Siemens GIGASET 54 User Manual page 41

Glossary
IP
Internet Protocol
The IP protocol is one of the TCP/IP protocols. It is responsible for the addressing of par-
ticipants in a network using IP addresses and routes data from the sender to the recipi-
ent. It decides the paths along which the data packets travel from the sender to the
recipient in a complex network (routing).
IP address
An IP address is a network-wide unique address of a network component in a network
based on the TCP/IP protocol (e. g. in a local network (LAN) or on the Internet).
The IP address has four parts (values from 0 to 255) separated by periods
(e. g. 192.168.2.1). The IP address comprises the network address and the PC address.
Depending on the subnet mask one, two or three parts form the network address, the
remainder the computer address.You can find out the IP address of your PC by entering
ipconfig in the command prompt.
IP addresses can be assigned manually (see static IP address) or automatically
(see dynamic IP address).
On the Internet domain names are normally used instead of the IP addresses. DNS is
used to assign domain names to IP addresses.
ISP
Internet Service Provider
LAN
Local Area Network
A local network links network components so that they can exchange data and share
resources. The physical range is restricted to a particular area (e.g. a site). As a rule the
users and operators are identical. A local network can be connected to other local net-
works or to a wide-area network (WAN) such as the Internet.
MAC address
Media Access Control Address
The MAC address is used for the globally unique identification of a network adapter.
It comprises six parts (hexadecimal numbers), e.g. 00-90-96-34-00-1A.
The MAC address is assigned by the network adapter manufacturer and cannot be
changed. You can find out the MAC address of your PC by entering ipconfig/all in
the "physical address" entry in the command prompt.
Mbps
Megabits per second / Millions of bits per second (MBit/s)
Mbps is a unit which can be used to describe the speed when transmitting data in a net-
work.
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