NETGEAR CA 95054 - Manual (Page 45)

NETGEAR Router Setup Manual
Glossary 3
August 2004
MAC address
The Media Access Control address is a unique 48-bit hardware address assigned to every network interface
card. Usually written in the form 01:23:45:67:89:ab.
Mbps
Megabits per second.
Point-to-Point Protocol
PPP. A protocol allowing a computer using TCP/IP to connect directly to the Internet.
PPPoA
PPPoA. PPP over ATM is a protocol for connecting remote hosts to the Internet over an always-on
connection by simulating a dial-up connection.
PPPoE
PPPoE. PPP over Ethernet is a protocol for connecting remote hosts to the Internet over an always-on
connection by simulating a dial-up connection.
PPP over ATM
PPPoA. PPP over ATM is a protocol for connecting remote hosts to the Internet over an always-on
connection by simulating a dial-up connection.
PPTP
Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol. A method for establishing a virtual private network (VPN) by embedding
Microsoft’s network protocol into Internet packets.
router
A device that forwards data between networks. An IP router forwards data based on IP source and
destination addresses.
SSID
A Service Set Identification is a thirty-two character (maximum) alphanumeric key identifying a wireless
local area network. For the wireless devices in a network to communicate with each other, all devices must
be configured with the same SSID.
This is typically the configuration parameter for a wireless PC card. It corresponds to the ESSID in the
wireless Access Point and to the wireless network name. See also Wireless Network Name and ESSID.
Subnet Mask
A mask used to determine what subnet an IP address belongs to. Subnetting enables a network administrator
to further divide an IP address into two or more subnets.
An IP address has two components, the network address and the host address. For example, consider the IP
address 150.215.017.009. Assuming this is part of a Class B network, the first two numbers (150.215)
represent the Class B network address, and the second two numbers (017.009) identify a particular host on
this network.