3Com 005687-03 Manual page 116

bits per second (bps)
The bits (binary digits) per second rate.
Thousands of bits per second are expressed as
kilobits per second (kbps).
buffer
A temporary memory area used as storage
during input and output operations. An
example is the modem's command buffer.
byte
A group of binary digits stored and operated
upon as a unit. Most often the term refers to 8-
bit units or characters. One kilobyte (KB) is
equal to 1,024 bytes or characters; 640 KB is
equal to 655,360 bytes or characters.
112
G
LOSSARY
carrier
The basic signal altered or modulated by the
modem in order to carry information.
character
A representation, coded in binary digits, of a
letter, number, or other symbol.
characters per second (CPS)
A data transfer rate generally estimated from
the bit rate and the character length. For
example, at 2400 bps, 8-bit characters with
start/stop bits (for a total of ten bits per
character) will be transmitted at a rate of
approximately 240 characters per second
(cps). Some protocols, such as error-control
protocols, employ advanced techniques such
as longer transmission frames and data
compression to increase cps.