ZyXEL Communications Prestige 304 User Manual page 74

Prestige 304 Broadband Sharing Gateway with 4-Port Switch
L
LAN Local Area Network is a shared communication system to which many computers are
attached. A LAN, as its name implies, is limited to a local area. This has to do more
with the electrical characteristics of the medium than the fact that many early LANs
were designed for departments, although the latter accurately describes a LAN as well.
LANs have different topologies, the most common being the linear bus and the star
configuration.
LED Light Emitting Diode. LEDs are visual indicators that relay information about the
status of specific P304 functions to the user by lighting up, turning off or blinking.
LEDs are usually found on the front panel of the physical device. Examples include
Status, Power and System LEDS.
M
MAC On a local area network (LAN) or other network, the MAC (Media Access Control)
address is a computer's unique hardware number. (On an Ethernet LAN, it's the same
as your Ethernet address). The MAC layer frames data for transmission over the
network, then passes the frame to the physical layer interface where it is transmitted as
a stream of bits.
N
Name Resolution The allocation of an IP address to a host name. See also DNS.
Network Address Translation is the translation of an Internet Protocol address used
NAT
within one network to a different IP address known within another network - see also
SUA.
NetBIOS Network Basic Input/Output System. NetBIOS is an extension of the DOS BIOS that
enables a computer to connect to and communicate with a LAN.
Network Any time you connect two or more computers together, allowing them to share
resources, you have a computer network. Connect two or more networks together and
you have an internet.
Network Interface Card. A board that provides network communication capabilities to
NIC
and from a computer system. Also called an adapter.
O
P
The PPTP Access Concentrator (PAC) is the box that calls/answers the phone call and
PAC
J Glossary