GLOSSARY 121
Network Interface
Card (NIC)
A circuit board installed into a piece of computing equipment, for
example, a computer, that enables you to connect it to the network. A
NIC is also known as an adapter or adapter card.
Protocol A set of rules for communication between devices on a network. The
rules dictate format, timing, sequencing and error control.
PPPoE Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet. Point-to-Point Protocol is a method
of data transmission originally created for dial-up connections; PPPoE is
for Ethernet connections.
PPTP Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol is a method of secure data transmission
between two remote sites over the internet.
RIP Routing Information Protocol. RIP allows an administrator to set up
routing information on one RIP enabled device, and have that routing
information replicated to all RIP enabled devices on the network.
RJ-45 A standard connector used to connect Ethernet networks. The “RJ”
stands for “registered jack”.
Router A device that acts as a central hub by connecting to each computer's
network interface card and managing the data traffic between the local
network and the Internet.
Server A computer in a network that is shared by multiple end stations. Servers
provide end stations with access to shared network services such as
computer files and printer queues.
SPI Stateful Packet Inspection. This feature requires the firewall to remember
what outgoing requests have been sent and only allow responses to
those requests back through the firewall. This way, un-requested
attempts to access the network will be denied.
SSID Service Set Identifier. Some vendors of wireless products use SSID
interchangeably with ESSID.
Subnet Address An extension of the IP addressing scheme that allows a site to use a single
IP network address for multiple physical networks.