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Glossary

Unless you work in an IT department, you'll rarely come across most networking terminology. Enrich your networking lexicon with these terms, and you'll have most of the information you need to lay out a network.

Access point A wireless hardware device that attaches to a wired network and sends data to and receives data from your wireless network adapters.

Ad-hoc mode A networking arrangement in which you set your wireless network adapters to communicate directly with each other, rather than through an access point.

Firewall A way to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing your network, by rejecting incoming requests to access an IP address. A hardware firewall is often built into a router. A software firewall does much the same thing on your PC. Some hardware and software firewalls prevent unauthorized outgoing data as well.

Gateway A source of access to the Internet for multiple computers. In most home networks, a router serves as the gateway, though one computer running the appropriate software can also act as a gateway.

Hub A piece of hardware, usually a small box, that contains a series of ports (usually 4, 8, or 16), allowing you to connect your computers to form or extend a network.

Infrastructure mode A network arrangement in which adapters in a wireless network communicate with a central transmitter/receiver called an access point, which functions as a sort of wireless hub.

IP address A number that every computer needs to get on the Internet. IP stands for Internet Protocol.

Latency The time data takes to arrive at its destination. Excessive latency can cause slow-loading Web pages and noticeable delays in network games.

Node A computer or other hardware device connected to your network. A PC, a printer server, and a network printer are all nodes on your network.

Router A piece of hardware used to connect one LAN to another. Home networking routers have now added features such as firewalls, and they function just like gateways. The distinction is simply marketing.

Switch A more intelligent (and expensive) hub that routes data to the computer meant to receive it. A regular (passive) hub sends data to all of its ports (only the requesting PC accepts the data), which slows things down.

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