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Note that the internet offers many searches on terminology that are always up-to-date. Any search engine can be used to search a term. There are also consolidated resources for terminology such as "webopedia".
Anonymous FTP
A common use of the File Transfer Protocol (see also), wherein the user
does not supply a password, but is only allowed access to a particular
set of files. Used extensively on the Internet to distribute software
and documentation.
ANSI X3T9.5
the standard for a 100mbit token-passing fiber optic ring network. see
FDDI.
ARP (TCP/IP)
Address Resolution Protocol, the protocol by which IP hosts find the Local
Area Network (e.g. Ethernet) address associated with the IP address to
which communication is desired.
ARPANET Advanced
Research Projects Administration Network, the Department of Defense's
research network.
AUI Attachment
Unit Interface. Transceiver cable interface (Ethernet).
Authentication
The process of a user proving her or his identity to a host.
Backbone The
main University backbone network, known as URNet.
Backbone The specific hardware and software protocols and standards recognized
and services
used at the point of demarcation to exchange data and control information
between a departmental network and the backbone network.
BARRNet Bay-Area
Regional Network (TCP/IP).
Broadcast
A packet sent to all systems on the local network.
Bus topology
A network topology in which all stations are attached at different points
along a single wire.
Campus The
centrally-operated network that connects departmental backbone
networks to each other and provides routing to wide-area networks.
Client-server
A model of computing in which a large number of relatively small, single-user
machines (the clients) receive data, programs, and possibly CPU time from
a much larger, more powerful central machine (the server).
CPU Central
processing unit, the core of every modern computer. The CPU executes the
programs, manages input and output, and communicates with storage devices.
Datagram A
separately-addressed unit of information sent from one host to another.
Denial of service
A network security term used to refer to attacks where the intruder does
not actually gain access to a network service, but denies access to that
service to legitimate users.
Department
A University group served by a network that is connected to the backbone
network. Examples include the College of Engineering, the Administration
Building, the Medical Center, the Computer Science Department, and the
Laboratory for Laser Energetics.
Departmental A network which is operated by a department and connects network
departmental computing resources to each other.
DNS Domain
Name Service is a specification used on the Internet to allow each host
the ability to know the numeric address of any other host on the Internet
without having to keep its own table of the millions of Internet hosts
changing hourly. Using this specification, host names are translated into
numeric identifications so that people can use names instead of memorizing
numbers.The core of DNS is a distributed database of host names, addresses,
mail drops, and other administrative data, used by programs communicating
via TCP/IP.
E-mail Electronic
mail, messages exchanged between users on networked computers.
Ethernet A
networking system developed by Xerox, now adopted by most vendors and
the IEEE as standard 802.3
FDDI Fiber
Distributed Data Interface, an ANSI standard specifying a 100Mbit/second
token-passing network using fiber-optic cable. Work is currently being
done to standardize FDDI over twisted pair copper wire. In the future,
FFOL (FDDI follow-on LAN) will achieve throughput of upto 2.4 Gbps.
Finger
A TCP/IP protocol which retrieves information about users from remote
machines.
Firewall A
specialized router sometimes with a firewall service module that is installed as a blade, which allows only selected traffic to pass through.
Used for highly secure networks, often at the point where the network
connects to the Internet.
FTP File Transfer
Protocol (TCP/IP), a protocol for moving data between computers.
Fiber Optics
A type of cabling which transmits signals using light instead of electricity.
It can transmit signals at a higher rate and over longer distances than
metallic cable and is less susceptible to electromagnetic interference.
Most modern, high-speed networks use fiber optics, often exclusively.
Gateway Often
used as a synonym for router, this term may also refer to a device which
converts between network media types, such as a Gatorbox, which translates
from AppleTalk over PhoneNet to AppleTalk over Ethernet.
Gbps Gigabits per second as multiples of 1024 times Mbps (See Mbps)
Gopher A network
information retrieval protocol which provides a transparent menued interface
to networked information such as files, images, sounds, etc.
GUI Graphical
User Interface, a method of presenting files, programs, and other objects
within a computer to the user as icons and windows, and allowing the user
to manipulate them in a more intuitive way. Microsoft Windows, MacOS,
and the X Window System are common GUI's.
HTTP HyperText
Transfer Protocol. HTTP is the actual protocol used by the Web Server
and the Browser to communicate.
HTML HyperText
Markup Language.
Host A computer
system that provides time-shared computing to one or more users simultaneously.
Sometimes used to refer to any computer on the network.
Hub Usually
used to refer to a multiport Ethernet repeater, which provides connections
for several hosts to the Ethernet network. May also be used to refer to
a physical site where multiple networks connect.
Icon A small
graphic or picture used by a GUI to represent an object such as a file
or program. Also used in network management programs to represent devices
such as hosts, bridges and routers.
IETF Internet
Engineering Task Force, An IAB task force consisting of over 40 groups
responsible for addressing short-term Internet engineering issues.
IEEE Institute
of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Developers of a standard set of
protocols developed for local area networks.
IEEE 802.2
specifies a standard packet frame for the other sections.
IEEE 802.3
Ethernet,
IEEE 802.4
Token Bus (MAP),
IEEE 802.5
Token Ring,
IEEE 802.6
metropolitan area network.
IEEE 802.11 wireless.
Infrastructure
The cabling, support equipment, physical space, conduit, etc. required
to support a network.
Interface
A connection from a host or router to the network. Each networked
host must have one interface, and each router two or more.
Interface card
The adapter card installed in a host computer to allow it to attach to
the network. Also referred to as a NIC (Network Interface Card).
Internet A
network of networks.
Internet As in "the Internet." The world-wide interconnected collection of TCP/IP
networks.
IP Internet
Protocol, the network layer of TCP/IP.
ISDN Integrated
Services Digital Network, a network developed by the phone companies to
carry voice and data over the wide area. It is still being standardized
but is available in the Rochester area.
ISO International
Standards Organization.
IPX Internet
Packet Exchange, the network layer for Novell.
ITS The University's
Information Technology Services organization.
kbps Kilobits
per second, a unit of network speed representing multiples of 1024 bits
transmitted per second.
Kerberos A
network security system developed at MIT which provides distributed authentication
services.
LIU Light
Interconnect Unit; a patch panel for fiber optics.
MAC layer Media
Access layer, the lower half of ISO Level 2 (Data Link layer); responsible
for putting frames (packets) on the physical transmission medium at appropriate
times.
Mail Relay
A computer that forwards mail from one network to another.
Mbps Megabits
per second, a unit of network speed representing multiples of 1048576
bits transmitted per second.
Mesh topology
A network topology in which every host is connected to every other host.
Multimode fiber
Fiber optic cable which has large fibers, so that the light passing through
the fiber can do so in more than one mode. This means that the fiber has
less bandwidth but is more easily handled and end devices are less expensive.
NetWare A
set of network protocols developed by Novell for file and printer sharing
between computers on a local network.
Network A
facility used for data communications among computers.
Network I/O
Network input and output, measures of the data transmitted and received
on a network.
Network protocol
A set of data structures, transmission sequences, etc. used to transfer
information between computers. such as TCP/IP, IPX.
NIC Network
Information Center
NISC Network
Information and Support Center or Network Information Services Center
NOC Network
Operations Center
Node A station
or device on the network that receives input and/or output, such as a
computer, a terminal server, a printer, etc.
NSFNet National
Science Foundation Network
NYSERNet New
York State Education and Research Network. A regional network providing
Internet connectivity to the University of Rochester and several other
local organizations.
OSI
Open Systems Interconnect: the international standard layered model for
networking protocols. Consists of seven layers, as follows:
Layer 1 Physical
- the cables and electronics.
Layer 2 Data-link
- the base network, such as Ethernet, Token Ring
or FDDI.
Layer 3 Network
- the protocol which moves data between hosts, such as IP or IPX.
Layer 4 Transport
- the protocol which moves data between programs, such as TCP or NCP (NetWare
Core Protocol).
Layer 5 -
Session - provides coordination between applications on each host.
Layer 6 Presentation
- ensures communication between applications by translating data structures,
formats and codes.
Layer 7 Application
- provides the interface by which the user interacts with the network.
Note
that layers 5-7 are somewhat unclear in most network designs, which
concentrate on layers 1-4.
OTDR Optical
Time-Domain Reflectometer, used to find flaws in fiber optic cable.
Packet switch
A device that moves packets from one network to another.
Ping A program
which requests a reply from a host running the TCP/IP protocols, used
for network testing.
Point of Presence
The physical point of interface between two networks, in this realm typically
the demarcation connectors between a departmental cable and a backbone
device.
Printer sharing
A service provided by most network protocols which allows one printer
to be used by several hosts.
Ring topology
A network topology in which each host connects to two others, and data
flows from one host to the next around the ring.
Router A packet
switch that operates at OSI Level 3, the "network" layer. The terms gateway
and router are used synonymously in this document.
Routing Packet
forwarding based on network address.
Secure gateway
Another term for firewall.
Server A host
that provides some service to other hosts. Examples are terminal servers,
disk servers, file servers, mail servers, domain servers, name servers,
CPU servers.
Singlemode fiber
Fiber optic cable which has small fibers, so that the light passing through
the fiber can only do so in one mode. This means that the fiber has more
bandwidth but is mode difficult to handle and end devices are more expensive.
Sniffer A
device which attaches to a network and displays the data packets as they
are sent, used for network troubleshooting.
Snooping The
process of capturing packets from a network. This is done routinely for
troubleshooting, but may also be done by network intruders to capture
passwords and data.
Spoofing The
process of transmitting packets on a network while pretending to be some
other host. Used by network intruders to subvert security measures.
SQE Signal
Quality Error, also known as "heartbeat;" a signal sent by an Ethernet
transceiver to a host which tests the integrity of the collision detection
system.
SMTP Simple
Mail Transfer Protocol, a TCP/IP protocol used for e-mail.
SURANet Southern
University Research Network (TCP/IP)
Subnet A term
used in TCP/IP to describe a local area network within an organization's
internetwork.
Switching
The process of taking a receiving a packet from one network and transmitting
it on another, with the choice of the network made using information contained
in the packet.
T1 A standard
for wide area data transmission at 1.544 Mbps.
TCP Transmission
Control Protocol
TCP/IP A network
system developed for the Department of Defense, which now forms the basis
for the worldwide Internet.
TDR Time-Domain
Reflectometer, used to find flaws in metallic cable.
TELNET A terminal-to-host
protocol (TCP/IP).
10BaseT An
IEEE standard (802.3i) which provides for Ethernet over twisted-pair copper
cable.
Terminal Server
A device that allows terminals to access hosts over the network.
Topology The
underlying structure of a network; how the network hosts are connected
to each other.
Transceiver
A device used to attach a single node to an Ethernet.
University The set of all networks connected to the campus backbone network, internetwork
including the backbone itself.
UPS Uninterruptible
power supply, a device which provides power to a host or router during
a power failure.
WAN Wide area
Networks that span a large geographic area. Examples include NSFNET networks
and the URNet WAN.
Workstation
A computer system that provides dedicated computing to one user at a time.
WWW WorldWide
Web, a distributed hypermedia system on the Internet.
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