IEEE 802.3
 
The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) standard that defines the CSMA/CD media-access method and the physical and data link layer specifications of a local area network. Among others, it includes 10BASE2, 10BASE5, 10BASE-FL and 10BASE-T Ethernet implementations. 

Internet
  
The hardware of interconnected local, regional, national and international networks, physically linked together by being connected to the "Internet Backbone". Although used interchangeably today, the Internet should not be confused with the World Wide Web (WWW). The Internet consists of all of the hardware devices connected together, whereas the World Wide Web is the "content" (web sites, e-mail, downloadable files, etc.) that is accessed or requested by computer users. 
 

Internetworking
 
General term used to describe the industry composed of products and technologies used to link networks together. 
 

IP Address
 
See Network Address.
 

IPX
 
Internetwork Packet eXchange, a NetWare protocol similar to IP (Internet Protocol). 
 

ISDN
 
(Integrated Services Digital Network): All digital service provided by telephone companies. Provides 144K bps over a single phone line (divided in two 64K bps "B" channels and one 16K bps "D" channel). 
 

ISO Layered Model
 
The International Standards Organization (ISO) sets standards for computers and communications. Its Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model specifies how dissimilar computing devices such as Network Interface Cards (NICs), bridges and routers exchange data over a network. The model consists of seven layers. From lowest to highest, they are: Physical, Data Link, Network, Transport, Session, Presentation and Application. Each layer performs services for the layer above it. 
 

Jabber
 
Network error caused by an interface card placing corrupted data on the network. Or, an error condition due to an Ethernet node transmitting longer packets than allowed. 
 

Kbps
 
Kilobits per second.

 
Kermit
 
A popular file transfer and terminal emulation program. 
 

LAN
 
Local Area Network, a data communications system consisting of a group of interconnected computers, sharing applications, data and peripherals. The geographical area is usually a building or group of buildings. 
 

LAT
 
Local Area Transport, a Digital Equipment Corporation proprietary network communication protocol. The protocol is based on the idea of a relatively small, known number of hosts on a local network sending small network packets at regular intervals. LAT will not work on a wide area network scale, as TCP/IP does. 
 

Latency
 
The delay incurred by a switching or bridging device between receiving the frame and forwarding the frame. 
 

Layer
 
In networks, layers refer to software protocol levels comprising the architecture, with each layer performing functions for the layers above it. 
 

Line Speed
 
Expressed in bps, the maximum rate at which data can reliably be transmitted over a line using given hardware. 
 

Load Balancing
 
Shifting a user job from a more heavily loaded resource to a less loaded resource. 
 

Local Network Interconnect (LNI)
 
A Port Multiplier, or concentrator supporting multiple active devices or communications controllers, either used standalone or attached to standard Ethernet cable. 
 

LocalTalk
 
Apple Computer's proprietary 230 Kbps baseband network protocol. It uses the CSMA/CD access method over unshielded twisted pair wire. 
 

Logical Link
 
A temporary connection between source and destination nodes, or between two processes on the same node.

 
LPD
 
Line Printer Daemon, a process on Berkeley spooler implementations that provides LPR support. 
 

LPR
 
The LPR command is used to queue print jobs on Berkeley queuing systems.