5. Glossary
ADSL
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
ADSL is a technology for transmitting digital
information at a high bandwidth on existing
phone lines to homes and businesses.
Unlike regular dial-up phone service, ADSL
provides continuously-available, “always
on” connection. ADSL is asymmetric in
that it uses most of the channel to transmit
downstream to the user and only a small
part to receive information from the user.
ADSL simultaneously accommodates analog
(voice) information on the same line. ADSL is
generally offered at downstream data rates
from 512 kbit/s to about 6 Mbit/s.
ADSL2+
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line 2+
ADSL2 plus doubles the bandwidth used for
downstream data transmission, effectively
doubling the maximum downstream data
rates, and achieving rates of 20 Mbit/s on
phone lines as long at 5,000 feet. ADSL2+
solutions will most commonly be multimode,
interoperating with ADSL and ADSL2, as
well as with ADSL2+ chipsets.
Chat
The content of audio/video streaming
Client
On a local area network or the Internet, a
computer that accesses shared network
resources provided by another computer
(called a server).
DHCP
Dynamic Host Confi guration Protocol
DHCP is a client-server networking protocol.
Most organizations use DHCP. A DHCP server
provides confi guration parameters specifi c to
the DHCP client host requesting, generally,
information required by the host to participate
on the Internet network. DHCP also provides a
mechanism for allocation of IP addresses
to hosts.
DLNA
Digital Living Network Alliance defi nes a
standard for moving movies, photos, music
and other media from device to device. DLNA
servers can store media in one location
without setup or confi guration, can stream
the media to DLNA compliant devices
like Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. For more
information see www.dlna.org
DNS
Domain Name System
A hierarchical way of tracking domain names
and their addresses, devised in the mid-1980s.
The DNS database does not rely on one fi le or
even one server, but rather is distributed over
several key computers across the Internet
to prevent catastrophic failure if one or a few
computers go down. DNS is a TCP/IP service
that belongs to the Application layer of the
OSI model.
Ethernet
Architecture developed by Xerox Corporation
in cooperation with DEC and Intel in 1976.
Ethernet uses a bus or star topology and
supports data transfer rates of 10 Mbit/s. The
Ethernet specifi cation served as the basis for
the IEEE 802.3 standard, which specifi es the
physical and lower software layers. Ethernet
uses the CSMA/CD access method to handle
simultaneous demands. It is one of the most
widely implemented LAN standards.
IEEE
Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a standards
organization for computer and electronic
devices. Its senior members are IEEE fellows.
Internet
Largest global internet work, connecting
tens of thousands of networks worldwide and
having a ‘culture’ that focuses on research and
standardization based on real-life use. Many
leading-edge network technologies come from
the Internet community. The most important
uses for the internet are:
Email
The world wide web (www)
Transfer of data
Discussion forums
Transfer of data peer-to-peer
Internet browser
A computer program that allows users to view
information from the Internet. To use an
internet browser, you type in the URL of
a website, and the internet browser then
connects your computer to the website, and
shows the information there on your screen.
IP
Internet Protocol
The set of standards responsible for ensuring
that data packets transmitted over the Internet
are routed to their intended destinations.
IP address
An IP address is the logical address of a
network adapter. The IP address uniquely
identifi es computers on a network. An IP
address can be private, for use on a LAN, or
public for use on the internet.
Kbit/s
Kilobit per second
A unit used to express the speed of a network.
LAN
Local Area Network
A computer network covering a small local
area, like a home, offi ce, or small group of
buildings such as a home, offi ce, or college.
Current LANs are most likely to be based on
switched Ethernet or Wi-Fi technology
running at 10, 100 or 1,000 Mbit/s (1,000
Mbit/s is also known as 1 Gbit/s).
MAC address
It is a hardware address that uniquely identifi es
each node of a network.
Mbit/s
Megabit per second
A unit used to express the speed of a network.
NAPT
Network Address Port Translation
NAPT enables a local area network (LAN)
to use one set of IP addresses for internal
traffi c and a second set of addresses for
external traffi c.
PPPoE
Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet
PPPoE is a network protocol for encapsulating
PPP frames in Ethernet frames. It is used
mainly with DSL services. It offers standard PPP
features such as authentication, encryption,
and compression.
Protocol
On the Internet, “protocol” usually refers to
a set of rules that defi ne an exact format for
communication between systems.
Server
A computer or program that responds to
commands from a client. For example, a fi le
server may contain an archive of data or
program fi les. When a client submits a request
for a
fi le, the server transfers a copy of the fi le
to the client.
SSID
A SSID (Service Set Identifi er) is the name of a
particular local wireless network to which a
user wants to connect. Broadbcasting SSID’s
displays a list of wirelss networks in range
allowing the user to select a preferred one.
Subnet mask
The technique used by the IP protocol to
determine which network segment packets
are destined for. The subnet mask is a binary
pattern that is stored in the client machine,
server or router, and is matched with the IP
address.
TCP
Transmission Control Protocol
The reliable transport protocol within the TCP/
IP protocol suite. TCP ensures that all data
arrive accurately and 100% intact at the other
end. TCP’s unreliable counterpart is UDP, which
is used for streaming media, VoIP and video
conferencing.
TCP/IP
A suite of communications protocols used to
connect hosts on the Internet. TCP/IP uses
several protocols, the two main ones being
TCP and IP.
TKIP
Temporal Key Integrity Protocol
Using TKIP, automatically changes the keys at
a preset time interval, making it much more
diffi cult for hackers to fi nd and exploit them.
UDP
User Datagram Protocol
One of the TCP/IP suite of protocols for data
transfer, which allows an application program
on one machine to send a datagram to an
application program on another machine.
URL
Universal Resource Locator
The global address of documents and other
resources on the world wide web.
USB
Universal Serial Bus
USB is a serial protocol and physical link, which
transmits all data differentially on a single
pair of wires. Another pair provides power to
downstream peripherals.
Virtual server
A virtual server allows you to direct incoming
traffi c from the Internet (identifi ed by protocol
and external port) to an internal server with a
private IP address on the LAN.
WAN
Wide Area Network
WAN usually refers to a network which covers a
large geographical area, and uses
communications circuits to connect the
intermediate nodes. A major factor impacting
WAN design and performance is a requirement
that they lease communications circuits
from telephone companies or other
communications carriers.
WEP
Wired Equivalent Privacy
Part of the IEEE 802.11 standard (ratifi ed in
September 1999), and is a scheme used to
secure wireless networks (Wi-Fi). Because
a wireless network broadcasts messages
using radio, it is particularly susceptible to
eavesdropping; WEP was designed to provide
comparable confi dentiality to a traditional
wired network, hence the name.
WiFi
Wireless Fidelity
A wireless data networking protocol generally
used to connect PCs to a network. Also known
as 802.11b and WLAN (Wireless LAN), it is the
most common means of wireless networking
and operates at 2.4 GHz.
WPA Key
This is your Network Key to access your secure
wireless connection. You will fi nd your default
one on the rear panel of your Vodafone Station.
WPS
Wireless Protected Setup is a standard for
easy and secure establishment of a wireless
home network. A WPS (Push Button) allows
home users who know little of wireless security
to confi gure their WiFi Protected Access at the
touch of a button.
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