Instant PowerLineTM Series
Appendix B: Glossary
10BaseT - An Ethernet standard that uses twisted wire pairs.
100BaseTX - IEEE physical layer specification for 100 Mbps over two pairs of Category 5 UTP or STP wire.
Bridge - A device that interconnects different networks together.
CAT 5 - ANSI/EIA (American National Standards Institute/Electronic Industries Association) Standard 568 is one of several standards that specify “categories” (the singular is commonly referred to as “CAT”) of twisted pair cabling systems (wires, junctions, and connectors) in terms of the data rates that they can sustain. CAT 5 cable has a maximum throughput of 100 Mbps and is usually utilized for 100BaseTX networks.
CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection) - The LAN access method used in Ethernet. When a device wants to gain access to the net- work, it checks to see if the network is quiet (senses the carrier). If it is not, it waits a random amount of time before retrying. If the network is quiet and two devices access the line at exactly the same time, their signals collide. When the collision is detected, they both back off and each wait a random amount of time before retrying.
Default Gateway - The router used to forward all traffic that is not addressed to a station within the local subnet.
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) - A protocol that lets network administrators centrally manage and automate the assignment of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in an organization's network. Using the Internet's set of protocol (TCP/IP), each machine that can connect to the Internet needs a unique IP address. When an organization sets up its computer users with a con- nection to the Internet, an IP address must be assigned to each machine. Without DHCP, the IP address must be entered manually at each computer and, if computers move to another location in another part of the network, a new IP address must be entered. DHCP lets a network administrator supervise and dis- tribute IP addresses from a central point and automatically sends a new IP address when a computer is plugged into a different place in the network.
DHCP uses the concept of a “lease” or amount of time that a given IP address will be valid for a computer. The lease time can vary depending on how long a
PowerLine USB Adapter
user is likely to require the Internet connection at a particular location. It’s espe- cially useful in education and other environments where users change fre- quently. Using very short leases, DHCP can dynamically reconfigure networks in which there are more computers than there are available IP addresses.
DHCP supports static addresses for computers containing Web servers that need a permanent IP address.
DNS - The Domain Name System (DNS) is the way that Internet domain names are located and translated into Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. A domain name is a meaningful and
Driver - A workstation or server software module that provides an interface between a network interface card and the
Dynamic IP Address - An IP address that is automatically assigned to a client station in a TCP/IP network, typically by a DHCP server. Network devices that serve multiple users, such as servers and printers, are usually assigned static IP addresses.
Encryption - A security method that applies a specific algorithm to data in order to alter the data's appearance and prevent other devices from reading the information.
Ethernet - IEEE standard network protocol that specifies how data is placed on and retrieved from a common transmission medium. Has a transfer rate of 10 Mbps. Forms the underlying transport vehicle used by several
Fast Ethernet - A 100 Mbps technology based on the
Firmware - Programming that is inserted into programmable
HomePlug™ Powerline Alliance - A nonprofit organization established to provide a forum for the creation of specifications for home powerline net- working products and services.
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