Glossary of terms
- ARP (Address Resolution Protocol)
- The TCP/IP protocol used to dynamicaly bind a high
level IP address to a low-level hardware
address. ARP is used only across a single
physical network and is dependant on the hardware broadcast capability of the
underlying network hardware. Although ARP
is aware of IP, conceptually it resides in
a lower layer than IP, and IP treats it as part of the functionality
provided by the underlying hardware.
(See [Comer, chapter 5])
- BOOTP (Bootstrap Protocol)
- Provides an alternative to RARP
for a diskless workstation to determine its IP address.
Unlike ARP and RARP, BOOTP is an extensible protocol.
One of the implications of its extensibility is that its descendants (like DHCP) can
use old BOOTP relays. Superceded by DHCP.
(See
[Comer, chapter 19],
[RFC 1542]
and
[RFC 951])
- DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)
- Provides a framework
for passing configuration information to hosts on a TCP/IP network.
DHCP is based on BOOTP, adding the
capability of automatic allocation of reusable network addresses and
additional configuration options. DHCP captures the behavior of
BOOTP relay agents, and DHCP participants can interoperate
with BOOTP participants.
DHCP consists of two components: a
protocol for delivering host-specific configuration parameters from a
DHCP server to a host and a mechanism for allocation of network
addresses to hosts.
- ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol)
- Integral part of IP for error and control messages
handling. (See [Comer, chapter 9])
- internet
- A collection of packet switching networks interconnected by routers
along with the protocols that allow them to act logically as a single
virtual network.
- (the) Internet
- The global internet, that uses
the TCP/IP protocol suite for interconnection atop different
physical connection channels. The Internet provides universal
connectivity and three levels of network services: unreliable,
conectionless packet delivery (IP and UDP); reliable, full duplex stream delivery
(TCP/IP);
and application level services (like e-mail) that base on the first two.
- RARP (Reverse Address Resolution Protocol)
- The TCP/IP protocol a diskless station uses at
startup to find its IP address. Derived
from ARP. Superceded by BOOTP.
(See [Comer, chapter 6])
- RFC (Request For Comments)
- The Internet Request For Comments (or RFC) documents are the written definitions of
the protocols and policies of the Internet.
Here is a list of RFC sites on the Internet.
See also [Comer, appendix 1].
- IP (Internet Protocol)
- The fundamental internet protocol, used
atop almost any physical network. Defines its basic transmitted unit of
information, the IP datagram. Includes ICMP as an integral part.
IP is a conectionless, unreliable, best-effort packet delivery
system. (See [Comer, chapter 7])
- Relay Agent (BOOTP relay agent)
- A BOOTP relay agent is an Internet host or router
that passes DHCP messages between DHCP clients and DHCP servers.
DHCP is designed to use the same relay agent behavior as specified
in the BOOTP protocol specification.
- TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
- Reliable connection-oriented stream delivery service, one of the core internet protocols. Provides full-duplex conection
(with a possibility to shut it down one-way to form a simplex one)
between two machines on an internet. Allows
efficient data transfer across networks of different kinds with
different communication parameters, as well as different underlying
communication protocols.
Most widely used in the Internet over IP, in which case it is often designated as TCP/IP. It
provides the transport level in the TCP/IP protocol suite. (See
[Comer, chapter 12])
- UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
- A datagram-oriented protocol above IP
which includes a protocol port number for the source and the target,
allowing to distinguish between different application programs on the
source and target machine within the addressing scheme. It is as
unreliable as the underlying IP, with the
exception that it fixes a checksum field to control the transferred data
integrity. (See [Comer, chapter 11])
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