n
NAC framework Cisco
Name Server (NS) Wikipedia
NAND flash Type of flash Wikipedia
NAND gate Wikipedia
nano Text editor for UNIX based systems. Created by Chris Allegretta in 1999 under the name TIP. Wikipedia Website
NAT firewall Expands IP address range and hides addressing scheme. One of the first NAT filrewalls was the PIX firewall developed in 1994 and later bough by Cisco. Wikipedia (Cisco PIX)
NAT translations (xlates) Netacad
National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)
National Cash Register Now NCR Corporation. Founded in 1884 Wikipedia
National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Wikipedia Website
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Published SHA. Founded in 1901 Website Wikipedia
nbtstat Displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP connections using NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NBT). Wikipedia Netacad
ncpa.cpl Command to open Network Properties in Windows. Introduced with Windows NT 4.0. July 31, 1996 Microsoft
NCR Corporation Founded in 1884. Wikipedia
NEC Founded as Nippon Electric Company July 17, 1899. Website Wikipedia Computer History Museum
Nehalem Microarchitecture codename from Intel. Released November 2008. Wikipedia
Neighbor Advertisement (NA) ND message
Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP) Wikipedia
Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP)
Neighbor Solicitation (NS) ND message
neighbor table Table in OSPF adjacency database. Lists neighboring routers. Can be viewed on IOS with show ip ospf neighbor.
NEMA 5 Standard electrical outlet used in North America Wikipedia
NEMA Connector Standard AC power plug used in North America. Wikipedia NEMA Chart NEMA Plug & Receptacle Configurations
Neptune Codename for an unreleased version of Windows. Developed in 1999. Wikipedia
Nessus Proprietary vulnerability scanner and audit tool developed by Tenable Network Security. Free for personal use in a non-enterprise environment. Started by Renaud Deraison in 1998. Website Wikipedia
nested virtualization Running a virtual machine inside another virtual machine. Wikipedia Microsoft Developer Network (Nested Virtualization)
net start wuauserv Website
net stop wuauserv Website
net user Adds or modifies user accounts, or displays user account information. Examples:
net user Administrator /active yes | Enables the Administrator user account. |
net localgroup administrators {username} /add |
NETBIOS Datagram Service (NBDS) (TCP/UDP port 137)
NetBIOS Name Service (NBNS) (TCP/UDP port 138) Wireshark Wiki
NetFlow Cisco specific feature. Can be used to create baseline documentation.
netplwiz Adjust Windows user account settings including automatic login. About.com
netstat (aka: network statistics) Command-line utility the displays incoming and outgoing TCP connections, including port usage. Example:
netstat -a | Displays all active connections on which the device is listening. |
NetStumbler Wireless network mapping tool. Website Wikipedia
Network Access Control (NAC) Approach to endpoint security. Wikipedia
Network Access Server (NAS) Also known as an access server. Wikipedia
network address Wikipdedia
Network Address Translation (NAT) Remaps one IP address space into another. Three kinds of NAT: static, dynamic, and overload (PAT). Translation process:
| Inside local | private IP address being translated |
| Inside global | public IP address referencing an inside device |
| Outside local | private IP address referencing an outside device |
| Outside global | public IP address referencing an outside device |
One of the first NAT appliances is the PIX firewall developed in 1994. RFC 1631 Wikipedia (Network Address Translation) Wikipedia (Cisco PIX) YouTube (VambarInc) How Stuff Works
Network Address Translation 64 (NAT64) Similar to NAT for IPv4 but used for IPv6. Wikipedia
Network Administration Control (NAC) Cisco's version of Network Access Control. Wikipedia
Network Attached Storage (NAS) Essentially an easily set up file server. Wikipedia
network attack Can be unofficially categorized into three major categories:
| Reconnaissance |
| Access |
| DoS |
Network Based Application Recognition (NBAR) Cisco
Network Basic Input/Output System (NetBIOS) Works at the OSI session layer (layer 5). Developed as an API. Wikipedia
Network Cloaking Hiding a network's Service Set Identifier (SSID) by disabling broadcasting. Not recommended as a way to secure a network. Wikipedia
Network Control Protocol (NCP)
Network Discovery Protocol (NDP) Five main NDP messages.
| Router Solicitation (RS) |
| Router Advertisement (RA) |
| Neighbor Solicitation (NS) |
| Neighbor Advertisement (NA) |
| Redirect |
Network File System (NFS) Distributed file system that allows access to files over a network in a similar manner to accessing a local file. Developed by Sun Microsystems. First defined in RFC 1094 March 1989. Wikipedia RFC 1094 Netacad
Network Interface Controller (NIC) (aka: network interface card, network adapter, LAN adapter, physical network interface, NIC card) Connects a computer to a network. Wikipedia
Network Interface Device (NID) Demarcation point between the carrier's local loop and the customer's premises wiring Wikipedia
Network Intrusion Detection System (NIDS) Type of Intrusion Detection System (IDS). Wikipedia
Network Layer (OSI Layer 3) Responsible for packet forwarding including routing through intermediate routers. Addresses data messages and translates logical addresses into physical ones. Wikipedia
Network Layer Protocols IPv4 and IPv6 are the current protocols. IPX, AppleTalk, and CLNS/DECNeT are some other legacy protocols not often used.
Network Load Balancing (NLB) (aka: dual-WAN routing or multihoming) Distributing the workload across multiple paths to provide fault tolerance and improve performance. Wikipedia
Network Management Protocol (NMP)
Network Operating System (NOS) Specialized operating system for a network device such as a router, switch or firewall. Designed to support many users and share resources between them in a client-server architecture. Early examples of client-server operating systems include Novell NetWare, Solaris, Windows NT/2000/XP/Server 2003, HP-UX, AIX and Linux. This description of operating systems is now largely historical, as common operating systems include a network stack to support a client–server model. Wikipedia Netacad
Network Operations Center (NOC) (aka: Network Management Center) Location used to monitor and control a network. Wikipedia
network route routing table entry that has a subnet mask equal to that of the classful mask.
network shell (netsh) Command line utility in Windows used to modify the network configuration. Wikipedia TechNet (Using Netsh)
Network Time Protocol (NTP) (UDP port 123) Synchronizes time across devices in the network. Helps when comparing syslog. Wikipedia Debian Wiki
Network-Aware Applications Can use protocols to communicate with lower level protocols on the OSI and TCP/IP models. Examples include web browsers and Email clients.
Neustar Founded in 1996 Website Wikipedia
New Technology File System (NTFS) (Comically known as: Not The Fat System) Microsofts' proprietary file system. Released with Windows NT 3.1 July 27, 1993. Wikipedia
New-NetIPAddress PowerShell cmdlet used to add a new IP address. TechNet
New-NetRoute PowerShell cmdlet used to add an "A" route to the routing table. TechNet
Newforma Software that connects project information silos to eliminate waste, promote best practices, maximize profitability and enhance your reputation. Website
NeXT Company Steve Jobs created after being fired from Apple.
Next Generation Encryption (NGE) Cisco
next hop The address of the next router interface.
Next Hop Resolution Protocol (NHRP)
Nexus 5X Smartphone manufactured by LG. First released October 22, 2015. Website Wikipedia
Nexus 6P Smartphone manufactured by Huawei. First released September 29, 2015. Website Wikipedia
Nginx open source HTTP server. Nginx Wiki
nibble 4 bits (half a byte) Wikipedia
Nikola Tesla July 10, 1856 - January 7, 1943. Wikipedia
Nimda Internet's fastest spreading worm. Wikipedia
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) Novel by George Orwell. Published June 8, 1949. Wikipedia
Nintendo Japanese video game company. Founded as a playing card company September 23, 1889. Wikipedia
Nintendo 64 (N64) Video game console made by Nintendo. First released in Japan June 23, 1996. Wikipedia
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Video game console made by Nintendo. First released in Japan as the Family Computer July 15, 1983. Wikipedia
Nintendo Switch Video game console from Nintendo. Released March 3, 2017. Website Wikipedia Wired
NIST SP 800 30 framework Guide for conducting risk assessments. Rev. 1 published September 2012. Website Wikipedia
NIST SP 800-37 Guide for applying the risk management framework. Website
NIST-approved digital signature algorithms NIST chooses approved algorithms based on public key techniques and ECC. The digital signature algorithms approved are DSA, RSA, and ECDSA.
Nmap (Network Mapper) Free and open source port scanning utility used for network discovery and security auditing. Written by Gordon Lyon. Published September 1997. Website Wikipedia
no shutdown command that turns a network devices interface on
noclobber Shell parameter that will prevent clobbering a file. set -o noclobber (bash, ksh) or set noclobber (csh, tcsh) Wikipedia
node Wikipedia
Node Package Manager (npm) Package manager for Node.js. First released January 12, 2010. Website Wikipedia
node port (N_Port) Wikipedia
Node.js Open-source, cross-platform runtime environment created by Ryan Dahl. First released release May 27, 2009. Website Wikipedia
Nokia 8 Smartphone from Nokia. Announced August 16, 2017. Released September 2017. Website Wikipedia
Nokia 8 Sirocco An update to the Nokia 8 smartphone. Announced February 25, 2018 at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018. Website Wikipedia
Nokia 8110 Phone famously featured in the movie The Matrix. Announced September 9, 1996. Wikipedia
Nokia 8110 4G Announced February 25, 2018 at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018. Wikipedia
Nokia Lumia 1020 Released July 26, 2013. Wikipedia iFixit
Nokia Lumia 2520 Windows-based tablet from Nokia. Released November 21, 2013. Wikipedia
non-breaking space & nbsp; Adds a space in HTML. W3Schools
Non-Broadcast Muilti-Access (NBMA) network Multiple routers connected in a network such as frame relay that does not allow broadcasts. Wikipedia
Non-existent Domain (NXDOMAIN) DNS Knowledge
Non-volatile BIOS memory Used to store the BIOS configuration. Previously stored on CMOS, now uses flash memory to store the config. Wikipedia
Non-Volatile Memory express (NVMe) (aka: NVM express) Website Wikipedia PC World
Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface (NVMHCI) Website Wikipedia
Non-Volatile Random-Access Memory (NVRAM) Non-volatile. Does not lose it's contents when powered off. In networking devices, NVRAM is used to store the start-up configuration file. Wikipedia
nonce Wikipedia
nondeterministic Does not care what media (fiber, wireless, twisted pair...) it uses. Media independent.
nonrepudiation (digital signature) Similar to authentication. Cannot refute or "repudiate" the validity of a message. Wikipedia
Northbridge Chipset on a motherboard. Controlls access to the RAM and comunication between the CPU and I/O. Wikipedia Netacad
Not AND (NAND) (aka: Negative AND) Wikipedia
not equal to Commonly represented by <> or !=. Wikipedia
NOT gate (aka: inverter) Wikipedia
Not The Fat System (NTFS) An unofficial name for the New Technology File System.
Notepad A text editor for Windows.
Novell Acquired by Micro Focus International November, 2014. Wikipedia
nslookup Command to manually query the name servers to resolve a given hostname. Can also be used to troubleshoot name servers.
NT LAN Manager (NTLM) Suite of Microsoft security protocols intended to provide authentication, integrity, and confidentiality to users. The NTLM protocol suite is implemented in a Security Support Provider, which combines the LAN Manager authentication protocol, NTLMv1, NTLMv2 and NTLM2 Session protocols in a single package. Whether these protocols are used or can be used on a system is governed by Group Policy settings, for which different versions of Windows have different default settings. NTLM passwords are considered weak because they can be brute-forced very easily with modern hardware. Successor to the authentication protocol in Microsoft LAN Manager (LANMAN). Wikipedia
NT1 ISDN device that interconnects a 4-wire ISDN circuit with a 2-wire ISDN circuit
null Used to specify no value.
Null scan Nmap TCP scan with all the packet flags are turned off. Does not set any bits (TCP flag header is 0). Nmap
null0 (0.0.0.0/0) The bit bucket. Packets that don
NVIDIA Founded April 1993. Website Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce 256 First GPU in the GeForce family. Released October 11, 1999. Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX GPU from NVIDIA. Released November 8, 2006. Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 Pascal architecture GPU from NVIDIA. Released May 17, 2017 Website Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Pascal architecture GPU from NVIDIA. Released October 25, 2016. Website Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti Pascal architecture GPU from NVIDIA. Released October 25, 2016. Website Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB Pascal architecture GPU from NVIDIA. Released August 18, 2016. Website Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB Pascal architecture GPU from NVIDIA. Released July 19, 2016. Website Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Pascal architecture GPU from NVIDIA. Released June 10, 2016. Website Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Pascal architecture GPU from NVIDIA with 8 GBs of memory. Released November 2, 2017. Website Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 GPU from NVIDIA. Released May 27, 2016. Website Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GPU from NVIDIA. Announced March 1, 2017. Released March 10, 2017. Website Wikipedia Overclock3D
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 Released June 17, 2008. Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 Released January 8, 2009. Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 Released March 26, 2010. Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 Released November 9, 2010. Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 Released March 24, 2011. Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Released March 22, 2012. Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 Released April 29, 2012. Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 GPU from NVIDIA. Released September 18, 2014. Website Wikipedia
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Announced at Gamescon 2018 in Germany August 20, 2018. Released September 20, 2018. Website Wikipedia The Verge
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Announced at Gamescon 2018 in Germany August 20, 2018. Released September 20, 2018. Website Wikipedia The Verge
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Announced at Gamescon 2018 in Germany August 20, 2018. Released September 20, 2018. Website Wikipedia The Verge
NVIDIA Tesla V100 First Volta GPU from NVIDIA. Announced May 10, 2017. Website Wikipedia
NVIDIA Titan Xp GPU from NVIDIA. Released April 6, 2017. Website Wikipedia
NX-OS OS developed by Cisco for their Nexus line of switches. Wikipedia
N_Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) Allows multiple Fiber Channel N_Port IDs to share a single N_Port. Wikipedia