Glossary

A specific implementation of 1000Mbps operating over two multimode fiber cables, as specified in Standard IEEE 802.3z/D.50-1998.

A specific implementation of 1000 Mbps operating over four-pair Cat-5 or Cat-5e UTP cables, as specified in IEEE 802.3ab standards.

Name of the interface that corresponds to a given Internet address on a system.

A mechanism defined in IEEE 802.3u-1995 whereby devices sharing a link segment can exchange data and automatically configure themselves to operate at the highest capability mode shared between them. This is also used for link configuration per IEEE 802.3z and IEEE 802.3ab standards of duplex and flow control configuration between two 1000Base-SX/T links.

A number that uniquely identifies a device within a class. A class of devices is a logical grouping of similar devices.

A field in the message packet format identifying the end node(s) to which the packet is being sent.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

Data Link Provider Interface. An industry-standard definition for message communications to STREAMS-based network interface drivers.

A 10 Mbps LAN, developed by Digital Equipment Corporation, Intel, and Xerox Corporation, upon which the IEEE 802.3 network is based.

A commonly used name applied to 100Base-T.

A mode of media utilization whereby data can flow in both directions simultaneously across the multiple wire pairs of a physical link. While full-duplex operation is not defined per se in the IEEE 802.3u-1995 specification, the specification does define a mechanism for this mode to be autonegotiated between devices on each end of a link. Full-duplex mode is typically found on switches.

The media utilization mode of IEEE 802.3u-1995 networks whereby data can flow in only one direction at a time across the multiple wire pairs of a physical link.

An identifier assigned by the system according to the physical location (slot) of the card in the hardware backplane. On HP servers, the I/O subsystem identifies each LAN card by its hardware path.

Name of system on the network.

High-speed connect bus.

A network interconnection device that allows multiple devices to share a single logical link segment.

A 10 or 100 Mbps LAN, specified in the IEEE 802.3u-1995 Standard for Local Area Networks. It uses the Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) network access method to give every node equal access to the network.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. A national association, whose activities include publishing standards applicable to various electronic technologies. The IEEE technical committees are numbered and grouped by area. The 802.3 committee produced the standard for LAN networks.

The network address of a computer node. This address identifies both which network the host is on and which host it is. Refer to the Installing and Administering LAN/9000 Software manual for detailed information about network addressing.

See Internet Address.

See Local Area Network.

A data communications system that allows a number of independent devices to communicate with each other.

The network to which a node is directly attached.

Unique value that identifies an individual hardware device.

Largest amount of data that can be transmitted through that interface. This value does not include the LLC or MAC headers.

Megabytes per second

Megabits per second

See Maximum Transmission Unit

A communication path through which messages can be sent and received. A hardware network interface has a hardware device associated with it, such as a LAN or FDDI card. A software network interface does not include a hardware device, for example, the loopback interface. For every IP address instance, there must be one network interface configured.

A unique ID assigned by the system for the network management of each network interface.

See Network Management Identifier

Any point in a network where services are provided or communications channels are interconnected. A node could be a workstation or a server processor.

The ability of a PCI I/O card to be added or replaced without the need to shut down or reboot the system. For instructions on how to perform OLA/R, refer to Configuring HP-UX For Peripherals.

A sequence of binary digits that is transmitted as a unit in a computer network. A packet usually contains control information plus data.

Peripheral Component Interconnect.

A unique number assigned to each network interface, distinct from NMID.

Path MTU

See Physical Point of Attachment

A specification for coding messages exchanged between two communications processes.

The name for the connector type used with UTP cabling.

A 32-bit mask which, when AND'd with an internet address, determines a subnetwork address. When the internet address is AND'd with the subnet mask, the ones in the host portion of the subnet mask will "overwrite" the corresponding bits of the host portion of the internet address, resulting in the subnet address. Refer to Installing and Administering LAN/9000 Software for detailed information about subnet masks.

Small discrete physical networks connected via gateways which share the same network address space. Refer to Installing and Administering LAN/9000 Software for detailed information about subnetworks and subnet addressing.

A network interconnection device that allows multiple connected senders and receivers to communicate simultaneously in contrast to a hub (repeater) where only one device can send at a time. Some switches have fixed port speeds (10 or 100 Mbps) while others allow port speeds to be configured or autonegotiated.

The physical and logical geometry governing placement of nodes in a computer network. Also, the layout of the transmission medium for a network.

A data cable type consisting of pairs of wires twisted together without an electrically shielding jacket.

See Unshielded Twisted Pair