| Acknowledgment | Notification sent from one network device to another to acknowledge that some event (for example, receipt of a message) has occurred. Sometimes abbreviated ACK. |
| Backbone | The part of a network that acts as the primary path for traffic that is most often sourced from, and destined for, other networks. |
| Bandwidth | The difference between the highest and lowest frequencies available for network signals. The term is also used to describe the rated throughput capacity of a given network medium or protocol. |
| Broadcast | Data packet that will be sent to all nodes on a network. |
| Collision Domain | In Ethernet, the network area within which frames that have collided are propagated. |
| Congestion | Traffic in excess of network capacity. |
| Cut-through packet switching | Packet switching approach that streams data through a switch so that the leading edge of a packet exits the switch at the output port before the packet finishes entering the input port. |
| Fast Ethernet | Any of a number of 100-Mbps Ethernet specifications. Fast Ethernet offers a speed increase ten times that of the 10BASE-T Ethernet specification, while preserving such qualities as frame format, MAC mechanisms, and MTU. |
| Full-duplex | Capability for simultaneous data transmission between a sending station and a receiving station. |
| Microsegmentation | Division of a network into smaller segments, usually with the intention of increasing aggregate bandwidth to network devices. |
| Propogation delay | Time required for data to travel over a network, from its source to its ultimate destination. |
| Repeater | Device that regenerates and propagates electrical signals between two network segments. |
| Segment | Section of a network that is bounded by bridges, routers, or switches. |
| Sliding window | Refers to the fact that the window size is negotiated dynamically during the TCP session. |
| Topology | Physical arrangement of network nodes and media within an enterprise networking structure. |
| VLAN (virtual LAN) | Group of devices on a LAN that are configured (using management software) so that they can communicate as if they were attached to the same wire, when in fact they are located on a number of different LAN segments. |