Note: Many topics at this site are reduced versions of the text in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications." Search results will not be as extensive as a search of the book's CD-ROM.

"High-speed networking" is a misnomer. Speed seems to imply that bits are moving faster. People use the term when they are really talking about high-performance networks with high data rates. A network medium that operates at gigabit/sec rates is perceived as fast because a typical file transfer occurs in a very short period of time compared to transferring the same file over a modem link, for example. "Fast" is based on user perception. Data transfer rates are measurable events. Similar terms are "wire speed," which is used to refer to the data transfer rate of a particular networking technology, and "throughput," which is the actual data rate, including delays caused by traffic conditions and system components.

However, "fast networks" and "speedy networks" have become synonymous with high-performance networking, and it is difficult to write about such networks without calling them fast. In many cases, it just sounds better to say "high-speed networking" or "fast networks" instead of "high-data-rate networking."

Several Internet RFCs cover high-performance networking. RFC 1077 (Critical Issues in High Bandwidth Networking, November 1988) is an early paper that discusses gigabit networking. RFC 1323 (TCP Extensions for High Performance, May 1992) discusses improvements to TCP that allow scaling for high-data-rate networks.

ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode); Cable (CATV) Data Networks; DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellite); DSL (Digital Subscriber Line); Fibre Channel; Frame Relay; FTTH (Fiber to the Home); Gigabit Ethernet; HALO (High Altitude Long Operation); HIPPI (High-Performance Parallel Interface); Infrared Technologies; ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network); LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution Service); Microwave Communications; MMDS (Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service); Optical Networks; PON (Passive Optical Network); Residential Broadband; Satellite Communication Systems; SONET (Synchronous Optical Network); T Carriers; TDM Networks; WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing); Wireless Broadband Access Technologies; Wireless Local Loop;

Abilene; Active Networks; GII (Global Information Infrastructure); Internet2; NPN (New Public Network); STAR TAP; vBNS (Very high-speed Backbone Network Service);

Bandwidth Management; Congestion Control Mechanisms; Link Aggregation; Load Balancing; MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching); Policy-Based Management; Prioritization of Network Traffic; QoS (Quality of Service); Traffic Management, Shaping, and Engineering;

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