Glossary

In optical transmission, a wavelength at which attenuation is low, allowing light to travel greater distances through the fiber before requiring a repeater.

(1) Another name for a wiring or telecommunications closet. (2) A telephone company building where all local telephone cables converge for service by telephone switching systems. Also called central office or exchange center.

A piece of equipment or location at which twisted-pair cabling is terminated to permit reconnection, testing, and rearrangement. Cross-connects are usually located in equipment rooms and telecommunications closets and are used to connect horizontal cable to backbone cable. Wire cross-connects typically use a 66- or 110-block. These blocks use jumpers to connect the horizontal portion of the block to the backbone portion of the block.

A break in a segment or cable that causes an error. A wire fault might also be caused by a break in the cable

A wireless bridge is a hardware component used to connect two or more network segments (LANs or parts of a LAN) that are physically and logically (by protocol) separated. It does not necessarily always need to be a hardware device, as some operating systems (such as Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and FreeBSD) provide software to bridge different protocols.

The area where horizontal cabling is connected to the work area equipment by means of a telecommunications outlet. A telecommunications outlet serves a station or desk. See also work area telecommunications outlet.

A cable used to connect equipment to the telecommunications outlet in the user work area. Sometimes called a patch cable or patch cord.

Sometimes called a wall plate, a connecting device located in a work or user area where the horizontal cabling is terminated. A work-area telecommunications outlet provides connectivity for work area patch cables, which in turn connect to end-user equipment such as computers or telephones. The telecommunications outlet can be recessed in the wall, mounted on the wall or floorboard, or recessed in the floor or a floor monument.

A collection of workstations and servers on a LAN that are designated to communicate and exchange data with one another

A computer connected to a network at which users interact with software stored on the network. Also called a PC (personal computer), network node, or host.