| Cisco IOS (Internetwork Operating System) | Cisco system software that provides common functionality, scalability, and security for all products under the CiscoFusion architecture. |
| Client | Node or software program (front-end device) that requests services from a server. |
| Enhanced IGRP | Advanced version of IGRP developed by Cisco. Provides superior convergence properties and operating efficiency, and combines the advantages of link state protocols with those of distance vector protocols. |
| Encapsulation | The wrapping of data in a particular protocol header. For example, Ethernet data is wrapped in a specific Ethernet header before network transit |
| Frame | Logical grouping of information sent as a data link layer unit over a transmission medium. Often refers to the header and trailer, used for synchronization and error control, that surround the user data contained in the unit. |
| GNS (Get nearest server) | Request packet sent by a client on an IPX network to locate the nearest active server of a particular type. An IPX network client issues a GNS request to solicit either a direct response from a connected server or a response from a router that tells it where on the internetwork the service can be located. GNS is part of the IPX SAP. |
| Hexadecimal (base 16) | A number representation using the digits 0 through 9, with their usual meaning, plus the letters A through F to represent hexadecimal digits with values of 10 to 15. |
| IPX (Internetwork packet exchange) | NetWare network layer (Layer 3) protocol used for transferring data from servers to workstations. |
| MAC (media access control) | Lower of the two sublayers of the data link layer defined by the IEEE. The MAC sublayer handles access to shared media, such as whether token passing or contention will be used. |
| NetWare | Popular distributed NOS developed by Novell. Provides transparent remote file access and numerous other distributed network services. |
| NLSP (Netware Link Services Protocol) | Link-state routing protocol based on IS-IS. The Cisco implementation of NLSP also includes MIB variables and tools to redistribute routing and SAP information between NLSP and other IPX routing protocols. |
| NOS (network operating system) | Generic term used to refer to what are really distributed file systems. |
| Routing Metric | Method by which a routing algorithm determines that one route is better than another. This information is stored in routing tables. Metrics include bandwidth, communication cost, delay, hop count, load, MTU, path cost, and reliability. |
| SAP (Service advertising protocol) | IPX protocol that provides a means of informing network clients, via routers and servers, of available network resources and services. |