Network address about which all information is ignored.
mask
See [subnet mask]
MBGP
Multiprotocol BGP. An extension to BGP that allows you to connect multicast topologies within and between BGP ASs.
MBone
Internet multicast backbone. An interconnected set of subnetworks and routers that support the delivery of IP multicast traffic. The MBone is a virtual network that is layered on top of sections of the physical Internet.
MCS
Miscellaneous Control Subsystem. On an M160 router, provides control and monitoring functions for router components and SONET clocking for the router.
MED
Multiple exit discriminator. Optional BGP path attribute consisting of a metric value that is used to determine the exit point to a destination when all other factors in determining the exit point are equal.
mesh
Network topology in which devices are organized in a manageable, segmented manner with many, often redundant, interconnections between network nodes.
MIB
Management Information Base. Definition of an object that can be managed by SNMP.
midplane
Forms the rear of the PIC cage on M5 and M10 routers and the FPC card cage on M20 and M160 routers. Provides data transfer, power distribution, and signal connectivity.
Miscellaneous Control Subsystem
See [MCS]
MPLS
Multiprotocol Label Switching. Mechanism for engineering network traffic patterns that functions by assigning to network packets short labels that describe how to forward them through the network. Also called label switching.
See also [traffic engineering]
MTBF
Mean time between failure. Measure of hardware component reliability.
MTU
Maximum transfer unit. Limit on segment size for a network.
multicast
Operation of sending network traffic from one network node to multiple network nodes.
