NetComm SmartVoice Gateway - Manual (Page 84)

84 SmartVoice Gateway(s) User Guide
YML832 Rev1
Appendix A: Glossary
10BASE-T A designation for the type of wiring used by Ethernet networks with a data rate of
10 Mbps. Also known as Category 3 (CAT 3) wiring. See also data rate, Ethernet.
100BASE-T A designation for the type of wiring used by Ethernet networks with a data rate of
100 Mbps. Also known as Category 5 (CAT 5) wiring. See also data rate, Ethernet.
ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. The most commonly deployed type of
DSL for home users. The term asymmetrical refers to its unequal data rates for
downloading and uploading (the download rate is higher than the upload rate).
The asymmetri cal rates benefit home users because they typically download much
more data from the Internet than they upload.
analog Of data, having a form is analogous to the data’s original waveform. The voice
component in DSL is an analog signal. See also digital.
ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode A standard for high-speed transmission of data, text,
voice, and video, widely used within the Internet. ATM data rates range from 45
Mbps to 2.5 Gbps. See also data rate.
authenticate To verify a user’s identity, such as by prompting for a password.
binary The “base two” system of numbers, that uses only two digits, 0 and 1, to represent
all numbers. In binary, the number 1 is written as 1, 2 as 10, 3 as 11, 4 as 100,
etc. Although expressed as decimal numbers for convenience, IP addresses in
actual use are binary numbers; e.g., the IP address 209.191.4.240 is 1101000
1.10111111.00000100.11110000 in binary. See also bit, IP address, network
mask.
bit Short for “binary digit,” a bit is a number that can have two values, 0 or 1. See also
binary.
bps bits per second
bridging Passing data from your network to your ISP and vice versa using the hardware
addresses of the devices at each location. Bridging contrasts with routing, which
can add more intelligence to data transfers by using network addresses instead.
The My ADSL Modem can perform both routing and bridging. Typically, when both
functions are enabled, the device routes IP data and bridges all other types of data.
See also routing.
broadband A telecommunications technology that can send different types of data over the
same medium. DSL is a broadband technology.
Broadcast To send data to all computers on a network.
CO Central Office A circuit switch that terminates all the local access lines in a
particular geographic serving area; a physical building where the local switching
equipment is found. xDSL lines running from a subscriber’s home connect at their
serving central office.
DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol DHCP automates address assignment and
management. When a computer connects to the LAN, DHCP assigns it an IP ad-
dress from a shared pool of IP addresses; after a specified time limit, DHCP returns
the address to the pool.