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| VPN | Short for virtual private network, a network that is constructed by using public wires to connect nodes. For example, there are a number of systems that enable you to create networks using the Internet as the medium for transporting data. These systems use encryption and other security mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users can access the network and that the data cannot be intercepted. |
| DNS | (Domain Name System) Name resolution software that lets users locate computers on a UNIX network or the Internet (TCP/IP network) by domain name. The DNS server maintains a database of domain names (host names) and their corresponding IP addresses. In this hypothetical example, if www.mycompany.com were presented to a DNS server, the IP address 204.0.8.51 would be returned. DNS has replaced the manual task of updating HOSTS files in an inhouse UNIX network, and of course, it would be impossible to do this manually on the global Internet, given its size. |
| Hub | A central connecting device in a network that joins communications lines together in a star configuration. Passive hubs are just connecting units that add nothing to the data passing through them. Active hubs, also sometimes called "multiport repeaters," regenerate the data bits in order to maintain a strong signal, and intelligent hubs provide added functionality. |
| Repeater | A communications device that amplifies (analog) or regenerates (digital) the data signal in order to extend the transmission distance. Available for both electronic and optical signals, repeaters are used extensively in long distance transmission. They are also used to tie two LANs of the same type together. Repeaters work at layer 1 of the OSI model. |
| Bridge | To cross from one circuit, channel or element over to another |
| Brouter | A communications device that provides the functions of a bridge and router |
| Gateway | A computer that performs protocol conversion between different types of networks or applications. For example, a gateway can convert a TCP/IP packet to a NetWare IPX packet and vice versa or from AppleTalk to DECnet, from SNA to AppleTalk and so on. |
| RJ-45 | Registered Jack-45) A telephone connector that holds up to eight wires. RJ-45 plugs and sockets are used in Ethernet and Token Ring Type 3 devices. See RJ-48. |
| Cat 5 | The majority of new wiring installations use Category 5 UTP wire in order to be able to run or upgrade to the faster network technologies that will require it. Categories 1 through 5 are based on the EIA/TIA-568 standard. Levels 6 and 7 are enhanced Category 5 cables and are not yet standardized. |
| BNC Connector | Bayonet Neill-Concelman or British Naval Connector) A commonly used plug and socket for audio, video and networking applications. BNCs connect two-wire coaxial cable (signal and ground) using a bayonet mount. After the plug is inserted, the bayonet mechanism causes the pins to be pinched into the locking groove when the plug is turned |
| Fiber-optic Cable | Refers to systems that use optical fibers. Fiber- optic communications networks have transformed the world. Barely starting in the late 1960s but gaining serious momentum in the 1980s, the phone companies began to replace their copper long distance trunks with fiber cable. Eventually, all transmission systems and networks are expected to become fiber based, even to the home. In time, the electronic circuits in computers may be partially or fully replaced with circuits of light, in which case fiber pathways would be used throughout the system |
| Network adapter | A printed circuit board that plugs into both the clients (personal computers or workstations) and servers and controls the exchange of data between them. The network adapter provides services at the data link level of the network, which is also known as the "access method" (OSI layers 1 and 2). |
| Half Duplex | The transmission of data in both directions, but only one direction at a time. Two-way radio was the first to use half-duplex, for example, while one party spoke, the other party listened |
| Full duplex | Transmitting and receiving simultaneously. In pure digital networks, this is achieved with two pairs of wires. In analog networks or in digital networks using carriers, it is achieved by dividing the bandwidth of the line into two frequencies, one for sending, the other for receiving. |
| TCP/IP | (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) A communications protocol developed under contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to internetwork dissimilar systems. Invented by Vinton Cerf and Bob Kahn, this de facto UNIX standard is the protocol of the Internet and has become the global standard for communications. |
| IP address | (Internet Protocol address) The address of a computer attached to a TCP/IP network. Every client and server station must have a unique IP address. Client workstations have either a permanent address or one that is dynamically assigned to them each dial-up session. IP addresses are written as four sets of numbers separated by periods; for example, 204.171.64.2. |
| IPX | (Internetwork Packet EXchange) A NetWare communications protocol used to route messages from one node to another. IPX packets include network addresses and can be routed from one network to another. An IPX packet can occasionally get lost when crossing networks, thus IPX does not guarantee delivery of a complete message. Either the application has to provide that control or NetWare's SPX protocol must be used. |
| SPX | (Sequenced Packet EXchange) The NetWare communications protocol used to control the transport of messages across a network. SPX ensures that an entire message arrives intact and uses NetWare's IPX protocol as its delivery mechanism. Application programs use SPX to provide client/server and peer-to-peer interaction between network nodes. SPX provides services at layer 4 of the OSI model |
| NET beui | (NetBIOS Extended User Interface) Pronounced "net-booey." The transport layer for NetBIOS. NetBIOS and NetBEUI were originally part of a single protocol suite that was later separated. NetBIOS sessions can be transported over NetBEUI, TCP/IP and SPX/IPX protocols. See NetBEUI network and NetBIOS |
