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Glossary
IP
Internet Protocol
The IP protocol is one of the TCP/IP protocols. It is responsible for addressing parties in a
network using IP addresses, and routes data from the sender to the recipient. It decides
the paths along which the data packets travel from the sender to the recipient in a com-
plex network (routing).
IP address
An IP address is a network-wide unique address for 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 consists of the network address and the PC address. Depending on the
subnet mask, one, two or three parts form the network address, the remainder the PC
address. You can find out the IP address of your PC by entering ipconfig in the com-
mand 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 IP addresses. DNS is
responsible for assigning domain names to IP addresses.
ISP
Internet provider, see Internet Service Provider
LAN
Local Area Network
A local area 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 company
site). As a rule users and operators are identical. A local network can be connected to
other local networks or 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. You can find out the MAC address of
your PC by entering the ipconfig /all command in the "physical address" entry at
the prompt.
Mbps
Megabits per second / millions of bits per second (MBit/s)
Mbps is a unit that can be used to describe the speed of data transmission in a network.
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