Broadband - A data-transmission scheme in which multiple signals share the bandwidth of a medium. This allows the transmission of voice, data and video signals over a single medium. Cable television uses broadband techniques to deliver dozens of channels over one cable.

Browser - A browser is an application program that provides a way to look at and interact with all the information on the World Wide Web or PC. The word "browser" seems to have originated prior to the Web as a generic term for user interfaces that let you browse text files online.

Buffer - A buffer is a shared or assigned memory area used by hardware devices or program processes that operate at different speeds or with different sets of priorities. The buffer allows each device or process to operate without being held up by the other. In order for a buffer to be effective, the size of the buffer and the algorithms for moving data into and out of the buffer need to be considered by the buffer designer. Like a cache, a buffer is a "midpoint holding place" but exists not so much to accelerate the speed of an activity as to sup- port the coordination of separate activities.

Cable Modem - A device that connects a computer to the cable television net- work, which in turn connects to the Internet. Once connected, cable modem users have a continuous connection to the Internet. Cable modems feature asymmetric transfer rates: around 36 Mbps downstream (from the Internet to the computer), and from 200 Kbps to 2 Mbps upstream (from the computer to the Internet).

Category 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.

Default Gateway - The routing device used to forward all traffic that is not addressed to a station within the local subnet.

Denial of Service - A protocol that directs the network to no longer respond to requests that might arise as the result of a Denial of Service attack.

Denial of Service Attack - An assault on a network that floods it with so many additional requests that regular traffic is either slowed or completely interrupt- ed.

Wireless-G Cable Gateway

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) - A protocol that lets network administrators manage centrally 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 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.

DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) - Allows one IP address (or computer) to be exposed to the Internet. Some applications require multiple TCP/IP ports to be open. It is recommended that you set your computer with a static IP address if you want to use DMZ Hosting.

DNS - The domain name system (DNS) is the way that Internet domain name are located and translated into Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. A domain name is a meaningful and easy-to-remember "handle" for an Internet address.

Domain - A subnetwork comprised of a group of clients and servers under the control of one security database. Dividing LANs into domains improves per- formance and security.

Download - To receive a file transmitted over a network. In a communications session, download means receive, upload means transmit.

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Linksys WCG200 manual Wireless-G Cable Gateway