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MAC address
See station address.
MAC frame
See packet.
MAU
medium attachment unit
See transceiver.
Mbit/s
Megabits per second (1,000,000 bits per second).
medium, media
The transmission connection between nodes. Most current LANs use cables (fiber-optic
or copper), although radio and other broadcast media are possible.
node
A computer or other addressable device on a network, including PCs, terminals, bridges,
routers, and mainframes. Usually, a node has a station address.
packet
A bit stream consisting of predefined fields that contain data, addresses, and control
information. In the IEEE 802.3 environment, this structure is often referred to as the
MAC frame. Packet is used in the Ethernet environment and is used in this guide because
it is the more commonly understood term. Different protocols have different packet and
frame specifications.
protocol
A set of rules that governs data transfer among devices on a network. A protocol
identifies the handshake type, packet size and format, timing, error recovery scheme,
word size or other characteristics of each transfer, depending on the system it is part of.
Glossary-5
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