Nguyễn Khánk's Wiki

# Network abbreviations

# A

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
ACK (opens new window) Acknowledgement Transport and other layers TCP/IP (opens new window), for example. RFC 793
ACL (opens new window) Access control list Security, application layer Access control list (opens new window), Cisco overview (opens new window)
ADSL (opens new window) Asymmetric digital subscriber line Telecom ITU-T G.992.5 Annex M (opens new window), for example
AES (opens new window) Advanced Encryption Standard Security U.S. FIPS PUB 197 (opens new window)
ANSI (opens new window) American National Standards Institute Organization ANSI (opens new window)
API (opens new window) Application Programming Interface Software API (opens new window)
ARP Address Resolution Protocol Link layer RFC 1122
ATM (opens new window) Asynchronous Transfer Mode Telecom ATM cell description (opens new window)

# B + C

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
BGP (opens new window) Border Gateway Protocol (routing protocol) Application layer, Routers RFC 4271
BSS (opens new window) Basic service set (Wi-Fi) Wireless IEEE Std 802.11-2007 (opens new window)
CAT (opens new window) Category (e.g. CAT-5 cable) Physical layer ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.1-2001 (opens new window)
CCITT (obs.) (opens new window) Standards organization that has been replaced by ITU-T Organization ITU-T (opens new window)
CHAP (opens new window) Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (PPP) Security, telecom RFC 1994
CIDR (opens new window) Classless Inter-Domain Routing Architecture RFC 1518 RFC 1519
CIR (opens new window) Committed Information Rate (Frame Relay) Telecom RFC 1490 RFC 1973 RFC 2427
CLI (opens new window) Command line interpreter Hardware Catalyst 6500 Series Command Reference, 7.6 (opens new window), for example
CPE (opens new window) Customer premises equipment Telecom Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
CPU (opens new window) Central processing Unit Microprocessor Wikipedia (opens new window)
CRC (opens new window) Cyclic redundancy check Link and other layers 24 References here. (opens new window)
CRC-16-CCITT (opens new window) Cyclic redundancy check (X.25, HDLC) Link layers Reference (opens new window) on CRC page.
CRT (opens new window) Cathode Ray Tube Television set, Computer Monitor Cathode ray tube (opens new window)
CSMA/CA (opens new window) Carrier sense multiple access / collision avoidance Wireless IEEE Std 802.11 (opens new window) Downloads (opens new window)
CSMA/CD (opens new window) Carrier sense multiple access / collision detection Physical layer IEEE Std 802.3TM-2002 (opens new window)
CSU/DSU (opens new window) Channel service unit / data service unit Telecom Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
CMOS (opens new window) Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor Utility CMOS (opens new window)
  • CIDR: classless Inter-Domain Routing
  • CPU: Central processing Unit
  • CRC: Cyclic redundancy check

# D

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
DAM (opens new window) Database activity monitoring Security Database activity monitoring (opens new window)
DAM (opens new window) Digital asset management Internet Layer Digital asset management (opens new window)
DCE (opens new window) Data communications equipment Telecom Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
DEC (obs.) (opens new window) Digital Equipment Corporation Organization Digital Equipment Corporation (opens new window) formally Purchased by Compaq in 1998. Merged with Hewlett-Packard 2002.
DES (opens new window) Data Encryption Standard (obs. See AES) Security Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) FIPS-46-3 (opens new window)
DHCP (opens new window) Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Application layer, Internet Layer RFC 2131 and others
DIMM (opens new window) Dual In-line Memory Module Hardware DIMM (opens new window)
DNS (opens new window) Domain Name System Application layer Over 30 RFCs here. (opens new window)
DRAM (opens new window) Dynamic random-access memory Hardware Dynamic random-access memory (opens new window)
DSL (opens new window) Digital subscriber line Telecom Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
DSLAM (opens new window) Digital subscriber line access multiplexer Telecom Telecom Glossary (proposed) (opens new window)
DTE (opens new window) Data Terminal Equipment Telecom Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
DMI (opens new window) Desktop Management Interface Utility Desktop Management Interface (opens new window)
  • DAM: Digital asset management
  • DNS: Domain Name System
  • DES: Data Encryption Standard (obs. See AES)

# E

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
EHA (opens new window) Ethernet Hardware Address (MAC address (opens new window)) Link layer IEEE Std 802 (opens new window) IEEE OUI Assignments (opens new window)
EIA (opens new window) Electronics Industry Alliance Organization EIA (opens new window)
EIGRP (opens new window) Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol Internet Layer Cisco Doc ID: 16406 (opens new window)
EMAC Ethernet Media Access Control Link Layer
EOF (opens new window) End Of Frame (HDLC, etc.) Link layer HDLC framing (opens new window)
ESS (opens new window) Extended service set (Wi-Fi group) Wireless IEEE Std 802.11-2007 (opens new window)
  • ETH: Ethernet
  • ETH: Ethernet
  • ETN: Ethernet

# F

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
FCC (opens new window) Federal Communications Commission (US) Organization US FCC (opens new window)
FCS (opens new window) Frame check sequence (Ethernet) Link layer Ethernet Frame (opens new window) IEEE Std 802.3 (opens new window)
FDDI (opens new window) Fiber Distributed Data Interface Link layer American National Standards Institute (opens new window) X3T9.5 (now X3T12), ISO/IEC 9314-x (opens new window)
FTP (opens new window) File Transfer Protocol Application layer RFC 959 and others

# G

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
GBIC (opens new window) Gigabit interface converter Hardware Seagate Specification (opens new window)
gbps (opens new window) Gigabit per second Physical layer Gigabit per second (opens new window)
GEPOF (opens new window) Gigabit Ethernet (over) Plastic Optical Fiber Physical layer IEEE P802.3bv
GMAC Gigabit Ethernet Media Access Control Link Layer
  • GAN: Global Area Network (continents connection)

# H

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
HDLC (opens new window) High-level Data Link Control Link layer ISO 13239 (opens new window)
HTTP (opens new window) HyperText Transfer Protocol Application layer W3C Change History for HTTP (opens new window)
HTTPS (opens new window) HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure Transport and other layers SSL 3.0 Specification (opens new window)

# I

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
IaaS (opens new window) Infrastructure as a service Cloud Services IaaS (opens new window) Microsoft Docs (opens new window)
IANA (opens new window) Internet Assigned Number Authority Organization IANA (opens new window)
ICaaS Integration Capability as a Service Organization ICaaS (opens new window)
ICMP (opens new window) Internet Control Message Protocol Internet Layer RFC 792
IDF (opens new window) Intermediate distribution frame Physical layer Structured cabling (opens new window) or Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
IDS (opens new window) Intrusion Detection System Security Wikipedia
IEEE (opens new window) Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers Organization IEEE (opens new window)
IETF (opens new window) Internet Engineering Task Force Organization IETF (opens new window)
IMAP (opens new window) Internet Message Access Protocol Application layer RFC 3501
IP (opens new window) Internet Protocol Internet Layer RFC 791 RFC 1606
IPS (opens new window) Intrusion prevention system Security "NIST - Guide to Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS)". 2007-02. Retrieved 2010-08-24. (opens new window)
IS-IS (opens new window) Intermediate System to Intermediate System (routing protocol) Internet Layer ISO/IEC 10589:2002 (opens new window)
ISDN (opens new window) Integrated Services Digital Network Telecom IEC Area 716-xx (opens new window)
ISP (opens new window) Internet service provider Telecom Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
ITU-T (opens new window) International Telecommunication Union Organization http://www.itu.int (opens new window)
  • IP: Internet Protocol address
  • ISP: Internet Service Provide

# K + L

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
kbps (opens new window) Kilobit per second Physical layer Kilobit per second (opens new window)
LACP (opens new window) Link Aggregation Control Protocol Data link layer
LAN (opens new window) Local area network Link and other layers Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
LAPB Link Access Procedure, Balanced (x.25) Telecom ITU-T Recommendation X.222 (opens new window)
LAPF Link-access procedure for Frame Relay (opens new window) Telecom RFC 1490
LLC (opens new window) Logical link control Link layer Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
  • LAN: Local Area Network
  • LLC: Logical Link Control

# M

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
MAC (opens new window) Media access control Link layer IEEE Std 802.3 (opens new window) and 802.11 (opens new window), for example
MAM (opens new window) Media access management (related to Digital asset management) Internet layer Wikipedia
MAN (opens new window) Metropolitan area network Telecom Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
Mbps (opens new window) Megabits per second Physical layer Megabit_per_second (opens new window)
MC Multiple choice IT Professional Certification About certification exams (opens new window)
MDF (opens new window) Main distribution frame Physical layer Glossary (opens new window) See also Structured cabling (opens new window)
MIB (opens new window) Management information base (SNMP) Application layer RFC 3418
MII (opens new window) Media-independent Interface Link layer
MoCA (opens new window) Multimedia over Coax Alliance Organization Multimedia over Coax Alliance (opens new window)
MPLS (opens new window) Multiprotocol Label Switching network technology
MTU (opens new window) Maximum Transmission Unit Multiple layers

# N

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
NAC (opens new window) Network access control Link and other layers IEEE 802.1x (opens new window)
NAS (opens new window) Network-attached storage Hardware / Storage Computer data storage (opens new window)
NAT Network Address Translation Internet Layer Cisco Internet Protocol Journal: A look Inside Network Address Translators (opens new window)
NBMA (opens new window) Non-Broadcast Multiple Access (e.g. Frame Relay ATM) Telecom See ATM (opens new window), Frame Relay (opens new window) and X.25 (opens new window), for examples.
NIC (opens new window) Network Interface Card Physical layer Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
NRZ (opens new window) Non-return-to-zero Physical layer Federal Standard 1037C (opens new window)
NRZI (opens new window) Non-return to zero inverted Physical layer Federal Standard 1037C (opens new window)
NVRAM (opens new window) Non-volatile RAM Hardware Sample vendor data here (opens new window)
  • NAT: Network Address Translation

# O + P

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
OSI (opens new window) Open System Interconnect (joint ISO and ITU standard) Organization ISO/IEC 9594-5:2005 (opens new window) Open Systems Interconnection Protocol Specifications
OSPF (opens new window) Open Shortest Path First (routing protocol) Internet Layer RFC 2238
OUI (opens new window) Organization Unique Identifier Link and other layers IEEE OUI Assignments (opens new window)
PAP (opens new window) Password authentication protocol Security RFC 1334
PAT (opens new window) Port address translation Internet Layer RFC 1918
PaaS (opens new window) Platform as a service Cloud Computing/Service Platform as a service (opens new window)
PC (opens new window) Personal computer (host) Hardware
PIM (opens new window) Personal information manager Software category
PCM (opens new window) Pulse-code modulation Physical layer ITU-T G.711 (opens new window)
PDU (opens new window) Protocol data unit (such as segment, packet, frame, etc.) Multiple layers Fed Std 1037C (opens new window)
POP3 (opens new window) Post Office Protocol, version 3 Application layer RFC 1939
POP (opens new window) Point of presence Telecom
POST (opens new window) Power-on self test Hardware Cisco Catalyst 2800 User Guide (opens new window), for example
POTS (opens new window) Plain old telephone service Telecom Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
PPP (opens new window) Point-to-point Protocol Telecom RFC 1661
PPTP (opens new window) Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol Telecom RFC 2637
PTT (opens new window) Public Telephone and Telegraph Telecom Telecom Glossary (opens new window) or Free Dictionary (opens new window)
PVST (opens new window) Per-VLAN Spanning Tree Link layer Cisco's introduction to Spanning Tree Protocol (opens new window)
  • OSI: Open Systems Interconnection
  • ISO: International Organization for Standardization
  • POP (opens new window): Point of Presence or Post Office Protocol

# R

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
RADIUS (opens new window) Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service Security RFC 2865
RAM (opens new window) Random Access Memory Physical layer Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
RARP (opens new window) Reverse ARP Link layer RFC 903
RIMM (opens new window) Rambus In-line Memory Module Hardware Wikipedia
RFC (opens new window) Request for Comments Multiple layers IETF's RFC Index (opens new window)
RIP (opens new window) Routing Information Protocol Internet Layer RFC 2453, for RIP version 2
RLL (opens new window) Run-Length Limited Physical layer RLL (opens new window) is used in a wide range of encodings.
ROM (opens new window) Read-Only Memory Hardware Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
RSTP (opens new window) Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol Link layer IEEE 802.1w (opens new window) - Rapid Reconfiguration of Spanning Tree
RTP (opens new window) Real-time Transport Protocol Application layer RFC 3550
  • RTT: Round-trip time

# S

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
SaaS (opens new window) Software as a service Cloud Computing/Service Software as a service (opens new window) Microsoft Docs (opens new window)
SDLC (opens new window) Synchronous Data Link Control Link layer Cisco Technology Handbook: SDLC and Derivatives (opens new window)
SDN (opens new window) Software Defined Networking Architecture Software-defined networking (opens new window)
SFD (opens new window) Start-of-frame delimiter (Ethernet, HDLC, etc.) Link layer IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) (opens new window), or RFC 2687 (HDLC), for examples
SFP (opens new window) Small form-factor pluggable Hardware Seagate Specification (opens new window)
S-HTTP (opens new window) Secure HTTP (rarely used) Transport and other layers RFC 2660 See also https (opens new window)
SLARP (opens new window) Serial Line ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) Link and other layers Archived Cisco Serial Line Encapsulation extension (opens new window)
SLIP (opens new window) Serial Line Internet Protocol (obs.) Telecom RFC 1055
SIMM (opens new window) Single In-line Memory Module Hardware Wikipedia
SMTP (opens new window) Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Application layer RFC 5321
SNA (opens new window) Systems Network Architecture (IBM) Multiple layers SNA Protocol Suite (opens new window)
SNAP (opens new window) SubNet Access Protocol Link layer IEEE 802 Overview and Architecture (opens new window)
SNMP (opens new window) Simple Network Management Protocol Application layer RFC 1155, RFC 3410 thru RFC 3418 and others
SOF (opens new window) Start of frame Link layer IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) (opens new window), or RFC 2687 (HDLC), for examples
SRAM (opens new window) Static random access memory Hardware PC Guide's Definition (opens new window)
SSH (opens new window) Secure shell Application layer RFC 4252
SSID (opens new window) Service set identifier (Wi-Fi) Wireless IEEE 802.11 (opens new window)
STP (opens new window) Spanning Tree Protocol Link layer Cisco's Introduction to Spanning Tree Protocol (opens new window)
SYN (TCP) (opens new window) Synchronization Link and other layers RFC 793 and many others
  • SAN: Storage Area Network (peformance + Availability + Scalability)

# T

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
TCP/IP (opens new window) Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol Transport layer RFC 793 and many others
TDM (opens new window) Time-division multiplexing Physical layer Fed Std 1037C (opens new window)
TFTP (opens new window) Trivial File Transfer Protocol Application layer RFC 1350
TIA (opens new window) Telecommunications Industry Alliance Organization Telecommunications Industry Association (opens new window)
TOFU (opens new window) Trust On First Use Security Improving SSH-style Host Authentication with Multi-Path Probing (opens new window)
  • TCP: Transmission Control Protocol

# U

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
UDP (opens new window) User Datagram Protocol Transport layer RFC 768
URL (opens new window) Uniform Resource Locator Web address URL spec (1994) (opens new window)
USB (opens new window) Universal Serial Bus Physical and other layers USB 3.0 Specification (opens new window)
UTP (opens new window) Unshielded twisted pair Physical Many versions are defined by TIA, such as: TIA-568-B (opens new window)

# V

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
VC (opens new window) Virtual circuit Transport and other layers Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
VLAN (opens new window) Virtual local area network Link layer IEEE 802.1Q (opens new window)
VLSM (opens new window) Variable-length subnet masking Architecture RFC 1518 RFC 1519
VM (opens new window) Virtual machine virtualization/emulation Virtual machine (opens new window)
VPN (opens new window) Virtual private network Application layer Virtual Private Network Consortium (opens new window)

# W

Abbreviation Meaning Primary Applicability Normative Reference
W3C (opens new window) World Wide Web Consortium Organization W3C (opens new window)
WAN (opens new window) Wide-area network Telecom Telecom Glossary (opens new window)
WEP (opens new window) Wired Equivalent Privacy Wireless IEEE 802.11 (opens new window)
Wi-Fi (opens new window) An implementation of IEEE wireless communication standard 802.11 Wireless Wi-Fi Alliance (opens new window)
WLC (opens new window) Wireless LAN Controller Wireless Cisco (opens new window)
WPA (opens new window) Wi-Fi Protected Access Security IEEE 802.11i (opens new window)
www (opens new window) World Wide Web Architecture W3C Consortium (opens new window)

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