Appendix Glossary #

In the left margin you will find links to the glossary categorised alphabetically. Some of the pages are quite long and may take a few moments to load if you use a modem. This glossary is always being updated.

Glossary - #

100BASE T cable - An Ethernet cable system using Category 5 twisted pair wiring with RJ-45 plugs at each end. Used with 100 MBps Fast Ethernet networks.

100BASE TX - The standard for the physical media of Fast Ethernet products. Products that conform to the 100BASE-TX standard run on cable that meets the specification known as Category 5.

100 MBps - 100 Megabits per second; Fast Ethernet operating speed. (Also called bandwidth.) Since 8 bits make up a byte this speed equates to 12.5 megabytes per second.

10BASE T cable - An Ethernet cable system using twisted-pair wiring with RJ-45 plugs (similar to phone plugs but with 8 contacts) at each end. Category 3 10BASE-T cable is used with 10 MBps Ethernet networks.

10 MBps - 10 Megabits per second; standard Ethernet operating speed. (Also called bandwidth.) Since 8 bits make up a byte this speed equates to 1.25 megabytes per second.

24/7 - Abbreviation for an enterprise operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

2D - Two dimensional.

386 - This refers to computers that have a 80386 or 80486 or higher "86" number microprocessor in them.

3D - Three dimensional.

4GL - Fourth generation language.

802.11B - Also known as "WiFi," this is a popular (perhaps the most popular) wireless networking standard for PCs and Macs. Not interoperable with BlueTooth, but also based on a short-range 2.4GHz signal. With speeds up to 11 Mbps, it is considerably faster than HomeRF.

80286 - This is the number for a microprocessor in an AT or 286 computer. It is less sophisticated than 386 and a little better than an 8086.

80386 - This refers to the microprocessor in all 80386 computers. There are two types of 386's: the SX and the DX: the SX is a cheaper version of the DX.

80486 - This refers to the microprocessor found in a 80486 computer. It is a bit better than a 386, and costs a bit more, too.

8086/8088 - These numbers refer to the first microprocessors found in the personal computers to come out in the early 1980's.