Specifications

E1 Line
A 2.048 Mbps line, common in Europe, that supports thirty-two 64
kbps channels, each of which can transmit and receive data or
digitized voice. The line uses framing and signaling to achieve
synchronous and reliable transmission. The most common
configurations for E1 lines are E1 PRI, and unchannelized E1.
E3
The European standard for high speed digital transmission, operating
at 34 Mbps.
Encapsulation
Encapsulating data is a technique used by layered protocols in which a
low level protocol accepts a message from a higher level protocol,
then places it in the data portion of the lower-level frame. The
logistics of encapsulation require that packets traveling over a physical
network contain a sequence of headers.
Ethernet
A local area network (LAN) technology which has extended into the
wide area networks. Ethernet operates at many speeds, including data
rates of 10 Mbps (Ethernet), 100 Mbps (Fast Ethernet), 1,000 Mbps
(Gigabit Ethernet), 10 Gbps, 40 Gbps, and 100 Gbps.
Fiber Optics
A transmission medium consisting of thin glass or plastic filaments.
Light beams (generated by an LED or laser) travel through the fiber
optic line, carrying large amounts of data over long distances.
Flow Control
A congestion control mechanism that results in an ATM system
implementing flow control.
Frame
A logical grouping of information sent as a link-layer unit over a
transmission medium. The terms packet, datagram, segment, and
message are also used to describe logical information groupings.
Full Duplex
A circuit or device permitting transmission in two directions (sending
and receiving) at the same time.
G.703
An ITU standard for the physical and electrical characteristics of
various digital interfaces, including those at 64 kbps and 2.048 Mbps.
Gateway
Gateways are points of entrance and exit from a communications
network. Viewed as a physical entity, a gateway is that node that
translates between two otherwise incompatible networks or network
segments. Gateways perform code and protocol conversion to
facilitate traffic between data highways of differing architecture.
Half Duplex
A circuit or device capable of transmitting in two directions, but not at
the same time.
Impedance
The combined effect of resistance, inductance and capacitance on a
transmitted signal. Impedance varies at different frequencies.
Interface
A shared boundary, defined by common physical interconnection
characteristics, signal characteristics, and meanings of exchanged
signals.
IP Address
Also known as an Internet address. A unique string of numbers that
identifies a computer or device on a TCP/IP network. The format of an
IP address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers from 0
to 255, separated by periods (for example, 1.0.255.123).