internet.

     Terminator      : Plug used to cover open ends of coaxial cables (e.g. cable TV lines)

     Trace route     : program to Trace Rout used to transmit data between two computers.

U   UDP                 : Part of the TCP/IP protocol used to exchange data over the internet

     UMAX              : Network Device manufacturer.

V   VPN                 : Virtual Private Network. Method used to Connect two or More computers securely over a public network like the internet.

W WWW              : Word Wide Web:-)

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