LAN: Local Area Network. A LAN is a group of computers and devices connected together in a relatively
small area (such as a house or an office). The home network is considered a LAN.
MAC Address: MAC stands for Media Access Control. A MAC address is the hardware address of a
device connected to a network. The MAC address is a unique identifier for a device with an Ethernet
interface. It is comprised of two parts: 3 bytes of data that corresponds to the Manufacturer ID (unique for
each manufacturer), plus 3 bytes that are often used as the product’s serial number.
NAT: Network Address Translation. This process allows all of the computers on the home network to use
one IP address. Using the broadband router’s NAT capability, users can access the Internet from any
computer on the home network without having to purchase more IP addresses from the ISP.
Port: Network Clients (LAN PC) uses port numbers to distinguish one network application/protocol over
another. Below is a list of common applications and protocol/port numbers:
Application Protocol Port Number
Telnet TCP 23
FTP TCP 21
SMTP TCP 25
POP3 TCP 110
H.323 TCP 1720
SNMP UCP 161
SNMP Trap UDP 162
HTTP TCP 80
PPTP TCP 1723
PC Anywhere TCP 5631
PC Anywhere UDP 5632
PPPoE: Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet. Point-to-Point Protocol is a secure data transmission
method originally created for dial-up connections and PPPoE is for Ethernet connections. PPPoE relies on
two widely accepted standards, Ethernet and the Point-to-Point Protocol. It is a communications protocol
for transmitting information over Ethernet between different manufacturers.
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