1. Network Security and Protocols (Acronyms)

ACL

Access Control List: Rules that control network traffic and resource access

AH

Authentication Header: Security protocol providing authentication and integrity in IPsec

ARP

Address Resolution Protocol: Maps IP addresses to MAC addresses on local networks

BGP

Border Gateway Protocol: Routes traffic between autonomous systems on the internet

BPDU

Bridge Protocol Data Unit: Frames used by Spanning Tree Protocol to prevent network loops

CRC

Cyclical Redundancy Check: Error-detecting code commonly used in digital networks

DHCP

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol: Automatically assigns IP addresses to network devices

DNAT

Destination Network Address Translation: Modifies destination IP addresses in packet headers

DNS

Domain Name System: Translates domain names to IP addresses

FTP

File Transfer Protocol: Standard for transferring files between computers

FTPS

Secured File Transfer Protocol: Encrypted version of FTP using TLS/SSL

GRE

Generic Routing Encapsulation: Protocol for encapsulating data packets

HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol: Foundation for data exchange on the web

HTTPS

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure: Encrypted HTTP communications

ICMP

Internet Control Message Protocol: Used for error reporting and network diagnostics

IMAP

Internet Message Access Protocol: Protocol for email retrieval

IP

Internet Protocol: Fundamental protocol for routing packets across networks

L2TP

Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol: Protocol for supporting VPNs

MAC

Media Access Control: Hardware address uniquely identifying network interfaces

MPLS

Multi-protocol Label Switching: High-performance routing technique using labels

MTU

Maximum Transmission Unit: Maximum size of a packet that can be transmitted

NAT

Network Address Translation: Modifies network address information for routing

PAC

Proxy Auto Configuration: File defining how web browsers connect to resources

PAT

Port Address Translation: Type of NAT that maps multiple devices to a single IP using ports

POP

Post Office Protocol: Protocol for email retrieval

PPP

Point-to-Point Protocol: Data link protocol for establishing direct connections

PPTP

Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol: Obsolete protocol for implementing VPNs

RTBH

Remotely Triggered Black Hole: Router configuration technique to block malicious traffic

RTP

Real-time Transport Protocol: Protocol for delivering audio/video over IP networks

SFTP

Secured File Transfer Protocol: Secure file transfer protocol running over SSH

SMTP

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol: Protocol for email transmission

SMTPS

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Secure: Secure version of SMTP

SNMP

Simple Network Management Protocol: Standard for collecting and organizing network device information

SRTP

Secure Real-Time Protocol: Secured version of RTP

TCP/IP

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol: Core communication protocols powering the internet

UDP

User Datagram Protocol: Connectionless communications protocol

VLAN

Virtual Local Area Network: Logical segmentation of a physical network

VLSM

Variable Length Subnet Masking: Method to allocate network address space efficiently