Paradyne 8540, 8546 manual Glossary

Glossary

10BaseT	An Ethernet LAN that works on twisted-pair wiring.
Address	A symbol (usually numeric) that identifies the interface attached to a network.
Alarm System	Consists of an audible or visual alarm in the central office indicating the rack with an alarm
	condition.
ARP	Address Resolution Protocol. The TCP/IP protocol used to dynamically bind a high-level IP
	address to a low-level physical hardware address. ARP is only across a single physical
	network and is limited to networks that support hardware broadcast.
Authentication	An authentication server can either be a RADIUS server or an XTACACS server. An
Server	authentication server is used to confirm an end-user system's access location.
Backplane	A common bus at the rear of the HotWire 8800 DSL Access System chassis connecting
	each DSL card to the MCC card for diagnostic and network management. It also
	distributes dc power to each slot.
Bandwidth	The range of frequencies that a circuit can pass. The greater the bandwidth, the more
	information that can be sent in a given amount of time.
Bit	Binary digit. The smallest unit of information, representing a choice between a one or a
	zero (sometimes called mark or space).
BOOTP	Bootstrap Protocol. Protocol a host uses to obtain startup information , including its IP
	address, from a server.
bps	Bits per second. Indicates the speed at which bits are transmitted across a data
	connection.
byte	A sequence of successive bits (usually eight) handled as a unit in data transmission.
Central Office	The physical building where all local telephone service wiring is distributed to a
	surrounding area.
Default Route	An IP address specified as 0.0.0.0. A route used when no others have the desired
	destination.
DHCP	Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.
DHCP Relay Agent	A component of the dynamic IP-addressing mechanism. The DSL card in the DSLAM acts
	as a DHCP relay agent between the end-user system and the DHCP server. The DHCP
	relay agent detects and forwards a DHCP discover or request message to the appropriate
	DHCP server. It also tracks the end-user IP address and lease time from the DHCP
	acknowledgement by updating the routing tables automatically.
DNS	Domain Name System. An online distributed database that maps machine names into IP
	addresses.
Domain	A block of IP addresses. Syntactically, all IP addresses within a given domain would share
	a common IP address prefix of some length.
Downstream	In extended networks, the direction in which diagnostic messages flow from the diagnostic
	control site to any intermediate links and then to the final tributary modem.
DSL	Digital Subscriber Line. DSL is a copper loop transmission technology enabling high-speed
	access in the local loop.

8000-A2-GB20-20 November 1997 GL-1