149
11 Glossary
WAN – Wide Area Network is a telecommunication network that covers a broad area (i.e., any network that links
across metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries). Here we use the term WAN to mean the external network that
the router uses to reach the internet.
LAN – A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a
home, school, computer laboratory, or office building.
DHCP – The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a network configuration protocol for hosts on Internet
Protocol (IP) networks. Computers that are connected to IP networks must be configured before they can communicate
with other hosts. The most essential information needed is an IP address, and a default route and routing prefix. DHCP
eliminates the manual task by a network administrator. It also provides a central database of devices that are connected
to the network and eliminates duplicate resource assignments.
ETHERNET CABLE – Refers to the CAT5 UTP cable with an RJ-45 connector.
AP – Access point. An access point is any device that provides wireless connectivity for wireless clients. In this
case, when you enable Wi-Fi on your router, your router becomes an access point.
DNS – Domain Name System. A server that translates names such as to their respective IPs. In order for your
computer or router to communicate with some external server it needs to know it’s IP, its name “” just won’t do. There
are special servers set in place that perform this specific task of resolving names into IPs, called Domain Name servers. If
you have no DNS specified you can still browse the web, provided that you know the IP of the website you are trying to
reach.
ARP – Short for Adress Resolution Protocol a used to convert an into a physical address (called a ), such as an
address.
PPPoE – Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet. PPPoE is a specification for connecting the users on an Ethernet to
the internet through a common broadband medium, such as DSL line, wireless device or cable modem.
DSL – digital subscriber line - it is a family of technologies that provide internet access by transmitting digital data
using a local telephone network which uses the public switched telephone network.
NAT – network address translation – an internet standard that enables a local-area network (LAN) to use one set
of IP addresses for internet traffic and a second set of addresses for external traffic.
LCP – Link Control Protocol – a protocol that is part of the PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol). The LCP checks the
identity of the linked device and either accepts or rejects the peer device, determines the acceptable packet size for
transmission, searches for errors in configuration and can terminate the link if the parameters are not satisfied.
BOOTP – Bootstrap Protocol – an internet protocol that enables a diskless workstation to discover its own IP
address, the IP address of a BOOTP server on the network, and a file to be loaded into memory to boot the machine.
This enables the workstation to boot without requiring a hard or floppy disk drive.
TCP – Transmission Control Protocol – one of the main protocols in TCP/IP networks. Whereas the IP protocol
deals only with packets, TCP enables two hosts to establish a connection and exchange streams of data. TCP guarantees
delivery of data and also guarantees that packets will be delivered in the same order in which they were sent.
