MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-270): Installing ...

Glossary G-25
MBR See Master Boot Record (MBR).
media The vast majority of local area networks (LANs) today are connected by some
sort of wire or cabling that acts as the LAN transmission medium, carrying data
between computers. The cabling is often referred to as the media.
media access control (MAC) driver The device driver located at the media access
control sublayer of the OSI reference model. This driver is also known as the NIC
driver. It provides low-level access to network interface cards (NICs) by providing
data-transmission support and some basic NIC management functions. These drivers
also pass data from the physical layer to transport protocols at the network and
transport layers.
media access control (MAC) sublayer One of two sublayers created by the IEEE
802 project out of the data-link layer of the OSI reference model. The MAC sublayer
communicates directly with the network interface card and is responsible for
delivering error-free data between two computers on the network. See also Logical
Link Control (LLC) sublayer.
megabit (Mb) Usually, 1,048,576 bits (2 raised to the 20th power); sometimes interpreted
as 1 million bits. See also bit.
megabyte (MB) 1,048,576 bytes (2 raised to the 20th power); sometimes interpreted
as 1 million bytes. See also byte.
Member server A computer running Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003
that is a member of an Active Directory domain but is not a domain controller.
Microsoft Technical Information Network (TechNet) Provides informational
support for all aspects of networking, with an emphasis on Microsoft products.
millions of bits per second (Mbps) The unit of measure of supported transmission
rates on the following physical media: coaxial cable, twisted-pair cable, and fiberoptic
cable. See also bit.
mobile computing Incorporates wireless adapters using cellular telephone technology
to connect portable computers with the cabled network.
modem A communications device that enables a computer to transmit information
over a standard telephone line. Because a computer is digital, it works with discrete
electrical signals representing binary 1 and binary 0. A telephone is analog
and carries a signal that can have many variations. Modems are needed to convert
digital signals to analog and back. When transmitting, modems impose (modulate)
a computer’s digital signals onto a continuous carrier frequency on the telephone
line. When receiving, modems sift out (demodulate) the information from the carrier
and transfer it in digital form to the computer.
mounted volume A volume to which you assign a path on an existing volume
rather than a drive letter.