Infrastructure Course Definitions

Below you will find commonly used networking and infrastructure acronyms and terms
you should know and understand. Skip to the page 4 for wireless terminology.
Internet of Things (IoT)
A proposed development of the Internet in which everyday objects have
network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data and interact with
each other.
WAN - Wide Area Network (i.e. the Internet groups of networks connected together
over long distances)
LAN - Local Area Network (i.e. the Homes network)
Mbps/Gbps abbreviation for millions of bits per second or megabits per second (Mbps)
or billions of bits per second (Gbps, or Gigabits per second) and is a measure of
bandwidth (the total information flow over a given time) on a telecommunications
medium.

Router/Switch/Hub
Router: Device that moves data packets between different subnets (WAN
LAN) or (LAN LAN)
Switch: Device that makes point-to-point connections between MAC (Media
Access Control) addresses on a LAN. Each connection can be 10/100/1000 Mbps
(or greater) depending on the speed of the switch and the devices connected to
it.
MAC address = hardware address of a device on a network
Backplane or Switching fabric how much capacity the switch has for
moving data between ports should be at least 2x the rated connection
speed of each port example, a 24 port Gigabit switch should have 48
Gbs backplane rating or it may throttle data transfers
Hub: Total of 10/100 Mbps for all connections. No data routing or filtering. All
devices see all communications. Hubs are Not Recommended for use in home
network situations.
Gateway

The device that packets must be sent to in order to leave the LAN. Router
typically functions as the gateway in residential installations

Modem (Short for Modulator/Demodulator)

A device used to convert one form of a signal to another

Needed to bring broadband into the home from the cable or phone company via
a cable modem or DSL modem

UTP - Unshielded Twisted Pair wire

4 pairs of twisted wire

Cat 5e and Cat 6 are capable of 1 Gigabit transfer speeds

Cat 6A, 7 and 7A are capable of 10 Gbps transfer speeds

100 Meters (330 feet) single cable run length

Ethernet
Communications protocol allowing multiple devices to share a common
transport mechanism. Example: Category 5e, 6 or 7 cable.
Common are 10/100/1000Base-TX networks
PoE (Power over Ethernet)

Passes electrical power and data over the same Cat5e, 6 or 7 cable

Power is injected via a PoE injector, a PoE switch or Midspan device

Used for IP cameras, Voice over IP phones and other devices, including Control4
touch panels

IP - Internet Protocol
the principal communication protocol for routing packets of data across network
boundaries
The language of the internet and home networks
Common Transport Protocols
TCP - Transmission Control Protocol tracks data sent to guarantee delivery of
data is received in proper order
UDP User Datagram Protocol sends out data messages with no tracking, error
correction or guarantee of delivery
Subnet A portion of a network that has been segmented off through software or
hardware
IP address
Four sets of numbers divided by a period with up to three numbers in each set.
Current standard known as IPv4.
An IP address is an identifier for a computer or device on an IP network
(Example: 192.168.0.12 a 32 bit number)
o Like a mailing address
IPv6
Designed to allow the Internet to grow steadily, both in terms of the number of
hosts connected and the total amount of data traffic transmitted.
DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

DHCP Server (usually in the router) is used to automatically assign devices on the
network IP addresses. DHCP clients ask the DHCP server for an address.

Only one DHCP server per subnet otherwise there will be big problems!

Static IP address
A permanent address assigned to a device on a network unlike DHCP assigned
addresses which can change
Static addresses must be assigned outside of the range of addresses a DHCP
server can assign or else the risk is run that another address would be assigned
the same address as the static IP device
IP Address Reservation
A method to permanently assign a static IP address to a device within the range
of addresses a DHCP server can assign. This method is recommended for
Control4 devices.
NAT - Network Address Translation

Translate an IP address in one subnet to another IP address to be used outside

the subnet (192.168.1.10 in your home = 201.152.1.67 on the internet)

Used because there are limited IP addresses on the internet

Allows you to have one outside IP address for your house that all the
internal, private IP addresses use

First line of defense (basic firewall) for most routers

Domain Name System (Server): DNS

Translates domain names into IP addresses

www.yahoo.com = 209.191.122.70

Usually the DNS server address is supplied by the ISP and the router gets it from
the ISP through the cable/DSL modem

For networking gear, you typically enter the router address as the DNS Server
and let the router do the name/address translation for the device

Port Forwarding (dont do this!)

Port forwarding allows remote computers (for example, computers on the

Internet) to connect to a specific computer or service within a private local area
network (LAN)

This is not supported and not recommended in a Control4 installation to get

MyHome mobile apps working outside the home. Use 4Sight. See Control4
KnowledgeBase more information on Port Forwarding or just ask Google why it is
a dangerous thing.

HDBaseT

Technology for transmission of uncompressed high-definition video (HD), audio,

power, home networking, Ethernet, USB, and some control signals, over a
common category (Cat5e or above) cable with a standard connector (RJ45).

NAS - Network attached storage

One or more hard drives used for storing data and is available to devices on the
network. The NAS could also be available outside the customers home through
an app or webpage login.

The section below consists of terms specifically related to wireless networking

Bluetooth is a wireless technology (2.4 GHz) for exchanging data over short distances.
ZigBee is an open standard wireless protocol (802.15.4 using 2.4 GHz) that runs on low
power radios and is ideal for sending simple commands around a house like telling a
light to turn off or a door lock to unlock.
WiFi Wireless Fidelity, 802.11x, WLAN, wireless networking, etc.
WLAN Wireless Local Area Networking
SSID Service Set Identifier
The name of the WLAN the device is connecting to
WEP/WPA Wired Equivalent Privacy/WiFi Protected Access
Encrypts data transmissions on Wireless Network
Think of these as the network password
WEP and WPA are easily hackable, stick with WPA2
802.11b 11 Mbps wireless protocol using 2.4 GHz
802.11g 54 Mbps wireless protocol using 2.4 GHz
802.11a 54 Mbps wireless protocol 5 GHz- Many wireless products DO NOT work with
802.11a access points
802.11n more range, faster speed (up to 300Mbps - can be dual band can use both
2.4 GHz and 5 GHz)
802.11ac latest generation of WiFi. 5 GHz capable of between 500 Mbps 1 Gbps
transmission speeds
AP Access Point (older term used to WAP Wireless Access Point)
Needed to wirelessly distribute signals
Wireless Router
Router with built in Access Point

MIMO Multiple Input/Multiple Output Antennas

Used to improve range and performance of access points