HP-UX VLAN Administrator's Guide, February 2007

device class A logical grouping of similar devices. For example, Ethernet, Token Ring, and FDDI network
interface cards all provide LAN connectivity and are in the same device class.
directly
connected
network
The network to which a host or node is directly connected. Also referred to as a local network.
DLPI Data Link Provider Interface. An industry-standard definition for message communications to
STREAMS-based network interface drivers.
environment
variable
A symbol containing information that can be used by shells or commands. Environment variables
are available to all processes in a given process group; they are propagated by the creation of
a child process.
Ethernet A communications concept for local communication networks that interconnects different kinds
of computers, information processing products, and office equipment. It is a 10-Mb/s baseband
local area network using carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD). The
network enables multiple stations to access the medium at will, without prior coordination,
and avoids contention by using carrier sense and deference, and detection and transmission.
Specified in the IEEE 802.3 Standard.
Fast Ethernet A commonly used name for referring to 100Base-T.
GbE (Gigabit Ethernet) A term that encompasses any 1000-Mb/s communication method for Ethernet
LANs.
hardware path An identifier assigned by the system according to the physical location (slot) of a card in the
hardware backplane.
host A computer system. If the computer system is a member of a network, it is also a node in the
network.
See also node.
host name The name given to a computer on the network.
HSC High-speed connect bus.
hub A network interconnection device that enables multiple devices to share a single logical link
segment. Hubs are generally either 10-Mb/s or 100-Mb/s devices.
IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. A national association, whose activities
include publishing standards applicable to electronic technologies. The IEEE technical committees
are numbered and grouped by area. For example, the 800 committees study local area network
technologies. The 802.3 committee produced the standard for a CSMA/CD local area network,
which has been adopted by ANSI.
Internet address A unique number that identifies a host's connection to an Internet network. The format of the
address conforms to the IPv4 or IPv6 protocol.
See also IPv4 address, IPv6 address.
Internet Protocol See IP.
IP Internet protocol. The network layer protocol for the Internet Protocol Suite that provides the
basis for the connectionless, best-effort packet delivery service. IP includes the Internet Control
Message Protocol (ICMP) as an integral part. The Internet Protocol Suite is referred to as TCP/IP
because IP is one of the two most fundamental protocols.
IP address See Internet address.
IPv4 Internet Protocol version 4. The first widely deployed version of the IP protocol. It is still the
most widely deployed version of the IP protocol.
IPv4 address An IP address that conforms to the IPv4 protocol. A 32-bit address typically represented in
dotted decimal notation. In dotted decimal notation, the address is converted to 4 decimal
values, 8 bits at a time, and the decimal values are separated by periods (dots). For example,
192.168.2.1 is a valid IPv4 address.
IPv6 Internet Protocol version 6. The successor to IPv4. IPv6 supports a larger address space, stateless
autoconfiguration for hosts, and other enhancements to IPv4.
IPv6 address An IP address that conforms to the IPv6 protocol. An IPv6 address is 128 bits. The preferred
form for representing an IPv6 address is colon-hexadecimal notation. In colon-hexadecimal
notation, the address is converted to 8 groups of 4 hexadecimal digits, 16 bits at a time, and the
56 Glossary