76 NB9/NB9W ADSL2+ VoIP Router
YML790 Rev8

APPENDIX D: GLOSSARY

10BASE-T A designation for the type of wiring used by Ethernet networks with a data rate of 10 Mbps. Also known as Category 3
(CAT 3) wiring. See also data rate, Ethernet.
100BASE-T A designation for the type of wiring used by Ethernet networks with a data rate of 100 Mbps. Also known as Category
5 (CAT 5) wiring. See also data rate, Ethernet.
ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. The most commonly deployed type of DSL for home users. The term asymmetrical
refers to its unequal data rates for downloading and uploading (the download rate is higher than the upload rate). The
asymmetrical rates benefit home users because they typically download much more data from the Internet than they
upload.
analog Of data, having a form is analogous to the data’s original waveform. The voice component in DSL is an analog signal.
See also digital.
ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode A standard for high-speed transmission of data, text, voice, and video, widely used within
the Internet. ATM data rates range from 45 Mbps to 2.5 Gbps. See also data rate.
authenticate To verify a user’s identity, such as by prompting for a password.
binary The “base two” system of numbers, that uses only two digits, 0 and 1, to represent all numbers. In binary, the number
1 is written as 1, 2 as 10, 3 as 11, 4 as 100, etc. Although expressed as decimal numbers for convenience, IP
addresses in actual use are binary numbers; e.g., the IP address 209.191.4.240 is 11010001.10111111.00000100.
11110000 in binary. See also bit, IP address, network mask.
bit Short for “binary digit,” a bit is a number that can have two values, 0 or 1. See also binary.
bps bits per second
bridging Passing data from your network to your ISP and vice versa using the hardware addresses of the devices at each
location. Bridging contrasts with routing, which can add more intelligence to data transfers by using network addresses
instead. The My ADSL Modem can perform both routing and bridging. Typically, when both functions are enabled, the
device routes IP data and bridges all other types of data. See also routing.
broadband A telecommunications technology that can send different types of data over the same medium. DSL is a broadband
technology.
Broadcast To send data to all computers on a network.
CO Central Office A circuit switch that terminates all the local access lines in a particular geographic serving area; a
physical building where the local switching equipment is found. xDSL lines running from a subscriber’s home connect
at their serving central office.
DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol DHCP automates address assignment and management. When a computer
connects to the LAN, DHCP assigns it an IP address from a shared pool of IP addresses; after a specified time limit,
DHCP returns the address to the pool.
DHCP relay Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol relay. A DHCP relay is a computer that forwards DHCP data between computers
that request IP addresses and the DHCP server that assigns the addresses. Each of the My ADSL Modem’s interfaces
can be configured as a DHCP relay. See DHCP.
DHCP server Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol server. A DHCP server is a computer that is responsible for assigning IP
addresses to the computers on a LAN. See DHCP.
digital Of data, having a form based on discrete values expressed as binary numbers (0’s and 1’s). The data component in
DSL is a digital signal. See also analog.
DNS Domain Name System. The DNS maps domain names into IP addresses. DNS information is distributed hierarchically
throughout the Internet among computers called DNS servers. When you start to access a web site, a DNS server looks
up the requested domain name to find its corresponding IP address. If the DNS server cannot find the IP address, it
communicates with higher-level DNS servers to determine the IP address. See also domain name.
domain name A domain name is a user-friendly name used in place of its associated IP address. For example, www.globespan.net
is the domain name associated with IP address 209.191.4.240. Domain names must be unique; their assignment is
controlled by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Domain names are a key element of
URLs, which identify a specific file at a web site, e.g., http://www.netcomm.com.au. See also DNS.
download To transfer data in the downstream direction, i.e., from the Internet to the user.