repeater: A device which propagates electrical signals from one cable to another. See also: bridge , gateway , router
Request For Comments (RFC): The document series, begun in 1969, which describes the Internet suite of protocols and related experiments. Not all (in fact very few) RFCs describe Internet standards, but all Internet standards are written up as RFCs. The RFC series of documents is unusual in that the proposed protocols are forwarded by the Internet research and development community, acting on their own behalf, as opposed to the formally reviewed and standardized protocols that are promoted by organizations such as CCITT and ANSI. See also: For Your Information , STD
Reseaux Associes pour la Recherche Europeenne (RARE): European association of research networks. [Source: RFC1208]
Reseaux IP Europeenne (RIPE): A collaboration between European networks which use the TCP/IP protocol suite.
Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP): A protocol, defined in RFC 903, which provides the reverse function of ARP. RARP maps a hardware (MAC) address to an internet address. It is used primarily by diskless nodes when they first initialize to find their internet address. See also: Address Resolution Protocol , BOOTP , internet address , MAC address
RFC: See: Request For Comments
RFC 822: The Internet standard format for electronic mail message headers. Mail experts often refer to "822 messages". The name comes from "RFC 822", which contains the specification (STD 11, RFC 822). 822 format was previously known as 733 format. See also: Electronic Mail [Source: COMER]
RIP: See: Routing Information Protocol
RIPE: See: Reseaux IP Europeenne
Round-Trip Time (RTT): A measure of the current delay on a network. [Source: MALAMUD]
route: The path that network traffic takes from its source to its destination. Also, a possible path from a given host to another host or destination.
routed: Route Daemon. A program which runs under 4.2BSD/4.3BSD UNIX systems (and derived operating systems) to propagate routes among machines on a local area network, using the RIP protocol. Pronounced "route-dee". See also: Routing Information Protocol , gated
router: A device which forwards traffic between networks. The forwarding decision is based on network layer information and routing tables, often constructed by routing protocols. See also: bridge , gateway , Exterior Gateway Protocol , Interior Gateway Protocol
routing: The process of selecting the correct interface and next hop for a packet being forwarded. See also: hop , router , Exterior Gateway Protocol , Interior Gateway Protocol
routing domain: A set of routers exchanging routing information within an administrative domain. See also: Administrative Domain , router
Routing Information Protocol (RIP): A distance vector, as opposed to link state, routing protocol. It is an Internet standard IGP defined in STD 34, RFC 1058 (updated by RFC 1388). See also: Interior Gateway Protocol
RPC: See: Remote Procedure Call
RTFM: See: Read the F*cking Manual
RTT: See: Round-Trip Time
Serial Line IP (SLIP): A protocol used to run IP over serial lines, such as telephone circuits or RS-232 cables, interconnecting two systems. SLIP is defined in RFC 1055. See also: Point-to-Point Protocol
server: A provider of resources (e.g., file servers and name servers). See also: client , Domain Name System , Network File System
SIG: Special Interest Group
signature: The three or four line message at the bottom of a piece of email or a Usenet article which identifies the sender. Large signatures (over five lines) are generally frowned upon. See also: Electronic Mail , Usenet
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP): A protocol, defined in STD 10, RFC 821, used to transfer electronic mail between computers. It is a server to server protocol, so other protocols are used to access the messages. See also: Electronic Mail , Post Office Protocol , RFC 822
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP): The Internet standard protocol, defined in STD 15, RFC 1157, developed to manage nodes on an IP network. It is currently possible to manage wiring hubs, toasters, jukeboxes, etc. See also: Management Information Base
SLIP: See: Serial Line IP
SMDS: See: Switched Multimegabit Data Service
SMI: See: Structure of Management Information
SMTP: See: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
SNA: See: Systems Network Architecture
snail mail: A pejorative term referring to the U.S. postal service.
SNMP: See: Simple Network Management Protocol
STD: A subseries of RFCs that specify Internet standards. The official list of Internet standards is in STD 1. See also: For Your Information , Request For Comments
stream-oriented: A type of transport service that allows its client to send data in a continuous stream. The transport service will guarantee that all data will be delivered to the other end in the same order as sent and without duplicates. See also: Transmission Control Protocol [Source: MALAMUD]
Structure of Management Information (SMI): The rules used to define the objects that can be accessed via a network management protocol. This protocol is defined in STD 16, RFC 1155. See also: Management Information Base [Source: RFC1208]
stub network: A stub network only carries packets to and from local hosts. Even if it has paths to more than one other network, it does not carry traffic for other networks. See also: backbone , transit network
subnet: A portion of a network, which may be a physically independent network segment, which shares a network address with other portions of the network and is distinguished by a subnet number. A subnet is to a network what a network is to an internet. See also: internet , network [Source: FYI4]
subnet address: The subnet portion of an IP address. In a subnetted network, the host portion of an IP address is split into a subnet portion and a host portion using an address (subnet) mask. See also: address mask , IP address , network address , host address
subnet mask: See: address mask
subnet number: See: subnet address
Switched Multimegabit Data Service (SMDS): An emerging high-speed datagram-based public data network service developed by Bellcore and expected to be widely used by telephone companies as the basis for their data networks. See also: Metropolitan Area Network [Source: RFC1208]
Systems Network Architecture (SNA): A proprietary networking architecture used by IBM and IBM- compatible mainframe computers. [Source: NNSC]
T1: An AT&T term for a digital carrier facility used to transmit a DS-1 formatted digital signal at 1.544 megabits per second.
T3: A term for a digital carrier facility used to transmit a DS-3 formatted digital signal at 44.746 megabits per second. [Source: FYI4]
TAC: See:
talk: A protocol which allows two people on remote computers to communicate in a real-time fashion. See also: Internet Relay Chat
TCP: See: Transmission Control Protocol
TCP/IP Protocol Suite: Transmission Control Protocol over Internet Protocol. This is a common shorthand which refers to the suite of transport and application protocols which runs over IP. See also: IP , ICMP , TCP , UDP , FTP , Telnet , SMTP , SNMP
TELENET: A public packet switched network using the CCITT X.25 protocols. It should not be confused with Telnet.
Telnet: Telnet is the Internet standard protocol for remote terminal connection service. It is defined in STD 8, RFC 854 and extended with options by many other RFCs.
Terminal Access Controller (TAC): A device which connects terminals to the Internet, usually using dialup modem connections and the TACACS protocol.
terminal emulator: A program that allows a computer to emulate a terminal. The workstation thus appears as a terminal to the remote host. [Source: MALAMUD]
terminal server: A device which connects many terminals to a LAN through one network connection. A terminal server can also connect many network users to its asynchronous ports for dial-out capabilities and printer access. See also: Local Area Network
Three Letter Acronym (TLA): A tribute to the use of acronyms in the computer field. See also: Extended Four Letter Acronym
Time to Live (TTL): A field in the IP header which indicates how long this packet should be allowed to survive before being discarded. It is primarily used as a hop count. See also: Internet Protocol [Source: MALAMUD]
TLA: See: Three Letter Acronym
TN3270: A variant of the Telnet program that allows one to attach to IBM mainframes and use the mainframe as if you had a 3270 or similar terminal. [Source: BIG-LAN]
token ring: A token ring is a type of LAN with nodes wired into a ring. Each node constantly passes a control message (token) on to the next; whichever node has the token can send a message. Often, "Token Ring" is used to refer to the IEEE 802.5 token ring standard, which is the most common type of token ring. See also: x , Local Area Network
topology: A network topology shows the computers and the links between them. A network layer must stay abreast of the current network topology to be able to route packets to their final destination. [Source: MALAMUD]
transceiver: Transmitter-receiver. The physical device that connects a host interface to a local area network, such as Ethernet. Ethernet transceivers contain electronics that apply signals to the cable and sense collisions. [Source: RFC1208]