Glossary of General & UC Berkeley Specific Networking Terms

A knowledge base article about Glossary of General & UC Berkeley Specific Networking Terms provided by the UC Berkeley IT Service Hub - Knowledge Portal

The following is a breakdown of general and UC Berkeley specific networking and wireless terms that can be found throughout the campus.

UCB Wireless Networks

See Wi-Fi Service page for more information on the wifi infrastructure of UC Berkeley.

General Networking Terms

NetReg
- System to register / associate MAC addresses with a CalNetID. This specific registration system enables the bulk registration of MAC addresses, lookup of individual addresses and the ability to modify / delete such associations.
  - See the Wired Network Device Registration page to look up associated addresses and for more general information.
ARP & ARP Cache
- Address Resolution Protocol. This is the protocol used to match MAC and IP Addresses, while the ARP Cache (CalNET ID required) is a repository of ARP activity. This identifies last seen and last updated information regarding a particular MAC or IP address, which is of concern to network administration, security etc.
DHCP
- Dynamic Host Control Protocol. DHCP allows for flexibility in naming, identification and assignment of network devices and resources including assignment of names and IP addresses from a pooled resource. This allows for temporary use of addressing, permitting re-use of IP addresses that have been allocated to the campus.
MAC Address
- Media Access Control. This is an unique electronic serial number assigned at production to a networked device. Used as a static ID that is then associated to a fixed or floating IP Address (which can then be assigned to a fixed or dynamic host name). See How do I lookup the MAC address of my computer?
IP Address
- Internet Protocol Address. This is a unique (but randomly assigned and re-used) numbered address referring to the network connection point for a device. Commonly referred to at UCB as a port address, cable ID, or connection ID/number. For wired networks, it is associated with a physical location, and takes the form of a plug-in wall connection.