Computer Networks and Internet Fundamentals

Vocabulary flashcards covering core topics in networking, including Internet structure, network edge, protocol definitions, access network types, and physical transmission media.

Internet

A global system architecture that interconnects computer networks worldwide, revolutionizing mass communication, media, and commerce, often referred to as a network of networks.

Internet of Things (IoT)

A paradigm where physical 'things'—such as smartphones, appliances, thermostats, lighting systems, irrigation systems, security cameras, and vehicles—connect to the Internet or interact via wireless networks.

Protocol

A standard set of rules that defines the format and order of messages exchanged between two or more communicating entities, as well as the actions taken upon transmission or receipt of a message.

End Systems (Hosts)

Devices attached to the Internet at the network edge—such as desktop computers, servers, smartphones, and IoT devices—that host and execute application programs.

Access Network

The network that physically connects an end system to the first router (edge router) on the path to any other distant end system.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)

A type of broadband residential access technology that uses an existing telephone line to exchange data with a DSLAM in the telephone company's central office.

DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer)

Equipment located at a telephone company's central office that translates analog signals from multiple residential DSL modems back into digital format.

Fiber to the Home (FTTH)

An access network technology that provides an optical fiber path directly from the telephone company's central office to individual residential homes.

Ethernet

The most prevalent Local Area Network (LAN) technology used in corporate, university, and home networks to connect end systems to an edge router.

Guided Media

Physical transmission media where electromagnetic waves are guided along a solid medium, such as fiber-optic cables, twisted-pair copper wires, or coaxial cables.

Unguided Media

Physical transmission media where electromagnetic waves propagate freely through the atmosphere or outer space, such as in wireless LANs or digital satellite channels.

Twisted-Pair Copper Wire

A guided physical medium consisting of pairs of insulated copper wires twisted together to reduce electrical interference, capable of LAN data rates from $10\,\text{Mbps}$ to $10\,\text{Gbps}$.

Coaxial Cable

A guided transmission medium composed of two concentric copper conductors with special insulation and shielding, commonly used in cable television systems for high data transmission rates.

Optical Fiber

A thin, flexible physical medium that conducts light pulses representing bits, featuring immunity to electromagnetic interference, high transmission rates, and very low signal attenuation up to $100\,\text{km}$.