Glossary
Ad Banner:
Window that shows advertisements while connected to the Internet. Most free Internet providers require an ad banner to be present when using their product. Ad banners will cause problems with games running in full screen mode because they attempt to appear on top of the game window. This may cause the game to minimize or close.
Hacks:
Programs that attempt to let the user run the program in a way it was not originally intended.
Hub:
A hub is a simple, inexpensive device that joins multiple computers together at a low-level network protocol layer. A person plugs one end of an Ethernet cable (that has an RJ-45 connector attached) into the hub, while the other end of the cable runs to the computer's network interface card (NIC).
Hubs do not read any of the data passing through them and are not aware of a packet's source or destination. Essentially, a hub simply receives incoming packets, possibly amplifies the electrical signal, and broadcasts these packets out to all devices on the network (including the one that sent the packet!).
Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX):
A communication protocol initially developed at XEROX Corporation and made popular by Novell Inc. IPX is "connectionless" which basically means there is no checking to see if the information that is sent out is ever received.
Key loggers:
Programs that record key strokes you make while using your computer. The key strokes are then sent to another source where they abuse the information you typed in. Passwords are commonly stolen using these programs.
Mods:
Reworks of a program that usually target a specific theme or idea. Mod communities spring up around a game because people like to modify the original game to make it more interesting to a specific group.
Network Cable:
Category 5 cable is the type most people currently use for networks. This cable uses industry standard RJ-45 connectors on each end to connect from a network card in your computer to a central hub or switch.
Network Crossover Cable:
Once you have a NIC (Network Interface Card) installed in each computer, you can connect the two NICs via a special type of Ethernet cable, called a crossover type cable. This NIC to NIC through a crossover cable arrangement is the simplest type of Ethernet network. To connect more than two computers or to use IPX and/or TCP/IP we suggest the use of a hub or switch.
Network Interface Card (NIC):
Network Interface Cards are installed in machines which need to communicate with other computers or networks. The NIC allows the computer to transmit and receive data. NICs are used by some cable and DSL companies to allow the computer to communicate with the Internet. NICs are needed to set up a Local Area Network if using more than two computers along with a hub and networking cable. A crossover cable may be used if only two machines are being networked and have NICs installed in both computers.
Port:
A point of access for the device. Hardware ports enable devices to be linked togethor to communicate. An example would be a USB port, which allows plugging in devices such as keyboards and joysticks. Software ports, which are used by firewalls and routers, enable or disable access to and from the computer. If the correct ports are not open on a machine using software that restricts access the machine will not be able to communicate with other computers or networks, such as Battle.net.
Serial Crossover Cable: (Null-modem)
A cable that is used to interconnect two computers through their serial ports by crossing the respective send and receive contacts in the cable. This type of connection works with all Blizzard games that have the multi-player
Direct Link option. While it is possible to daisy chain more than two computers this way, Blizzard only supports connecting two systems this way. To connect more than two computers or to use IPX and/or TCP/IP we suggest the use of a hub or switch which requires the use of a NIC in each computer.
Switch:
Switches look nearly identical to hubs, but a switch generally contains more "intelligence" (and a slightly higher price tag) than a hub. Unlike hubs, switches are capable of inspecting the data packets as they are received, determining the source and destination device of that packet, and forwarding that packet appropriately. By delivering messages only to the connected device that it was intended for, switches conserve network bandwidth and offer generally better performance than hubs.
A switch is effectively then, a higher-performance alternative to a hub. People tend to benefit from a switch over a hub if their home network has four or more computers, or if they want to use their home network for applications that generate significant amounts of network traffic, like multiplayer games or heavy music file sharing. In most other cases, home networkers will not notice an appreciable difference between a hub and switch (hubs do cost slightly less).
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP):
A group of communication protocols for information exchange between computers. TCP/IP is used as a standard for transmitting data over networks as well as being the current Internet communications protocol standard. TCP/IP has two layers of functionality. The top layer, which is the TCP section, manages breaking down the data into smaller packets to send to other computers. The bottom layer, which is the IP section, contains the destination address which makes sure the packets go to the correct computer. Each computer along the way to the destination accepts and checks the information to make sure there are no errors in it and to assure it is going to the correct place.
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