hop 1. (messaging) One point-to-point transmission in a series required to get a message from point A to point B on a store and forward network. On such networks (including UUCPNET and FidoNet), an important inter-machine metric is the hop count of the shortest path between them. This can be more significant than their geographical separation.
Each exclamation mark in a bang path represents one hop. 2. (networking) One direct host-to-host connection forming part of the route between two hosts in a routed network such as the Internet. Some protocols place an upper limit on the hop count in order to detect routing loops. 3. (jargon, networking) To log in to a remote computer, especially via rlogin or telnet. "I'll hop over to foovax to FTP that." [Jargon File] Last updated: 1997-06-25
