A Glossary of Networking Terms
RFC 1208
Network Working Group O. Jacobsen
Request for Comments: 1208 D. Lynch
Interop, Inc.
March 1991
A Glossary of Networking Terms
Status of this Memo
This RFC is a glossary adapted from "The INTEROP Pocket Glossary of
Networking Terms" distributed at Interop '90. This memo provides
information for the Internet community. It does not specify an
Internet standard. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Introduction
This glossary is adapted from "The INTEROP Pocket Glossary of
Networking Terms" produced to help you understand the many terms--and
in particular the myriad of acronyms--that can be encountered at the
INTEROP Tutorials, Conference, and Exhibition.
To keep this document reasonably small we have deliberately omitted
common computer and communications terms such as disk, modem, byte,
and VLSI. In addition, the definitions have been kept brief. We
recommend that you consult the glossaries found in the major computer
networking textbooks for more comprehensive definitions.
We also realize that producing this glossary is akin to shooting at a
moving target. The computer and communications industries are moving
very rapidly, and terms and acronyms are born every day. You are
invited to submit words which you think should be included in future
editions.
Glossary
abstract syntax: A description of a data structure that is
independent of machine-oriented structures and encodings.
ACSE: Association Control Service Element. The method used in OSI
for establishing a call between two applications. Checks the
identities and contexts of the application entities, and could apply
an authentication security check.
address mask: A bit mask used to select bits from an Internet address
for subnet addressing. The mask is 32 bits long and selects the
network portion of the Internet address and one or more bits of the
local portion. Sometimes called subnet mask.
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RFC 1208 INTEROP Pocket Glossary March 1991
address resolution: A means for mapping Network Layer addresses onto
media-specific addresses. See ARP.
ADMD: Administration Management Domain. An X.400 Message Handling
System public service carrier. Examples: MCImail and ATTmail in the
U.S., British Telecom Gold400mail in the U.K. The ADMDs in all
countries worldwide together provide the X.400 backbone. See PRMD.
agent: In the client-server model, the part of the system that
performs information preparation and exchange on behalf of a client
or server application. See NMS, DUA, MTA.
ANSI: American National Standards Institute. The U.S.
standardization body. ANSI is a member of the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO)
AOW: Asia and Oceania Workshop. One of the three regional OSI
Implementors Workshops, equivalent to OIW and EWOS.
API: Application Program Interface. A set of calling conventions
defining how a service is invoked through a software package.
Application Layer: The top-most layer in the OSI Reference Model
providing such communication services as electronic mail and file
transfer.
ARP: Address Resolution Protocol. The Internet protocol used to
dynamically map Internet addresses to physical (hardware) addresses
on local area networks. Limited to networks that support hardware
broadcast.
ARPA: Advanced Research Projects Agency. Now called DARPA, the U.S.
government agency that funded the ARPANET.
ARPANET: A packet switched network developed in the early 1970s. The
"grandfather" of today's Internet. ARPANET was decommissioned in
June 1990.
ASN.1: Abstract Syntax Notation One. The OSI language for describing
abstract syntax. See BER.
attribute: The form of information items provided by the X.500
Directory Service. The directory information base consists of
entries, each containing one or more attributes. Each attribute
consists of a type identifier together with one or more values. Each
directory Read operation can retrieve some or all attributes from a
designated entry.
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RFC 1208 INTEROP Pocket Glossary March 1991
Autonomous System: Internet (TCP/IP) terminology for a collection of
gateways (routers) that fall under one administrative entity and
cooperate using a common Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP). See
subnetwork.
backbone: The primary connectivity mechanism of a hierarchical
distributed system. All systems which have connectivity to an
intermediate system on the backbone are assured of connectivity to
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