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Wireless PCI Adapter
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Network – A system that transmits any combination of voice, video, and/or
data between users.
NIC (Network Interface Card) – A board installed in a computer system,
usually a PC, to provide network communication capabilities to and from that
computer system. Also called an adapter.
Packet Filtering – Discarding unwanted network traffic based on its
originating address or range of addresses or its type (e-mail, file transfer, etc.).
PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) – A peripheral bus commonly used
in PCs, Macintoshes and workstations. It was designed primarily by Intel and
first appeared on PCs in late 1993. PCI provides a high-speed data path
between the CPU and peripheral devices (video, disk, network, etc.).
There are typically three of four PCI slots on the motherboard. In a Pentium
PC, there is generally a mix of PCI and ISA slots or PCI and EISA slots.
Early on, the PCI bus was known as a “local bus.”
PCI allows IRQs to be shared, which helps to solve the problem of limited IRQs
available on a PC. For example, if there were only one IRQ left over after ISA
devices were given their required IRQs, all PCI devices could share it. In a
PCI-only machine, there cannot be insufficient IRQs, as all can be shared.
PCMCIA – The PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association) is an industry group organized in 1989 to promote standards for a
credit card-size memory or I/O device that would fit into a personal computer,
usually a notebook or laptop computer.
Wireless PCI Adapter
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Peer-to-Peer Networking – Allows users to share local resources
between PCs without needing an access point or router.
Ping (Packet Internet Groper) – An Internet utility used to determine whether
a particular IP address is online. It is used to test and debug a network by
sending out a packet and waiting for a response.
Plug-and-Play – The ability of a computer system to configure expansion
boards and other devices automatically without requiring the user to turn off the
system during installation.
Port – A pathway into and out of the computer of a network device such as
a switch or router. For example, the serial and parallel ports on a personal
computer are external sockets for plugging in communications lines, modems,
and printers.
PPPoE (Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet) – A method used mostly by
DSL providers for connecting personal computers to a broadband modem for
Internet access. It is similar to how a dial-up connection works but at higher
speeds and quicker access.