Your Network; Networking Terminology - 3Com OfficeConnect 140 User Manual

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Networking Terminology

A Network is a collection of workstations (for example,
IBM-compatible PCs) and other equipment (for example,
printers), connected for the purpose of exchanging
information or sharing resources. Networks vary in size,
some are within a single room, others span continents.
A Local Area Network (LAN) is a network, usually in an office,
that spans no more than a single site.
Ethernet is a type of LAN, referring to the technology used to
pass information around the network. It operates at
10Mbps (megabits per second).
Fast Ethernet i s a type of LAN that runs up to ten times faster
than standard Ethernet. It operates at 100Mbps.
10BASE-T is the name given to the Ethernet protocol that runs
over Twisted Pair (TP) cable.
100BASE-TX is the name given to the Fast Ethernet p rotocol
that runs over Twisted Pair (TP) cable.
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A Network Loop occurs when two pieces of network equipment
are connected by more than one path.
A Segment is the length of c able connected to a port .
Packets are the units of information your workstations and other
equipment send to each other over the network.
A Frame is the data part of the packet and can be
Unicast (sent to a single device), Multicast (sent to
multiple devices), or Broadcast (sent to all devices).
Bandwidth refers to the amount of network traffic the network
can hold at any one time (information capacity)
measured in bits per second (bps) . Workstations or
applications that use the network heavily are referred to
as using high bandwidth (these are usually users who do
a lot of graphical or multi-media work across the
network). Fast Ethernet has a higher bandwidth than
Ethernet, so it can cope with larger amounts of traffic
which results in faster operation.
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