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 | GS748T Smart Switch Hardware Installation Guide | 
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| Loop | An event that occurs when two network devices are connected by more | 
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 | than one path, thereby causing packets to repeatedly cycle around the | 
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 | network and not reach their destination. | 
| MAC | Media Access Control. A protocol specified by the IEEE for determining | 
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 | which devices have access to a network at any one time. | 
| MAC address | Media Access Control address; also called hardware or physical address. | 
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 | Most devices that connect to a LAN have a MAC address assigned to them, | 
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 | as they are used to identify other devices in a network. | 
| Port monitoring | The ability to monitor the traffic passing through a port on a device to | 
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 | analyze network characteristics and perform troubleshooting. | 
| Port speed | The speed that a port on a device uses to communicate with another device | 
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 | or the network. | 
| Port trunking | The ability to combine multiple ports on a device to create a single, high- | 
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 | bandwidth connection. | 
| Protocol | A set of rules for communication between devices on a network. | 
| Quality of Service | A term to describe delay, throughput, bandwidth, and other factors that | 
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 | measure the service quality provided to a user. | 
| Segment | A section of a LAN that is connected to the rest of the network using a | 
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 | switch, bridge, or repeater. | 
| SNMP | Simple Network Management Protocol. An IETF standard protocol for | 
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 | managing devices on a TCP/IP network. | 
| Switch | A device that interconnects several LANs to form a single logical LAN that | 
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 | comprises of several LAN segments. Switches are similar to bridges, in that | 
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 | they connect LANs of a different type; however they connect more LANs | 
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 | than a bridge and are generally more sophisticated. | 
| TCP/IP | Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. This is the name for two of | 
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 | the most  | 
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 | networks. Originally a UNIX standard, TCP/IP is now supported on almost | 
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 | all platforms, and is the protocol of the Internet. | 
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 | TCP relates to the content of the data traveling through a network — | 
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 | ensuring that the information sent arrives in one piece when it reaches its | 
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 | destination. | 
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 | IP relates to the address of the endstation to which data is being sent, as | 
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 | well as the address of the destination network. | 
| Traffic prioritization | Giving  | 
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 | critical data traffic. | 
| VLAN | Virtual LAN. A logical association that allows users to communicate as if | 
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 | they were physically connected to a single LAN, independent of the actual | 
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 | physical configuration of the network. | 
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| Glossary | 
