ATM - ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) ATM is a signaling scheme that had the unique ability to simultaneously deliver both video and sound across a network. It operates over every kind of cable, from coaxial to the twisted pair, to dial up connections such as ISDN. ATM has speed and bandwidth greater than the other double-digit signaling schemes, because it has 48 byte cells that travel much smoother and quicker over the network. Some reported speeds are in excess of 155 Mbps.
How it affects me: This technology is not used on our school’s network.
Selected Links: The ATM Forum: ATM Basics Course
                          WebProforum:  ATM Fundamentals Tutorial

AppleTalk-AppleTalk is a set of local area network communication protocols originally created for Apple computers. An AppleTalk network can support up to 32 devices and data can be exchanged at a speed of 230.4 kilobits per second (Kbps). Devices can be as much as 1,000 feet apart. AppleTalk's Datagram Delivery Protocol corresponds closely to the network layer of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) communication model.
How it affects me: When the computer lab had Macintosh computers and a network was created there in 1995, AppleTalk was used to connect the computers to the printer and file server.
Selected Link: MacTech: AppleTalk Fundamentals.

ASDL - The variation called ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) is the form of DSL that will become most familiar to home and small business users. ADSL is called "asymmetric" because most of its two-way or duplex bandwidth is devoted to the downstream direction, sending data to the user. Only a small portion of bandwidth is available for upstream or user-interaction messages. However, most Internet and especially graphics- or multi-media intensive Web data need lots of downstream bandwidth, but user requests and responses are small and require little upstream bandwidth. Using ADSL, up to 6.1 megabits per second of data can be sent downstream and up to 640 Kbps upstream. The high downstream bandwidth means that your telephone line will be able to bring motion video, audio, and 3-D images to your computer or hooked-in TV set. In addition, a small portion of the downstream bandwidth can be devoted to voice rather data, and you can hold phone conversations without requiring a separate line.
    Unlike a similar service over your cable TV line, using ADSL, you won't be competing for bandwidth with neighbors in your area. In many cases, your existing telephone lines will work with ADSL. In some areas, they may need upgrading.
How it affects me: (see DSL)
Selected Link: The ADSL Forum, the illustrated ADSL Tutorial

Cable Modem-A cable modem is a device that enables you to hook up your PC to a local cable TV line and receive data at about 1.5 Mbps. This data rate far exceeds that of the prevalent 28.8 and 56 Kbps telephone modems and the up to 128 Kbps of ISDN and is about the data rate available to subscribers of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) telephone service. A cable modem can be added to or integrated with a set-top box that provides your TV set with channels for Internet access. In most cases, cable modems are furnished as part of the cable access service and are not purchased directly and installed by the subscriber.
How it affects me: You may hook up your PC to the local cable line to receive data.
Selected Links: Rolf Ostergaard's Cable Modem Tutorial
                           Cable DataCom News: Cable Modem FAQ.

DSL - (Digital Subscriber Line) is a technology for bringing high-bandwidth information to homes and small businesses over ordinary copper telephone lines. XDSL refers to different variations of DSL, such as ADSL, HDSL, and RADSL. Assuming your home or small business is close enough to a telephone company central office that offers DSL service, you may be able to receive data at rates up to 6.1 megabits (millions of bits) per second (of a theoretical 8.448 megabits per second), enabling continuous transmission of motion video, audio, and even 3-D effects. More typically, individual connections will provide from 1.544 Mbps to 512 Kbps downstream and about 128 Kbps upstream. A DSL line can carry both data and voice signals and the data part of the line is continuously connected. DSL installations began in 1998 and will continue at a greatly increased pace through the next decade in a number of communities in the U.S. and elsewhere. Dataquest, a market research firm, forecasts 5.8 million lines installed by the end of 1999.
How it affects me: This is yet another way to connect to the Internet but at much higher speeds,
Selected Link: Netspeed DSL Overview

Ethernet- Ethernet is the most widely installed local area network technology. Now specified in a standard, IEEE 802.3, Ethernet was originally developed by Xerox and then developed further by Xerox, DEC, and Intel. An Ethernet LAN typically uses coaxial cable or special grades of twisted pair wires. The most commonly installed Ethernet systems are called 10BASE-T and provide transmission speeds up to 10 Mbps. Devices are connected to the cable and compete for access using a Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) protocol.
Fast Ethernet or 100BASE-T provides transmission speeds up to 100 megabits per second and is typically used for LAN backbone systems, supporting workstations with 10BASE-T cards. Gigabit Ethernet provides an even higher level of backbone support at 1000 megabits per second (1 gigabit or 1 billion bits per second).
How it affects me: Park View is wired with category 5 Ethernet connections.
Selected Link: Charles Spurgeon's Ethernet Web Site

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) - TCP/IP is the basic communication language or protocol of the Internet. It can also be used as a communications protocol in the private networks called intranets and in extranets. When you are set up with direct access to the Internet, your computer is provided with a copy of the TCP/IP program just as every other computer that you may send messages to or get information from also has a copy of TCP/IP.
    TCP/IP is a two-layered program. The higher layer, Transmission Control Protocol, manages the assembling of a message or file into smaller packets that are transmitted over the Internet and received by a TCP layer that reassembles the packets into the original message. The lower layer, Internet Protocol, handles the address part of each packet so that it gets to the right destination. Each gateway computer on the network checks this address to see where to forward the message. Even though some packets from the same message are routed differently than others, they'll be reassembled at the destination.
How it affects me: Every computer on our network has an address which grants it permission to be identified as part of the network, thereby enabling it to “participate” on the network.
Selected Links: The Information Technology Professional's Resource Center’s
TCP/IP Frequently Asked Questions
                        A TCP/IP Tutorial, RFC 1180

10BASE-T- The most widely installed Ethernet local area networks (LANs) use ordinary telephone twisted-pair wire. When used on Ethernet, this carrier medium is known as 10BASE-T. 10BASE-T supports Ethernet's 10 Mbps transmission speed. This designation is an IEEE shorthand identifier. The "10" in the media type designation refers to the transmission speed of 10 Mbps. The "BASE" refers to baseband signaling, which means that only Ethernet signals are carried on the medium with the "T" representing twisted-pair.
How it affects me: Our school network is a 10BASE-T network.
Selected Links: Charles Spurgeon's Ethernet Web Site
 

Sources for Terminology Definitions
Currid, Cheryl. Introduction to Networking. San Jose: Novell Press, 2000.
Lowe, Doug. Networking for Dummies. IDG Books Worldwide, 1999.
www.whatis.com