Related Links
Contact UsFor help with diagnosing Xbox LIVE Connections with the Xbox Dashboard click here. Any more questions? Can’t find what you need here, contact us for some further support. | Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z cable: Length of wires connecting network devices. See: crossover cable; Ethernet cable; straight-through cable; USB cable. cable modem: A data device that enables a computer to transmit data at a high speed over cable TV lines. cable/DSL router: Also known as a broadband gateway, these devices share a single broadband Internet protocol (IP) address with multiple devices. For many people, using a router is an ideal solution for sharing your high speed Internet connection with an Xbox console and one or more PCs. See Router Connection for more information. connection: All of the devices and cables between the Xbox console and the Xbox Live service. For example, an Ethernet cable from your Xbox console to your high speed modem and another Ethernet cable from your modem to your Internet wall jack is a direct connection. crossover cable: A type of networking cable in which some wires are reversed from one end to the other to join two computers. Use a crossover cable with a Windows ICS connection. See: Xbox System Link cable, straight-through cable. DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. An agreed-upon format for transmitting data between two devices that assigns an identifier (known as an IP Address) to a computer or device on a network. dial-up: Refers to connecting a device to a network or the Internet through a modem and a public telephone network. Dial-up access is a phone connection, except that the parties at the two ends are computer devices rather than people. Note Dial-up is a slower speed connection and cannot be used to access Xbox Live. DNS: Domain Name Service. An Internet service that translates domain names into Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. The Internet is based on IP addresses, so every time you use a domain name, a DNS service translates the name into the corresponding IP address. For example, the domain name http://www.example.com/ might translate into http://198.105.232.4/. domain name: An easy-to-remember name that identifies a particular Internet host, as opposed to a difficult-to-remember numeric IP address. DSL, DSL modem: Digital Subscriber Line. A broad class of technologies that allow broadband Internet access at much higher speeds than dial-up. Most DSL used by consumers is ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), so you will often see that term used instead of DSL. A DSL modem is the device that enables a computer to transmit data at a high speed over copper wires, including existing phone lines. dynamic IP address: Allows the customer to obtain a new IP address every time they access the Internet. Ethernet in: The port on a device for Ethernet input. For example, on a router, the Ethernet in connects the router to the modem. Ethernet Out: The port on a device for Ethernet output. On a DSL router, these are the ports that connect to the shared devices (the Xbox, the PC). Ethernet: A popular network technology that transmits information between computers at speeds of 10–100 million bits per second (mbps). Ethernet cable: Cable used to transmit data at high speeds over a local area network (LAN). Types of cables include fiber optic, coaxial, and twisted pair. The most common type of Ethernet cable, which is used by Xbox, is CAT5e (category 5e) twisted pair. Ethernet port: The connector to which an Ethernet cable can be attached. The most common type of Ethernet port, the RJ-45, is the port used on the back of the Xbox console. external modem: A device that is separate from the computer and connects the Xbox to your computer, usually with a network adapter. The two most common types of high-speed modems are cable and USB. firewall: A security system that acts as a protective boundary between a network and the outside world by blocking network traffic on certain ports. Firewalls can be installed as software in Microsoft Windows (ISA (Internet Security and Acceleration) ), or they can be built into NAT (network address translation) routers. Some firewalls may prevent the Xbox console from communicating properly with the Xbox Live servers or other Xbox consoles. home network: A local area network (LAN) at home consisting of two or more computers connected through a router. host name: A human-readable name assigned to a computer or device. In some cases, networking software will display these names to users so that they can access resources on remote computers. Note Don't confuse Host name with a Game Session Host, which is when you use Create a Match to invite others to play with you on Xbox Live. hub: A common connection point that provides multiple Ethernet ports for devices in a network. For example, an Ethernet hub that has four ports will allow you to connect four Xbox consoles together using four CAT5e Ethernet cables. ICS: Internet Connection Sharing. A feature included in recent versions of Microsoft Windows that allows multiple computers and other devices to share an Internet connection without the use of a router. Used with a Windows ICS connection to connect to Xbox Live. IP: Internet Protocol. Several sets of rules that computers use to communicate with each other over the Internet. IP address: The identity of a PC or other device connected to the Internet. It is to the Internet what a telephone number is to the telephone network. The format of an IP address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers separated by periods. Each number can be between 0–255. (For example, 1.160.10.240 could be an IP address.) A static IP address is a number assigned to a computer by an Internet service provider (ISP) as its permanent address on the Internet. The user must configure a computer manually to use a static IP address, in contrast to a dynamic IP address, which is assigned to a computer automatically by the ISP via DHCP with no user intervention. ISP: Internet service provider. A company that provides access to the Internet. Xbox Live works with a set of partnered high-speed ISPs. LAN: Local area network. A computer network connecting personal computers that are geographically close together (for example, in the same building). A network you set up in your house to connect your PC in the den and your Xbox console in the living room is a LAN. MAC, MAC address: Media Access Control. A hardware address that uniquely identifies each device of on network, such as an Xbox console, a PC, and a printer. While this sounds similar to an IP address, it's not the same thing. A MAC address applies only to Ethernet-based networks and are set when a device is manufactured. IP addresses are assigned by an ISP. Every Ethernet device in the world has a MAC address, and they are all different. NAT: Network Address Translation. Also known as Network Address and Port Translation (NAPT). A method used by many home routers and Windows Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) that allows a local area network (LAN) to share a single "public" or "global" IP address between multiple devices in the home. NIC: network interface card. The Ethernet adapter installed on a computer or other network device used for connecting to a LAN. The NIC is one of the pieces in your computer that sends and receives information over the network. Note NICs can be installed on a PC by the manufacturer. They can also be installed by a user either as a PCI adapter card or a USB device.
PCI card: Peripheral Component Interconnect (card). An expansion card that adds functionality to the computer. The card plugs into a PCI slot found inside the computer. PCI modem, internal PCI modem: An expansion card that provides analog (dial-up) modem, cable modem, or DSL modem functionality. PCI slot: Slot on the main board inside the computer specifically for PCI cards. PCI NIC: A network interface card that installs into a PCI slot. port: The jack or connection point for a cable. PPPoE: Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet. The name of a protocol used by many DSL providers to accept a username and password from a computer that allow it to access the DSL network. residential gateway: Hardware and software for connecting networks using different technologies. At home, the Internet service provider (ISP) that connects you to the Internet. See Cable/DSL Router. RJ-11 connector: A standard telephone cable modular connector. On a local area network (LAN), you can have cables with RJ-11 connectors that connect to the routers. RJ-45 connector: A standard modular connector that is often used on Ethernet networks. It looks similar to the RJ-11 connector used for telephones, but is a bit larger. If you are connected to a local area network (LAN), most likely the cable running out of the back of your PC is an Ethernet cable with RJ-45 connectors. router: A device that connects any number of local area networks (LANs). Used with a router connection to connect to Xbox Live. server: A computer or device on a network that manages network resources. For example, you connect to XboxLive servers when you log on to Xbox Live. straight-through (standard) cable: An Ethernet cable that does not have any wires crossed. See: crossover cable. The cables used to connect from a cable or DSL router to a computer or Xbox should be straight-through Ethernet cables. subnet mask: A 32-bit number used to separate the network and host sections of an IP address. The subnet mask tells your computer or Xbox what other IP addresses are "close" to it compared to the IP addresses that are on a network further away. A subnet mask subdivides an IP network into smaller pieces. TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. See: IP. USB: Universal Serial Bus. An external bus standard that supports data transfer rates of 12 megabits per second (mbps). USB cable: A cable with a USB connector, for USB-based devices such as a high-speed modem. USB port: A port on your computer that can be used to connect up to 127 peripheral devices, such as mice, modems, and keyboards. username: A name you've chosen that is used to gain access to a computer system. Xbox customers may need usernames and passwords for their ISP. A username is not the same thing as your Gamertag, which is the unique name you use to sign up and play on Xbox Live. wireless: High-frequency radio waves used instead of wires to communicate between devices. Wireless transmission is possible using a variety of methods, including infrared, cellular, microwave, and satellite. Currently, wireless is not supported for connections to Xbox Live. Xbox System Link cable: An Xbox cable used for system link play (console-to-console, head-to-head gameplay). It can be used to connect to Xbox Live for connections that require a crossover cable. See: Windows ICS connection.
|
