Glossary
- Blocking Switch - The switch that enables only a limited number of ports to be connected concurrently which is less than the number of ports available.
- Dark Fiber - Dark fiber is optical-fiber fully owned and lit by an end user company like the GN-IX, as opposed to optical-fiber that is rented from a Telco and lit by that Telco on the end user company's behalf. The term 'dark fiber' comes from the fact that cable is not already lit when you buy it. Generally companies will rent fiber runs that are lit by a Telco and merely present data to the Telco's tranceiver equipment.
- Ethernet - Ethernet is the most widely-installed local area network (LAN) technology.
- Gigabit Ethernet - Gigabit Ethernet is a local area network (LAN) transmission standard that provides a data rate of 1 billion bits per second (one gigabit).
- IP - The Internet Protocol (IP) is the method or protocol by which data is sent from one computer to another on the Internet.
- Layer Two - Layer 2 refers to the Data Link Layer of the commonly-referenced multi-layered communication model, Open Systems Interconnection (OSI). The Data Link Layer is concerned with moving data across the physical links in the network. In a network, the switch is a device that redirects data messages at the layer 2 level, using the destination Media Access Control (MAC) address to determine where to direct the message.
- Media Converter - Device that converts data passing from one media to another, such as from fiber to copper.
- Multimode Fiber - In optical fiber technology, multimode fiber is optical fiber that is designed to carry multiple light rays or modes simultaneously, each at a slightly different reflection angle within the optical fiber core.
- Network - An arrangement of interconnected computer systems, terminals, and other equipment which allows information to be exchanged.
- Non-blocking Switch - A switch that facilitates all ports to have simultaneous access through it.
- Peering - Peering is the exchange of traffic between ISPs. In order to settle the terms to which this exchange takes place ISPs use peering agreements which often do not include an exchange of money. This helps to reduce the costs of IP Traffic in a significant way.
- Port - Generally a specific place for being physically connected to another device, usually with a socket and plug of some kind.
- Router - On the Internet, a router is a device or, in some cases, software in a computer, that determines the next network point to which a packet should be forwarded toward its destination. The router is connected to at least two networks and decides which way to send each information packet based on its current understanding of the state of the networks it is connected to.
- Single Mode Fiber - In optical-fiber technology, single mode fiber is optical-fiber that is designed for the transmission of a single ray or mode of light as a carrier and is used for long-distance signal transmission.
- Switch - A piece of equipment with multiple ports providing dynamic connections. In FC terms providing a fabric of scalable (full) bandwidth with high speed routing to each of the connected ports.
- Switch - A hardware unit connecting a node to a network.