——title: local area network
subtitle: networking
Text:
<networking> (LAN) A data communications network which is
geographically limited (typically to a 1 km radius) allowing
easy interconnection of terminals, {microprocessor}s and
computers within adjacent buildings. {Ethernet} and {FDDI}
are examples of standard LANs. Because the network is known to cover only a small area,
optimisations can be made in the network signal protocols that
permit data rates up to 100Mb/s. See also {token ring}, {wide area network}, {metropolitan area
network}.. {Usenet} newsgroup: {news:comp.dcom.lans.misc}. (1995-03-13)
——title: Novell NetWare
subtitle: operating system, networking
Text:
<operating system, networking> {Novell, Inc.}'s proprietary
networking {operating system} for the {IBM PC}. NetWare uses the {IPX}/{SPX}, {NetBEUI} or {TCP/IP} network
{protocol}s. It supports {MS-DOS}, {Microsoft Windows},
{OS/2}, {Macintosh} and {Unix} {clients}. NetWare for Unix
lets users access Unix hosts. NetWare 2.2 is a 16-bit operating system, versions 4.x and 3.x
are 32-bit operating systems. {Home (http://netware.novell.com/)} {Usenet} newsgroup: {news:comp.sys.novell}. ["Netware", K. Siyan,
pub. New Riders]. [LAN Magazine, Sep 1993]. (1996-01-13)
——title: Ethernet
subtitle: networking
Text:
<networking> A {local area network} first described by
Metcalfe & Boggs of {Xerox PARC} in 1976. Specified by {DEC},
{Intel} and {XEROX} (DIX) as {IEEE 802.3} and now recognised
as the industry standard. Data is broken into {packets} which are transmitted using the
{CSMA/CD} {algorithm} until they arrive at the destination
without colliding with any other. The first {contention slot}
after a transmission is reserved for an {acknowledge} packet.
A {node} is either transmitting or receiving at any instant.
The {bandwidth} is about 10 Mbit/s. Disk-Ethernet-Disk
transfer rate with {TCP/IP} is typically 30 kilobyte per
second. Version 2 specifies that {collision} detect of the transceiver
must be activated during the {inter-packet gap} and that when
transmission finishes the differential transmit lines are
driven to 0V (half step). It also specifies some {network
management} functions such as reporting {collisions}, retries
and {deferrals}. Ethernet cables are classified as "XbaseY", e.g. 10base5,
where X is the data rate in {Mbps}, "base" means "{baseband}"
(as opposed to {radio frequency}) and Y is the category of
cabling. The original cable was {10base5} ("full spec"),
others are {10base2} ("thinnet") and {10baseT} ("twisted
pair") which is now (1998) very common. {100baseT} ("{Fast
Ethernet}") is also increasingly common. {Usenet} newsgroup: {news:comp.dcom.lans.ethernet}.
——title: Internet
subtitle: networking
Text:
<networking> (Note: capital "I"). The Internet is the largest
{internet} in the world. It is a three level {hierarchy}
composed of {backbone} networks (e.g. {ARPAnet}, {NSFNet},
{MILNET}), {mid-level network}s, and {stub network}s. These
include commercial (.com or .co), university (.ac or .edu) and
other research networks (.org, .net) and military (.mil)
networks and span many different physical networks around the
world with various {protocol}s including the {Internet
Protocol}. There were 20,242 unique commercial domains registered with
{InterNIC} in September 1994, 10% more than in August 1994.
There are over 100 Internet access providers in the US and a
few in the UK (e.g. the {BBC Networking Club}, {Demon},
{PIPEX}). There are several bodies associated with the running of the
Internet, including the {Internet Architecture Board}, the
{Internet Assigned Numbers Authority}, the {Internet
Engineering and Planning Group}, {Internet Engineering
Steering Group} and the {Internet Society}. See also {NYsernet}, {EUNet}. {The Internet Index (http://www.openmarket.com/intindex)} -
statistics about the Internet. (1996-09-12)
——title: intranet
subtitle: networking
Text:
<networking> Any {network} which provides similar services
within an organisation to those provided by the {Internet}
outside it but which is not necessarily connected to the
Internet. The commonest example is the use by a company of
one or more {World-Wide Web} servers on an internal {TCP/IP}
network for distribution of information within the company. Since about 1995, intranets have become a major growth area in
corporate computing due to the availability of cheap or free
commercial {browser} and {web server} software which allows
them to provide a simple, uniform {hypertext} interface to
many kinds of information and {application programs}. Some companies give limited access to their intranets to other
companies or the general public. This is known as an
"{extranet}". (1997-07-14)