ZyXEL Communications Prestige 642 User Manual page 60

Internet (Upper case I) The vast collection of inter-connected networks that all use the TCP/IP
protocols and that evolved from the ARPANET of the late 60's and early 70's. The Internet
now (July 1995) connects roughly 60,000 independent networks into a vast global internet
Intranet
A private network inside a company or organization that uses the same kinds of software that
you would find on the public Internet, but that is only for internal use.
IP
Internet Protocol he IP (currently IP version 4, or IPv4), is the underlying protocol for routing
packets on the Internet and other TCP/IP-based networks.
IPCP (PPP) IP Control Protocol allows changes to IP parameters such as the IP address.
IPX Internetwork Packet eXchange The native NetWare internetworking protocol is IPX
(Internetwork Packet Exchange). Like IP (Internet Protocol), IPX is an internetworking
protocol that provides datagram services.
ISP
Internet Service Providers provide connections into the Internet for home users and
businesses. There are local, regional, national, and global ISPs. You can think of local ISPs
as the gatekeepers into the Internet.
LAN Local Area Network is a shared communication system to which many computers are
attached. A LAN, as its name implies, is limited to a local area. This has to do more with the
electrical characteristics of the medium than the fact that many early LANs were designed for
departments, although the latter accurately describes a LAN as well. LANs have different
topologies, the most common being the linear bus and the star configuration.
MAC
On a local area network (LAN) or other network, the MAC (Media Access Control) address is
your computer's unique hardware number. (On an Ethernet LAN, it's the same as your
Ethernet address.) The MAC layer frames data for transmission over the network, then
passes the frame to the physical layer interface where it is transmitted as a stream of bits.
NAT
Network Address Translation is the translation of an Internet Protocol address used within
one network to a different IP address known within another network.
Network
Any time you connect 2 or more computers together so that they can share resources, you
have a computer network. Connect 2 or more networks together and you have an internet.
NIC Network Interface Card. A board that provides network communication capabilities to and
from a computer system. Also called an adapter.
Node
Any single computer connected to a network
PAP
Password Authentication Protocol PAP is a security protocol that requires users to enter a
password before accessing a secure system. The user's name and password are sent over
the wire to a server, where they are compared with a database of user account names and
passwords. This technique is vulnerable to wiretapping (eavesdropping) because the
password can be captured and used by someone to log onto the system.
PNC Prestige Network Commander, a Windows-based setup wizard for Prestige routers (not all).
Port
An Internet port refers to a number that is part of a URL, appearing after a colon (:) right after
the domain name. Every service on an Internet server listens on a particular port number on
that server. Most services have standard port numbers, e.g. Web servers normally listen on
port 80.
POTS Plain Old Telephone Service is the analog telephone service that runs over copper twisted-
pair wires and is based on the original Bell telephone system. Twisted-pair wires connect
homes and businesses to a neighborhood central office. This is called the local loop. The
central office is connected to other central offices and long-distance facilities.
PPP
Point to Point Protocol. PPP encapsulates and transmits IP (Internet Protocol) datagrams
over serial point-to-point links. PPP works with other protocols such as IPX (Internetwork
Packet Exchange). The protocol is defined in IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) RFC
Glossary
Prestige 642 ADSL Internet Access Router
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