Communication and Network

Modulation

Modulation is the addition of information (or the signal) to an electronic or optical signalcarrier. Modulation can be applied to direct current (mainly by turning it on and off), to alternating current, and to optical signals.


Demodulation

The conversion of a modulated carrier wave into a current equivalent to the original signal.


Bandwidth

Bandwidth refers to how much data you can send through a network or modem connection. It is usually measured in bits per second, or "bps."


TCP/IP

Short for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, the suite of communications protocols used to connect hosts on the Internet. TCP/IP uses several protocols, the two main ones being TCP and IP. 


Node

 In a communications system, a node is a network junction or connection point. Every terminal, computer, hub and switch is a node.



Client

An architecture in which the user's PC (the client) is the requesting machine and the server is the supplying machine, both of which are connected via a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet.


Server

As the name implies, a server serves information to computers that connect to it. When users connect to a server, they can access programs, files, and other information from the server.

Network Operating

An operating system that is designed for network use. Normally, it is a complete operating system with file, task and job management; however, with some earlier products, it was a separate component that ran under the OS; for example, LAN Server required OS/2, and LANtastic required DOS.

Systems

)The most important program that runs on a computer. Every general-purpose computer must have an operating system to run other programs. Operating systems perform basic tasks, such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers

Network Administrator

A person who manages a local area communications network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) for an organization. Responsibilities include network security, installing new hardware and applications, monitoring software upgrades and daily activity, enforcing licensing agreements, developing a storage management program and providing for routine backups, not to mention ensuring that it is up and running all the time.