10BaseT
10 Megabit per second baseband Ethernet specification
using two paris of twisted-pair cabling (Category 3,
4 or 5): one pair for transmitting data and the other
for receiving data. 10BaseT has a distance limit of
approximately 100 meters per segment.
100BaseT
100 Mebabit per second baseband Fast Ehternet specification
using UTP wiring. Like the 10BaseT technology on which
it is based, 100BaseT sends link pulses over the network
segment when no traffic is present. However, these
link pulses contain more information than those used
in 10BaseT.
A Record
An A record is part of the zone file. It is used to
point Internet traffic to an IP address. For example,
you can use an "A record" to designate abc.yourdomain.com
to send traffic to your web site at IP address 209.15.32.135.
You can also designate xyz.yourdomain.com to go to
a separate IP address.
Access [Microsoft®]
MS Access® published by Microsoft is an easy to use
and highly integrated database creation and maintenance
software. Capable of online databases, the software
is supported with the NT® hosting platform.
ADSL
(Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) -- A method for
moving data over regular phone lines. An ADSL circuit
is much faster than a regular phone connection, and
the wires coming into the subscriber's premises are
the same (copper) wires used for regular phone service.
An ADSL circuit must be configured to connect two
specific locations, similar to a leased line.
A commonly discussed configuration of ADSL would
allow a subscriber to receive data (download) at speeds
of up to 1.544 Megabits per second, and to send (upload)
data at speeds of 128 kilobits per second. Thus the
'Asymmetric' part of the acronym.
Another commonly discussed configuration would be
symmetrical: 384 kilobits per second in both directions.
In theory ADSL allows download speeds of up to 9 megabits
per second and upload speeds of up to 640 kilobits
per second.
ADSL is often discussed as an alternative to ISDN,
allowing higher speeds in cases where the connection
is always to the same place.
Anonymous FTP
Anonymous File Transfer Protocol allows the public
to log into an FTP server with a common login (usually
"ftp" or "anonymous" and any password (usually the
person's e-mail address is used as the password).
Anonymous FTP is benefitial for the distribution of
large files to the public, avoiding the need to assign
large numbers of login and password combinations for
FTP access.
Applet
A small Java program that can be embedded in
an HTML page. Applets differ from full-fledged
Java applications in that they are not allowed to
access certain resources on the local computer, such
as files and serial devices (modems, printers, etc.),
and are prohibited from communicating with most other
computers across a network. The current rule is that
an applet can only make an Internet connection to
the computer from which the applet was sent.
Archie
A tool (software) for finding files stored on anonymous
FTP sites. You need to know the exact file name
or a substring of it.
ARPANet
(Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) -- The
precursor to the Internet. Landmark packet-switching
network established in 1969 by the US Department of
Defense as an experiment in wide-area-networking that
would survive a nuclear war.
ASP
ASP - Active Server Pages (ASP). ASP files, which
provide Web developers with an easier, faster, and
more powerful way to build Web applications, are regular
HTML pages with embedded scripts. These scripts can
be written in any language and processed by the server
when the file's URL is requested.
Source: http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/nts/exec/overview/changed.asp
ATM
ATM -- Asynchronous Transfer Mode. International sandard
for cell relay in which multiple service types (such
as voice, video, or data) are conveyed in fixed-length
(53-byte) cells. Fixed-length cells allow cell processing
to occur in hardware, thereby reducing transit delays.
ATM is designed to take advantage of high-speed transmission
media such as E3, SONET, and T3.
ASCII
(American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
-- This is the de facto world-wide standard for the
code numbers used by computers to represent all the
upper and lower-case Latin letters, numbers, punctuation,
etc. There are 128 standard ASCII codes each of which
can be represented by a 7 digit binary number: 0000000
through 1111111, plus parity.
Backbone
A high-speed line or series of connections that forms
a major pathway within a network. The term is relative,
as a backbone in a small network will likely
be much smaller than many non-backbone lines in a
large network.
Bandwidth
The difference between the highest and lowest frequencies
available for network signals. The term is also used
to describe the rated throughput capacity of a given
network medium or protocol. In short, bandwidth is
a loose term used to describe the throughput capacity
(measured in Kilobits or Megabits per second) of a
specific circuit.
Baud
Unit of signaling speed equal to the number of discrete
signal elements transmited per second. Baud is synonymous
with bits per second (bps). In common usage the baud
rate of a modem is how many bits it
can send or receive per second. Technically, baud
is the number of times per second that the carrier
signal shifts value - for example a 1200 bit-per-second
modem actually runs at 300 baud, but it moves 4 bits
per baud (4 x 300 = 1200 bits per second).
BBS
(Bulletin Board System) A computerized meeting and
announcement system that allows people to carry on
discussions, upload and download files, and make announcements
without the people being connected to the computer
at the same time. There are many thousands (millions?)
of BBS's around the world, most are very small, running
on a single IBM clone PC with 1 or 2 phone lines.
Some are very large and the line between a BBS and
a system like CompuServe gets crossed at some point,
but it is not clearly drawn.
Binhex
(BINary HEXadecimal) -- A method for converting non-text
files (non-ASCII) into ASCII. This is needed
because Internet e-mail can only handle ASCII.
Bit
(Binary DigIT) -- A single digit number in base-2,
in other words, either a 1 or a zero. The smallest
unit of computerized data. Bandwidth is usually
measured in bits-per-second.
BITNET
(Because It's Time NETwork (or Because It's There
NETwork)) -- A network of educational sites
separate from the Internet, but e-mail is freely exchanged
between BITNET and the Internet. Listservs,
the most popular form of e-mail discussion groups,
originated on BITNET. BITNET machines are usually
mainframes running the VMS operating system, and the
network is probably the only international network
that is shrinking.
Bps
(Bits-Per-Second) -- A measurement of how fast data
is moved from one place to another. A 28.8 modem
can move 28,800 bits per second.
Browser
Client software that is used to look at various kinds
of Internet resources. Examples include Microsoft's
Internet Explorer and Netscape's Navigator.
BTW
(By The Way) -- A shorthand appended to a comment
written in an online forum.
Byte
A set of Bits that represent a single character. Usually
there are 8 Bits in a Byte, sometimes more, depending
on how the measurement is being made. See Also: Bit
Certificate
Authority
An issuer of Security Certificates used in
SSL connections.
CGI
(Common Gateway Interface) -- A set of rules that
describe how a Web Server communicates
with another piece of software on the same machine,
and how the other piece of software (the 'CGI program')
talks to the web server. Any piece of software can
be a CGI program if it handles input and output according
to the CGI standard.
Usually a CGI program is a small program that takes
data from a web server and does something with it,
like putting the content of a form into an e-mail
message, or turning the data into a database query.
CGI "scripts" are just scripts which use CGI. CGI
is often confused with Perl, which is a programming
language, while CGI is an interface to the server
from a particular program. Perl is an application
of CGI, as well as MIVA, Python, PHP3, and other scripting
languages.
cgi-bin
The most common name of a directory on a web server
in which CGI programs are stored. The 'bin'
part of 'cgi-bin' is a shorthand version of 'binary',
because once upon a time, most programs were referred
to as 'binaries'. In real life, most programs found
in cgi-bin directories are text files -- scripts that
are executed by binaries located elsewhere on the
server. While most programs using CGI are stored in
this directory, it is not a requirement for using
CGI.
Client
A software program that is used to contact and obtain
data from a server software program on another computer,
often across a great distance. Each client program
is designed to work with one or more specific kinds
of server programs, and each server requires a specific
kind of client. A web browser and an FTP program are
specific kinds of clients. See Also:
Browser, Server
Co-Location
Network Operations Centers offer the ability for customers
to place their webservers and other network equipment
in thier NOC which are connected via high speed fiber
data lines to the backbone of the Internet. Administration
is done remotely so that a customer far away can configure
and control their network equipment.
Cold Fusion
Cold Fusion is a scripting language for web designers
that want wish to do advanced development and/or database
interfacing. Cold Fusion supports MS Access, dBASE,
FoxPro, and Paradox databases.
Contact Record
In the case of many registries, contact information
for technical, billing and administrative purposes
are maintained in their database. It is important
to keep your contact records updated to ensure that
billing and renewal can proceed without problems.
Cookie
The most common meaning of 'Cookie' on the Internet
refers to a piece of information sent by a Web Server
to a Web Browser that the Browser software
is expected to save and to send back to the Server
whenever the browser makes additional requests from
the Server.
Depending on the type of Cookie used, and the Browser's
settings, the Browser may accept or not accept the
Cookie, and may save the Cookie for either a short
time or a long time.
Cookies might contain information such as login
or registration information, online 'shopping cart'
information, user preferences, etc.
When a Server receives a request from a Browser
that includes a Cookie, the Server is able to use
the information stored in the Cookie. For example,
the Server might customize what is sent back to the
user, or keep a log of particular user's requests.
Cookies are usually set to expire after a predetermined
amount of time and are usually saved in memory until
the Browser software is closed down, at which time
they may be saved to disk if their 'expire time' has
not been reached.
Cookies do not read your hard drive
and send your life story to the CIA, but they can
be used to gather more information about a user than
would be possible without them.
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk was originally a cultural sub-genre of science
fiction taking place in a not-so-distant, dystopian,
over-industrialized society. The term grew out of
the work of William Gibson and Bruce Sterling and
has evolved into a cultural label encompassing many
different kinds of human, machine, and punk attitudes.
It includes clothing and lifestyle choices as well.
Cyberspace
Term originated by author William Gibson in his novel
Neuromancer the word Cyberspace is currently
used to describe the whole range of information resources
available through computer networks.
DNS: Domain Naming System
The DNS is a distributed, replicated that allows nameservers
to map easily remembered domain names to an IP number.
Dedicated Server
For those customers that want the advantages of colocation
without the hassles of purchasing their own server.
See colocation.
Digerati
The digital version of literati, it is a reference
to a vague cloud of people seen to be knowledgeable,
hip, or otherwise in-the-know in regards to the digital
revolution.
Domain Name
The unique name that identifies an Internet site.
Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated
by dots. The part on the left is the most specific,
and the part on the right is the most general. A given
machine may have more than one Domain Name but a given
Domain Name points to only one machine. For example,
the domain names: communitech.net, ftp.communitech.net,
whatever.communitech.net can all refer to the same
machine, but each domain name can refer to no more
than one machine.
Usually, all of the machines on a given Network
will have the same thing as the right-hand portion
of their Domain Names in the examples above. It is
also possible for a Domain Name to exist but not be
connected to an actual machine. This is often done
so that a group or business can have an Internet e-mail
address without having to establish a real Internet
site. In these cases, some real Internet machine must
handle the mail on behalf of the listed Domain Name.
E-Commerce
Electronic Commerce. Refers to the general exchange
of goods and services via the Internet.
E-mail
(Electronic Mail) -- Messages, usually text, sent
from one person to another via computer. E-mail can
also be sent automatically to a large number of addresses
(Mailing List).
Ethernet
A very common method of networking computers in a
LAN. Ethernet will handle about 10,000,000
bits-per-second and can be used with almost any kind
of computer.
FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions) -- FAQs are documents
that list and answer the most common questions on
a particular subject. There are hundreds of FAQs on
subjects as diverse as Pet Grooming and Cryptography.
FAQs are usually written by people who have tired
of answering the same question over and over.
FDDI
(Fiber Distributed Data Interface) -- A standard for
transmitting data on optical fiber cables at a rate
of around 100,000,000 bits-per-second (10 times as
fast as Ethernet, about twice as fast as T-3).
See Also: Bandwidth , Ethernet
, T-1 , T-3
Finger
An Internet software tool for locating people on other
Internet sites. Finger is also sometimes used to give
access to non-personal information, but the most common
use is to see if a person has an account at a particular
Internet site. Many sites do not allow incoming Finger
requests, but many do.
Fire Wall
A combination of hardware and software that separates
a LAN into two or more parts for security purposes.
Flame
Originally, flame meant to carry forth in a passionate
manner in the spirit of honorable debate. Flames most
often involved the use of flowery language and flaming
well was an art form. More recently flame has come
to refer to any kind of derogatory comment no matter
how witless or crude.
Flame War
When an online discussion degenerates into a series
of personal attacks against the debaters, rather than
discussion of their positions. A heated exchange.
FrontPage
Microsoft® FrontPage® is a site creation and management
software tool. One of the most popular website creation
software packages the software, both FrontPage® 98
and FrontPage ®2000 is widely supported by the hosting
community.
FTP
(File Transfer Protocol) -- A very common method of
moving files between two Internet sites. FTP is a
special way to login to another Internet site
for the purposes of retrieving and/or sending files.
There are many Internet sites that have established
publicly accessible repositories of material that
can be obtained using FTP, by logging in using the
account name anonymous, thus these sites are called
anonymous ftp servers.
Gateway
The technical meaning is a hardware or software set-up
that translates between two dissimilar protocols,
for example Prodigy has a gateway that translates
between its internal, proprietary e-mail format and
Internet e-mail format. Another, sloppier meaning
of gateway is to describe any mechanism for providing
access to another system, e.g. AOL might be called
a gateway to the Internet.
Gigabyte
1024 Megabytes
Gopher
A widely successful method of making menus of material
available over the Internet. Gopher is a Client
and Server style program, which requires that
the user have a Gopher Client program. Although
Gopher spread rapidly across the globe in only a couple
of years, it has been largely supplanted by Hypertext,
also known as WWW (World Wide Web). There are
still thousands of Gopher Servers on the Internet
and we can expect they will remain for a while.
hit
As used in reference to the World Wide Web, 'hit'
means a single request from a web browser for
a single item from a web server; thus in order
for a web browser to display a page that contains
3 graphics, 4 'hits' would occur at the server: 1
for the HTML page, and one for each of the
3 graphics.
'hits' are often used as a very rough measure of
load on a server, e.g. 'Our server has been getting
300,000 hits per month.' Because each 'hit' can represent
anything from a request for a tiny document (or even
a request for a missing document) all the way to a
request that requires some significant extra processing
(such as a complex search request), the actual load
on a machine from 1 hit is almost impossible to define.
Home Page
(or Homepage)
Several meanings. Originally, the web page
that your browser is set to use when it starts
up. The more common meaning refers to the main web
page for a business, organization, person or simply
the main page out of a collection of web pages, e.g.
'Check out so-and-so's new Home Page.'
Another sloppier use of the term refers to practically
any web page as a 'homepage,' e.g. 'That web site
has 65 homepages and none of them are interesting.'
Host
Any computer on a network that is a repository
for services available to other computers on the network.
It is quite common to have one host machine provide
several services, such as WWW and USENET.
Hosting
This term can be used to refer to the housing of a
web site, email or a domain. See Email hosting and
Web Site hosting for more details.
HTML
(HyperText Markup Language) -- The coding language
used to create Hypertext documents for use
on the World Wide Web. HTML looks a lot like
old-fashioned typesetting code, where you surround
a block of text with codes that indicate how it should
appear, additionally, in HTML you can specify that
a block of text, or a word, is linked to another file
on the Internet. HTML files are meant to be viewed
using a World Wide Web Client Program, such
as Netscape or Mosaic.
HTTP
(HyperText Transport Protocol) -- The protocol for
moving hypertext files across the Internet.
Requires a HTTP client program on one end,
and an HTTP server program on the other end.
HTTP is the most important protocol used in the World
Wide Web (WWW).
Hypertext
Generally, any text that contains links to other documents
- words or phrases in the document that can be chosen
by a reader and which cause another document to be
retrieved and displayed.
IMHO
(In My Humble Opinion) -- A shorthand appended to
a comment written in an online forum, IMHO indicates
that the writer is aware that they are expressing
a debatable view, probably on a subject already under
discussion. One of may such shorthands in common use
online, especially in discussion forums.
Index Server
Index Server indexes the contents and properties of
documents on an Internet or intranet Web site served
by IIS 4.0. Index Server enables Web clients with
any browser to search a Web site by filling in the
fields of an HTML query form.
Source: http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/nts/exec/overview/changed.asp
Internet
(Upper case I)
The vast collection of inter-connected networks that
all use the TCP/IP protocols and that evolved from
the ARPANET of the late 60's and early 70's.
The Internet now (July 1995) connects roughly 60,000
independent networks into a vast global internet.
internet
(Lower case i)
Any time you connect 2 or more networks together,
you have an internet - as in inter-national or inter-state.
InterNIC
InterNIC (now known as Network Solutions) currently
holds an exclusive contract with the U.S. government
to assign domain names for .COM, .NET and .ORG. The
contract is scheduled to expire September 30, 1998.
Network Solutions is the company that runs the InterNIC
registry.
Intranet
A private network inside a company or organization
that uses the same kinds of software that you would
find on the public Internet, but that is only
for internal use.
As the Internet has become more popular many of
the tools used on the Internet are being used in private
networks, for example, many companies have web servers
that are available only to employees.
Note that an Intranet may not actually be an internet
-- it may simply be a network.
IP Number
(Internet Protocol Number) -- Sometimes called a dotted
quad. A unique number consisting of 4 parts separated
by dots, e.g.165.113.245.2
Every machine that is on the Internet has a unique
IP number - if a machine does not have an IP number,
it is not really on the Internet. Most machines also
have one or more Domain Names that are easier
for people to remember.
IRC
(Internet Relay Chat) -- Basically a huge multi-user
live chat facility. There are a number of major IRC
servers around the world which are linked to
each other. Anyone can create a channel and anything
that anyone types in a given channel is seen by all
others in the channel. Private channels can (and are)
created for multi-person conference calls.
ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network) -- Basically
a way to move more data over existing regular phone
lines. ISDN is rapidly becoming available to much
of the USA and in most markets it is priced very comparably
to standard analog phone circuits. It can provide
speeds of roughly 128,000 bits-per-second over regular
phone lines. In practice, most people will be limited
to 56,000 or 64,000 bits-per-second.
ISP
(Internet Service Provider) -- An institution that
provides access to the Internet in some form, usually
for money.
Java
Java is a network-oriented programming language invented
by Sun Microsystems that is specifically designed
for writing programs that can be safely downloaded
to your computer through the Internet and immediately
run without fear of viruses or other harm to your
computer or files. Using small Java programs (called
"Applets"), Web pages can include
functions such as animations, calculators, and other
fancy tricks.
We can expect to see a huge variety of features
added to the Web using Java, since you can write a
Java program to do almost anything a regular computer
program can do, and then include that Java program
in a Web page.
JDK
(Java Development Kit) -- A software development package
from Sun Microsystems that implements the basic set
of tools needed to write, test and debug Java
applications and applets
Kilobyte
A thousand bytes. Actually, usually 1024 (210)
bytes.
LAN
(Local Area Network) -- A computer network limited
to the immediate area, usually the same building or
floor of a building.
Leased-line
Refers to a phone line that is rented for exclusive
24-hour, 7 -days-a-week use from your location to
another location. The highest speed data connections
require a leased line.
Listserv
The most common kind of maillist, Listservs
originated on BITNET but they are now common
on the Internet.
Local Registry
Fees
Most TLDs require initial registration fees as well
as annual or bi-annual renewal fees. Prices vary from
cost-free to thousands of dollars per domain depending
on the TLD chosen. For example, .COM domains cost
which covers the first two years. Re newal fees for
.COM are annually after the first two years expire.
Login
Noun or a verb. Noun: The account name used to gain
access to a computer system. Not a secret (contrast
with Password). Verb: The act of entering into
a computer system, e.g. Login to the WELL and then
go to the GBN conference.
Maillist
(or Mailing List)
A (usually automated) system that allows people to
send e-mail to one address, whereupon their
message is copied and sent to all of the other subscribers
to the maillist. In this way, people who have many
different kinds of e-mail access can participate in
discussions together.
Megabyte
A million bytes. A thousand kilobytes.
MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface -- A network
and accompanying protocol developed in the 1970's
for tranmitting various information between musical
and other devices including keyboards, samplers, lights,
controllers, etc.
MIME
(Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) -- The standard
for attaching non-text files to standard Internet
mail messages. Non-text files include graphics, spreadsheets,
formatted word-processor documents, sound files, etc.
An email program is said to be MIME Compliant if
it can both send and receive files using the MIME
standard.
When non-text files are sent using the MIME standard
they are converted (encoded) into text - although
the resulting text is not really readable.
Generally speaking the MIME standard is a way of
specifying both the type of file being sent (e.g.
a QuicktimeÅ video file), and the method that
should be used to turn it back into its original form.
Besides email software, the MIME standard is also
universally used by Web Servers to identify
the files they are sending to Web Clients,
in this way new file formats can be accommodated simply
by updating the Browsers' list of pairs of MIME-Types
and appropriate software for handling each type.
Mirror
Generally speaking, 'to mirror' is to maintain an
exact copy of something. Probably the most common
use of the term on the Internet refers to 'mirror
sites' which are web sites, or FTP sites
that maintain exact copies of material originated
at another location, usually in order to provide more
widespread access to the resource.
Another common use of the term 'mirror' refers to
an arrangement where information is written to more
than one hard disk simultaneously, so that if one
disk fails, the computer keeps on working without
losing anything.
Modem
(MOdulator, DEModulator) -- A device that you connect
to your computer and to a phone line, that allows
the computer to talk to other computers through the
phone system. Basically, modems do for computers what
a telephone does for humans.
Modify
(Domain Name) The database that the TLD registries
maintain need to be accurate in order for name resolution,
billing, renewal notices and public records to be
processed correctly. Typically modifications are required
when nameservers need to change or the contacts change
email or postal address or phone number. The procedures
for modifying records will depend on the registry.
MOO
(Mud, Object Oriented) -- One of several kinds of
multi-user role-playing environments, so far only
text-based.
Mosaic
The first WWW browser that was available for
the Macintosh, Windows, and UNIX all with the same
interface. Mosaic really started the popularity of
the Web. The source-code to Mosaic has been licensed
by several companies and there are several other pieces
of software as good or better than Mosaic, most notably,
Netscape.
MUD
(Multi-User Dungeon or Dimension) -- A (usually text-based)
multi-user simulation environment. Some are purely
for fun and flirting, others are used for serious
software development, or education purposes and all
that lies in between. A significant feature of most
MUDs is that users can create things that stay after
they leave and which other users can interact with
in their absence, thus allowing a world to be built
gradually and collectively.
MUSE
(Multi-User Simulated Environment) -- One kind of
MUD - usually with little or no violence.
MX Record: Mail Exchange
Mail Exchange record is part of the zone file and
is used to designate which mail server machine should
process email for a specific domain.
NT
Windows NT® is Microsoft's® 32-bit operating system
developed from what was originally intended to be
OS/2 3.0 before Microsoft ®and IBM ceased joint development
of OS/2. Used by web hosting companies in the network
environment to offer customers support for Microsoft
base products such as MS Access®, MS SQL® 7.0, and
FrontPage® 2000.
Name Servers
A computer that performs the mapping of easily remembered
domain names to IP addresses. Sometimes referred to
as a host server.
Netiquette
The etiquette on the Internet. See Also: Internet
Netizen
Derived from the term citizen, referring to a citizen
of the Internet, or someone who uses networked
resources. The term connotes civic responsibility
and participation. See Also: Internet
Netscape®
A WWW Browser and the name of a company. The
Netscape (tm) browser was originally based on the
Mosaic program developed at the National Center
for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).
Netscape has grown in features rapidly and is widely
recognized as the best and most popular web browser.
Netscape corporation also produces web server
software.
Netscape provided major improvements in speed and
interface over other browsers, and has also engendered
debate by creating new elements for the HTML
language used by Web pages -- but the Netscape extensions
to HTML are not universally supported.
The main author of Netscape, Mark Andreessen, was
hired away from the NCSA by Jim Clark, and they founded
a company called Mosaic Communications and soon changed
the name to Netscape Communications Corporation.
Network
Any time you connect 2 or more computers together
so that they can share resources, you have a computer
network. Connect 2 or more networks together and you
have an internet.
Newsgroup
The name for discussion groups on USENET. See
Also: USENET
NIC
(Networked Information Center) -- Generally, any office
that handles information for a network. The most famous
of these on the Internet is Network Solutions, which
is where new domain names are registered. Another
definition: NIC also refers to Network Interface Card
which plugs into a computer and adapts the network
interface to the appropriate standard. ISA, PCI, and
PCMCIA cards are all examples of NICs.
NNTP
(Network News Transport Protocol) -- The protocol
used by client and server software to
carry USENET postings back and forth over a
TCP/IP network. If you are using any
of the more common software such as Netscape,
Nuntius, Internet Explorer, etc. to participate in
newsgroups then you are benefiting from an
NNTP connection.
Node
Any single computer connected to a network.
OC-3
Refers to a circuit that transmits 155,000,000 bits
per second. This is the size of the largest Internet
backbone providers networks.
Packet Switching
The method used to move data around on the Internet.
In packet switching, all the data coming out of a
machine is broken up into chunks, each chunk has the
address of where it came from and where it is going.
This enables chunks of data from many different sources
to co-mingle on the same lines, and be sorted and
directed to different routes by special machines along
the way. This way many people can use the same lines
at the same time.
Parking
(Domain Name) Registries require the use of name servers
or hosts for every domain registered. Parking is the
process by which someone selects a domain name, and
"parks" it by registering the domain name under someone's
name servers. Parking can be done by anyone, to anyone
else who has active name servers. However, parking
a domain name alone will result in no service (webhosting,
e-mail) for that particular domain name.
Password
A code used to gain access to a locked system. Good
passwords contain letters and non-letters and are
not simple combinations such as virtue7. A
good password might be: Hot-6
Plug-in
A (usually small) piece of software that adds features
to a larger piece of software. Common examples are
plug-ins for the Netscape® browser and
web server. Adobe Photoshop® also uses
plug-ins.
The idea behind plug-in's is that a small piece
of software is loaded into memory by the larger program,
adding a new feature, and that users need only install
the few plug-ins that they need, out of a much larger
pool of possibilities. Plug-ins are usually developed
by a third party.
POP
(Point of Presence, also Post Office Protocol) --
Two commonly used meanings: Point of Presence and
Post Office Protocol. A Point of Presence usually
means a city or location where a network can be connected
to, often with dial up phone lines. So if an Internet
company says they will soon have a POP in Belgrade,
it means that they will soon have a local phone number
in Belgrade and/or a place where leased lines can
connect to their network. A second meaning, Post Office
Protocol refers to the way e-mail software such as
Eudora gets mail from a mail server. When you obtain
a SLIP, PPP, or shell account you almost always get
a POP account with it, and it is this POP account
that you tell your e-mail software to use to get your
mail.
Port
3 meanings. First and most generally, a place where
information goes into or out of a computer, or both.
E.g. the serial port on a personal computer is where
a modem would be connected.
On the Internet port often refers to a number that
is part of a URL, appearing after a colon (:)
right after the domain name. Every service
on an Internet server listens on a particular
port number on that server. Most services have standard
port numbers, e.g. Web servers normally listen on
port 80. Services can also listen on non-standard
ports, in which case the port number must be specified
in a URL when accessing the server, so you might see
a URL of the form:
gopher://peg.cwis.uci.edu:7000/
shows a gopher server running on a non-standard
port (the standard gopher port is 70). Finally, port
also refers to translating a piece of software to
bring it from one type of computer system to another,
e.g. to translate a Windows program so that is will
run on a Macintosh.
Posting
A single message entered into a network communications
system. E.g. A single message posted to a newsgroup
or message board. See Also: Newsgroup
PPP
(Point to Point Protocol) -- Most well known as
a protocol that allows a computer to use a regular
telephone line and a modem to make TCP/IP
connections and thus be really and truly on the Internet.
Propagation
The process whereby the nameservers throughout the
world have updated their records for a specific domain.
For example, if you move your domain from one host
to another, it will take around 24 hours or so for
the new address to broadcast everywhere. During that
24 hour period, the traffic is decreasing at the old
location and increasing at the new location.
PSTN
(Public Switched Telephone Network) -- The regular
old-fashioned telephone system.
Real Audio / Real Video
Real Audio/Real Video enables users of personal computers
and other consumer electronic devices to send and
receive audio, video and other multimedia services
using the Web.
enable users of personal computers and other consumer
electronic devices to send and receive audio, video
and other multimedia services using the Web. Register
(Domain Name) Since every domain is unique, registries
have been set up to assign domains to individuals
and organziations. When a domain is registered with
the appropriate registry, that domain is assigned
and becomes no longer available for anyone else to
use. Typically, there are registration and renewal
fees (local registry fees) associated with the right
to use a domain. However, there are some TLDs that
are provided at no charge.
Registrant
(Domain Name) The entity, organization or individual
that will be using the domain name.
Registrar
(Domain Name) Some registries don't provide the ability
for end users to register domains with them directly.
They might require end users to purchase the domain
through an internet provider that is acting as the
registrar.
Registry
(Domain Name) An organization responsible for assigning
domain names for the TLD that they manage. Furthermore,
it is their responsibility to update the global DNS
tables that all nameservers use to resolve domain
names. For example, InterNIC is the registry for .COM,
.NET and .ORG domain names.
Renewal
(Domain Name) Most TLDs need to be renewed at some
scheduled yearly interval. This is an opportunity
for both the registrant and the registry to update
their records as well as collect any applicable renewal
fees.
Resolution
(domain Name) The conversion of an internet address
or domain name into the corresponding physical location.
RFC
(Request For Comments) -- The name of the result and
the process for creating a standard on the Internet.
New standards are proposed and published on line,
as a Request For Comments. The Internet Engineering
Task Force is a consensus-building body that facilitates
discussion, and eventually a new standard is established,
but the reference number/name for the standard retains
the acronym RFC, e.g. the official standard for e-mail
is RFC 822.
Router
A special-purpose computer (or software package) that
handles the connection between 2 or more networks.
Routers spend all their time looking at the destination
addresses of the packets passing through them
and deciding which route to send them on.
Security Certificate
A chunk of information (often stored as a text file)
that is used by the SSL protocol to establish
a secure connection.
Security Certificates contain information about
who it belongs to, who it was issued by, a unique
serial number or other unique identification, valid
dates, and an encrypted 'fingerprint' that can be
used to verify the contents of the certificate.
In order for an SSL connection to be created both
sides must have a valid Security Certificate.
Server
A computer, or a software package, that provides a
specific kind of service to client software
running on other computers. The term can refer to
a particular piece of software, such as a WWW
server, or to the machine on which the software is
running, e.g.Our mail server is down today, that's
why e-mail isn't getting out. A single server machine
could have several different server software packages
running on it, thus providing many different servers
to clients on the network.
Shockwave
Shockwave, produced by Macromedia, allows you to view
new forms of entertainment on the Web, such as games,
music, rich-media chat, interactive product demos,
and e-merchandising applications
SLIP
(Serial Line Internet Protocol) -- A standard for
using a regular telephone line (a serial line) and
a modem to connect a computer as a real Internet
site. SLIP is gradually being replaced by PPP.
SMDS
(Switched Multimegabit Data Service) -- A new standard
for very high-speed data transfer.
SMTP
(Simple Mail Transport Protocol) -- The main protocol
used to send electronic mail on the Internet.
SMTP consists of a set of rules for how a program
sending mail and a program receiving mail should interact.
Almost all Internet email is sent and received by
clients and servers using SMTP, thus
if one wanted to set up an email server on the Internet
one would look for email server software that supports
SMTP.
SNMP
(Simple Network Management Protocol) -- A set of standards
for communication with devices connected to a TCP/IP
network. Examples of these devices include
routers, hubs, and switches.
A device is said to be 'SNMP compatible' if it can
be monitored and/or controlled using SNMP messages.
SNMP messages are known as 'PDU's' - Protocol Data
Units.
Devices that are SNMP compatible contain SNMP 'agent'
software to receive, send, and act upon SNMP messages.
Software for managing devices via SNMP are available
for every kind of commonly used computer and are often
bundled along with the device they are designed to
manage. Some SNMP software is designed to handle a
wide variety of devices.
Spam (or Spamming)
An inappropriate attempt to use a mailing list,
or USENET or other networked communications
facility as if it was a broadcast medium (which it
is not) by sending the same message to a large number
of people who didn't ask for it. The term probably
comes from a famous Monty Python skit which featured
the word spam repeated over and over. The term may
also have come from someone's low opinion of the food
product with the same name, which is generally perceived
as a generic content-free waste of resources. (Spam
is a registered trademark of Hormel Corporation, for
its processed meat product.)
E.g. Mary spammed 50 USENET groups by posting the
same message to each.
SQL
(Structured Query Language) -- A specialized programming
language for sending queries to databases. Most industrial-strength
and many smaller database applications can be addressed
using SQL. Each specific application will have its
own version of SQL implementing features unique to
that application, but all SQL-capable databases support
a common subset of SQL.
SSL
(Secure Sockets Layer) -- A protocol designed by Netscape
Communications to enable encrypted, authenticated
communications across the Internet.
SSL used mostly (but not exclusively) in communications
between web browsers and web servers.
URL's that begin with 'https' indicate that
an SSL connection will be used.
SSL provides 3 important things: Privacy, Authentication,
and Message Integrity.
In an SSL connection each side of the connection
must have a Security Certificate, which each
side's software sends to the other. Each side then
encrypts what it sends using information from both
its own and the other side's Certificate, ensuring
that only the intended recipient can de-crypt it,
and that the other side can be sure the data came
from the place it claims to have come from, and that
the message has not been tampered with.
Sysop
(System Operator) -- Anyone responsible for the physical
operations of a computer system or network resource.
A System Administrator decides how often backups and
maintenance should be performed and the System Operator
performs those tasks.
T-1
A leased-line connection capable of carrying
data at 1,544,000 bits-per-second. At maximum
theoretical capacity, a T-1 line could move a megabyte
in less than 10 seconds. That is still not fast enough
for full-screen, full-motion video, for which you
need at least 10,000,000 bits-per-second. T-1 is the
fastest speed commonly used to connect networks
to the Internet.
T-3
A leased-line connection capable of carrying
data at 44,736,000 bits-per-second. This is more than
enough to do full-screen, full-motion video.
TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
-- This is the suite of protocols that defines the
Internet. Originally designed for the UNIX
operating system, TCP/IP software is now available
for every major kind of computer operating system.
To be truly on the Internet, your computer
must have TCP/IP software.
Telnet
The command and program used to login from
one Internet site to another. The telnet command/program
gets you to the login: prompt of another host.
Terabyte
1024 gigabytes.
Terminal
A device that allows you to send commands to a computer
somewhere else. At a minimum, this usually means a
keyboard and a display screen and some simple circuitry.
Usually you will use terminal software in a personal
computer - the software pretends to be (emulates)
a physical terminal and allows you to type commands
to a computer somewhere else.
Terminal Server
A special purpose computer that has places to plug
in many modems on one side, and a connection
to a LAN or host machine on the other
side. Thus the terminal server does the work of answering
the calls and passes the connections on to the appropriate
node. Most terminal servers can provide PPP
or SLIP services if connected to the Internet.
Top Level Domain: (TLD)
A Top Level Domain (TLD) is the uppermost in the hierarchy
of domain names. For example, communitech.net is our
domain name. The "net" is considered the
TLD and the "communitech.net" is considered
the second level domain. Together they form a domain
name which is unique. There are two types of TLDs.
The most common type is the Generic or Global TLDs
which include .COM, .NET, .ORG, .MIL, .INT and .EDU.
There is a possibility that new gTLDs will be introduced
in the near future. National or ccTLDs are two letter
country code domains that are managed by a registry
designated and controlled by each specific country.
Each registry might have differing prices, residency
requirements and structure.
Trademark
As it relates to domain names... a word, phrase or
slogan used to identify and distinguish the source
of the goods or services. Trademark law may be different
worldwide. If someone registers a domain name such
as microsoft.to then Microsoft would need to go to
the courts in Tonga to fight to get the name back.
Expensive international litigation is one reason why
it is important to protect your trademarks before
someone else registers the names.
Transfer
(Domain Name) On occasion, domains are sold to another
organization or sometimes the name of a company might
change. Most registries require a letter of permission
from the old owner to hand over control to the new
owner. The procedures for Transfer of ownership will
depend on the registry.
UNIX
A computer operating system (the basic software running
on a computer, underneath things like word processors
and spreadsheets). UNIX is designed to be used by
many people at the same time (it is multi-user) and
has TCP/IP built-in. It is the most common
operating system for servers on the Internet.
URL
(Uniform Resource Locator) -- The standard way to
give the address of any resource on the Internet that
is part of the World Wide Web (WWW). A URL looks like
this: http://www.communitech.net/glossary/ or telnet://anywhere.you.want
or news:new.newusers.questions etc.
The most common way to use a URL is to enter into
a WWW browser program, such as Netscape, or Lynx.
USENET
A world-wide system of discussion groups, with comments
passed among hundreds of thousands of machines. Not
all USENET machines are on the Internet, maybe
half. USENET is completely decentralized, with over
10,000 discussion areas, called newsgroups.
See Also: Newsgroup
UUENCODE
(Unix to Unix Encoding) -- A method for converting
files from Binary to ASCII (text) so
that they can be sent across the Internet via e-mail.
Veronica
(Very Easy Rodent Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized
Archives) -- Developed at the University of Nevada,
Veronica is a constantly updated database of the names
of almost every menu item on thousands of gopher
servers. The Veronica database can be searched from
most major gopher menus. See Also: Gopher
VB Script
The Microsoft® Visual Basic® programming language,
is a fast, portable, lightweight interpreter for use
in World Wide Web browsers and other applications
that use Microsoft® ActiveX® Controls, Automation
servers, and Java applets Souce: http://msdn.microsoft.com/scripting/default.htm
WAIS
(Wide Area Information Servers) -- A commercial software
package that allows the indexing of huge quantities
of information, and then making those indices searchable
across networks such as the Internet.
A prominent feature of WAIS is that the search results
are ranked (scored) according to how relevant the
hits are, and that subsequent searches can find more
stuff like that last batch and thus refine the search
process.
WAN
(Wide Area Network) -- Any internet or network
that covers an area larger than a single building
or campus.
Web
See: WWW
Whois
Most registries maintain a database of domain names
and their associated contact information. Users can
query these databases through a program called Whois.
WWW
(World Wide Web) -- Two meanings - First, loosely
used: the whole constellation of resources that can
be accessed using Gopher, FTP, HTTP, telnet, USENET,
WAIS and some other tools. Second, the universe
of hypertext servers (HTTP servers) which are
the servers that allow text, graphics, sound files,
etc. to be mixed together.
Zone file
The group of files that reside on the domain host
or nameserver. The zone file designates a domain,
its subdomains and mail server.
