92GLOSSARY

Fast Ethernet is 100 Mbps, and the bandwidth of Gigabit Ethernet is 1000 Mbps.

baud The signalling rate of a line, that is, the number of transitions (voltage or frequency changes) made per second. Also known as line speed.

BOOTP The BOOTP protocol allows you to automatically map an IP address to a given MAC address each time a device is started. In addition, the protocol can assign the subnet mask and default gateway to a device.

bridge A device that interconnects two LANs of a different type to form a single logical network that comprises of two network segments.

Bridges learn which endstations are on which network segment by examining the source addresses of packets. They then use this information to forward packets based on their destination address. This process is known as filtering.

broadcast A packet sent to all devices on a network.

broadcast storm Multiple simultaneous broadcasts that typically absorb all the available network bandwidth and can cause a network to fail. Broadcast storms can be due to faulty network devices.

cache Stores copies of frequently accessed objects locally to users and serves them to users when requested.

Classifier Classifies the traffic on the network. Traffic classifications are determined by protocol, application, source, destination, and so on. You can create and modify classifications. The Switch then groups classified traffic in order to schedule them with the appropriate service level.

collision A term used to describe two colliding packets in an Ethernet network. Collisions are a part of normal Ethernet operation, but a sudden prolonged increase in the number of collisions can indicate a problem with a device, particularly if it is not accompanied by a general increase in traffic.

CSMA/CD Carrier-sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection. The protocol defined in Ethernet and IEEE 802.3 standards in which devices transmit only after finding a data channel clear for a period of time. When two devices transmit simultaneously, a collision occurs and the colliding devices delay their retransmissions for a random length of time.

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3Com 3 manual Glossary