SMC Networks SMCWUSB32 manual

Subnet Mask - A subnet mask, which may be a part of the TCP/IP information provided by your ISP, is a set of four numbers configured like an IP address. It is used to create IP address numbers used only within a particular network (as opposed to valid IP address numbers recognized by the Internet.

TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. This is the standard protocol for data transmission over the Internet.

TCP - Transmission Control Protocol - TCP and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) are the two transport protocols in TCP/IP. TCP ensures that a message is sent accurately and in its entirety. However, for real-time voice and video, there is really no time or reason to correct errors, and UDP is used instead.

UDP - User Datagram Protocol - A protocol within the TCP/IP protocol suite that is used in place of TCP when a reliable delivery is not required. For example, UDP is used for real-time audio and video traffic where lost packets are simply ignored, because there is no time to retransmit. If UDP is used and a reliable delivery is required, packet sequence checking and error notification must be written into the applications.