Computer Networks - Vocabulary Flashcards (ENGLISH)

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the lecture notes on computer networks.

Local Area Network (LAN)

A network confined to a small geographic area (e.g., office/building) where data, printers, and storage are shared.

Wide Area Network (WAN)

A network that spans large geographic areas; Internet is the largest WAN.

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

A network that spans a city or campus-sized area, larger than LANs but smaller than WANs.

Personal Area Network (PAN)

A network within a very small area, typically around an individual (about 10 meters).

Client

A host computer that requests services from a server.

Server

A computer that provides data, software, or hardware resources to clients on the network.

Client-Server Model

Centralized architecture where servers provide services to clients; clients depend on servers.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P)

A network where each node can act as both client and server; no central server.

Network Interface Card (NIC)

Hardware that connects a computer to a network.

MAC Address

A 6-byte hardware address assigned to a NIC, shown as hex bytes separated by colons (e.g., 80:1A:04:36:8E:21).

IP Address

A logical numeric address used to identify devices on an IP network.

Router

Device that forwards packets between networks and selects optimal paths.

Switch

Smart multiport device that forwards data to a specific destination within a LAN.

Hub

Multiport device that broadcasts incoming data to all ports in a LAN.

Gateway

Entry point to another network; may perform protocol conversion and hide internal IPs.

RJ45

Ethernet connector used for network cabling (Registered Jack 45).

Modem

Modulator-Demodulator; converts digital signals for transmission over telephone lines.

Twisted Pair

Two insulated wires twisted together to reduce interference; common in Ethernet (CAT1-CAT6).

Coaxial Cable

Cable with a central conductor and shielding; used in older LANs (thinnet/thicknet).

Fiber Optic Cable

Glass fibers that transmit data as light; high speed and long-distance capability.

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)

A LAN that uses wireless technology to connect devices within a local area.

Wi-Fi

A family of wireless networking standards (IEEE 802.11); trademark term for WLAN tech.

Microwave Transmission

High-frequency waves used to transmit data over long distances; includes transmitter/receiver.

Radio Waves

Electromagnetic waves (30 Hz–300 GHz) used for TV, radio, and Wi‑Fi transmissions.

Infrared (IR)

IR wireless transmission; cannot penetrate walls and is considered relatively secure.

Satellite Communication

Microwave relay via satellites; enables very long-distance data transmission.

Store and Forward

Data is stored at intermediate nodes before being forwarded to the destination.

Message Switching

Switching method with no fixed block size; data stored/forwarded, often on disk.

Packet Switching

Data divided into fixed-size packets; packets are stored in memory and transmitted.

Bandwidth

Width of the frequency spectrum available; high bandwidth = broadband; low = narrowband.

Broadband

High-bandwidth transmission channels.

Narrowband

Low-bandwidth transmission channels.

Kbps / Mbps / Gbps

Units of data transfer rate: kilobits/megabits/gigabits per second; 1 Kbps = 1000 bps.

TCP/IP

Core networking protocol suite; TCP ensures reliable delivery, IP handles addressing/routing.

IP (Internet Protocol)

Addresses and routes packets across networks; uses numeric addresses.

HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol; protocol for transferring web pages.

FTP

File Transfer Protocol; standard for transferring files between networks.

POP / POP3

Post Office Protocol; retrieves emails from a server (POP3 is common).

SMTP

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol; used to send emails.

Telnet

Remote login protocol for accessing a computer over a TCP/IP network.

ARPANET

Early wide-area network that led to the development of the Internet and TCP/IP.

Internet

Worldwide network of networks that interconnects computers globally.

URL

Uniform Resource Locator; web address used to locate resources on the Web.

Domain Name

Human-friendly name that maps to an IP address within a URL.

Website

A collection of web pages usually linked together and hosted on a server.

Web Browser

Software (e.g., Chrome, Firefox) used to access and display web pages.

HTML

HyperText Markup Language; standard language for creating web pages.

XML

Extensible Markup Language; markup language for structured data.

Web Hosting

Service that stores a website's files on a server and serves them on the Web.