ZyXEL Communications P630M - Manual (Page 46)

Prestige 630 ADSL USB Modem
D Glossary
the gatekeepers into the Internet.
LAN Local Area Network is a shared communication system to which many computers are
attached. A LAN, as its name implies, is limited to a local area. This has to do more with the
electrical characteristics of the medium than the fact that many early LANs were designed for
departments, although the latter accurately describes a LAN as well. LANs have different
topologies, the most common being the linear bus and the star configuration.
MAC On a local area network (LAN) or other network, the MAC (Media Access Control) address is
your computer's unique hardware number. (On an Ethernet LAN, it's the same as your
Ethernet address.) The MAC layer frames data for transmission over the network, then passes
the frame to the physical layer interface where it is transmitted as a stream of bits.
Modulation
Type The modulation type selected dictates what ADSL mode the Prestige will operate under.
Choose from T1.413, G.DMT, G.Lite or Multimode. Multimode Modulation supports
T1.413 or G.DMT protocol.
Multimode Is a protocol that supports the T1.413 standard (and G.DMT in certain operating systems).
NAT Network Address Translation is the translation of an Internet Protocol address used within one
network to a different IP address known within another network.
Network Any time you connect 2 or more computers together so that they can share resources, you
have a computer network. Connect 2 or more networks together and you have an internet.
NIC Network Interface Card. A board that provides network communication capabilities to and from
a computer system. Also called an adapter.
Node Any single computer connected to a network.
PAP Password Authentication Protocol. PAP is a security protocol that requires users to enter a
password before accessing a secure system. The user’s name and password are sent over
the wire to a server, where they are compared with a database of user account names and
passwords. This technique is vulnerable to wiretapping (eavesdropping) because the
password can be captured and used by someone to log onto the system.
PNC Prestige Network Commander, a Windows-based setup wizard for Prestige routers (not all).
Port An Internet port refers to a number that is part of a URL, appearing after a colon (:) right after
the domain name. Every service on an Internet server listens on a particular port number on
that server. Most services have standard port numbers, e.g. Web servers normally listen on
port 80.
POTS Plain Old Telephone Service is the analog telephone service that runs over copper twisted-pair
wires and is based on the original Bell telephone system. Twisted-pair wires connect homes
and businesses to a neighborhood central office. This is called the local loop. The central
office is connected to other central offices and long-distance facilities.