TCP/IPv6 Configuration and Management Manual (G06.24+)

Glossary
HP NonStop TCP/IPv6 Configuration and Management Manual—524523-008
Glossary-16
packet
two systems, the services required to perform these functions, and the protocols
associated with these services.
packet. The unit of data sent across a packet switching network. While some Internet
literature uses it to refer specifically to data sent across a physical network, other
literature views the Internet as a packet switching network and describes IP datagrams
as packets.
Packet Internet Groper (PING). The name of a program used in the Internet to test the
reachability of destinations by sending them an ICMP echo request and waiting for a
reply. The term has survived the original program and is now used as a verb, as in
“please ping host A to see if it is alive.”
packet switching. A technique in which messages are broken into smaller units, called
packets, that can be individually addressed and routed through the network. The
receiving-end node ascertains whether all the packets are received and in the proper
sequence before forwarding the complete message to the addressee.
path MTU. the minimum link MTU of all the links in a path between a source node and a
destination node.
PDN. See Public Data Network (PDN).
physical interface (PIF). The hardware components that connect a system node to a
network.
physical layer. Layer 1 in the OSI Reference Model. This layer establishes the actual
physical connection between the network and the computer equipment. Protocols at
the Physical Layer include rules for the transmission of bits across the physical
medium and rules for connectors and wiring.
PIF. See physical interface (PIF)
PING. See PING.
predefined value. A commonly used value—for instance, a value for a token or a field in a
token—that is given a name in a set of definition files.
preferred address. An address assigned to an interface whose use by upper layer
protocols is unrestricted. Preferred addresses can be used as the source (or
destination) address of packets sent from (or to) the interface.
preferred lifetime. The length of time that a valid address is preferred (that is, the time until
deprecation). When the preferred lifetime expires, the address becomes deprecated.
prefix. A bit string that consists of some number of initial bits of an address.