F
FFT
Fast Forward Table. Provides information about forwarding routes. If a packet arrives to a device with a known route, the packet is forwarded via a route listed in the FFT. If there is not a known route, the CPU forwards the packet and updates the FFT.
FIFO
First In First Out. A queuing process where the first packet in the queue is the first packet out of the packet.
Flapping
Flapping occurs when an interfaces state is constantly changing. For example, an STP port constantly changes from listening to learning to forwarding. This may cause traffic loss.
Flow Control
Enables lower speed devices to communicate with higher speed devices, that is, that the higher speed device refrains from sending packets.
Fragment
Ethernet packets smaller than 576 bits.
Frame
Packets containing the header and trailer information required by the physical medium.
G
GARP
General Attributes Registration Protocol. Registers client stations into a Multicast domain.
Gigabit Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet transmits at 1000 Mbps, and is compatible with existing 10/100 Mbps Ethernet standards.
GVRP
GARP VLAN Registration Protocol. Registers client stations into a VLANs.
H
HOL
Head of Line. Packets are queued. Packets at the head of the queue are forwarded before packets at the end of the line.
Host
A computer that acts as a source of information or services to other computers.
HTTP
HyperText Transport Protocol. Transmits HTML documents between servers and clients on the internet.
I
IC
Integrated Circuit. Integrated Circuits are small electronic devices composed from semiconductor material.
ICMP
Internet Control Message Protocol. Allows gateway or destination host to communicate with a source host, for example, to report a processing error.
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Glossary