protocol system A system of standards and procedures that enables computers to communicate over a network.
TCP/IP A network protocol suite used on the Internet and also on many other networks around the world.
ARPAnet An experimental network that was the birthplace of TCP/IP.
router A network device that forwards data by logical address and can also be used to segment large networks into smaller subnetworks.
physical address A permanent address burned into a network adapter in the factory.
logical address A network address configured through the protocol software.
gateway A router that connects a LAN to a larger network. The term gateway sometimes applies specifically to a router that performs some kind of protocol conversion.
name service A service that associates human-friendly alphanumeric names with network addresses.
IP address A logical address used to locate a computer or other networked device (such as a printer) on a TCP/IP network.
domain name An alphanumeric name associated with an IP address through TCP/IP's DNS name service system.
port An internal address that provides an interface between an application and TCP/IP's Transport layer.
RFC (Request for Comment) An official technical paper providing relevant information on TCP/IP or the Internet. You can find the RFCs at several places on the Internet try www.rfc-editor.org.
