• The list of words below includes all the words which were defined in the Internet, E-Mail, World Wide Web and Internet Service Providers sections, as well as some others you might find interesting.
• If you want to use an interactive version of the glossary, click here.
• Clicking FIND opened this page in a new window. When you are done, go back to the previous window to return to the section you were reading.

Bridge:	Connects networks within an intranet.
Browser:	Software that interprets and displays web pages.
Bus:	A common transmission medium, such as a wire, over which nodes communicate.
Bus Topology:	A way of organizing computers in a network such that they share a common transmission, called a bus.
Client:	A computer that requests information from another computer, called a server.
Client Software:	Software that exists on the client computer but uses services from a server.
Domain Name Server:	A computer that stores domain name information to convert a hostname into an IP address.
Domain Name System (DNS):	A standard system of addressing for the Internet that hostnames follow.
E-Mail Client:	The software used to compose e-mail.
Ethernet:	A cable that provides a fast and direct connection to the Internet.
Gateway:	A router that connects an intranet to the rest of the Internet.
Hostname:	The name of a computer on the Internet. The hostname represents the IP address for the computer.
Hub:	A piece of hardware that manages a star network by routing messages to the proper computer.
Hyperlink:	A spot within a web page which transfers you from the current document to another.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML):	The language that determines how a web page is formatted, and how to display text, images, sound, etc.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP):	The rules that govern the exchange of hypertext information between computers.
Internet:	A global collection of computers that are connected so they can share information. The Internet consists of many smaller networds and intranets.
Internet Protocol (IP):	The protocol (set of rules) that addresses packets and makes sure they are routed to their destination.
Internet Service Provider (ISP):	A company that provides access to the Internet.
Intranet:	A collection of networks grouped together for an organization such as a school or business.
IP Address:	A unique number that identifies a computer on the Internet.
Mail Server:	A computer devoted to sending, receiving and storing mail.
Modem:	A piece of hardware that connects a computer to the Internet using phone lines.
Network:	An interconnected computer system.
Node:	The computers and other hardware devices that communicate over a network.
Packet:	The unit of data that is sent across a network. Information is broken up into packets to travel over a network.
Protocol:	Rules that allow computers in a network or on the Internet with different hardware or operating systems to share information.
Repeater:	Hardware that boosts the signal of a message so that it doesn't get lost when it is traveling long distances.
Ring Topology:	A way of organizing computers in a network such that each node has one predecessor, whom it receives messages from, and one successor, to whom it sends messages.
Router:	Hardware that helps to forward information between networks.
Search Engine:	A web site that allows you to search web sites around the world for information about any topic.
Server:	A computer that provides information or services on the Internet.
Star Network:	A way of organizing computers in a network such that all nodes communicate with a central hub which routes messages to the proper recipient.
Topology:	A geometric way of organizing computers in a network.
Transfer Control Protocol (TCP):	The protocol (set of rules) that breaks messages into standard-sized packets.
Transmission Medium:	The wire, or other means, by which computers are connected.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL):	The address of a document. A URL consists of the protocol used to transfer the document (usually http), the hostname of the computer where the document is located, followed by the name of the page on the computer.
Web Server:	A computer that stores web pages.