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Glossary

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Term Main definition
Binder group

A group of 25 pairs of wires within a twisted-pair cable with more than 25 total pairs. The binder group has a strip of colored plastic around it to differentiate it from other binder groups in the cable.

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Biscuit jacks

A surface mount jack used for telephone wiring.

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Bistable optics

Optical devices with two stable transmission states.

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Bit

A binary digit, the smallest element of information in the binary number system, and thus the smallest piece of data possible in a digital communication system. A 1 or 0 of binary data.

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Bit error

An error in data transmission that occurs when a bit is a different value when it is received than the value at which it was transmitted.

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Bit error rate (BER)

In digital applications, a measure of data integrity. It is the ratio of bits received in error to bits originally sent or the ratio of incorrectly transmitted bits to total transmitted bits. BERs of one error per billion bits sent are typical.

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Bit error rate tester (BERT)

A device that tests the bit error rate across a circuit. One common device that does is this is called a T-BERD because it is designed to test T-1 and leased line error

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Bit rate

The actual number of light pulses per second being transmitted through a fiber-optic link. Bit rates are usually measured in megabits per second (Mbps) or gigabits per second (Gbps).

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Bit stream

A continuous transfer of bits over some medium.

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Bit stuffing

A method of breaking up continuous strings of 0 bits by inserting a 1 bit. The 1 bit is removed at the receiver.

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Bit time

The number of transmission clock cycles that are used to represent one bit.

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Bits per second (bps)

The number of binary digits (bits) passing a given point in a transmission medium in one second.

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BL

Blue. Refers to blue cable pair color in UTP twisted-pair cabling.

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Black body

A body or material that, in equilibrium, will absorb 100 percent of the energy incident upon it, meaning it will not reflect the energy in the same form. It will radiate nearly 100 percent of this energy, usually as heat and/or IR (infrared).

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Blown fiber

A method for installing optical fiber in which fibers are blown through pre-installed conduit or tube using air pressure to pull the fiber through the conduit.

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