Address Resolution Protocol associates an IP address to a hardware address by requesting the sending machine for additional information called a MAC address. This only applies to ethernet based networks.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol is a protocol for organizing and simplifying the administration of IP addresses for local machines. In many cases (such as with WinRoute) A DHCP server is built into the gateway for further simplification.
Domain Name System is a naming scheme for IP addressing. For example www.kerio.com is a domain name and has an associated IP address. A DNS server matches domain names to an IP address. We use the domain name system because it is easier to remember a domain name than a string of numbers.
A filtering module located on a gateway machine that examines all incoming and outgoing traffic to determine if it may be routed to its destination. WinRoute Lite is a simple Firewall based on Network Address Translation.
The point of entrance from one network to another. A gateway is responsible for the proper distribution of data coming in and going out of a local area network. WinRoute must be installed on the gateway machine, also referred to as the host computer or network router.
Internet Control Message Protocol uses datagrams to report errors in transmission between the host and gateway.
An IP address is the unique 32-bit number, which identifies a computer in a network. In order to communicate across wide area networks, each computer must have a unique IP address. Local area networks cannot directly communicate across wide area networks because they are defined by a private class of IP's.
A Local Area Network (LAN) is a group of interconnected computers with the ability to share resources without having to access a wide area network.
A Media Access Control (MAC) address is a hard-coded interface identification used by layer 2 devices (switch or bridge) for proper forwarding of frames between computers on a network.
Network Address Translation is an advanced feature of certain routers. If NAT is enabled, the control information in the header will actually be recorded to a table in memory, then changed so that it will appear as if the packet was sent from the gateway machine. When a packet arrives at the router, it can refer to the table to determine who originally sent the packet so it may be routed back to the right computer. Otherwise the packet will be discarded.
A network interface may be an Ethernet card, modem, ISDN card, etc. The computer sends and receives packets by means of the network interface.
A Network mask is used to group IP addresses together. Routers use a subnet mask to define the group (or IP subnet) to which an IP address belongs so that it can identify the correct interface from which it should forward an IP packet.
When data is transmitted over the network it is broken up into smaller pieces called packets and individually routed to their destination. This way if one packet is not properly received, the receiving party can request resubmission of the single packet, as opposed to the entire piece of data. Each packet contains headers, which are responsible for the successful transmission of the packet, and a data part, which contains a portion of the original data being transmitted over the network. The term packet is used when referring to layer 3 devices (i.e. a router). A frame is the term used when referring to layer two devices (i.e. a switch).
A port, in terms of TCP/IP, is a 16-bit number (the allowed range being 1 through 65535) used by the protocols of the transport layer - the TCP and UDP protocols. Ports are used to address applications. In other words, when a packet is received by the computer, the operating system uses port information to determine which application will receive the data within the packet.
Port mapping is an advanced feature of WinRoute that allows servers to be hosted securely behind NAT. When a packet is received by the WinRoute host it can be forwarded (by translating the destination information in the packet header) to another computer in the local network.
Defines rules for the transmission of data.
Remote Access Service refers to the ability to dial into another computer or network remotely. In the context of WinRoute, RAS simply refers to a dial-up connection.
TCP/IP is a suite of networking protocols used for communication across networks. It is the standard form of communication over the Internet. The two most significantly used Internet Protocols are TCP and UDP. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a connection oriented protocol intended to provide reliability and to ensure that all data is transferred successfully from one computer to another. User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is a connectionless protocol that does not require any confirmation from the receiving party. UDP is more commonly used for multimedia and streaming applications.