Last updated April 8, 2022 by Chris Morgan

Telecommunications, computing, and internetworking technologies often have an enormous amount of jargon associated with them. This jargon makes it possible to speak precisely and quickly to others who are in-the-know, but can also drastically increase the learning curve for newcomers. We offer this page as a quick reference guide for common terms, acronyms, and other abbreviations that NYC Mesh technical teams use on a regular basis.

A

Antenna
Antenna, router and radio are often confused- see our FAQ
AP
a wifi Access Point
ARIN
American Registry for Internet Numbers- where you get your ASN
ASN
Autonomous System Number that identifies your network on BGP for peering. Our number is AS395853

B

Backhaul
very high bandwidth connections, usually point to point.
BGP
This is the routing protocol of the Internet. We use it to connect at an IXP
BMX6
An ad-hoc mesh protocol we use. (BatMan eXperimental 6)
BuB
“Bottom up Broadband” The beneficiaries of the networks actively participate in the planning, deployment and maintenance tasks.

C

Captive portal
a web page that is shown before connecting to the Internet normally
Cjdns
Caleb James DeLisle’s Network Suite. Encrypted IPv6 mesh protocol.
Clearnet
the regular internet as opposed to the hidden web (Tor, I2P, Freenet)
Commons
The commons include public libraries, the Internet, parks and roads and some mesh networks. Guifi has a “Wireless Commons License”.
CPE
Customer premises equipment (e.g. a LiteBeam, NanoStation, home router). ISP jargon

D

Dark fiber
fiber cable that is not connected.
DHCP
or “Automatic” setting will automatically try to get you an IP address and subnet mask

E

Ethernet cable :The cable we use that has 8 wires for carrying data and power

F

FFTF
Fiber From The Farms Broadband Initiative – Guifi term for BuB
FNF
Free Network Foundation
FTTH
Fiber to the home. For example our Grand Street Hub

G

Guifi
The largest community owned network, based in Catalonia, Spain
GPON
Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Network. Fiber network that doesn’t need power

H

HNA
Host and Network Association information used by mesh protocols

I

IPv4
the most common version of the Internet Protocol (IP), An IPv4 address consists of four octets e.g. 192.168.1.20
IPv6
6th version of Internet Protocol. Designed to replace IPv4. e.g. 2001:db8:0:1:1:1:1:1
ISP
Internet Service Provider
IXP
Internet Exchange Point, where internet networks come together to peer or exchange traffic between their networks. (An IXP is a network and not really a “point” or a building)

J

K

L

LIR
local Internet registry, an organization that has been allocated a block of IP addresses by a regional Internet registry (RIR)
LuCI
(pronounced Lucy) Lua Unified Configuration Interface, the web interface in OpenWRT

M

MANET
Mobile Ad-hoc NETwork

N

NAT
Network address translation- a method of remapping one IP address space into another
node
WiFi router or other routing devices in a particular location on a network

O

OLSR
Optimized Link State Routing Protocol (popular mesh protocol)
OLT
Optical Line Terminal. This expensive device powers a fiber GPON network
ONT
Optical Network Terminal. Small cheap device that converts fiber to ethernet in apartment
OpenWRT
Open source Wireless Receiver/Transmitter (WRT) software
OSPF
a popular dynamic routing protocol

P

Peering
An agreement between two networks to connect and exchange traffic without charge
P2P
Point-to-point connection between two antennas
P2MP
Point-to-multipoint connection, e.g. between one sector antenna and multiple smaller antennas
POE
Power over ethernet (how Ubiquiti routers get 24 volt power)

Q

R

Radio
The wireless receiver/transmitter part of a router
Router
Antenna, router and radio are often confused- see our FAQ
RIR
Regional Internet registry

S

Sector antenna
a directional antenna designed to connect to many other antennas. Typical “sectors” are 90 degrees or 120 degrees
SSID
Service set identification- the Wi-Fi access point name
Supernode
This is a large install, typically with a fiber connection and many sector and point-to-point antennas
Site survey
Normally refers to checking the suitability of a building for an install, for example taking panoramic photos of the view to see what other buildings are reachable, as well as checking how cables will be run. Also used for the process of scanning for wireless networks in some wireless products, for example a Ubiquiti LiteBeam refers to a network scan as a “Site Survey” in the web interface.

T

U

V

W

WAP
Wireless Access Point
WDS
Wireless Distribution System, A mesh protocol we use
WISP
Wireless ISP
WNDW
Wireless Networking in the Developing World – essential book
WRT
Wireless Receiver/Transmitter software (WRT)

X

Y

Z

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