3Com OfficeConnect 140 User Manual - Reating
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Networking Terminology
A
Network
is a collection of workstations (for example,
IBM-compatible PCs) and other equipment (for example,
printers), connected for the purpose of exchanging
information or sharing resources. Networks vary in size,
some are within a single room, others span continents.
A
Local Area Network (LAN)
is a network, usually in an office,
that spans no more than a single site.
Ethernet
is a type of LAN, referring to the technology used to
pass information around the network. It operates at
10Mbps (megabits per second).
Fast Ethernet
i
s a type of LAN that runs
up to
ten times faster
than standard Ethernet. It operates at 100Mbps.
10BASE-T
is the name given to the Ethernet protocol that runs
over
Twisted Pair (TP)
cable.
100BASE-TX
is the name given to the
Fast Ethernet p
rotocol
that runs over
Twisted Pair (TP)
cable.
A
Network Loop
occurs when two pieces of network equipment
are connected by more than one path.
A
Segment
is the length of
c
able connected to a port
.
Packets
are the units of information your workstations and other
equipment send to each other over the network.
A
Frame
is the data part of the packet and can be
Unicast
(sent to a single device),
Multicast
(sent to
multiple devices), or
Broadcast
(sent to all devices).
Bandwidth
refers to the amount of network traffic the network
can hold at any one time (information capacity)
measured in
bits per second (bps)
. Workstations or
applications that use the network heavily are referred to
as using high bandwidth (these are usually users who do
a lot of graphical or multi-media work across the
network). Fast Ethernet has a higher bandwidth than
Ethernet, so it can cope with larger amounts of traffic
which results in faster operation.
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