Ethernet Glossary

This is a basic glossary for the words normally used when talking about data services in general and Ethernet technology in particular. Contact us if you have additional questions.

 

ASP - Application Service Provider
A company that provides software applications and interfaces to multiple users from a centralized, managed facility over a shared network such as the Internet.

 

Bandwidth
The transmission capacity of a physical link between two devices. In digital links, the bandwidth is measured in bits-per-second (bps), or more commonly Kbps (Kilobits per second), Mbps (Megabits per second) or Gbps (Gigabits per second).

 

Bandwidth-on-Demand
The ability to dynamically increase bandwidth on an as-needed basis at the users' request. Ideally, this can occur in a matter of seconds by simply changing some network configuration parameters.

 

Broadband
This term is used loosely to refer to any kind of bandwidth above that of conventional dial-up modems (roughly 56 kbps).

 

Co-location Facility
A building constructed to house computing and communications equipment from different owners. Businesses locate equipment in these facilities in order to be physically close to other businesses' equipment with which they are interconnected.

 

Ethernet
The dominant Local Area Network technology. Ethernet operates at layer 2, eliminating the need for multiple conversions providing dramatic performance advantages such as lower-latency, lower-jitter and efficiency gains - all at a lower total cost of ownership. Ethernet is now deployed globally, quickly and easily. Interface speeds of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, and 1000 Mbps have been standardized and a 10 Gbps standard is not far behind.

 

Fiber-Optic Cable
A medium for transmission comprised of many glass fibers. Light-emitting diodes or lasers send light through the fiber to a detector that converts the light back to an electrical signal for interpretation. Advantages of fiber include huge bandwidth, immunity to eavesdropping, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and the ability to traverse long distances with minimal signal degradation.

 

Global Network Operations Center (Global NOC)
A central location responsible for continuously monitoring and controlling the devices which comprise a global network. A Global NOC is one key feature of a managed network.

 

IP - Internet Protocol
A widely-used networking protocol that provides a mechanism for routing data traffic across a shared network. As the name implies, it is the basis for the Internet.

 

LAN - Local Area Network
A system of connecting computers, printers, servers, and other data devices in an office or building so that they may communicate with each other.

 

Managed Network
A carefully planned system which combines a sophisticated data network with tools and devices that continuously monitor, report, analyze, and diagnose the health and performance of the network and enable the pro-active management and problem resolution of the network.

 

Network Architecture
Network architecture refers to the physical and logical design of a network and the inherent ability of that design to carry data from one location to another within the bounds required for acceptable performance for the end user.

 

Quality of Service (QoS)
The concept of applying and ensuring specific, quantifiable performance levels on a shared network. Performance can be assessed based on physical measurements of the network, the methods by which network traffic is prioritized, and on how the network is managed.

 

Routing
The process of moving a data packet from its local network to a remote network based on the address of the remote network. The packet may need to traverse many network nodes and links to reach its destination network. Routing is a complex process of determining which links and nodes will move the packet to its eventual destination.

 

Scalable
The ability to simply and quickly add bandwidth to an existing network without significant incremental expense or overhead.

 

Service Level Agreement
Written description of terms, parameters, and conditions which will be used to determine that the network is meeting a guaranteed level of performance, and the consequences if that performance level is not met.

 

Voice-over-IP
The process of taking a voice signal, digitizing it, and then breaking the digital data stream into packets for transmission over an IP network such as the Internet.

 

WAN (Wide Area Network)
A network that links distant geographical areas such as different states or different countries (as opposed to the LAN).