StarTech.com WAP1011BB, Instruction Manual

26

ISP

(Internet Service Provider): A company that provides individuals or businesses with

access to the Internet.

ISP Gateway Address

: The IP address for the Internet router located at the ISP's office.

Your ISP can provide you with this address, if needed.

LAN

(Local Area Network): A group of computers and devices connected together in a

relatively small area (such as a house or an office).

MAC Address

(Media Access Control Address): A unique number assigned by the

manufacturer to any Ethernet networking device (such as a network adapter) that allows
the network to identify it at the hardware level. Also known as the physical address or
Ethernet number.

MTU

(Maximum Transmission Unit): The largest physical packet size (in bytes) that a

network can transmit. Any messages larger than the MTU are divided into smaller
packets before being sent.

NAT

(Network Address Translation): A process that allows a single public IP address to

represent several private IP addresses when accessing the Internet. This allows multiple
users on a network to share an Internet connection without having to purchase multiple
IP addresses from an ISP.

Network Mask: 

See Subnet Mask.

NIC

(Network Interface Card): A circuit board or card that is installed inside a computer

or network device so that the device can be connected to the Internet. Also known as a
network adapter.

Physical Address:

See MAC Address.

Private IP Address:

An IP address given to a LAN device that is unknown to the

Internet. These are unregistered IP addresses that have been set aside for use in a LAN
environment where constant connection to the Internet is not required. See also: NAT.

Protocol

: An objective set of rules for how computers communicate with each other

across networks. A protocol describes the form a message must take as well as how that
message is exchanged. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), for example, governs the
way information is exchanged on the World Wide Web.

Public IP Address

: A unique, “legal” IP address allocated by an ISP that is used when

accessing the Internet. A public IP address can be reached by another device over the
Internet. See also: NAT.

Router

: An intelligent network device that forwards packets between different networks

based on network layer address information such as IP addresses.

Static IP Address:

A dedicated, unique IP address that has been assigned to a given

computer or server for an extended period of time. Static IP addresses are useful if you
are operating a computer that other Internet users need to access, such as a web server.

SOHO 

(Small Office/Home Office): A small or at-home business.