NETGEAR ProSafe GSM7212 User Manual page 218

User Manual for the NETGEAR 7200 Series Layer 2 Managed Switch Software
independent unit of data without any relation to any other unit of data. (The reason the packets do get put in
the right order is because of TCP, the connection-oriented protocol that keeps track of the packet sequence in
a message.) In the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) communication model, IP is in Layer 3, the
Networking Layer. The most widely used version of IP today is IP version 4 (IPv4). However, IP version 6
(IPv6) is also beginning to be supported. IPv6 provides for much longer addresses and therefore for the
possibility of many more Internet users. IPv6 includes the capabilities of IPv4 and any server that can
support IPv6 packets can also support IPv4 packets.
L
LAN
See "Local Area Network" on page 10.
Learning
The bridge examines the Layer 2 source addresses of every frame on the attached networks (called listening)
and then maintains a table, or cache, of which MAC addresses are attached to each of its ports.
Link-State
In routing protocols, the declared information about the available interfaces and available neighbors of a
router or network. The protocol's topological database is formed from the collected link-state declarations.
Load balancing
The ability to distribute traffic across various ports of a device, such as a switch, to provide efficient,
optimized traffic throughout the network.
Local Area Network
A communications network serving users within a limited area, such as one floor of a building. A LAN
typically connects multiple personal computers and shared network devices such as storage and printers.
Although many technologies exist to implement a LAN, Ethernet is the most common for connecting
personal computers and is limited to a distance of 1,500 feet. LANs can be connected together, but if
modems and telephones connect two or more LANs, the larger network constitutes what is called a WAN or
Wide Area Network.
Loop
An event that occurs when two network devices are connected by more than one path, thereby causing
packets to repeatedly cycle around the network and not reach their destination.
C-10 Glossary
December 2004, 202-10010-02