Networking Glossary

10 base 2

Coaxial cable based ethernet wiring type, also called thinnet. Works on distances up to 600 feet before a repeater is required.

10 base 5

Coaxial cable based ethernet wiring type, also called thicknet. Works on distances up to 1500 feet before a repeater is required. Very rarely used currently.

10 base T

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) based ethernet wiring type, using Category 3 or better UTP wire. Works on distances up to 300 feet before a repeater is required. Most common ethernet wiring today.

active star

A network configuration that has a hub or repeater in the center and wires going out to the nodes. See also passive star, and star.

AppleTalk

Apple's network software which runs across various media types such as PhoneNet (LocalTalk), Ethernet (EtherTalk), and TokenRing (TokenTalk.)

backbone

one continuous wire that is tapped into for connections. normally has terminators at both ends to prevent signal reflections.

daisychain

a conglomeration of cables that are connected together one after the other.

Ethernet

A set of networking protocols that run at 10Mbps or 100Mbps for Fast Ethernet. It can run over various wire types. See also 10 base T, 10 base 2, 10 base 5, and fiber optic.

EtherTalk

Apple's specific network software for communicating over Ethernet cabling.

fiber optic

A cabling style used for long distance communication. Multimode fiber optic cable can run up to a kilometer before repeaters are required. Very useful for inter-building connections or long distances inside a building.

hub

1) A repeater that has multiple ports. Typically seen in 10 base T networks in 8, 12, or 24 port sizes. 2) A location that serves as a central point of a larger network.

LAN

Local Area Network

LocalTalk

The physical wiring used in low-cost AppleTalk networks. It can be simple phone wire when used in conjunction with Farallon PhoneNet connectors, or 3 conductor shielded wire in the original Apple wiring scheme.

passive star

A network configuration where all the wiring comes back to a central point, but which has no hub or repeater at that point. See also active star, and star.

repeater

A device which takes the incoming signal, cleans and strengthens it electronically (or optically for fiber) then rebroadcasts the signal. See also hub.

star

A wiring configuration where all wires come back to a central point, can be either active or passive.

TokenTalk

Apple's specific networking software for use in TokenRing networks.

WAN

Wide Area Network. Usually comprised of many widely separated LANs which are interconnected.

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