NET Reviewer Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key computer networking terms, protocols, architectures, physical media, delays, layers, security, and transport services.

Internet

A computer network that interconnects billions of computing devices worldwide.

End System / Host

A device such as a computer, phone, or smart appliance connected to a network that sends or receives data.

Communication Links

Physical or virtual pathways that connect two or more devices so they can send and receive data.

Physical Media

The materials used to carry data, such as copper wire, optical fiber, and radio spectrum.

Transmission Rate

The rate at which a communication link transmits data, measured in bits/second.

Packet

A small, formatted chunk of data sent over a network.

Packet Switch

A networking device that receives a packet and forwards it to another link based on its destination.

Router

A packet switch that directs traffic through the network.

Link-Layer Switch

A type of packet switch used to forward data between links.

Route / Path

The sequence of communication links and packet switches a packet travels through from sender to receiver.

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

A company that provides individuals and organizations with Internet access.

Protocol

Rules that define the format and order of messages and the actions taken when messages are sent or received.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

An important Internet protocol that provides reliable, connection-oriented communication.

Internet Protocol (IP)

Specifies the format of packets sent and received among routers and end systems.

TCP/IP

The collection of the Internet's principal protocols.

Socket Interface

A set of rules that allows a program to ask the Internet infrastructure to deliver data to another program.

Network Protocol

Rules governing how data is formatted, transmitted, received, and processed between devices.

Internet Applications

Applications that use the Internet to deliver content such as websites, videos, emails, and product pages.

Large-Scale Computing

Multiple computers working together to process large amounts of data and perform complex tasks.

Cloud Computing

Using computing resources provided by companies instead of owning the necessary data centers.

Access Network

The network connecting an end system to the first router, or edge router.

Home Network

A network that connects personal devices to the Internet.

Enterprise Network

A network connecting computers and devices within an organization.

Mobile Network

A network that provides wireless Internet access over wide areas.

DSL Internet Access

Internet access provided through the local telephone company's infrastructure.

Cable Internet Access

Internet access that uses the existing cable television infrastructure.

FTTH (Fiber-to-the-Home)

Provides an optical fiber path directly from the central office to the home.

Ethernet

A technology where users connect through twisted-pair copper wire to an Ethernet switch.

Twisted-Pair Copper Wire

A widely used and inexpensive guided transmission medium in computer networks.

Coaxial Cable

A guided transmission medium consisting of two copper conductors arranged concentrically.

Fiber-Optic Cable

A thin, flexible medium that carries data as pulses of light.

Terrestrial Radio Channels

Transmit data through the air using radio waves.

Satellite Radio Channels

Use satellites to relay signals between Earth-based ground stations using microwave communication.

Packet Switching

Transmitting data by breaking a large message into smaller units called packets.

Store-and-Forward

A packet switch receives and stores the entire packet before forwarding it to the next link.

Output Buffer

Temporary storage in a router where packets wait before being transmitted.

Queuing Delay

The time a packet waits in a buffer.

Congestion

A condition where packets arrive faster than the outgoing link can handle.

Packet Loss

Packets being dropped because the buffer is full.

Forwarding Table

A table that tells a router which outbound link to use for a packet.

Circuit Switching

A networking approach where network resources are reserved for the entire communication session.

Processing Delay

Time required for a router to examine and process a packet.

Transmission Delay

Time required to push all bits of a packet onto the link.

Propagation Delay

Time required for a bit to travel from one end of a link to the other.

Traceroute

A network utility that shows the routers a packet passes through from source to destination.

Layered Architecture

Divides a complex system into multiple layers, with each layer having a specific responsibility.

Application Layer

The layer where network applications and their protocols operate.

Transport Layer

Transports application-layer messages between application endpoints.

Network Layer

Responsible for moving packets from one host to another across the network.

Link Layer

Moves a packet from one node to the next node along the route.

Physical Layer

Moves individual bits from one node to the next.

Encapsulation

Adding header information to data as it moves down the protocol stack.

Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attack

An attack that attempts to make a network service, server, or infrastructure unavailable to legitimate users.

Packet Sniffer / Packet Sniffing

A device or software that captures and records copies of network packets traveling across a network.

Network Application

An application created by programs running on different end systems that communicate through a network.

Client-Server Architecture

Clients request services/resources from an always-on server that processes requests and provides responses.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Architecture

Devices communicate directly with each other, with each peer able to request and provide resources.

Process

A program that is currently running on an end system.

Interprocess Communication (IPC)

Communication between processes on the same host provided by the operating system.

Socket

The interface between an application process and the network.

Socket as an API

A programming interface developers use to make applications communicate over a network.

Addressing Processes

The method used to uniquely identify and deliver data to a specific application or process running on a host.

Reliable Data Transfer

Data sent by one process is delivered to another process correctly and completely.

Throughput

The rate at which data can be successfully delivered from sender to receiver.

Timing

How long it takes for data to travel from the sending process to the receiving process.

Transport-Layer Security

Security services that protect data while it is being transmitted between processes.

Confidentiality

Prevents others from reading the data.

Data Integrity

Helps ensure that data was not altered.

Endpoint Authentication

Verifies the identity of the communicating endpoint.

Handshake

An initial exchange between two communicating processes to establish a connection before sending application data.

Full-Duplex Communication

Both sides can send and receive data simultaneously.

TCP Reliable Data Transfer

TCP delivers data without errors and in the proper order.

Congestion Control

A mechanism that reduces or controls the sending rate when the network becomes overloaded.

UDP (User Datagram Protocol)

A lightweight transport-layer protocol that sends data with minimal overhead without guaranteeing delivery.

Connectionless Communication

Data can be sent without first establishing a connection between sender and receiver.

Unreliable Data Transfer

A protocol does not guarantee that every message will successfully reach its destination.

TLS (Transport Layer Security)

A security protocol that protects data exchanged between applications.

Encryption

Protects data from unauthorized viewing.

Application-Layer Protocol

Rules that tell network applications how to format, exchange, and respond to messages.

Standardized Protocol

A protocol whose rules are publicly documented so different developers can create compatible software.

Proprietary Protocol

A protocol controlled by an organization and not fully available to the public.

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)

An application-layer protocol defining how web clients and web servers exchange messages.

TCP Connection

A communication channel established between two applications for reliable data exchange.

TCP Buffer

Memory used by TCP to temporarily hold network data while it is being transmitted or received.

Persistent Connection

A connection where the client can send several requests without waiting for each response before sending the next request.

Timeout Interval

The period during which a server waits before closing an unused connection.

Timeout

The amount of time the server waits before closing an unused connection.