North Carolina Information Highway
 

Commonly used acronyms on the NCIH
 

(This page is constantly being developed and updated,
please check back again soon!)

Appsview- VTEL's windows based videoconference user interface/software.

ATM- Asynchronous Transfer Mode, a very high speed telecom transmission technology utilizing high bandwidth, low delay, packet-like switching and multiplexing techniques

ATM Multiplexer-  Electronic equipment which allows two or more signals to pass over one communications circuit (the Cisco 3810 model is utilized for the NCIH DS1 video & data service)

CAT5 Cable- specific type of twisted pair cabling that supports data rates up to 100 Mbps

Cisco 3810- The make and model of the ATM multiplexer used at each site on the NCIH ATM DS1 network. The 3810 has an embedded data router, thus video and data services may be simultaneously delivered. This component is usually owned and maintained by the state (specifically ITS).

CPE- Customer Premise Equipment, hardware residing at the customer's site which is normally the responsibility of that site.

Codec- CODer/DECoder, a device that encodes incoming analog signals into digital signals for transmission to another codec, which decodes the digital signals into analog format.  In videoconferencing, the codec codes and decodes video and audio.

Demarcation- The point of interconnection between the telephone company facilities and the Customer Premise Equipment (see CPE).

DS1- Digital Signal, level One.  A 1.544 Mbps digital signal carried on a T1 transmission facility.

DS3- Digital Signal, level Three.  44.736 Mbps digital signal, the equivalent of 28 T1 lines.

ISDN- Integrated Services Digital Network, an international standard for transmitting voice, data, and video over

ITS- Information Technology Services. Formerly known as SIPS, ITS is North Carolina's information technology arm, created by the General Assembly to make the most of the state's technology resources.

LED- Light Emitting Diode, LEDs are used in alphanumeric displays on calculators, computers, and other electronic devices.

Mbps- Mega bits per second, million bits per second.

MCU- Multipoint Control Unit, a network device used for switching and conferencing video sessions, allows for more than two video sites to join in a videoconference. Provides the Quads, Continuous Presence and Voice Activated sessions on the NCIH.

NCREN- The North Carolina Research and Education Network is a multi-site, multi-channel, interactive video network connecting over 19 universities, medical schools, and research organizations in North Carolina.

RJ45- 8 pin connector used for data transmission over standard telephone wire.

T1- A digital transmission link with a capacity of 1.544 Mbps (1,544,000 bits per second).  T1 is a standard for digital transmission in the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong and Japan.  T1 lines are used for connecting networks across remote distances.

Telco- The telephone company.

VTEL- VTEL Corporation, manufacturers of the TC2000 codec utilized on the NCIH DS1 network.

V.35- Transmission interface between the VTEL codec and the Cisco 3810.
 
 

Send questions or problems to: dennis.perry@ncmail.net