Multitech CommPlete MT5634HD8 User Manual Download

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Glossary

CommPlete Communications Server

Interface:

A common meeting ground supplied

by hardware or software to facilitate a
compatible connection and operation between
two devices or programs. For example, when
two PCs are connected they use a common
interface across the physical connectors so that
the signals being sent and received are
accurately interpreted. With software, an
interface is a module created to be “written to”.
That is, if two programs are written to the same
interface, they can be successfully linked
together.

IPX (Internet Packet Exchange)

: A data

transport protocol developed by Novell used to
route messages from one node to another.
Application programs that manage their own
client/server or peer-to-peer communications in
a Novell network can access IPX directly. IPX
does not guarantee the delivery of a message.
Compare with SPX.

IRQ Level (Interrupt Request Level)

: The

notification a processor receives when another
portion of the computer’s hardware requires its
attention. IRQs are numbered so that the device
issuing the IRQ can be identified, and so IRQs
can be prioritized.

ISA (Industry Standards Architecture -
pronounced “ice a”)

: The classic 8 or 16-bit

architecture introduced with IBM’s PC-AT
computer. Due to speed constraints, IBM
introduced a restructured Micro Channel
Architecture with a 32-bit bus and increased
addressing capabilities.

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital
Network)

: International telecommunications

standard for transmitting voice, video and data
over a digital communications line.

ISI (Intelligent Serial Interface

): Multi-

Tech’s multiport serial card with an on-board
processor and 50K or RAM for data buffering.
The ISI does more than provide additional
serial ports. It enhances the serial port
performance with the data buffering, and it
holds the data it receives until an entire block
can be transferred to the processor. This allows
the computer’s processor to be interrupted less
often, so it can perform more efficiently.

Job

: The unit of work being processed by the

computer.

Kermit

: An asynchronous file transfer protocol

noted for its accuracy over noisy lines.

Kernel

: The core of an operating system which

interacts directly with the system hardware.
While most operating systems are based on the
concept of a kernel, the term is best recognized
as a fundamental of the UNIX operating
system. Kernels have been expanded to include
commonly-used utilities, but with the advent of
the “micro kernel”, the original modular design
of UNIX is being revived.

Kilobit

: One thousand bits. A unit of measure

for digital data rates.

Kilobyte

: One thousand bytes. A unit of

measure for digital data rates. Not to be
confused with “K”, which stands for z

bytes of

storage space, either in memory or on disk. 1K
of disk space is actually 1024 bytes. 16K is
65,536 bytes, and 1M (meg) is 1,048,576 bytes.

LAM (Line Adapter Module)

: The cabling

that connects the phone line to the PCMCIA
modem card.

LAN Card

: An IC Card that complies with the

PCMCIA Card Services Interface Specification,
Release 2.0. LAN cards can be connected to
laptops or palmtop computers which, in turn,
can be interconnected to local LAN services.

Leased Line

: A private, dedicated

communications channel that connects two
locations. This connection lasts for the duration
of the subscription. Leased lines may be
conditioned to improve line quality over that of
dial-up lines.

Line Conditioning:

An additional cost option

offered by the telephone company for their
leased, voice-grade lines. The service provides
a careful balance of line enhancements to
improve the frequency response and to reduce
distortion.

LPTx (Line Printer)

: The parallel port

interface on a PC. It provides a 25-pin connector
for parallel transfer of data and printer
controls, commonly used for parallel printers. A
maximum of four I/O addresses are set with
DOS parameters LPT1, LPT2, LPT3 and LPT4.