Network Chico Computer
terms glossary
Some definitions from the Sharpened Glossary
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Access control: A method
to impose controls that permit or deny users access to network
resources usually based on a user's account or some group to
which the user belongs.
Access point device: The
device that bridges wireless networking components and a wired
network. It forwards traffic from the wired side to the wireless
side and from the wireless side to the wired side as needed.
Account: The collection
of information known about a user including an account name,
an associated password and a set of access permissions for network
resources.
Account lockout: The process
of automatically disabling a user account based on certain criteria
such as too many failed logon attempts.
Account name: A string
of letters, numbers or other characters that identifies a particular
user's account on a network.
Active Directory: The
directory service environment for Microsoft Windows 2000 (and
later) servers. Active Directory includes enough information
about users, groups, organizational units and other kinds of
management domains and administrative information about a network
to represent a complete digital model of the network.
Active hub: A network
device that regenerates received signals and sends them along
the network.
Active-matrix: This technology
is used in high-quality flat-panel displays such as laptop screens
and thin computer monitors. The images on active matrix screens
are created by laying diodes, or small semiconductors, over a
grid of ultra-small wires. When a current passes through the
diodes, they light up in different colors, depending on the strength
of the current. Thousands of these diodes next to each other
form an image on the screen. To keep the diodes in an on or off
state, active-matrix displays use transistors, which are not
found in the lower-quality passive-matrix displays. The transistors
help make the active-matrix displays brighter and give them more
contrast than passive-matrix displays.
Active Monitor: A computer
in a token ring network responsible for guaranteeing the network's
status.
Active topology: A network
topology in which the computers themselves are responsible for
sending the data along the network.
ActiveX: This Microsoft-based
technology was built to link desktop applications to the World
Wide Web. Using ActiveX development tools software developers
can create interactive web content for their applications. For
example Word and Excel documents can be viewed directly in Web
browsers that supports ActiveX. While ActiveX is a useful technology
the downside is that you need to have a up-to-date version ActiveX
installed on your machine in order to use ActiveX-enabled content.
Allowing ActiveX controls to be installed can also present possible
security risks.
Adapter slot: The sockets
built into a PC motherboard that are designed to seat adapter
cards such as AGP, ISA, EISA, MCA and PCI.
Address registry: Any
of a number of IP address registry organizations worldwide. These
organizations dole out IP addresses, manage IP address ranges
and handle DNS domain name registration under the auspices of
the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, the sub-organization
under the Internet Society, or ISOC).
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP):
A protocol in the TCP/IP suite used to associate logical addresses
to physical addresses.
Affiliate: Web site affiliates
are what drive Internet marketing. Companies run affiliate programs
to generate leads and sales from other web sites. They pay the
sites who host their ads a commission for products sold through
the links on their sites. For example if a site owner signs up
for Amazon.com's affiliate program he will receive ad banners
or links from Amazon.com that he can place anywhere on his site.
Then, if a visitor clicks on the Amazon.com banner or a link
on his site and buys something, he will receive a commission.
Unfortunately for web site owners affiliate commissions are seldom
above 5%, since most web sales are made with small profit margins.
The introduction of web site affiliate programs in the late 1990s
brought Internet marketing to a new level. The first companies
that offered these programs saw sales increase dramatically.
After all, these companies basically get free advertising and
only pay their affiliates a percentage of the sales they generate.
It's a win-win situation for the company that runs the affiliate
program. The only drawback is that the programs take a lot of
work (and sometimes a lot of money) to set up and maintain. Thus,
smaller companies may not find it very beneficial to offer an
affiliate program.
AGP: "Accelerated
Graphics Port" This is a graphics card expansion port designed
by Intel that resides on the motherboard of a computer. PCI graphics
ports typically run at 33 MHz and have a maximum transfer rate
of 132 MB/sec. AGP ports, on the other hand, run at 66 MHz and
can transfer data up to 1.0 Gbps on a 64-bit-wide bus.. This
allows games and applications to store and retrieve larger, more
realistic 3D shapes and textures without slowing down the animation
on the screen. Additionally, AGP cards can store graphics in
system memory rather than video memory, which also helps improve
performance. Because of these advantages AGP cards typically
have better performance per MB of VRAM than PCI graphics cards.
AIFF: "Audio Interchange
File Format" This audio format developed by Apple Computer
is used to store high-quality sampled audio and musical instrument
information. AIFF files are similar to Windows WAVE files in
both size and quality. Both AIFF and WAVE files can hold CD quality
audio and therefore can be burned onto an audio CD. Though the
AIFF format was created by Apple, audio programs on both the
Mac and PC can typically read the files.
American Wire Guage (AWG):
A numeric classification and naming scheme for copper wiring:
the higher the guage the narrower the diameter of the wiring.
Amplifier: A hardware
device that increases the power of electrical signals to maintain
their original strength when transmitted across a large network.
Analog: The method of
signal transmission used on broadband networks. Creating analog
waveforms from computer-based digital data requires a special
device called a digital-to analog converter. Reversing the conversion
requires another device called an analog-to-digital converter.
Broadband networking equipment must include both kinds of devices
to work.
ANSI: "American National
Standards Institute" ANSI's primary goal is to enhance the
global competitiveness of U.S. businesses and to improve the
American quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary
consensus standards and conformity assessment systems. "Voluntary"
standards are driven by marketplace needs rather than regulated
by the government. "Conformity assessment systems"
test the compliance of a product or service to a standard. ANSI
does not itself develop standards or conduct tests, rather it
facilitates this work by "accrediting" (i.e., recognising)
qualified groups with appropriate expertise. The Institute is
the official U.S. representative to the International Organisation
for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC). ANSI is a private, nonprofit membership organization
with offices in Washington, DC and New York City. If you'd like
more information about ANSI, there's no better place to visit
than ANSI's Web
site. There you'll find more information about ANSI and what
they do, as well as the latest news on national and international
standards.
Antenna: A tuned electromagnetic
device that can send and receive broadcast signals at particular
frequencies. In wireless networking devices an antenna is an
important part of the devices' sending and receiving circuitry.
Apple: The reason this
term is in the glossary is because way too many people confuse
"Apple" with "Macintosh." Apple is the company
that makes Macintosh computers. Apple's product line includes
PowerMacs, PowerBooks, iMacs, iBooks, eMacs, and the popular
hard drive-based MP3 player the iPod. Apple also develops a large
number of software programs, such as iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie,
and iDVD. Though most of Apple's product names now start with
the letter "i", the company has a history of creative
innovation. Though Apple has less than ten percent of the marketshare
in the computer business the company still manages to lead the
industry in new directions. To find out the latest about what's
going on at Apple check out the Apple web site.
AppleTalk: The protocol
suite/stack native to the Macintosh operating system (Mac OS).
AppleTalk File Protocol (AFP):
Apple's remote file management protocol.
AppleTalk Transmission Protocol (ATP):
AppleTalk's session protocol.
Applet: This a Java program
that can be embedded in a web page. The difference between a
standard Java application and a Java applet is that an applet
can't access system resources on the local computer. System files
and serial devices (modems, printers, scanners, etc.) cannot
be called or used by the applet. This is for security reasons
since nobody wants their system wiped out by a malicious applet
from some web site. Applets have helped make the web more dynamic
and entertaining and have given a helpful boost to the Java programming
language.
Application layer: Layer
7 in the OSI reference model. The Application layer provides
interfaces to permit applications to request and receive network
services.
Application protocol:
A type of protocol that works in the upper layers of the OSI
model to provide application-to-application interaction.
Application server: A
specialized network server whose job is to provide access to
a client/server application and, sometimes, the data that belongs
to that application as well.
Archie: This is a program
used for finding files stored on FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
servers. Archie is not used very much anymore because to use
it effectively you need to know the exact file name you're looking
for. Most file searching is now done via the web with a web browser
like Internet Explorer, FireFox or Netscape.
ARCnet: "Attached
Resource Computer Network" An inexspensive, flexible 2.5
Mbps LAN technology created by Datapoint Corporation in 1977.
It uses the token-passing channel access method and runs over
several kinds of coaxial cable, twisted-pair cable and fiber-optic
cable.
ARCnet Plus: The successor
to ARCnet. It supports transmission speeds up to 20 Mbps.
ASCII: "American
Standard Code for Information Interchange" ASCII is the
universal standard for the numerical codes computers use to represent
all upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and punctuation. Without
ASCII each type of computer would use a different way of representing
letters and numbers causing major chaos for computer programmers.
ASCII makes is possible for text to be represented the same way
on a Dell Dimension in Minneapolis, Minnesota as it is on an
Apple PowerMac in Paris, France. There are 128 standard ASCII
codes, each of which can be represented by a 7 digit binary number
(because 2^7 = 128).
ASP: There are two equally
important definitions of ASP.
1. Active Server Page. This is a web page that has one or
more ASP scripts embedded in it. ASP scripts are like small computer
programs that run when an ASP-based web page is accessed. You
can tell if you're accessing an active server page if the suffix
of the URL is ".asp" (as opposed to ".html").
ASP pages are processed on a web server before they are transferred
to a user's web browser. ASP pages are typically used for pages
that have dynamic, or frequently changing information. For example,
an ASP script might get a visitor's zip code through a form on
a web page, then customize the content on the resulting page
based on that information. Since ASP technology was designed
by Microsoft ASP scripts are typically written in Microsoft's
Visual Basic programming language.
2. Application Service Provider. Sometimes referred to as
an "app-on-tap" this is a third-party company that
distributes software-based services from a central location to
customers in other locations. ASPs offer companies services that
would otherwise have to be done in-house, or onsite. Using an
ASP is often an inexpensive way for companies and organizations
to manage their information services. There are five main categories
of Application Service Providers:
1. Local or Regional ASP - supplies many different application
services for smaller businesses or individuals in a local area.
2. Specialist ASP - provides applications for specific needs,
such as Human Resources or web services.
3. Vertical Market ASP - provides support to a specific industry
such as Education.
4. Enterprise ASP - delivers information and services for high-end
business.
5. Volume Business ASP - supplies small or medium-sized businesses
with services in high volume.
Asynchronous: A communication
method that sends data in a stream with start and stop bits indicating
where data begins and ends.
ATA: "Advanced Technology
Attachment" It is a type of disk drive that integrates the
drive controller directly on the drive itself. Computers can
use ATA hard drives without a specific controller to support
the drive. The motherboard must still support an ATA connection
but a separate card (such as a SCSI card for a SCSI hard drive)
is not needed. Some different types of ATA standards include
ATA-1, ATA-2 (a.k.a. Fast ATA), ATA-3, Ultra ATA (33 MBps maximum
transfer rate), ATA/66 (66 MBps), and ATA/100 (100 MBps). The
term IDE, or "Integrated Drive Electronics," is also
used to refer to ATA drives. Sometimes (to add extra confusion
to people buying hard drives), ATA drives are labelled as "IDE/ATA."
Technically, ATA uses IDE technology, but the important thing
to know is that they refer to the same thing. See also SATA.
ATM: "Asynchronous
Transfer Mode" ATM is a WAN technology using firber-optic
media that transfers data in packets or cells of a fixed size
without error checking. ATM uses 53-byte cells (5 bytes for the
address header and 48 bytes for the data). These extremely small
cells can be processed through an ATM switch fast enough to maintain
data transfer speeds of over 622 Mbps. The technology was designed
for the high-speed transmission of all forms of media from basic
graphics to full-motion video. Because the cells are so small
ATM equipment can transmit large amounts of data over a single
connection while ensuring that no single transmission takes up
all the bandwidth. It also allows Internet Service Providers
(ISPs) to assign limited bandwidth to each customer. While this
may seem like a downside for the customer it actually improves
the efficiency of the ISP's Internet connection causing the overall
speed of the connection to be faster for everybody.
Attenuation: The degradation
or distortion of an electronic signal as it travels from its
origin.
Auditing: Recording selected
events or actions for later review. Audits can help in establishing
patterns and in noting changes in those patterns that might indicate
trouble.
AUI: "Attachment
Unit Interface" A standard Ethernet connector also called
a DIX connector.
Autoresponder: This is
a program or script on a mail server that automatically replies
to e-mails received for a certain account. Though it is run from
the mail server an autoresponder can usually be set up by the
user through a web-based interface. For example a company might
set up an autoresponder for their support e-mail address. The
reply might read something like "We have received your support
request. One of our technicians will make a half-hearted attempt
to answer your question after he finishes his dart game in the
lobby." Individuals can also use autoresponders to let people
know when they are away from their computer and won't be able
to respond to any e-mails for awhile. For example you might set
up an autoresponder for your personal e-mail address to say "Sorry,
I am on vacation in the Bahamas indefinitely. I'll respond to
your message if I ever decide to come back." It is important
to remember to reply to the message after the autroresponder
has replied. After all most people like to communicate with other
people rather than computers.
Network Chico Computer
terms glossary
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