Acronym |
Term |
Meaning/Function |
802.11b |
802.11b |
Standard for wireless transmissions up to 12 Mbps with a carrier
frequency of 2.4GHz. |
802.11g |
802.11g |
Standard for wireless transmission up to 54 Mbps with a carrier
frequency of 2.4GHz. |
802.11n |
Wi-Fi 802.11n |
Standard for wireless transmission up to 300 Mbps with a carrier
frequency of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz depending on radio implementation. |
AES |
Advanced Encryption Standard |
Used in WPA2 as an advanced encryption method. |
AP |
Access Point |
A network device that connects a wireless signal with a wired
router. |
ALG |
Application Layer Gateway |
Allows defined applications to bypass the firewall destined for a
LAN side device. |
ATM |
Asynchronous Transfer Mode |
Data transmission technology utilizing virtual circuits to
transmit text, voice, image, and video data. |
CRC |
Cyclic Redundancy Check |
Used as a check to detect the alteration of data during data
transmission or storage. |
DHCP |
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol |
Provides automatic allocation and management of IP addresses to
LAN devices. |
DMZ |
DeMilitarized Zone |
Zone in front of the modems firewall opening the LAN device to
full view of the Internet. A device in the DMZ WILL NOT be protected by the
firewall of the modem. |
DNS |
Domain Name Server |
Provides IP to URL translation to find a specific site on the
Internet. When a domain as in www.CenturyLink.com is entered into the address
bar of your browser, DNS translates the domain to an IP address to find the site
on the Internet. |
DSL |
Digital Subscriber Line |
Provides digital data transmissions over copper wires from the
telco the subscribers home. |
FTP |
File Transfer Protocol |
Protocol used to transmit data from one computer to another over
the Internet. |
GRE |
Generic Routing Encapsulation |
Tunneling protocol used to create point to point tunnels over an
IP network. |
IM |
Instant Messaging
|
Real time communication with two or more people using text over
an IP network. |
IPCP |
Internet Protocol Control Protocol |
Network control protocol used to establish and configure a
point-to-point link over an IP network. |
IP |
Internet Protocol |
Protocol used for transferring data over a wide network. IP is
the primary protocol used for the Internet. |
ISP |
Internet Service Provider |
Provides access to the Internet. |
LAN |
Local Area Network |
Network of computers and devices covering a small area as a home
or office. |
LCP |
Link Control Protocol |
Used to establishing a PPP connection, LCP determines the
standards to ensure data transmission. |
LLC |
Logical Link Control |
Provides flow and error control across all interfaces |
MAC |
Media Access Control |
Provides addressing and channel access control of devices on the
LAN. |
NAT |
Network Address Translator |
Masks devices on the LAN behind the modem hiding the devices from
the Internet. |
PPP |
Point to Point Protocol |
Established a direct authenticated connection between two network
devices. PPP is used to establish a connection between your modem and the
CenturyLink network. |
PPPoA |
Point to Point Protocol over ATM |
Establishes a direct authenticated connection using ATM as the
transfer method. |
PPPoE |
Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet |
Establishes a direct authenticated connection using Ethernet as
the transfer method. |
PSK |
Pre-Shared Key |
A shared secret between two devices to establish a secure
wireless connection. |
QoS |
Quality of Service |
Provides the ability to prioritize different traffic types over
another. An example is prioritizing voice traffic over internet browsing
traffic. |
UPnP |
Universal Plug and Play |
Protocol allowing devices to connect to each other seamlessly
providing a true plug-n-play experience. |
RAM |
Random Access Memory |
Randomly accessed modem memory providing resources to run
applications stored on the modem. Resources include all modem features and the
GUI you are viewing. |
RFC |
Request For Comment |
Provides a means for developing standards and specifications for
protocol development. |
RIP |
Router Information Protocol |
Identifies the shortest path between two network points with the
least number of hops. |
RS |
Reed-Solomon |
Error correcting technique used to correct errors in data
bursts. |
SNR |
Signal to Noise Ratio |
Compares the desired transmission signal to background noise on a
transmission line. The higher the ratio, the better the signal transmission
is. |
SSID |
Service Set Identifier |
Is the name of your wireless network. When you search for a
wireless network from a wireless client the network name that appears is the
SSID. CenturyLink uses "myCenturyLinkxxxx" and "CenturyLinkxxxx" as default
SSID's. The "xxxx" in the default SSID represents the last four digits of your
routers serial number making network identification easier. |
TCP |
Transmission Control Protocol |
Manages a data stream across the Internet ensuring a reliable
delivery. |
TKIP |
Temporal Key Integrity Protocol |
Security protocol used for wireless networks in the framework of
WPA. |
UDP |
User Datagram Protocol |
Allows network devices to send short datagrams to each other
without the reliability of TCP. |
URL |
Uniform Resource Locator |
Standard way of defining where a resource is available on the
Internet. If you are looking for CenturyLink on the Internet, the URL
www.CenturyLink.com would be used to connect to CenturyLink. |
USB |
Universal Serial Bus |
Shared bus standard for connecting devices to a host computer.
All devices connected the the USB bus share the available bandwidth. USB 1.0/1.1
has a maximum bus rate of 12Mbps where USB 2.0 has a maximum bus rate of
480Mbps. |
VCI |
Virtual Channel Identifier |
Unique identifier in the ATM world identifying the virtual
channel a data stream should take. VCI works in conjunction with the VPI to
identify the destination point of the data stream. |
VIP |
Virtual IP Interface |
Allows for the creation of a private and public subnet with a
block of static IP addresses. Using VIP enables you to provide static IP
addresses to devices that require a static IP address while providing DHCP
addresses to devices that do not require a static IP address. |
VLAN |
Virtual Local Area Network |
A group of devices that are geographically separated but appear
to be in the same place on one LAN. |
VPI |
Virtual Path Identifier |
Unique identifier in the ATM world identifying the virtual path a
data stream should take. VPI works in conjunction with the VCI to identify the
destination point of the data stream. |
WAN |
Wide Area Network |
Network covering a wide area providing connectivity for many
LANs. The Internet is considered a big WAN. |
WEP |
Wired Equivalent Privacy |
Wireless network security protocol providing wireless security
with an AP. WEP has been replaced with WPA2 as the preferred wireless security
protocol for wireless networks. |
WMM |
Wireless Multimedia |
Provides traffic QoS on the wireless link of a LAN. WMM allows
for the prioritization of traffic by traffic type on the wireless AP. |
WPA / WPA2 |
Wi-Fi Protected Access |
Wireless network security protocol providing wireless security
with an AP. WPA2 is the preferred wireless security type over WEP. WPA2 allows
you to create a security phrase instead of having to develop a hexadecimal key
with WEP. |
WPS |
Wi-Fi Protected Setup |
Provides the ability to exchange security key information between
a wireless client and AP without having to type in the key. |
WPS PBC |
Wi-Fi Protected Setup - Push Button Configuration |
To initiate a WPS PBC key exchange push the WPS button on the
modem and activate WPS in your wireless client. Not all CenturyLink modems come
with a WPS button. |
WPS PIN |
Wi-Fi Protected Setup - PIN Configuration |
To initiate a WPS PIN connection insert the WPS PIN of the
wireless client into the modem on the WPS page under wireless settings. |