Linksys WRT54GS-FR User's Manual - Page 58

Instant Wireless® Series TX Rate - Transmission Rate. UDP (User Datagram Protocol) - A method (protocol) used along with the IP (Internet Protocol) to send data in the form of message units (datagram) between network devices over a LAN or WAN. While IP takes care of handling the actual delivery of the data (routing), UDP takes care of keeping track of the individual units of data (called packets) that a message is divided into for efficient delivery over the network. UDP is known as a "connection-less" protocol due to NOT requiring the receiver of a packet to return an acknowledgment of receipt to the sender of the packet (as opposed to TCP). Upgrade - To replace existing software or firmware with a newer version. Upload - To send a file transmitted over a network. In a communications session, upload means transmit, and download means receive. URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - The address that defines the route to a file on the Web or any other Internet facility. URLs are typed into the browser to access Web pages, and URLs are embedded within the pages themselves to provide the hypertext links to other pages. UTP - Unshielded twisted pair is the most common kind of copper telephone wiring. Twisted pair is the ordinary copper wire that connects home and many business computers to the telephone company. To reduce crosstalk or electromagnetic induction between pairs of wires, two insulated copper wires are twisted around each other. Each signal on twisted pair requires both wires. Since some telephone sets or desktop locations require multiple connections, twisted pair is sometimes installed in two or more pairs, all within a single cable. VPN (Virtual Private Network) - A technique that allows two or more LANs to be extended over public communication channels by creating private communication subchannels (tunnels). Effectively, these LANs can use a WAN as a single large "virtually private" LAN. This removes the need to use leased lines for WAN communications through secure use of a publicly available WAN (such as the Internet). Examples of VPN technology are: PPTP (Point to Point Tunneling Protocol), L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol), and IPSec (Internet Protocol Security). WAN (Wide Area Network) - A communications network that covers a relatively large geographic area, consisting of two or more LANs. Broadband communication over the WAN is often through public networks such as the 108 Wireless-G Broadband Router telephone (DSL) or cable systems, or through leased lines or satellites. In its most basic definition, the Internet could be considered a WAN. WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) - A data privacy mechanism based on a 64bit or 128-bi shared key algorithm, as described in the IEEE 802.11 standard. WINIPCFG - Configuration utility based on the Win32 API for querying, defining, and managing IP addresses within a network. A commonly used utility for configuring networks with static IP addresses. WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) - A group of computers and associated devices that communicate with each other wirelessly. Workgroup - Two or more individuals that share files and databases. 109