Glossary
Common Cumulus Linux and NetQ Terminology
The following table covers some basic terms used throughout the NetQ user documentation.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Agent | NetQ software that resides on a host server that provides metrics about the host to the NetQ Telemetry Server for network health analysis. |
| Bridge | Device that connects two communication networks or network segments. Occurs at OSI Model Layer 2, Data Link Layer. |
| Clos | Multistage circuit switching network used by the telecommunications industry, first formalized by Charles Clos in 1952. |
| Device | UI term referring to a switch, host, or chassis or combination of these. Typically used when describing hardware and components versus a software or network topology. See also Node. |
| Event | Change or occurrence in network or component that can trigger a notification. Events are categorized by severity: error, info, warning, and debug. |
| Fabric | Network topology where a set of network nodes interconnects through one or more network switches. |
| Fresh | Node that has been silent for the last 90 seconds. |
| High Availability | Software used to provide a high percentage of uptime (running and available) for network devices. |
| Host | A device connected to a TCP/IP network. It can run one or more virtual machines. |
| Hypervisor | Software which creates and runs virtual machines. Also called a virtual machine monitor. |
| IP Address | An Internet Protocol address comprises a series of numbers assigned to a network device to uniquely identify it on a given network. Version 4 addresses are 32 bits and written in dotted decimal notation with 8-bit binary numbers separated by decimal points. Example: 10.10.10.255. Version 6 addresses are 128 bits and written in 16-bit hexadecimal numbers separated by colons. Example: 2018:3468:1B5F::6482:D673. |
| Leaf | An access layer switch in a Spine-Leaf or Clos topology. An Exit-Leaf is a switch that connects to services outside of the data center such as firewalls, load balancers, and internet routers. See also Spine, Clos, Top of Rack, and Access Switch. |
| Linux | Set of free and open-source software operating systems built around the Linux kernel. Cumulus Linux is one of the available distribution packages. |
| Node | UI term referring to a switch, host, or chassis in a topology. |
| Notification | Item that informs a user of an event. Notifications are received through third-party applications, such as email or Slack. |
| Peer link | Link, or bonded links, used to connect two switches in an MLAG pair. |
| Rotten | Node that has been silent for 90 seconds or more. |
| Router | Device that forwards data packets (directs traffic) from nodes on one communication network to nodes on another network. Occurs at the OSI Model Layer 3, Network Layer. |
| Spine | Used to describe the role of a switch in a Spine-Leaf or Clos topology. See also Aggregation switch, End of Row switch, and distribution switch. |
| Switch | High-speed device that receives data packets from one device or node and redirects them to other devices or nodes on a network. |
| Telemetry server | NetQ server that receives metrics and other data from NetQ agents on leaf and spine switches and hosts. |
| Top of Rack | Switch that connects to the network (versus internally); also known as a ToR switch. |
| Virtual Machine | Emulation of a computer system that provides all the functions of a particular architecture. |
| Web-scale | A network architecture designed to deliver capabilities of large cloud service providers within an enterprise IT environment. |
| Whitebox | Generic, off-the-shelf, switch or router hardware used in Software Defined Networks (SDN). |
Common Cumulus Linux and NetQ Acronyms
The following table covers some common acronyms used throughout the NetQ user documentation.
| Acronym | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ACL | Access Control Link |
| ARP | Address Resolution Protocol |
| ASN | Autonomous System Number |
| BGP/eBGP/iBGP | Border Gateway Protocol, External BGP, Internal BGP |
| CLAG | Cumulus multi-chassis Link Aggregation Group |
| DHCP | Dynamic Host Control Protocol |
| DNS | Domain Name Server |
| ECMP | Equal Cost Multi-Path routing |
| EVPN | Ethernet Virtual Private Network |
| FDB | Forwarding Data Base |
| GNU | “GNU’s Not Linux” |
| HA | High Availability |
| IGMP | Internet Group Management Protocol |
| IPv4/IPv6 | Internet Protocol, version 4 or 6 |
| LACP | Link Aggregation Control Protocol |
| LAN | Local Area Network |
| LLDP | Link Layer Data Protocol |
| MAC | Media Access Control |
| MIB | Management Information Base |
| MLAG | Multi-chassis Link Aggregation Group |
| MLD | Multicast Listener Discovery |
| NTP | Network Time Protocol |
| OOB | Out of Band (management) |
| OSPF | Open Shortest Path First |
| RFC | Remote Function Call |
| SDN | Software-Defined Network |
| SNMP | Simple Network Management Protocol |
| SSH | Secure SHell |
| SQL | Structured Query Language |
| STP | Spanning Tree Protocol |
| TCP | Transport Control Protocol |
| ToR | Top of Rack |
| UDP | User Datagram Protocol |
| URL | Universal Resource Locator |
| USB | Universal Serial Bus |
| VLAN | Virtual Local Area Network |
| VNI | Virtual Network Instance |
| VPN | Virtual Private Network |
| VRF | Virtual Routing and Forwarding |
| VRR | Virtual Router Redundancy |
| VTEP | VXLAN Tunnel EndPoint |
| VXLAN | Virtual Extensible Local Area Network |
| ZTP | Zero Touch Provisioning |