Chapter 5 Flashcards
PAN
Personal area network; Connects personal devices in a very short range with or without cables (Ex. Phone to headset)
LAN
Local area network; Connects personal computers within a limited area (Ex. School computer lab)
MAN
Metropolitan area network; Public high-speed network capable of transmission within 50 mile range (Ex. Local internet service providers)
WAN
Wide area network; Covers a large geographical area and several smaller networks (Ex. The Internet)
Shared resources
Hardware, software, and data made available for authorized network users to access
Node
Each connection point on a network containing a computer, peripheral, or other device
NIC
Network interface card; Special circuitry in a system board required to connect to a LAN
Networked peripheral
Device that contains network circuitry to directly connect to a network
NAS
Network attached storage; Storage device that directly connects to a network
Network device
Any electronic device that broadcasts network data, boosts signals, or routes data to its destination
Router
A type of network device that acts as a central distribution point for getting data to its destination
Communications channel
Physical path or a frequency for signal transmissions
RJ45 connector
At the end of a network cable
Optical fiber cable
Composed of many strands of thin glass tubes that send data at the speed of light
Bandwidth
Transmission capacity of a communications channel
Broadband
High-bandwidth communications systems (Ex. Cable TV & DSL)
Narrowband
Communications systems with less capacity (Ex. Dial-up)
Communications protocol
A set of rules for efficiently transmitting data from one network node to another
Handshaking
The process by which two computers on a network negotiate their communications protocols
Packet
Parcel of data that is sent across a computer network
Circuit switching
Establishes a dedicated, private link between two devices, such as a telephone
Packet switching
Divides a message into several packets that can be routed independently to their destination
MAC address
A unique number assigned to a network interface card when it is manufactured
IP address
Series of numbers used to identify a network device