Network Chico Computer
terms glossary
Some definitions from the Sharpened Glossary
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=U=
UDP: "User Datagram
Protocol" It is part of the TCP/IP suite of protocols used
for data transferring. UDP is a known as a 'stateless' protocol
meaning it doesn't acknowledge that the packets being sent have
been received. For this reason the UDP protocol is typically
used for streaming media. Though you might see skips in video
or hear some fuzz in audio clips it's better than having to wait
for the delayed packets causing the clip to completely stop.
DNS also typically uses UDP.
Ultra DMA: This technology
for transferring data between a computer's hard disk and memory
was developed by Quantum and Intel. The maximum burst rate of
an Ultra DMA hard drive is 33.3 MBps. The original DMA (Direct
Memory Access) protocol could only transfer data at half that
speed. Thanks to Ultra DMA programs can open faster and run more
smoothly. This is because Utlra DMA can send more data to the
memory in less time than the original DMA. Ultra DMA also has
a built-in utility called Cyclical Redundancy Checking (CRC)
that helps protect data integrity. So if you want a fast hard
drive look for one that supports Ultra DMA.
UML: "Unified Modeling
Language" This is a notational language that is used for
object-oriented software development. To organize program code
more efficiently programmers often create "objects"
that are sets of structured data within programs. UML, which
has been standardized by the Object
Management Group (OMG), was designed for this purpose. The
language has gained enough support that it has become a standard
language for visualizing and constructing software programs and
systems. For more information visit http://www-306.ibm.com/software/rational/uml/
or http://www.uml.org/
UNC: "Universal Naming
Convention" This is a filename format that is used to specify
the location of files, folders, and resources on a local-area
network (LAN). The UNC address of a file
may look something like this:
\\server-name\directory\filename
\\servername\sharename
UNC can also be used to identify peripheral devices shared
on the network, including scanners and printers. It provides
each shared resource with a unique address. This allows operating
systems that support UNC (such as Windows) to access specific
resources quickly and efficiently.
Unix: Also known as UNIX
though the letters don't stand for anything. The Unix operating
system was first created in Bell Labs way back in the 1960s.
It became popular in the 1970s for high-level computing but not
on the consumer level. Since a lot of Internet services were
originally hosted on Unix machines the platform gained tremendous
popularity in the 1990s. It still leads the industry as the most
common operating system for web servers. Yet Unix remains somewhat
of an ambiguous operating system as there are many different
versions of it. Some examples include Ultrix, Xenix, Linux, and
GNU, which, making things even more confusing all run on a number
of different hardware platforms. Most people don't ever need
to use Unix but computer geeks seem to have the need to use it
as much as possible.
Upload: While downloading
is receiving a file from another computer uploading is the exact
opposite. It is sending a file from your computer to another
system. Pretty straight forward. It is possible to upload and
download at the same time, but it may cause slower transfer speeds,
especially if you have a low bandwidth connection. Because most
files are located on Internet servers people generally do a lot
more downloading than uploading.
UPS: "Uninterruptible
Power Supply" Power protection device that includes a batter
backup to take over if the main current fails. Usually incorporates
power conditioning and surge protection.
URL: "Uniform Resource
Locator" It is the address of a specific web site or file
on the Internet. A URL cannot have spaces or certain other characters
and uses forward slashes to denote different directories. Some
examples of URLs are http://www.netchico.com/support/glossary/index.php,
http://www.ourchico.com/,
and ftp://info.apple.com/. As you can see not all URLs begin
with "http". The first part of a URL indicates what
kind of resource it is addressing. Here is a list of the different
resource prefixes:
- http: a hypertext directory or document (such as a web page)
- ftp: a directory of files or an actual file available to
download
- gopher: a gopher document or menu
- telnet: a Unix-based computer system that you can log into
- news: a newsgroup
- WAIS: a database or document on a Wide Area Information Search
database
- file: a file located on your hard drive or some other local
drive
The second part of a URL (after the "://") contains
the address of the computer being located as well as the path
to the file. For example in "http://www.cnet.com/Content/Reports/index.html,"
"www.cnet.com" is the address or domain name of the
host computer and "/Content/Reports/index.html" is
the path to the file. When a address ends with a slash and not
something like ".html," the server usually defaults
to a file in the current directory named "index.html".
So, if you type in "http://www.netchico.com/" and "http://www.netchico.com/index.html,"
you should get the same page.
USB: "Universal Serial
Bus" It is today's most commonly used type of computer port.
USB can be used to connect a mouse, keyboard, game controllers,
printers, scanners, digital cameras, and removable media drives,
just to name a few. With the help of a few USB hubs you can connect
up to 127 peripherals to a single USB port and use them all at
once. USB is also faster than older ports such as serial and
parallel ports. The USB 1.1 specification supports data transfer
rates of up to 12Mb/sec and USB 2.0 has a maximum transfer rate
of 480 Mbps. Though USB was introduced in 1997 the technology
didn't really take off until the introduction of the Apple iMac
(in late 1998) which used USB ports exclusively. USB was created
and designed by Intel, Compaq, Digital, and IBM. Now USB has
become a widely-used cross-platform interface for both Macs and
Windows based PCs.
USENET: The collection
of discussion groups maintained on the Internet. Also called
"network news" or "newsgroups."
User: An individual who
uses a computer, either as a standalone or to access a network.
User account: Collection
of information known about the user which includes account name,
an associated password and a set of access permissions for network
resources.
User-oriented security:
Security information based on the account of the user accessing
an object or network resource.
UTP: "unshielded
twisted-pair" A form of TP cable that includes no additional
shielding material in the cable composition. This cable encloses
one or more pairs of twisted wires inside an outer jacket.
Network Chico Computer
terms glossary
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