User's Manual

Glossary 61
network adapter
A computer circuit board, card, or other device used to
provide network access from a computer to other parts
of the network – for example, to another computer, a
printer, or a base station (gateway or router). Adapters
can be installed inside a computer, inserted into
a computer’s expansion slots, or connected to a
computer’s ports.
NIC
Acronym for “Network Interface Card.” A circuit board,
expansion card, or other device used to provide network
access to a computer or other network component,
such as a printer. Network interface cards do the actual
sending and receiving of data.
packet
A unit of information transmitted as a whole from one
device to another on a network. This is often a piece of
a le that has been divided up for efcient transmission
over the Internet.
PC Card
A credit card-sized device that is inserted into a slot on a
computer, usually a notebook computer.
PCI
Acronym for “Peripheral Component Interconnect.”
A specic local bus type that allows up to 10 PCI-
compliant expansion cards to be installed in a computer.
This architecture is designed to speed up system
performance by allowing some expansion boards to
communicate directly with the microprocessor.
PCMCIA
Acronym for “Personal Computer Memory Card
International Association.” This group dened the
standards for the PC Card, a type of expansion card
designed for notebook computers.
peer-to-peer
network
A network of two or more computers that connect
directly with one another.
Plug and Play
Sometimes abbreviated “PnP.” A set of specications
that allow a computer to automatically detect and
congure various peripheral devices, such as monitors,
modems, and printers. See “UPnP.”
port
This term has several meanings: (1) A physical
connection through which data is transferred between a
computer and another computer, a network, and other
devices (such as a monitor, modem, or printer). (2) A
software channel for network communications. When a
client computer communicates through a network with
a server, it sends its request over a certain numbered
channel, called a “port.”
X1026439_GLS.indd 11/19/2003, 8:36 AM61