There are lots of glossaries available on the internet. This is tailored for those new to networks trying to run their media production systems.
A lighting control protocol that works over the UDP protocol. It works for DMX and RDM.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art-Net
AVB is an audio over ethernet protocol. It works with switched ethernet networks.
See also See also cobranet, Dante, ethersound, and AVB.
Category cable is a twisted-pair wire standard that is used for signal and power distribution. It is often referred to as 'Ethernet' cable, but that is just one of the uses. There are several versions of the standard, so you will see "Cat 5", "Cat 5e", "Cat 6", etc. It is usually terminated with an "8P8C" connector, which is commonly and incorrectly called RJ45.
CobraNet is an audio over ethernet protocol.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CobraNet
See also Dante, ethersound, and AVB.
An audio over IP protocol provided by audinate.
See also See also CobraNet, ethersound, and AVB.
A protocol that enables the centralized management of a device's network configuration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_Host_Configuration_Protocol
A standard mechanism to translate a computer's name into an IP address. For example the name "www.google.com" has the address of "172.217.10.4".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System
A common means of delivery internet service over telephone lines.
An electrical signal protocol used most commonly for the Internet Protocol suite (IP). But can also be used for other protocols, such as Ethersound.
Sometimes the term "ethernet" is used when "category cable" is more technically correct. This confusion arises because category cable is the pervasive means of carrying an ethernet signal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet
Ethersound is an audio over ethernet protocol. There are two versions: ES-100 and ES-Giga.
See also See also Cobranet, Dante, ethersound, and AVB.
Optical Fiber is used in networking when higher bandwidth or longer distances are needed than can be supported with copper.
Read more at wikipedia.
A network component that protects your church network from the public internet by blocking unwanted communication attempts. The same concept and term is also used to describe a software program on your computer that plays the same role but between the network and your computer.
A network hub is a device, typically an ethernet device, that enables multiple computers (or other devices) to share a single ethernet feed.
html is a specification for how to write (code) the text you want to have displayed on a web site.
http is the protocol which 'runs' the web. It defines how website data is transferred from web servers to your browser. This website data is usually html.
This is a foundational specifciation for how data is to be formatted for transmission over the internet. There are two common versions Version 4 and 6. Version for is what you would normally use.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6
An ISP is a provider internet access services. There are several ways they can deliver this to your facility and most of them involve some kind of wire to your building.
A LAN is generally what you have in your facility.
A switch that provides advanced abilities to monitor and control the details of your networks performance. Features you expect in a managed switch include; the ability to create separate networks (VLAN), ability to prioritize traffic (via QoS configuration).
This protocol is general used to move high quality video over your IP network. Computers and hardware interfaces can easily send and receive video. This can be attractive over video specific cabling such as SDI. See the article NDI Overview for more details.
Another protocol used in the broadcast world is ST2110.
OSC is a network protocol used by many to help automate their media systems, and is supported by many systems in a production environment. Although sound is in the name it is used for a lot more than that.
Read more wikipedia.
A ping is a network diagnostic tool. A successful ping tells you that the target system's network interface is operating and it also tells you how many milliseconds (usually) it takes for a message to travel you network. Within you local network (LAN) you should expect to see ping times of a few milliseconds and zero errors.
A family of standards which can deliver power to a device using the same cable as the network (Type 1 through 4). When purchasing PoE equipment you need to be aware of the power demand of the device to ensure your switch can provide that much power from its port, and you also need to be aware of the total power demand from all devices on a switch because many switches cannot deliver full power to all ports.
A quick reference for the power ranges offered by various standards:
You can also deliver PoE to a device using a 'injector' if your switch is not PoE capable or it is out of capacity. Two examples of these from very different price ranges.:
Neutrik NPS-30W PoE Injector, this is an expensive unit, but built for rough handling stage use.
TP-LINK TL-PoE150S https://www.amazon.ca/TP-Link-TL-PoE150S-Gigabit-Injector-compliant/
See more https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_over_Ethernet
This is a critical protocol for proper operation of a Dante network.
In a network, not all traffic is of equal importance. Much like some major roadways which may have express and collector lanes, computer networks can offer that same prioritization of traffic. For example, you may want to give priority to a livestream broadcast a possible priority list could be:
Dante, including PTP
NDI
Livestream
web browsing
bulk file transfer, eg dropbox.
Of course you might not have all of those in your network, and you don't want to make it more complex than you need to.
The term router and switch are often used interchangeably, but they are not technically the same thing. And most routers also perform the function of a switch as well. A router moves network traffic between two different networks, for example your LAN and your ISPs network.
A protocol often used for internet livestreaming. The 's' is an encrypted version of the protocol.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-Time_Messaging_Protocol
rtsp is often found directly supported by some video cameras.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Time_Streaming_Protocol
Note: Both rtmp and rtsp accomplish much the same thing. Here is a fuller description of the difference: https://www.dacast.com/blog/rtmp-vs-rtsp/
A lighting control protocol - a simplified version of the ACN protocol.
A high-end suite of protocols commonly used for video transport within a broadcast studio. Compare with NDI.
A network device that shuttles traffic between devices on a Local Area Network (LAN). Switches are also often called Routers, but isn't fully correct, although many devices are both switches and routers.
A suite of protocols which make 'the network' run. In the past there were other major competitor protocols (eg SNA, DECnet) but IP is now the dominant player.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_Control_Protocol
A protocol used for simple remote (terminal) control of a system. telnet is often used for control of switches and other simple devices, eg matrix video switches.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_Datagram_Protocol
A network device that offers few options to control network behaviour. See Managed Switch.
This is a capability offered by Managed Switches which allows you to create two or more networks that are to a degree independent of each other without having to install additional switches and routers. An example of this in practice would be if you wanted to provide distinct networks for public, office and media production usage.
WiFi doesn't actually mean anything - it isn't an acronym. It generically refers to the many different versions of internet over radio protocols that you would use in your facility. Although it may often seem a lot easier to go wireless, it is usually much more reliable to use wired. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi