For week nine, I am to define the following terms using one sentence each:
3G (third generation)
Third Generation mobile phone network featuring data rates up to 384Kbps.
4G (fourth generation)
Fourth generation mobile phone network featuring data rates between 100 Mbps and 1Gbps.
5G (fifth generation)
Fifth, and currently the most up to date, mobile phone network featuring data rates between 1 Gbps and 20 Gbps download speeds and up to 10 Gbps upload speeds.
active-active redundancy
All redundant resources (routers in the textbook) are active at all times, with work distributed among them.
active-passive redundancy
Some redundant resources (routers in the textbook) are inactive until they are needed.
AD (administrative distance)
A value indicating a routing protocol's reliability.
AS (autonomous system)
A network or group of networks controlled, exclusively, by an organization.
asymmetrical
A term applied to connectivity indicating differences between upload speeds and download speeds.
asymmetrical routing
Incoming data follows a different routing path than outgoing data, leading to unwanted firewall intervention.
bandwidth speed tester
A cloud based resource for testing bandwidth speed such as Speed Test dot Net.
best path
The most efficient route as calculated by a router.
BGP (Border Gateway Protocol)
An Exterior Gateway Protocol capable of scouting outside of an Autonomous System.
border router
A router connecting an Autonomous System with an outside network.
broadband
Asymmetrical, Asynchronous Internet connectivity provided by an Internet Service Provider shared between multiple customers.
cable broadband
Brodband internet connection supplied by a cable company typically over coax.
cable modem
Modem, typically supplied by a cable company Internet Service Provider, to translate digital signals to analogue and vice versa.
CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)
Cellular connectivity in which the signal is spread over a wider spectrum than the Global System for Mobile communications and multiple users share the same channel.
cell site
Antenna array and base station for supporting a cellular network.
convergence time
The time it takes a router to calculate the best path in the event of a topology change.
core router
Router operating within an Autonomous System.
CRC error
A Cycle Redundancy Checksum error indicates that a message was damaged in transit.
default route
If a router doesn't find a matching entry in its routing table during a route-search, it uses a generic predetermined route.
DIA (dedicated Internet access)
Internet access for a single customer which usually includes a Service-Level Agreement guaranteeing minimum uptime percentages and maximum recovery times.
distance-vector routing protocol
Routing protocol that calculates best route based on distance and requires exchanging entire routing tables with neighboring systems.
DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications)
A suite of standardized specifications pertaining to cable internet from CableLabs.
DSL (digital subscriber line)
Internet connectivity over phone lines with a maximum download speed of 100Mbps (when using Very high bit rate Digital Subscriber Line).
DSL modem
Translates between your network, the phone lines and vice versa.
dynamic route
A router calculating the best path dynamically.
edge router
Connects an Autonomous System with an outside network and usually use Exterior Gateway Protocols.
EGP (exterior gateway protocol)
Protocols for edge routers, (almost certainly Boarder Gateway Protocol)
EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol)
A hybrid protocol developed by Cisco featuring fast convergence and low network overhead.
exterior router
Any router outside an organization's Autonomous System
FHRP (First Hop Redundancy Protocol)
Configuring a virtual IP address as the default gateway which points to multiple routers.
gateway of last resort
The router that accepts unroutable messages from other routers.
giant
Frames that are too large.
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications)
An open standard, used worldwide using Time Division Multiple Access.
HFC (hybrid fiber coaxial)
Fiber to nodes, Coax to the modem.
hybrid routing protocol
Hybrid between Distance-Vector routing and Link-State routing.
IGP (interior gateway protocol)
Routing protocols used within an Autonomous System.
interconnection
Interconnection, or Private-Direct Connection is when a client leases a line from the client's Internet Service Provider to the client's cloud service provider.
interior router
Routers within the Autonomous System (also called core routers).
IS-IS (Intermediate System to Intermediate System)
A link-state routing protocol using a best-path algorithm.
leased line
An ISP to customer line featuring dedicated, symmetrical bandwidth, with an Service Level Agreement-backed guarantee.
link-state routing protocol
Routers connect information from each other in order to build their own routing tables and map the network accordingly.
local loop
The part of a Digital Subscriber Line network between the customer's demarcation point the the Central Office.
long-haul connection
Like long-haul trucking, but for cable runs.
LTE (Long-Term Evolution)
A marketing debacle that eventually made good on the promises of early 4G claims.
LTE-A (LTE-Advanced)
4G's last iteration featuring a speeds between 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps.
modem
Like a two-way version of the circuit that allowed an Atari 2600 a T.V., it modulates/demodulates a signal so analogue and digital can communicate effectively.
MON (metropolitan optical network)
A fiber network made available to the people (assuming the people can afford to live in the right zip code), usually built by, or with the help of a local municipality.
MPLS (multiprotocol label switching)
Multiple Layer 3 protocols traveling over any number of Layer 2 protocols, allowing organizations to find the best connections for any specific need.
OSPF (Open Shortest Path First)
A link-state protocol featuring support for large networks, efficient, complex algorithms, shared databases, low-overhead, fast, convergence, good stability, and is supported by all modern routers.
overhead
The burden placed on a network to support a protocol.
private-direct connection
Interconnection,
or Private-Direct Connection is when a client leases a line from the
client's Internet Service Provider to the client's cloud service
provider.
PSTN (public switched telephone network)
Land-line networks like the one my grandmother used to operate a switch board for and the one I used to use when my phone bill was $15 per month.
QoS (quality of service)
A Client-determined standard for prioritizing certain types of traffic over others (like your Internet Service Provider does after overturning the protections that governed net neutrality).
RIP (Routing Information Protocol)
Routing Information Protocol is oldest routing protocol and is distance-vector based and outdated.
RIPv2 (Routing Information Protocol, version 2)
An update to the original Routing Information Protocol which features, less broadcast traffic and is more secure, but still outdated.
route
A cross-platform utility for viewing a host's routing table.
routing cost
A value assigned to a route in which lower cost is better.
routing loop
When a packet is stuck in a loop, caused by bad routing, and does not reach its intended destination, causing congestion until its Time To Live expires.
routing metric
Like the name says, measurable information about a route.
routing protocol
The standards a group of routers follow in order to send data to one anther effectively.
routing table
A database routers use to determine where and how to send data.
runt
Frames that are too small
SD-WAN (software-defined wide area network)
A centrally controlled, software defined abstraction of a wide area network.
SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card
A microchip required for Global System for Mobile communications Networks containing information about a subscriber and his or her carrier.
smartjack
An intelligent version of a Network Interface Unit that connects a customer's network to their Internet Service Provider's local loop, capable of providing information about the interface and sounds like it was named by William Gibson.
static route
A route, defined by a network administrator that doesn't change.
symmetrical
An internet connection that has the same upload/download speeds available.
TDMA (time division multiple access)
Data from any number of sources split into timeslots for transport across a mobile network.
