Okuzeka
Networking & Telecommunications vocabulary · Network Devices

Configure

Meaning in networking & telecommunications, with examples

/kənˈfɪɡjər/verbCore term

In networking & telecommunications, configure means: To set up a device or service by entering the settings it needs, such as addresses, passwords, VLANs and routing, so that it works the way the network requires.

In Turkish: yapılandırmak, konfigüre etmek, ayarlamak

How it is used

A daily verb. Engineers configure interfaces, ports, VLANs and routing; the noun 'configuration' is usually shortened to 'config': the running config, a config backup. A misconfigured device is behind many outages.

Example sentences

  1. I've configured the new switch, but I haven't saved the config yet.

  2. Port 8 was configured in the wrong VLAN, so the phone couldn't get an address.

Common collocations

  • configure an interface
  • configure a VLAN
  • running configuration
  • misconfigured device
  • save the configuration
  • routerA device that connects different networks and decides, packet by packet, the best path for data to reach its destination, usually based on IP addresses.
  • switchA device with many ports that connects computers, phones, printers and other equipment inside the same local network and forwards each frame only to the port where its destination is.
  • VLANShort for virtual LAN: a separate logical network created on a switch, so that devices plugged into the same hardware, for example staff PCs, guests and cameras, can be kept apart.
  • provisionTo set up and make ready a service, line, device or account for a customer, including the equipment, configuration and capacity it needs.
  • network monitoringContinuously checking the health and performance of network devices and links, such as availability, traffic, errors and latency, and alerting engineers when something goes wrong.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Network Devices

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: