Cell Definition
In asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and Switched Multimegabit Data Service (SMDS) networks, a small protocol data unit (PDU) comprising 53 octets.The ATM cell consists of a header of 5 octets and payload of 48 octets.The small cell size offers the advantage of effectively supporting any type of data, including voice, fax, text, image, video, and multimedia, whether compressed or uncompressed and whether real-time or non-real-time. The fixed cell size offers the advantage of predictability, unlike the variable-length frames associated with services such as X.25, frame relay, and Ethernet, or the variablelength packets associated with the Internet Protocol (IP).This level of predictability yields much improved access control and congestion control. See also ATM, compression, Ethernet, frame relay, header, IP, non-real-time, packet, payload, PDU, real-time, SMDS, and X.25.
Other Word Forms of Cell
Noun
Origin of Cell
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Old English *cella (attested in inflected forms), from Latin cella (“chamber, small room, compartment”), later reinforced by Anglo-Norman cel, sele, Old French cele.
From Wiktionary
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Middle English celle from Old English cell and from Old French both from Latin cella chamber kel-1 in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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From cell phone, from cellular phone, from cellular + telephone
From Wiktionary
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