Reference Material, cont’d
IPL 250 • Reference Material
A-6
MAC (Media Access Control) Address is a unique hardware number given to
devices that connect to a network such as the Internet. When a computer or
networking device (router, hub, interface, etc.) is connected to a LAN or the
Internet, a table (see ARP) relates the device’s IP address to its corresponding
physical (MAC) address on the LAN.
Ping is a utility/diagnostic tool that tests network connections. It is used to
determine if the host has an operating connection and is able to exchange
information with another host.
Port number is a preassigned address within a server that provides a direct route
from the application to the transport layer or from the transport layer to the
application of a TCP/IP system.
SSI (server side include) is a type of HTML instruction set that tells the IPL 250 (or
some other Web server) dynamically which material to include in the contents
of a Web page or e-mail. SSI files typically have a file extension of .shtml.
Static IP refers to an IP address that has been specifically (instead of dynamically—
see DHCP above) assigned to a device or system in a network configuration.
This type of address requires manual configuration of the actual network
device or system and can only be changed manually or by enabling DHCP.
Subnet — See subnetwork.
Subnet address is the portion of an IP address that is specifically identified by the
subnet mask as the subnetwork.
Subnet mask is a 32-bit binary number (12 digit decimal number, xxx.xxx.xxx.
xxx) used on subnets (smaller, local networks) to help routers determine
which network traffic gets routed internally (within the subnetwork) to local
computers and which network traffic goes out to the rest of the network or
the Internet. It is an address mask used to identify the bits of an IP address
that are used for the subnet address. Using a mask, the router does not need
to examine all 32 bits, only those selected by the mask.
Subnetwork is a network that is part of a larger IP network and is identified by a
subnet address. Networks can be segmented into subnetworks to provide a
hierarchical, multilevel routing structure.
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is a connection-oriented protocol defined at
the Transport layer of the OSI reference model. It provides reliable delivery
of data.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is the communication
protocol of the Internet. Computers and devices with direct access to the
Internet are provided with a copy of the TCP/IP program to allow them to
send and receive information in an understandable form.
Telnet is a standard terminal emulation utility/protocol that allows a computer
to communicate with a remote user/client. A user who wishes to access a
remote system initiates a Telnet session using the address of the remote client.
The user may be prompted to provide a user name and password if the client
is set up to require them. Telnet enables users to log in on remote networks
and use those resources as if they were locally connected.
Tool tip is text that appears when the mouse pointer hovers over a button or other
item on screen.
UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is an Internet protocol for sending short packets of
information quickly between networked devices. It is faster than TCP and
is often used for broadcast and multicast communication, but it does not
include data verification to ensure that all packets arrived at their destination.