Key Terms

Review the following list of key terms:

• protocol system— A system of standards and procedures that enables computers to communicate over a network.

• TCP/IP— A network protocol suite used on the Internet and also on many other networks around the world.

• ARPAnet— An experimental network that was the birthplace of TCP/IP.

• router— A network device that forwards data by logical address and can also be used to segment large networks into smaller subnetworks.

• physical address— A permanent address burned into a network adapter in the factory.

• logical address— A network address configured through the protocol software.

• gateway— A router that connects a LAN to a larger network. The term gateway sometimes applies specifically to a router that performs some kind of protocol conversion.

• name service— A service that associates human-friendly alphanumeric names with network addresses.

• IP address— A logical address used to locate a computer or other networked device (such as a printer) on a TCP/IP network.

• domain name— An alphanumeric name associated with an IP address through TCP/IP's DNS name service system.

• port— An internal address that provides an interface between an application and TCP/IP's Transport layer.

• RFC (Request for Comment)— An official technical paper providing relevant information on TCP/IP or the Internet. You can find the RFCs at several places on the Internet—try www.rfc-editor.org.