Glossary
Access Point (AP) Week 4
Lets wireless devices join a wired LAN.
APIPA (169.254.x.x) Week 5
A self-assigned IP — almost always means DHCP failed.
ARP Week 11
Resolves IP addresses to MAC addresses on a LAN.
Authorized Target Week 12
A device you have explicit written permission to scan.
Bridged Week 10
VM appears as its own device on the LAN, with its own IP from your real DHCP server.
Capture Filter Week 11
Filter applied while capturing — packets that don't match are discarded.
Cat5e / Cat6 / Cat6a Week 14
Common Ethernet cable categories (1 Gbps / 10 Gbps short / 10 Gbps longer).
CIDR Notation Week 5
Shorthand for subnet mask, e.g. /24 means 255.255.255.0.
Client Week 13
The side initiating the connection.
Command Line Week 3
A text-based way to interact with a computer.
Command Prompt (cmd) Week 3
Classic Windows command-line program.
Connectivity Test Week 15
A ping or file-transfer test to verify the LAN works end-to-end.
CPU Week 2
Central Processing Unit — the main processor.
Crossover Week 14
T568A on one end, T568B on the other — historically for PC ↔ PC. Modern auto-MDIX makes it usually unnecessary.
Crossover cable Week 6
Connects like devices (PC ↔ PC, switch ↔ switch — though modern auto-MDIX often makes this irrelevant).
Default Gateway Week 5
The router IP a device uses to reach other networks.
Default Route Week 8
Where to send packets that don't match any other route (0.0.0.0/0).
DHCP Week 5
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol — automatically assigns IP info.
Directory Week 3
Another word for folder.
Display Filter Week 11
Filter applied after capture — narrows what's visible without losing data.
Driver Week 2
Software that allows the OS to communicate with a specific piece of hardware.
Encapsulation Week 4
Wrapping data with headers as it moves down the OSI stack.
End Device Week 6
PCs, servers, phones — anything that originates or consumes traffic.
Evidence Week 1
Proof that a technical task was completed.
File Path Week 1
The location of a file or folder, e.g. E:\03_Labs\Week01\readme.txt
Flag / Switch Week 3
An option that changes a command's behavior, e.g. -a, /all.
Folder Structure Week 1
The organized layout of folders used to store files.
Group LAN Week 7
A team-built virtual LAN file.
Guest Week 9
The OS running inside the VM.
Hardware Week 2
Physical parts of a computer.
Hardware Assessment Week 15
Inspecting equipment before build — power, ports, labels, condition.
Host Week 9
Your physical computer.
Host-Only Week 10
VM only talks to the host computer and other VMs on the same host-only network. No internet.
Hypervisor Week 9
Software that runs virtual machines (Type 1 runs on bare metal; Type 2 runs on top of an OS — VirtualBox is Type 2).
ICMP Week 11
The protocol used by ping (echo request / echo reply).
Intermediary Device Week 6
Switches, routers, access points — they forward traffic.
Internal Network Week 10
VMs talk only to each other in an isolated network. The host can't even see them.
IP Address Week 5
A numeric identifier for a device on a network (e.g. 192.168.1.42).
IP Conflict Week 8
Two devices configured with the same IP — neither communicates reliably.
IP Plan Week 7
Assigned addresses for each device, usually in a table.
ISO File Week 10
A disk image of an installer CD/DVD, used to install an OS in a VM.
LAN Week 4
Local Area Network — devices in one building or office.
LAN Port Week 14
Router port that connects local devices.
Listener Week 13
The side waiting for an incoming connection (server side).
Loopback Test Week 13
A test on the same machine using 127.0.0.1.
MAC Address Week 2
Hardware address burned into a network adapter (e.g. 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E).
Naming Convention Week 1
A consistent pattern for naming files so they sort and search predictably.
Naming Convention Week 7
Consistent rule for hostnames (e.g. SW1, R1, PC-A) so diagrams match config.
NAT Week 10
VM shares the host's network through translation. Outbound works; inbound doesn't unless port-forwarded.
NAT Network Week 10
Like NAT, but multiple VMs share the same NAT and can see each other.
Netcat / Ncat Week 13
The "Swiss Army knife" of networking — read/write data across network connections.
Network Week 4
Connected devices that communicate or share resources.
Network Adapter (NIC) Week 2
Hardware that connects the computer to a network.
Network Driver Week 15
Software that makes a network adapter work — check Device Manager.
Nmap Week 12
Network Mapper — a scanner used to discover hosts and services.
Operating System Week 2
Software that manages hardware and user interaction (Windows, Linux, macOS).
OSI Model Week 4
A seven-layer reference model for network communication.
Output Week 3
The result displayed after a command runs.
Packet Capture (pcap) Week 11
A recording of network traffic, usually saved as a .pcap or .pcapng file.
Packet Tracer Week 6
Cisco's free network simulation tool.
Ping Week 5
ICMP echo tool that tests reachability.
PoE Week 14
Power over Ethernet — delivers power down the cable to APs, cameras, phones.
Port Week 12
A numbered endpoint (0–65535) where a service listens.
Port Week 13
The numbered TCP/UDP endpoint both sides agree on.
PowerShell Week 3
Modern Windows shell — more powerful, scripts in .ps1 files.
Private IP Ranges Week 5
10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16 — not routable on the internet.
Promiscuous Mode Week 11
NIC mode that captures all frames on the wire, not just ones addressed to it.
RAM Week 2
Random Access Memory — temporary working memory.
RJ45 Week 14
Standard 8-pin Ethernet connector.
Router Week 4
Connects different networks; decides where packets go.
Router Configuration Week 15
The router settings used for the build (IP, DHCP scope, SSID, password).
Screenshot Week 1
An image capture used as evidence.
Service Week 12
A program listening on a port (HTTP on 80, SSH on 22).
Service/version detection (-sV) Week 12
Tries to identify which exact software is running on each open port.
Snapshot Week 9
A saved state you can revert to — your insurance policy against broken VMs.
Static IP Week 6
Manually-set IP on a device.
Static IP Address Week 5
A manually configured IP address.
Static Route Week 8
A manually-defined route entry in a router's routing table.
Storage Drive Week 2
HDD or SSD where files and programs are saved.
Straight-through Week 14
Same wiring on both ends — PC ↔ switch.
Straight-through cable Week 6
Connects unlike devices (PC ↔ switch).
Subnet Mask Week 5
Defines which part of the IP is the network and which is the host (e.g. 255.255.255.0).
Switch Week 4
Connects devices inside the same LAN; forwards frames by MAC address.
T568A / T568B Week 14
Two standard wiring color orders. Most US installs use T568B.
TCP SYN scan (-sS) Week 12
Default scan: sends SYN, watches for SYN-ACK, never completes the handshake.
Technical Documentation Week 1
Written or visual records that explain what was done during a technical task.
Technical Portfolio Week 15
The final collection of evidence, reports, and reflections that you submit.
Terminal Week 3
Linux/macOS command-line program (often running bash or zsh).
Topology Week 6
How devices are connected.
Topology Diagram Week 7
Visual map of the network — devices, links, IP addresses.
Traceroute / tracert Week 5
Shows each router (hop) between you and a destination.
Troubleshooting Log Week 8
Time-stamped record of issues found and the action taken to fix them.
Virtual Machine Week 9
A simulated computer running inside your computer.
VT-x / AMD-V Week 9
CPU features that make virtualization fast; usually enabled in BIOS.
WAN Week 4
Wide Area Network — networks spanning cities or countries (the internet is the biggest WAN).
WAN Port Week 14
Router port that connects to the upstream network/ISP.
Wireshark Week 11
A network protocol analyzer for capturing and inspecting traffic.
Working Directory Week 3
The folder the shell is currently 'in' (shown by pwd / cd).