Chapter 6: General Procedures; Glossary - BeaconMedaes MedPlus TotalAlert Operation And Maintenance

Glossary

Chapter 6: General Procedures

Glossary

The glossary of terms used to describe the Information Systems Requirements
are as follows:
ARP—This is an Address Resolution Protocol. It allows one device to learn the
MAC (Media Access Controller) address of another device so it can send it an
Ethernet packet.
Devices keep an ARP table of other devices that they have recently sent packets
to, so they can look them up quickly. But, if a device is not in the ARP table, a
request must be sent out across the network. When a device needs to send a
packet to IP address 1.2.3.4, but does not know the MAC address, it broadcasts
an ARP request which asks all devices; "Is there anyone out there that has IP
address 1.2.3.4?" The device on the network with that IP address responds with
its MAC address. ARPs broadcasts consume network bandwidth.
AUTOIP™—A method for a device to assign itself an IP address in an un-man-
aged network.
Device Name—The word Master plus its unique serial number. The serial num-
ber is found on the back of the Master Alarm Module.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)—A protocol used by a server
to assign IP addresses to devices and computers.
Domain Name Server (DNS)—A device that has a list of device names matched
to IP addresses. Browsers use this resource to locate the IP address of a named
device. NetBios name service provides this function on a local network.
Ethernet—A standard high-speed network medium that the network information
travels on. Specified by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
IEEE) 802.3. Typically 10 megabits per second (10BaseT).
(
Ethernet Hub—A device that connects many Ethernet devices together. All
devices on the hub receive messages sent from all of the other connected devices.
Ethernet Switch—A device that connects many Ethernet devices together with
optimization. Message destinations are examined and passed only to the correct
6
device. 10BaseT can connect at optimum speed. Switches improve network per-
formance.
Fire-wall—A computer or computer software that prevents unauthorized access
to private data from outside computer users.
MedPlus TotalAlert® Alarm Network Operation and Maintenance Manual (205728) Page 6-3