ethernet glossary
10/100 Base-T
: A technical term for "ethernet." 10/100 refers to the speed at which the
ethernet network functions. 10 indicates 10 megabits per second (
Mb/s
) for normal Ethernet,
and 100 indicates 100
Mb/s
for Fast Ethernet.
AutoIP
: A process by which a device on a network automatically assigns
IP addresses
to itself.
Broadcast packet
: A
packet
sent from one device on a network to all devices on the network.
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)
: A
protocol
used to automatically assign an IP
address to each device on a network.
Ethernet
: A popular form of wired computer networking for
Local Area Networks
.
Ethernet cable
: There are two types of ethernet cables. A straight-through cable is the most
common and is used to connect devices on a network to a
hub
or
router
. A crossover cable is a
twisted pair patch cable the routes the transmit signals from one device to the receive signals of
another device. Use an unshielded CAT-5 straight-through cable with an
RJ-45
plug to connect
the printer to an ethernet network.
Gateway
: A dedicated device (
router
or computer) that connects two different networks. For
example, a computer on an ethernet network may act as a gateway between a network and the
Internet.
Firewall
: A combination of hardware and software that protects a network from unwanted entry.
Hub
: A simple device that acts as the center of an ethernet network. Other devices on the
network are connected to the hub.
ICS (Internet Connection Sharing)
: A Windows program that allows a computer to act as a
gateway
between the Internet and a LAN. ICS uses
DHCP
to assign
IP addresses
. See Windows
documentation for more information about ICS.
IP address (Internet Protocol address)
: A unique number that identifies a device on a LAN.
The IP address is often automatically assigned by
DHCP
or
AutoIP
. However, a device can be
manually assigned a
static IP address
.
LAN (Local Area Network)
: A high-speed type of computer network that connects devices that
are a relatively short distance from one another. Ethernet is one type of LAN.
MAC address (Media Access Control address)
: The hardware address for a device on a
network. The printer's MAC address appears on the network configuration page and on the label
near the printer's ethernet port.
Mb/s (megabits per second)
: The measure for the rate at which an ethernet network
functions. For example, 1 Mb/s equals 1,000,000 bits per second (or 125,000 bytes per second).
Network Name
: The name by which the printer identifies itself on the network (also known as
the printer's "friendly name"). The printer's Network Name is item 1 on the
network configuration
page
. Use the Network Name to open the printer's
internal web page
.
Packet
: A message sent from one device on a network to other devices on the network.
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ethernet glossary
Protocol
: A "language" that devices on a network use to communicate with each other. A
popular network protocol is
TCP/IP
.
RJ-45
: The type of plug at the end of an ethernet cable.
Router
: A complex internetworking device that directs packets from one network to another
network. A router can act as a gateway between a
LAN
and the Internet.
Static IP address
: An
IP address
that is manually assigned to a device on a network. A static IP
address remains fixed until changed manually. Alternative methods for assigning IP address are
DHCP
and
AutoIP
.
Subnet
: A "small network" that acts as part of a large network. It is recommended that the
printer and the computers that use it all be on the same subnet.
Subnet mask
: A number that identifies what
subnet
an
IP address
belongs to.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
: The network communication
protocol
used on the Internet. The printer's built-in ethernet feature supports LANs that use
TCP/IP.
Unicast packet
: A
packet
sent from one device on a network to another device on the network.
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