100Base-T - An extension to IEEE 802.3 (802.3u) supporting rates up to 100Mbits/sec
10Base-T - The IEEE Standard (802.3) for 10Mbits/sec Ethernet networks with twisted pair cabling, a wiring hub, and star topology.
Access Point - A wireless LAN 'hub' implemented in hardware or software that increases range and enhances security. Can also connect a wireless LAN to a wired LAN or the Internet.
Ad-hoc mode - Direct client communications mode for two PCs using wireless networking.
ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line - Greatly increases the amount of data that can be transmitted over existing copper phone lines. Rates up to 9Mbits/sec are possible.
ANSI - American National Standards Institute - A character set that is a standardised superset of the ASCII character set.
ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange - A standardised number code for letters, digits and other characters that can be read by any word processor or text editor.
Backbone - A length of Ethernet cable that is used to connect two or more hubs or switches.
Bridge - A device or setup that connects and passes data, voice, or video between two network segments based on the destination field in the packet header. Ascend units are learning bridges, because they pass all packets to the next network segment (the ISDN line) and build a table identifying the destination addresses that are local and remote. After learning the addresses on both sides of a network, the bridge passes only packets for the remote network.
Broadband - Refers to high-speed Internet access, technically applied when a single medium carries multiple channels, e.g. cable, or ADSL.
Category 5 - Standard cable for LANs. It has four twisted pairs of copper that may be shielded or unshielded.
Client - A network-connected computer that requests a service such as a shared file or printing from another computer or server on the network.
Crossover cable - A twisted pair Ethernet cable in which the receive and transmit wires have been transposed, allowing two devices, usually computers but sometimes hubs, to be directly connected.
DECT - Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications - Wireless technology employing time-division multiple access standard to provide multiple channels for concurrent voice and data streams.
DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol - An automatic system for configuring TCP/IP hosts on a network, DHCP can supply systems with an IP address and other essential details making it much easier to control multiple systems.
DNS - Domain Name System - A TCP/IP service that enables you to specify a symbolic name instead of an IP address. A symbolic name consists of a user name and a domain name in the format user name@domain name. The user name corresponds to the host number in the IP address. The domain name corresponds to the network number in the IP address. A symbolic name might be info@betterfuturesolutions.co.uk. The domain identifier is the last part of the domain name, and identifies the type of organization to which the host belongs. DNS maintains a database of network numbers and corresponding domain names. When you use a symbolic name, DNS translates the domain name into an IP address, and sends it over the network. When the Internet service provider receives the message, it uses its own database to look up the user name corresponding to the host number.
Domain Name - The portion of a symbolic name that corresponds to the network number in the IP address. In the symbolic name info@betterfuturesolutions.co.uk, the domain name is betterfuturesolutions.co.uk.
DPI - Dots Per Inch - The scale by which some manufacturers gauge the quality of their printers. In its simplest terms, the number of drops of ink a printer can lay down along a one inch line, either horizontally or vertically.
Driver - Code that takes Operating System commands and translates them into commands that a particular piece of hardware can understand.
Duplexing Unit - Printer attachment that automatically turns the paper over to print double-sided pages.
Ethernet - A shared media 10Mbits/sec LAN employing 10Base-T twisted pair cabling. Defined by IEEE 802.3 in which all devices on the network share the total bandwidth.
Firewall - Protects networks from unauthorised incoming and outgoing access.
FTP - File Transfer Protocol - Internet protocol used for sending files.
Gateway - The point at which data moves between networks.
HTML - Hypertext Markup Language - Used to define what each part of a page is - heading, table data, paragraph etc.
Hub - Used in LANs to connect network nodes such as computers and hubs. The central connection point for computers in star topology networks.
ICT - Information and Communications Technology
IEEE - The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers sets standard specifications for computers and communications. It is mainly concerned with the mechanical and electrical aspects of cabling, wireless and NICs.
IP Address - An address that uniquely identifies each host on a network or internet.
JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group. Most common image file used by digital cameras and on the web. Employs glossy compression, but at a user-variable level.
LAN - Local Area Network.
NAT - Network Address Translation - allows a network of computers to present a single IP address to the Internet.
NIC - Network Interface Card.
PCL - Printer Control Language - Developed by Hewlett Packard to send control codes and graphics commands to its printers, along with the mostly text-based data.
PDF - Portable Document Format - Adobe's cross-platform system for portable electronic documents.
Peer Network - Network where all computers are equal. There is no server so network control devolves equally to each computer. Also known as peer-to-peer.
Postscript - Adobe's industry standard page description language.
Router - A device used to route data between different logical networks.
Server - A high performance computer dedicated to serving client computers and managing network services.
Switch - A switching hub only enables the connection to anode when data flows to and from the node, thus preserving bandwidth for those nodes that are actually in use at any one time.
TWAIN - PC standard for scanner drivers. Activated using the Acquire option on an imaging application's File menu, the TWAIN driver presents all the scanner's capture options. Strangely enough the acronym stands for "Technology Without An Interesting Name".
WAN - Wide Area Network.
WEP - Wired Equivalent Privacy - key-based data encryption defined by IEEE 802.11 to prevent eavesdropping and unauthorised access by devices using similar wireless LAN equipment.
Wizard - A utility within a program which helps the user perform a task by leading them through the specific stages.
WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get - A term used to describe the way in which some packages represent on screen exactly what you will see when a document is printed.
XML - Extensible Markup Language - A web-authoring language that allows designers to create their own customised layout elements.
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