IP address (Internet Protocol Address)
This definition is based on Internet Protocol Version 4. See Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) for a description of the newer 128-bit IP address. Note that the system of IP address classes described here, while forming the basis for IP address assignment, is generally bypassed today by use of Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) addressing.
In the most widely installed level of the Internet Protocol (IP) today, an IP addres...
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Data Definition
Data Definition
In computing, data is information that has been translated into a form that is efficient for movement or processing. Relative to today's computers and transmission media, data is information converted into binary digital form. It is acceptable for data to be used as a singular subject or a plural subject. Raw data is a term used to describe data in its most basic digital format.
The concept of data in the context of computing has its roots in the work of Claude Shanno...
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Protocol Definition
Protocol Definition
In information technology, a protocol is the special set of rules that end points in a telecommunication connection use when they communicate. Protocols specify interactions between the communicating entities.
Protocols exist at several levels in a telecommunication connection. For example, there are protocols for the data interchange at the hardware device level and protocols for data interchange at the application program level. In the standard model known a...
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OSI model (Open Systems Interconnection)
OSI model (Open Systems Interconnection)
OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) is a reference model for how applications communicate over a network.
A reference model is a conceptual framework for understanding relationships. The purpose of the OSI reference model is to guide vendors and developers so the digital communication products and software programs they create can interoperate, and to facilitate a clear framework that describes the functions of a networking or telecommuni...
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Routing Table Definition
Routing Table Definition
A routing table is a set of rules, often viewed in table format, that is used to determine where data packets traveling over an Internet Protocol (IP) network will be directed. All IP-enabled devices, including routers and switches, use routing tables.
A routing table contains the information necessary to forward a packet along the best path toward its destination. Each packet contains information about its origin and destination. When a packet is received, a network...
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Gateway Definition
Gateway Definition
A gateway is a network node that connects two networks using different protocols together. While a bridge is used to join two similar types of networks, a gateway is used to join two dissimilar networks.
The most common gateway is a router that connects a home or enterprise network to the internet. In most IP-based networks, the only traffic that doesn't go through at least one gateway is traffic flowing among nodes on the same local area network (LAN) segment -- f...
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Packet-Switched Definition
Packet-switched describes the type of network in which relatively small units of data called packets are routed through a network based on the destination address contained within each packet. Breaking communication down into packets allows the same data path to be shared among many users in the network. This type of communication between sender and receiver is known as connectionless (rather than dedicated). Most traffic over the Internet uses packet switching and the Internet is basically a co...
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Network Switch Definition
Network Switch Definition
In a network, a switch is a device that channels incoming data from any of multiple input ports to the specific output port that will take it toward its intended destination.
In a local area network (LAN) using Ethernet, a network switch determines where to send each incoming message frame by looking at the physical device address (also known as the Media Access Control address or MAC address). Switches maintain tables that match each MAC address to the port from wh...
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Router Definition
Router Definition
In packet-switched networks such as the internet, a router is a device or, in some cases, software on a computer, that determines the best way for a packet to be forwarded to its destination.
A router connects networks. Based on its current understanding of the state of the network it is connected to, a router acts as a dispatcher as it decides which way to send each information packet. A router is located at any gateway (where one network meets another), including each...
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Internet Protocol Definition
Internet Protocol Definition
The Internet Protocol (IP) is the method or protocol by which data is sent from one computer to another on the Internet. Each computer (known as a host) on the Internet has at least one IP address that uniquely identifies it from all other computers on the Internet.
When you send or receive data (for example, an e-mail note or a Web page), the message gets divided into little chunks called packets. Each of these packets contains both the sender's Internet add...
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