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Wild Packets - Networking terms Category: Agriculture and Industry > Networking terms Date & country: 24/02/2017, USA Words: 1152

NOS
Network operating system. Generic term used to refer to what are really distributed file systems.

NREN
National Research and Education Network. Component of the HPCC program designed to ensure US. technical leadership in computer communications through research and development efforts in state-of-the-art telecommunications and networking technologies.

NRM
normal response mode. HDLC mode for use on links with one primary station and one or more secondary stations. In this mode, secondary stations can transmit only if they first receive a poll from the primary station.

NRZ
nonreturn to zero. NRZ signals maintain constant voltage levels with no signal transitions (no return to a zero-voltage level) during a bit interval.

NTP
Network Time Protocol.

Nubus
One of a large number of computer bus architecture's used in Macintosh computers.

ODI
Open Data-link Interface. A Novell specification for network interface card device drivers that allows multiple protocol stacks to use the same card simultaneously.

OEM
Original Equipment Manufacture. A system of distribution where a company markets equipment purchased from another company under its own label.

Ohm
(Ω) A measure of the opposition to the flow of electric current.

OLE
Object Linking and Embedding. A Microsoft specification for the exchange of data objects between applications.

OpenDoc
An open cross-platform, compound document architecture developed by Apple with help and support from Novell and WordPerfect, among others.

OpenView
HP's SNMP console and network management system.

Operating System
A collection of system software routines that manages all of the peripherals, hardware components and other computing resources and processes in a computing device.

OS/2
IBM's operating system for 80x86 based systems.

Oscillate
A condition where a system changes between two or more configurations on a recurring basis.

Oscilloscope
A test device that can capture and display an oscillating electrical signal.

OSF
Open Software Foundation.

OSI
Open Systems Interconnection. Referring to the subset of the ISO that promotes and defines standards for open networking systems.

OSI 7-Layer Model
A method of describing the relationships between network protocols by grouping them according to the communication functions the protocols provide. The OSI model defines 7 distinct categories (Layers) that act successively on data as it makes its way between the user and the transmission media.

OSPF
Open Shortest Path First. A link state routing protocol for IP.

Out of Band
Referring to a transmission system that is separate and auxiliary to the network's transmission system and who's operability is independent of the operability of the network.

Output
A representation of a system's data that is externally visible.

Overwrite
An error condition that occurs when a process stores data in a location that it 1) has not properly allocated for that purpose or 2) has been allocated by another process.

Padding
Additional, meaningless data adds to a packet to increase its size.

Parity Checking
A method of error checking where an extra bit is used to signify the condition of a small group of data bits.

PDA
Personal Digital Assistant.

PDS
Processor Direct Slot. One of a large number of computer bus architecture's used in Macintosh computers.

Peek
A term used to describe the viewing of network data not ordinarily visible to a user.

Peer
In networking, a device to which a computer has a network connection that is relatively symmetrical, i.e. where both devices can initiate or respond to a similar set of requests.

Peripheral
1. Any hardware resource used by a computer that is external to a computer's enclosure case that is accessed by serial or parallel connections, or bus architectures such as SCSI, MIDI or VME.

Physical Address
A synonym for Hardware Address or MAC - layer address.

Pico
A prefix denoting a 1 trillionth portion of a unit of measure, as in picosecond or picofarad.

Pin
A type of electrical contact point for a single conductor.

Ping
1. A network diagnostic utility on Unix systems that sends an ICMP Echo Request to a distant node which must then immediately return an ICMP Echo Reply packet back to the originating node. 2. An ICMP Echo Request packet.

Plug
A synonym for male connector.

Poke
A term used to refer to the transmission of a packet on a network for test purposes only.

Polarity
A Term used to describe the orientation of a differential voltage.

Polling
A means of Media Access Control where a device may only transmit information when it is given permission to transmit by a controller device.

Port
On a network hub, bridge or router, a physically distinct and individually controllable set of transmission hardware. Each such port is connected to the devices other ports through the device's internal electronic structures.

POSIX
Portable Operating Systems Interface. An IEEE standard that specifies requirements for portable UNIX operating systems.

PostScript
An Extensible programming language that is capable of describing and drawing complex images that was developed by Adobe Systems.

Power PC
A Motorola-developed RISC chip. Also refers to the successor of the Macintosh powered by this chip.

PowerOpen
Apple's next-generation operating system co-developed with IBM.

PPC
1. Process-to-Process Communication. 2. Sometimes used as an acronym for PowerPC.

PPP
Point-to-Point Protocol. A specification for synchronous or asynchronous data communication between two routers or between a computer system and a network.

Precision
Referring to the smallest difference in measurement that a test instrument can distinguish.

Print Spooler
A Software process that accepts a print job from a workstation as if it were a printer and then sends the print job to an actual printer at a later time. There are two styles, a background spooler, where the print spooling process is resident in the same node as the process seeking the print service, and a hardware spooler, where the print spooling process is in a separate node.

Printer Driver
In the Macintosh, a System Extension that is intermediate between the CPU and the printer. It accepts the Macintosh's internal representation of an image and translates it into the control codes and image descriptions necessary for the printer to manufacture an image.

Program
A set of instructions that has been coded into a computer language and compiled into a machine language.

Promiscuous
A LAN station that receives and processes all of the packets on its network.

Protocol
In networking, a specification of the data structures and algorithms necessary to accomplish a particular network function.

Protocol Stack
A group of protocols, usually specified by a single vendor or organization, that are implemented at more than one Layer of the OSI 7-Layer model that also have Service Access Points defined.

Publish & Subscribe
An Apple proprietary method of defining and maintaining a live link between a file and an external piece of data.

Quantum
The maximum unit of time that a real-time process can occupy the CPU.

Query
A general term to describe the formation, usually in a prescribed format, that a computer process would use to retrieve specific information from another process as opposed to a wholesale transfer of data.

QuickTime
A multi-media technology developed by Apple.

RAM
Random Access Memory. A group of memory locations that are numerically identified to allow high speed access by a CPU. In random access, any memory location can be accessed at any time by referring to its numerical identifier as compared to sequential access, where memory location 6 can only be accessed after accessing memory locations 1-5.

RARP
Reverse Address Resolution Protocol. A method for workstations to ask a server for their IP address during bootstrap operations.

Reboot
A user activity where the user starts a computing device without interrupting its source of electrical power.

Receiver
The node or process for which a packet or other information is intended.

Remote Access
AppleTalk Remote Access. Apple's protocol that allows a single user to gain network access over a modern connection.

Repeater
A Physical Layer device which restores, amplifies, re-clocks or otherwise improves a network signal that it receives on one of its ports and transmits the improved signal without buffering or interpreting it.

ResEdit
A Macintosh utility that allows a user to modify the resource fork of an HFS file.

Reset button
A small button that, when pushed, will restart a Macintosh.

Resistor
A passive electrical device that adds resistance to a circuit.

Resource Fork
In a Macintosh file, the portion of the file that contains such auxiliary information as the menus, the dialog boxes and sounds that a file may require in addition to its data.

Response Time
The gap between the time when a user initiates an action and the time that the action displays its results.

RF Interference
Radio Frequency signals that degrade the integrity of a data signal.

RFC
Request For Comment. For the IETF, the document that specifies a standard after an exhaustive review process.

RFS
Remote File Sharing. The activity of sharing a file among remote computers.

Ring
A type of network topology where the devices are connected to a continuous conductor.

RIP
Routing Information Protocol. A distance vector routing protocol for IP.

ROM
Read Only Memory. A chip or other electronic device that contains memory that cannot be altered. In the Macintosh, the ROM contains the Macintosh OS and instructions for basic system operations.

Router
A device that forwards packets between networks according to the rules of a network layer protocol such as DDP and information it has gathered during its service concerning the structure of the internet.

RPC
Remote Procedure Call. A command given by one computer to a second computer over a network to execute a defined system call, such as in an NFS session.

RTT
Round Trip Time. the time between the transmission of a packet and the receipt of its acknowledgment or reply.

SAP
Service Access Point. The interface between one protocol and another in an adjacent layer.

Scalability
The suitability of a system (particularly a network system to operate properly and efficiently when configured on a large scale.

Script
A set of instructions that a computer can operate. Unlike a program, script instructions are not compiled into machine language but are interpreted by the system at the time of execution. Scripting languages for the Macintosh include HyperTalk, Frontier and AppleScript.

SCSI
Small Computer Systems Interface. A specification (ANSI X3T9.2) for a short distance ((6 meters max.) Local Area Network using bus topology for up to eight devices. The Macintosh uses this network for attaching devices such as external disk drives and scanners.

SDLC
Synchronous Data Link Control. IBM's specification for encapsulation of data over synchronous links. Analogous to HDLC.

Serial Port
A port on a computing device that is capable of either transmitting or receiving one bit at a time. Examples include the Mac's printer and modem ports.

Server
A device that is shared by several users of a network.

Session
An on-going relationship between two computing devices involving the allocation of resources and sustained date flow.

Session Layer
The layer in the OSI 7-Layer Model that is concerned with managing the resources required for the session between two computers.

Set
In SNMP, the command given by the Console that asks the MIB to change the value of a data object in its MIB.

Short
The direct connection of two or more conductors of a circuit with each other.

Signal
The means of conveyance for a communication, typically an electromagnetic wave that is modulated to encode the information communicated.

Signal to Noise Ratio
In an electromagnetic signal, the ratio of the amplitude (strength) of a signal to the amplitude of the ambient radiation and other signal disturbances that are present, usually expressed in decibels (dB).

Slewing Rate
The maximum rate, usually expressed in volts/second, at which an active device such as a transistor or transformer can change its voltage state.

SLIP
Serial Line Internet Protocol. A protocol for carrying IP information over serial links.

SMDS
Switched Multimegabit Data Service. A metropolitan area packet switching data network using T-1 and T-3 lines.

SMI
Structure of Management Information.

SMTP
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. The standard protocol for exchanging mail over TCP/IP networks.

SNA
Systems Network Architecture. IBM's communications architecture and strategy.

SNMP
Simple Network Management Protocol. A de facto standard for management of networked devices using a simple request-response data retrieval mechanism.

SNMPv2
Simple Network Management Protocol Version 2. Offers increased performance, better security, greater portability and greater ability to manage non-network resources.

SONET
Synchronous Optical Network. A standard for a worldwide digital network using a common transport. SONET can run over copper or fiber.

Source
The node or process transmitting information.

Specification
A document that defines a concept and its allowable implementation forms.