Vocabulary

A-C | D-F | G-I | J-L | M-O | P-R | S-U | V-Z

10baseT - an ethernet standard that uses twisted-pair cable and operates at 10Mbps (data transfer speed). Most departmental/college networks at UA are 10baseT.

100baseT - an ethernet standard (also called fast ethernet) 10 times faster than 10baseT, that is, capable of data transfer speeds up to 100Mbps. Some networks on campus are being upgraded to 100baseT with funding from NSF (part of the I2 grant).

1000baseT - an ethernet standard (also called gigabit ethernet) 100 times faster than 10baseT, that is, capable of speeds up to 1000Mbps (or 1Gbps). The NSF grant is funding gigabit ethernet to connect selected college networks to the main campus network.

Abilene - a high-speed backbone network; part of the Abilene Project.

Abilene Project - a project organized by UCAID to support Internet2, provide backbone network service and other services, and encourage network research. For more information see the Abilene Project home page.

backbone - the main wire that connects nodes on a network. During academic year 98-99, the UA campus network backbone operated at 100Mbps. In 99-00, it will be 1Gbps.

bandwidth - the amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time. For networks, usually expressed in bits per second (bps).

bit - a single digit in a binary number. Physically, a high or low voltage pulsing through a circuit. A character in a text or data file is usually represented in 8 bits (also called 1 byte).

ethernet - a local area network protocol; the network protocol used at UA.

Gbps - a measure of data transfer speed. 1Gbps equals one gigabit per second or one billion bits per second.

GCG - Gulf Central GigaPoP; the gigapop connection center created by the UA system to provide regional connections to the vBNS, Abilene, Internet2 and future high-capacity networks. For more information see the GCG home page.

gigabit - a billion bits.

gigabit ethernet - a network capable of data transfer speeds up to 1Gbps. See 1000baseT. Also written GigE or GE.

GigaPoP - Gigabit capacity Point of Presence (also written gigapop); a regional high-speed network connection point capable of handling data transfer at rates measured in Gbps. Such sites are being developed by Internet2 schools to connect to the Internet2 network and other high-performance networks. For more information see the Internet2 engineering report.

Internet2 - a collaborative effort to develop advanced Internet technology. Also, a network connecting members of the Internet2 collaboration. For more information, visit the Internet2 home page.

MCI - short for MCI Worldcom, a provider of global network services. For more information, see the MCI home page. UUNET is one of the divisions of MCI Worldcom.

Mbps - a measure of data transfer speed. 1Mbps equals one megabit per second or one million bits per second.

megabit - one million bits.

meritorious research - a term used to describe the research projects allowed on the vBNS. Also used to describe projects eligible for NSF funding in support of the Internet2 project. In particular, these are projects which need a high bandwidth network. The vBNS is not open to general Internet traffic.

NGI initiative - Next Generation Internet initiative; a government plan issued in 1998 for developing, testing and using advanced networking technologies. For more information, visit the NGI home page.

NSF - National Science Foundation; a government agency which among other things funds research in advanced networking. For more information on NSF funded research opportunities, visit the NSF home page.

OC3 - an 'optical carrier' (fiber optic) network capable of a data transfer rate of 155 Mbps. UA has an OC3 connection to the GCG.

OC12 - an 'optical carrier' network line capable of a data transfer rate of 622 Mbps (about 4 times as much as OC3). The vBNS backbone network is OC12.

OC48 - 2.5Gbps (about 4 times OC12). The Abilene backbone network is OC48.

OC192 - 9.6Gbps. The Abilene network plans to run backbone links at OC192 and beyond.

PoP - Point of Presence (when referring to a network connection); a point on a network where connections to the network can be made. Not to be confused with POP mail, meaning Post Office Protocol, an e-mail protocol in which mail accumulates at a server and is transferred in bulk to a client machine when accessed.

SoX - The Southern Crossroads; initiated by SURA to facilitate access to current and future network services. For more information, visit the SoX home page.

SURA - Southeastern University Research Association. For more information, visit the SURA home page.

T1 - a data transfer rate of about 1.5 Mbps. UA's original connection to the Internet (through academic year 98-99) was one T1 connection.

T3 - a data transfer rate equal to 45 Mbps. For 99-00, the UA Internet connection will be part of a T3 connection equal to 12Mbps.

UCAID - University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development; a non-profit consortium, led by university members working in partnership with corporate and affiliate members, to provide leadership and direction for advanced networking development within the university community. For more information, visit the UCAID home page.

vBNS - very high performance Backbone Network Service; a backbone network service provided by MCI under agreement with the NSF. For more information, visit the vBNS home page.