Question | Answer |
Internet service provider (ISP) | A commercial group
that provides Internet access for a monthly fee;
AOL, Earthlink, and Comcast are large ISPs. |
intranet | A private network that uses the TCP/IP
protocols. |
IP address | A 32-bit address consisting of four
numbers separated by periods, used to uniquely
identify a device on a network that uses TCP/IP
protocols. The first numbers identify the network;
the last numbers identify a host. |
line speed | In relation to analog communication, the
range of frequencies that a communications
channel or cable can carry.In general use, the term
refers to the volume of data that can travel on a
bus or over a cable stated in bits per second. |
MAC (Media Access Control) address | A 48-bit
hardware address unique to each NIC card or
onboard network controller and assigned by the
manufacturer. The address is often printed on the
adapter as hexadecimal numbers. An example is
00 00 0C 08 2F 35. |
multicasting | A process in which a message is sent by
one host to multiple hosts, such as when a video
conference is broadcast to several hosts on the
Internet. |
name resolution | The process of associating a
character-based computer name to an IP address. |
NAT (Network Address Translation) | A protocol used
to convert private IP addresses on a LAN to a
public IP address before a data packet is sent over
the Internet. |
NetBEUI (NetBIOS Extended User Interface) | A fast,
proprietary, and outdated Microsoft networking
protocol used only by Windows-based systems,
and limited to LANs because it does not support
routing. |
NetBIOS (Network Basic Input/Output System) | An
API protocol used by some applications to
communicate over a NetBEUI network. NetBIOS
has been replaced by Windows Sockets over a
TCP/IP network. |
network adapter | An expansion card
that plugs into a computer’s motherboard and
provides a port on the back of the card to connect
a PC to a network. Also called a network adapter. |
LAN (local area network) | A computer network that
covers only a small area, usually within one building. |