06/26/95 GLOSSARY: Communications Jargon That You Should Know

GLOSSARY: Communications Jargon That You Should Know

Here are some of the key technologies and standards that go into making a modern corporate network. Drop a few of these at parties and impress your friends.

ASYNCHRONOUS TRANSFER MODE (ATM) A high-speed digital switching and transmission technology that allows voice, video, and data signals to be sent over a single line at speeds ranging from 25 million to 1 billion bits per second (bps). An analog phone line transmits at about 2 million bps--at most.

BRIDGE A device that links two local-area networks together so they can share data.

BROADBAND Refers to any transmission at a speed higher than 2 million bps. A broadband network can carry voice, data, and video signals simultaneously. Remember: You can't be too thin, too rich, or have too much transmission capacity.

CLIENT/SERVER A method of computing in which one computer acts as a central repository for files and programs that can be shared by a number of "client" PCs connected by a network. Replaces a mainframe-centric setup.

ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE (EDI) A series of standards that allows computer-to-computer exchange of business documents, such as invoices, shipping orders, payments, etc., between different companies.

ETHERNET A set of local-area network (LAN) standards that allows networking products from different vendors to communicate. Introduced some 20 years ago, it is the most widely used LAN technology.

FRAME RELAY A transmission standard for sending data over public or private leased phone lines. Data is broken down and placed in frames, each the same size, for relaying.

INTEGRATED SERVICES DIGITAL NETWORKS (ISDN) Offered by local phone companies, this protocol turns a standard copper phone line into a high-speed digital link that can send voice and data simultaneously. With an ISDN line at home, you can pretend you're in the office using the LAN.

LOCAL-AREA NETWORK A network within a building or a limited distance that links computers and peripheral devices, allowing them to share information and programs.

PACKET SWITCHING An efficient way of moving data through a network. A file is broken up into little packages that are sent by different routes through a network and then reassembled at the receiving end.

PRIVATE BRANCH EXCHANGE (PBX) An automatic telephone switch for an internal phone system. It replaces the old-fashioned office switchboard and manages the voice-mail system.

ROUTER A device that connects LANs that use different standards; essentially a more sophisticated type of bridge. What do you get when you cross a bridge and a router? A brouter, of course.

SONET Stands for synchronous optical network technology, but don't worry, no one ever uses the full name. A high-speed transmission architecture meant to exploit the huge bandwidth of fiber-optic networks.

T1 A standard for digital transmission over phone lines. In North America, it can handle at least 24 voice channels at once using copper wire and transmits at a rate of 1.5 million bps.

WIDE-AREA NETWORK An enterprise-wide communications network that allows signals to be transmitted from a LAN via a public or private line to other LANs in distant locations.