Specifications

Glossary
Address
A coded representation of the origin or destination of data.
Agent
In SNMP, this refers to the managed system.
Analog
A continuous wave or signal (such as human voice).
ANSI
American National Standards Institute.
AWG
The American Wire Gauge System, which specifies wire width.
Balanced
A transmission line in which voltages on the two conductors are
equal in magnitude, but opposite in polarity, with respect to
ground.
Bandwidth
The range of frequencies passing through a given circuit. The
greater the bandwidth, the more information can be sent through
the circuit in a given amount of time.
Baud
Unit of signaling speed equivalent to the number of discrete
conditions or events per second. If each signal event represents
only one bit condition, baud rate equals bps (bits per second).
Bipolar
Signaling method in E1/T1 representing a binary “1” by alternating
positive and negative pulses, and a binary “0” by absence of
pulses.
Bit
The smallest unit of information in a binary system. Represents
either a one or zero (“1” or “0”).
bps (Bits Per Second)
A measure of data transmission rate in serial transmission.
Bridge
A device interconnecting local area networks at the OSI data link
layer, filtering and forwarding frames according to media access
control (MAC) addresses.
Buffer
A storage device. Commonly used to compensate for differences
in data rates or event timing when transmitting from one device to
another. Also used to remove jitter.
Bus
A transmission path or channel. A bus is typically an electrical
connection with one or more conductors, where all attached
devices receive all transmissions at the same time.
Byte
A group of bits (normally 8 bits in length).
Carrier
A continuous signal at a fixed frequency that is capable of being
modulated with a second (information carrying) signal.