3Com 3CSOHO100 manual Glossary, 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, Bios, bus mastering, client/server network

GLOSSARY

10BASE-T

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 standard for Ethernet signaling over unshielded twisted-pair wire at 10 Mbps.

100BASE-TX

IEEE 802.3u standard for Ethernet signaling over Category 5 unshielded twisted-pair wire at 100 Mbps.

BIOS

Basic Input/Output System. Collection of services on a ROM (read-only memory) chip that enables hardware and software, operating systems and applications, and applications and users to communicate with one another.

The BIOS on a PC can be updated and expanded to handle newer devices and greater demands. To get a newer BIOS, you replace the ROM chip in your PC with an upgraded chip.

bus mastering

Method for accessing the PC bus in which a card or device takes control of the bus in order to send data onto the bus directly, without help from the central processing unit (CPU).

client/server network

Networking architecture in which all shared applications and files are stored on one central computer known as a server. Network users (known as clients) can store their own files on their own PCs and then use the server to access shared files and peripherals, such as printers, fax machines, and modems.

Ethernet

IEEE standard network protocol that specifies how data is placed on and retrieved from a common transmission medium. Ethernet has a transfer rate of 10 Mbps.