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Appendix F: Glossary
Wireless-N Home Router
Appendix F: Glossary
This glossary contains some basic networking terms you may come across when using this product. For more
advanced terms, see the complete Linksys glossary at http://www.linksys.com/glossary.
Access Point
- A device that allows wireless-equipped computers and other devices to communicate with a
wired network. Also used to expand the range of a wireless network.
Ad-hoc
- A group of wireless devices communicating directly with each other (peer-to-peer) without the use of
an access point.
AES
(
A
dvanced
E
ncryption
S
tandard) - A security method that uses symmetric 128-bit block data encryption.
Bandwidth
- The transmission capacity of a given device or network.
Bit
- A binary digit.
Boot
- To start a device and cause it to start executing instructions.
Broadband
- An always-on, fast Internet connection.
Browser
- An application program that provides a way to look at and interact with all the information on the
World Wide Web.
Byte
- A unit of data that is usually eight bits long
Cable Modem
- A device that connects a computer to the cable television network, which in turn connects to the
Internet.
Daisy Chain
- A method used to connect devices in a series, one after the other.
DDNS
(
D
ynamic
D
omain
N
ame
S
ystem) - Allows the hosting of a website, FTP server, or e-mail server with a
fixed domain name (e.g., www.xyz.com) and a dynamic IP address.
Default Gateway
- A device that forwards Internet traffic from your local area network.
DHCP
(
D
ynamic
H
ost
C
onfiguration
P
rotocol) - A networking protocol that allows administrators to assign
temporary IP addresses to network computers by “leasing” an IP address to a user for a limited amount of time,
instead of assigning permanent IP addresses.