Linksys BEFVP41 User Manual page 44

Throughput - The amount of data moved successfully from one place to anoth-
er in a given time period.
Topology - A network's topology is a logical characterization of how the
devices on the network are connected and the distances between them. The
most common network devices include hubs, switches, routers, and gateways.
Most large networks contain several levels of interconnection, the most impor-
tant of which include edge connections, backbone connections, and wide-area
connections.
Upgrade - To replace existing software or firmware with a newer version.
Upload - To transmit a file over a network. In a communications session,
upload means transmit, download means receive.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - The address that defines the route to a file
on the Web or any other Internet facility. URLs are typed into the browser to
access Web pages, and URLs are embedded within the pages themselves to pro-
vide the hypertext links to other pages.
UDP (User Datagram Protocol) - A method (protocol) used along with the IP
(Internet Protocol) to send data in the form of message units (datagram)
between network devices over a LAN or WAN. While IP takes care of handling
the actual delivery of the data (routing), UDP takes care of keeping track of the
individual units of data (called packets) that a message is divided into for effi-
cient delivery over the network. UDP is known as a "connection-less" protocol
due to NOT requiring the receiver of a packet to return an acknowledgment of
receipt to the sender of the packet (as opposed to TCP).
UTP - Unshielded twisted pair is the most common kind of copper telephone
wiring. Twisted pair is the ordinary copper wire that connects home and many
business computers to the telephone company. To reduce crosstalk or electro-
magnetic induction between pairs of wires, two insulated copper wires are
twisted around each other. Each signal on twisted pair requires both wires.
Since some telephone sets or desktop locations require multiple connections,
twisted pair is sometimes installed in two or more pairs, all within a single
cable.
VPN (Virtual Private Network) - A technique that allows two or more LANs to
be extended over public communication channels by creating private commu-
nication subchannels (tunnels). Effectively, these LANs can use a WAN as a
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Instant Broadband™ Series EtherFast Cable/DSL VPN Router with 4-Port 10/100 Switch
®
single large "virtually private" LAN. This removes the need to use leased lines
for WAN communications through secure use of a publicly available WAN
(such as the Internet). Examples of VPN technology are: PPTP (Point to Point
Tunneling Protocol), L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol), and IPSec (Internet
Protocol Security).
WAN (Wide Area Network)- A communications network that covers a rela-
tively large geographic area, consisting of two or more LANs. Broadband com-
munication over the WAN is often through public networks such as the tele-
phone (DSL) or cable systems, or through leased lines or satellites. In its most
basic definition, the Internet could be considered a WAN.
WINIPCFG - Configuration utility based on the Win32 API for querying,
defining and managing IP addresses within a network. A commonly used util-
ity for configuring networks with static IP addresses.
Workgroup - Two or more individuals that share files and databases.
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