ANA-5910/5930/5940 User’s Guide
Glossary-8
management
protocol.
MMF/SMF
Multimode Fiber/Single Mode
Fiber. A fiber cable that uses
light pulses instead of electricity
to carry data. In MMF cable, the
light bounces off the cable’s
walls as it travels down, which
causes the signal to weaken
sooner and therefore data cannot
travel as much distance as wit h
single mode fiber. In SMF cables,
the light travels straight down
the cable. The size of the most
common cable/cladding is 62.5/
125 micron for MMF an d 8/ 125
micron for SSF.
Multicasting
The ability to send the same
message to multiple nodes in a
network. LAN technology
easily implements this function
because it is connectionless.
However, ATM must send the
same message to various nodes
by forming a multipoint
connection to all the nodes in the
group. In ATM, broadcasting is
converted to point-to-multipoint
connection.
Multiplexing
The transmission of multiple
signals over a single
communications line or
computer channel. The two
common multiplexing
techniques are Frequency
Division Multiplexing, which
separates signals by modulating
the data onto different carrier
frequencies; and Time Divi sion
Multiplexing, which separates
signals by interleaving bits one
after the other.
N
Network
A system of connected
computers set up to share data,
printers, and other devices.
NMS
Network Management Systems.
NMS is used on both private
and public networks to monitor
and control management agents.
NNI
Network-to-Network Interface.
The interface between ATM
switches or an ATM switch and
an entire switching syst em. Also
called Network-to-Node
Interface.
Node
An endpoint in a network,
typically a workstation or
personal computer.
O
Operating System
The software that c ontrols the
basic operation of the ho s t
computer. Examples are
MS-DOS, UNIX, and Ne tware.