3Com 4005 Installation And Maintenance Manual Download

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LOSSARY

interoperability

The ability of computer equipment from one vendor to communicate and
exchange information with equipment from other vendors.

IP address

Internet Protocol address. A unique identity for a machine that is attached to a
network that consists of two or more interconnected local area or wide area
networks.

LAN

Local Area Network. A data communications network that spans a limited
geographical area, such as a single building or campus. It provides communication
between computers and peripherals. LANs have small geographical size, high data
rate, and low error rate.

Layer 2

Data-link layer of the OSI Reference Model. Defines the rules for sending and
receiving data across the physical connection between two systems.

Layer 3

Network layer of the OSI Reference Model. Defines protocols for routing data by
opening and maintaining a path on the network between systems to ensure that
data arrives at the correct destination node.

LED

Light emitting diode. Semiconductor device that emits light produced by
converting electrical energy. Status lights on hardware devices are typically LEDs.

local management

Issuing commands to a network device using a terminal or PC with terminal
emulation software that is directly connected to the device. Contrasts with

remote

management

, where commands travel from a remote PC over a network to the

device.

MIB

Management Information Base. A database of network management information
that describes specific aspects of individual network components.

MMF

Multimode fiber. An optical fiber with a core diameter of from 50 to 100 microns.
It is the most commonly used optical fiber for short distances. Light can enter the
core at different angles, making it easier to connect the light source. However,
light rays bounce around within the core, which can cause some distortion and
thus provide less bandwidth than singlemode fiber.

modem

Modulator/demodulator. The device that converts serial digital data from a
transmitting terminal to a signal suitable for transmission over a telephone
(analog) channel. At the other end, another modem converts the analog signal to
digital data for use by the computers.

multicast

A special form of broadcast where copies of the packet are delivered only to a
subset of all possible destinations. Delivery is based on membership to a specific
multicast group. Hosts can use the IGMP protocol to signal membership requests
to switches or routers. Routers use various multicast routing protocols to build
delivery trees.

multiplexing

A function within a layer that interleaves the information from multiple
connections into one connection.

OSPF

Open Shortest Path First. Interior Gateway Protocol for TCP/IP networks; uses the
Dijkstra algorithm, a link-state routing algorithm that calculates routes for packets
based on a number of factors, including least hops, speed of transmission lines,
and congestion delays.