| bandwidth |
How much data per second a link carries (Mbps) |
| baud |
Symbols per second (serial); both ends must match |
| broadcast |
A packet addressed to everyone on the local network |
CIDR (/24) |
Prefix-length notation: how many address bits are the network part |
| DHCP |
Hands out IP addresses (and gateway/DNS) automatically |
| DNS |
Translates names (example.com) to IP addresses |
| gateway |
The router your traffic leaves through (usually 192.168.1.1) |
| hairpinning |
Router looping LAN→public-IP→LAN traffic back inside (often unsupported) |
| IPv4 |
32-bit addresses (192.168.1.50) — the classic |
| IPv6 |
128-bit addresses (fe80::...) — the successor |
| LAN |
Local Area Network — your home network |
| latency |
Round-trip time (ms) — the "snappy" factor |
| localhost |
127.0.0.1 — "this computer" |
| NAT |
Network Address Translation — many private addresses share one public IP |
| netmask |
Old notation for the network/host split (255.255.255.0 = /24) |
| packet |
A small addressed chunk of data — the unit of network travel |
| port |
A number identifying a program on a machine (:8080) |
| protocol |
Agreed rules for communication (TCP, UDP, HTTP...) |
| router |
Forwards packets between networks; your LAN's front desk |
| SSID |
A WiFi network's name |
| subnet |
A subdivision of a network — same prefix = direct local talk |
| TCP |
Reliable, ordered delivery (phone call) |
| TLS |
Encryption layer (the S in HTTPS) |
| traceroute |
Shows each router hop to a destination |
| TTL (DNS) |
How long a DNS answer may be cached |
| UDP |
Fast, best-effort delivery (shouting into a canyon) |
| VPN |
Encrypted tunnel making a remote device act local |