3Com 56K manual Transmission rate See it rate, Receiver/Transmitter

GLOSSARY 11

stop bit The signaling bit attached to the end of each character before characters are transmitted during Asynchronous Transmission.

shunt A small, plastic-and-metal piece used to cover sections of pins on a jumper. The shunt interconnects certain pins which, depending on the way the shunt is placed, determine functions.

S-registerAn area of NVRAM that is used to store a setting.

switch See central office switch.

terminal A device whose keyboard and display are used for sending and receiving data over a communications link. Differs from a microcomputer in that it has no internal processing capabilities. Used to enter data into or retrieve processed data from a system or network.

terminal mode An operational mode required for microcomputers to transmit data. In Terminal mode the computer acts as if it were a standard terminal such as a teletypewriter, rather than a data processor. Keyboard entries go directly to the modem, whether the entry is a modem command or data to be transmitted over the phone lines. Received data is output directly to the screen. The more popular communications software products control Terminal mode as well as enable more complex operations, including file transmission and saving received files.

throughput The amount of actual user data transmitted per second with-out the overhead of protocol information such as Start and Stop bits or frame headers and trailers. Compare characters per second.

transmission rate See it rate.

UART See Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter.

Universal A computer chip that controls the signaling that goes on through a Asynchronous computer's serial port.

Receiver/Transmitter

(UART)

UTP (Unshielded Twisted insulated copper wires bundled into an unshielded cable, Twisted Pair) commonly used in telephone wiring systems. Grades of UTP include

DTP (Datagrade Twisted Pair) and DIW (Distributed Inside Wire).

V.8 ITU-T recommendation that defines procedures for starting and ending sessions of data transmission.