Glossary
GL-12
Cisco ASA 5500 Series Configuration Guide using the CLI
MGCP Media Gateway Control Protocol. Media Gateway Control Protocol is a protocol for the control of
VoIP calls by external call-control elements known as media gateway controllers or call agents. MGCP
merges the IPDC and SGCP protocols.
Mode See Access Modes.
Mode Config See IKE Mode Configuration.
Modular Policy
Framework
A means of configuring ASA features in a manner similar to Cisco IOS software Modular QoS CLI.
MS mobile station. Refers generically to any mobile device, such as a mobile handset or computer, that is
used to access network services. GPRS networks support three classes of MS, which describe the type
of operation supported within the GPRS and the GSM mobile wireless networks. For example, a Class
A MS supports simultaneous operation of GPRS and GSM services.
MS-CHAP Microsoft CHAP.
MTU maximum transmission unit. The maximum number of bytes in a packet that can flow efficiently
across the network with best response time. For Ethernet, the default MTU is 1500 bytes, but each
network can have different values, with serial connections having the smallest values. The MTU is
described in RFC 1191.
multicast Refers to a network addressing method in which the source transmits a packet to multiple destinations,
a multicast group, simultaneously. See also PIM, SMR.
N
N2H2 A third-party, policy-oriented filtering application that works with the ASA to control user web
access. N2H2 can filter HTTP requests based on the destination hostname, destination IP address,
username, and password. The N2H2 corporation was acquired by Secure Computing in October, 2003.
NAT Network Address Translation. Mechanism for reducing the need for globally unique IP addresses.
NAT allows an organization with addresses that are not globally unique to connect to the Internet by
translating those addresses into a globally routable address space.
NEM Network Extension Mode. Lets VPN hardware clients present a single, routable network to the remote
private network over the VPN tunnel.
NetBIOS Network Basic Input/Output System. A Microsoft protocol that supports Windows hostname
registration, session management, and data transfer. The ASA supports NetBIOS by performing NAT
of the packets for NBNS UDP port 137 and NBDS UDP port 138.
netmask See mask.
network In the context of ASA configuration, a network is a group of computing devices that share part of an
IP address space and not a single host. A network consists of multiple nodes or hosts. See also host,
Internet, intranet, IP, LAN, and node.
NMS network management system. System responsible for managing at least part of a network. An NMS is
generally a reasonably powerful and well-equipped computer, such as an engineering workstation.
NMSs communicate with agents to help keep track of network statistics and resources.