Glossary
Default Gateway (Router): Every non-router IP device needs to configure
a default gatew ay’s IP address. W hen the device sends out an IP packet, if
the destination is not on the same network, the device has to send the
packet to its default gateway, which will then send it out towards the
destination.
DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. This protocol automatically
gives every computer on your home network an IP address.
DNS Server IP Address: DNS stands for Domain Name System, which
allows Internet servers to have a domain name (such as
www.Broadbandrouter.com) and one or more IP addresses (such as
192.34.45.8). A DNS server keeps a database of Internet servers and their
respective domain names and IP addresses, so that when a domain name
is requested (as in typing "Broadbandrouter.com" into your Internet
browser), the user is sent to the proper IP address. The DNS server IP
address used by the computers on your home network is the location of
the DNS server your ISP has assigned to you.
DSL Modem: DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line. A DSL modem uses
your existing phone lines to transmit data at high speeds.
Ethernet: A standard for computer networks. Ethernet networks are
connected by special cables and hubs, and move data around at up to
10/100 million bits per second (Mbps).
Idle Timeout: Idle Timeout is designed so that after there is no traffic to the
Internet for a pre-configured amount of time, the connection will
automatically be disconnected.
IP Address and Network (Subnet) Mask: IP stands for Internet Protocol.
An IP address consists of a series of four numbers separated by periods,
that identifies a single, unique Internet computer host in an IP network.
Example: 192.168.2.1. It consists of 2 portions: the IP network address,
and the host identifier.
The IP address is a 32-bit binary pattern, which can be represented as four
cascaded decim al num bers separated by “.”: aaa.aaa.aaa.aaa, w here
each “aaa” can be anything from 000 to 255, or as four cascaded binary
num bers separated by “.”: bbbbbbbb.bbbbbbbb.bbbbbbbb.bbbbbbbb,
w here each “b” can either be 0 or 1.
A network mask is also a 32-bit binary pattern, and consists of consecutive
leading