HP P Class 733/800/866MHz / 1GHz Administrator's Manual page 113

Glossary
LAN activity light A light on the
front panel of some HP PCs which
indicates when the PC is accessing
the network.
legacy A term used to refer to older
hardware and software still in use. In
the Plug and Play context, legacy
means the installed base of adapter
cards that do not conform to the Plug
and Play standard.
LocalTalk The cabling scheme
supported by the AppleTalk network
protocol for Apple Macintosh
computers. LocalTalk is a 230-Kbs
medium access method which is
relatively slow, but popular because it
is inexpensive and easy to install and
maintain.
Loopback Test A diagnostic test in
which a transmitted signal is returned
to the sending device after passing
through all, or a part of, a network.
Loopback provides a way of
comparing the transmitted signal with
the returned signal for integrity.
MAC Media Access Control. The
MAC sublayer defines the medium-
independent capability for frame
transmission and reception using the
CSMA/CD_CD access method.
113 English
MAC address A 12-digit
hexadecimal number that identifies a
specific network node and allows
messages to be directed to that node
only. Because the IEEE has assigned
identifiers for each hardware
manufacturer, no two pieces of
equipment have the same address.
Your MAC address is unique.
MAC driver Media Access Control
driver. A driver responsible for the
lowest level of network device
control. A MAC device driver deals
directly with the network adapter.
Magic Packet™ The HP Ethernet
Family Adapter has a unique IEEE
address (MAC address). This address
repeated 16 times in-a-row within a
valid network packet was chosen to
serve as a wake-up call for the remote
power control.
MAU Medium Attachment Unit. The
physical and electrical interface
between a workstation or repeater
and the actual medium. The MAU is
connected to the station by an
attachment unit interface (AUI). A
different MAU is required to support
each different type of medium (cable
type).
MCA Micro Channel Architecture.
MCA is the architectural basis for
IBM's Micro Channel bus which is
used in high-end models of IBM's
PS/2 series of computers.
media Plural of medium. See below.