Glossary X

W

WAN

wide area network: A designation used to connect LANs together across a DCE (data communications equipment) network. Typically, a WAN is a leased line or dial-up connection across a PSTN network. Examples of WAN protocols include Frame Relay, PPP, ISDN, and HDLC.

weighted fair queuing

Default queuing method on serial links on all Cisco routers. An automated process for placing packets into a queue.

weighted round robin

A fixed number of queues are serviced in round-robin fashion, each being configurable only as to the size of the queue. See also: round robin.

wildcard

Used with access-list, supernetting, and OSPF configurations. Wildcards are designations used to identify a range of subnets.

windowing

A flow-control method used with TCP at the Transport layer of the OSI model. Data is acknowledged by the receiver only at the end of a transmission window, which can vary in size according the network reliability.

WinSock

Windows Socket Interface: A software interface that makes it possible for an assortment of applications to use and share an Internet connection. The WinSock software consists of a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) with supporting programs such as a dialer program that initiates the connection.

wire speed

The term given to the process whereby data is forwarded through the switch with no appreciable delay. See also: non-blocking.

workgroup switching

A switching method that supplies high-speed (100Mbps) transparent bridging between Ethernet networks as well as high-speed translational bridging between Ethernet and CDDI or FDDI.