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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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.

Certificate Authority
An issuer of Security Certificates used in SSL connections.

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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.

Co-Location
Network Operations Centers such as CommuniTech.Net 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.

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.

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Dedicated Server
For those customers that want the advantages of colocation without the hassles of purchasing their own server.

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.

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E-Commerce
E lectronic 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.

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.

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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

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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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.

Megabyte
A million bytes. A thousand kilobytes.

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 Quicktime® 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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 (web hosting, 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 name servers 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.

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Register
(Domain Name) Since every domain is unique, registries have been set up to assign domains to individuals and organizations. 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 name servers 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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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.

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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.

Glossary

ActiveX
ActiveX is a technology developed by Microsoft. With an ActiveX-enabled browser (i.e. Internet Explorer only) ActiveX controls can be downloaded as part of a Web document to add functionality to the browser (similar to Java applets). In particular ActiveX enables seamless viewing of Windows files of all types, e.g. spreadsheets, and in combination with other technologies such as Java and scripting languages, makes possible the development of complex Web applications. Currently it runs on 32-bit Windows platforms (Windows 95 and NT) only.

Avatar
A graphical image of a user, such as used in graphical real-time Chat applications, or, a graphical personification of a computer or a computer process, intended to make the computing or network environment a more friendly place.

Caching
Web documents retrieved may be stored (cached) for a time so that they can be conveniently accessed if further requests are made for them. The issue of whether the most up-to-date copy of the file is retrieved is handled by the caching program which initially makes a brief check and compares the date of the file at its original location with that of the copy in the cache. If the date of the cached file is the same as the original, then the cached copy is used.
Web browsers normally maintain a cache of retrieved documents and this cache is used for retrievals where possible. In addition, the user may configure the browser to point to a caching server via the browser's options or preferences. File requests not able to be supplied from the browser cache would then be directed to the caching server. The caching server would supply the files from its cache if they were current, or pass on the request to the originating server if they were not.

Client-server
Client-server refers to a model of interraction between computers which is commonly used on the Internet. Users employ client software, such as a Web browser, to request information from servers. Servers, such as WWW servers, supply information in response to requests from clients. The client, which is normally installed on the user's computer, displays the information for the user. For instance when a Web document is retrieved from a remote server, the client will interpret the HTML tags and display the document appropriately. Some aspects of how documents are delivered and displayed may be determined by the user through configuration of the client's settings, for instance size and colour of font, whether images are displayed, whether cookies are accepted.
In the client-server model, clients and servers have a special relationship derived from the common use of a well defined set of communicating conventions (protocol) . For example, Web browsers and servers use the WWW protocol, HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). Web browsers generally can use other Internet protocols as well. In this way they can also retrieve information from ftp servers, gopher servers, etc.
The client-server model of processing is one of the cornerstones of the Internet's success. It is an efficient system which distributes the processing load between client and server, and also gives the user some control over their own interface to Internet information.

Cookies
Cookies provide a means for a Web server to induce a client to store information about itself which can subsequently be called up by the Web server when required. This might be information which the user has supplied about themselves, their preferences or their requirements via forms input. The oft-cited example is the shopping list which might be added to from time to time. Cookies are currently implemented by Netscape and Internet Explorer.

More information : http://www.netscape.com/newsref/std/cookie_spec.html

DOM
The DOM (Document Object Model) is a platform- and language-neutral interface which allows programs and scripts to dynamically access and update the content, structure and style of documents. The document can be further processed and the results of that processing can be incorporated back into the presented page. (W3C)

Forms
The HTML standard provides support for forms in Web documents. Forms are a defined area of an HTML document such as a window or box into which the user is able to input data in order to have the data processed by another application, for instance to run a search on a database. The data keyed into the form is passed to a CGI (Common Gateway Interface) script which then passes it to the relevant application for processing. When the process is complete, the output is passed back, again using CGI, and the results presented to the user as some new HTML generated on the fly.

H.323
ITU (International Telecommunications Union) standard for videoconferencing over local area networks and packet-switched networks generally. It is based on a recognised real-time standard and is commonly used with video over the Internet to ensure that users can communicate with each other, as long as they are using videoconferencing software which complies with the standard, e.g. Microsoft NetMeeting, Netscape Conference. The standard applies both to one-to-one and multi-party videoconferences.

HTML
WWW documents are normally written in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), the native language of the WWW. HTML enables links to be specified, and also the structure and formatting of Web documents to be defined. HTML documents are written in plain text, but with the addition of tags which describe or define the text they enclose. For example, a link is defined by the ANCHOR <A> tag placed around the hyperlinked text. It specifies the URL of the 'linked to' document, e.g.

<A HREF="http://www.terena.nl/gnrt/websearch/index.html">Web Search Tools</A>

HTML is an evolving standard. Current work is focussed on extending accessibility features, multimedia objects, scripting, style sheets, layout, forms, mathematics and internationalization. See the World Wide Web Consortium site for current information.

HTTP
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the foundation protocol of the World Wide Web. It sets the rules for exchanges between browser and server. It provides for the transfer of hypertext and hypermedia, for recognition of file types, and other functions.

Hyperlink
Example of hyperlink in an HTML document:

<A HREF="http://www.terena.nl/gnrt/websearch/index.html">Web Search Tools</A>

When the HTML document is viewed with the Web browser, the tag information between angle brackets is not visible, but the words Web Search Tools are displayed in whatever format or colour is defined for links by the browser or the document's author (the browser default is often blue, underlined text but HTML authors may specify any colour or style). When the user selects these words, the document index.html will be displayed, having been fetched from the Web server www.terena.nl, where it was found in the path /gnrt/websearch.

Imagemap
Imagemaps, also known as active maps are graphics containing active link areas. Instead of the link being from a word or phrase in the document, it is embedded in a defined area of the imagemap. Clicking on that area fetches the referenced document. Imagemaps are often used to provide a graphical entry point to a Web site, though a text-based route through the site should always be given as an alternative.

ISDN
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) is a system of digital telephone connections. It allows multiple digital channels to be operated simultaneously through a single, standard interface. The Basic Rate Interface (BRI) consists of two 64 kbps plus another lower rate channel to handle signalling. Primary Rate Interface (PRI) consists of 23 channels plus a signalling channel. ISDN is adequate for videoconferencing and other high bandwidth applications. The cost of an ISDN line is higher than a normal phone line, and special equipment is required.

JAVA
Powerful, cross-platform programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. Java applets (small applications) may be incorporated into Web documents and can be executed securely by any Java-capable browser irrespective of whether it is running on a PC, an Apple Mac or a Unix workstation. Both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer are Java-capable. Java is being used in many ways which enhance the functionality and interactivity of Web pages.

Javascript
Scripting language (originally called LiveScript) developed by Netscape Communications for use with the Navigator browser. JavaScript code forms part of the HTML page and can be used for example to respond to user actions such as button clicks or to run processes locally or validate data. JScript is the Microsoft equivalent of Netscape's JavaScript for use with Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

MIME
WWW's ability to recognise and handle files of different types is largely dependent on the use of the MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) standard. The standard provides for a system of registration of file types with information about the applications needed to process them. This information is incorporated into Web server and browser software, and enables the automatic recognition and display of registered file types.

Users can add other file types and associated processing instructions to their browser's configuration options if they wish.

Multicast
A multicast message is one that is transmitted to selected multiple recipients who have joined the appropriate multicast group. The sender has to generate only a single data stream. A multicast-enabled router will forward a multicast to a particular network only if there are multicast receivers on that network. Other stations filter out multicast packets at the hardware level (e.g., Ethernet or Token Ring).

PHP
PHP is a server-side, cross-platform, HTML embedded scripting language that lets you create dynamic web pages. PHP-enabled web pages are treated just like regular HTML pages and you can create and edit them the same way you normally create regular HTML pages.

Plug-Ins
Browsers can display certain file types such as HTML and GIF as a standard part of their functioning. The display of other file types may be handled by additional software, either designed to work in conjunction with the browser for the display of a specific file type (a plug-in) or a stand-alone application which the browser can launch for viewing a file requiring that application (a helper application). With plug-ins there is closer integration with the functioning of the browser. Plug-ins are loaded when the browser is launched so can act instantly and non-intrusively when called upon, thus giving the browser the appearance of enhanced functionality. The idea of plug-ins was developed by Netscape but is also supported by Internet Explorer. Some plug-ins may be bundled with browser software, but many more from third party developers are available for downloading.

Examples:

Macromedia Shockwave is used to display multimedia files from Macromedia Director.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is used to display PDF files.

Further information on Netscape's plugins http://home.netscape.com/plugins/index.html

PNG
Portable Network Graphics (PNG) format was designed to be a patent-free successor to the GIF format. Though not designed specifically for the Web, PNG offers particular benefits in this environment such as improved image compression ( 10 to 30 percent smaller than GIFs), two dimensional interlacing, storage of text with the an image making it possible for search engines to gather information and offer subject searching for images in a standard way.

Proxy server
Where a high level of security of required, a proxy Web server may be used to provide a gateway between a local area network and the Internet. The local network is protected by firewall software installed on the proxy server. This software enables the proxy server to keep the two worlds separate. All outward HTTP requests from the local network pass through the proxy server and similarly all information retrieved comes back in via the proxy server and is then passed back to the client. Using the options or preferences, Web browsers can be configured to point to the proxy server. Proxy servers will normally maintain a cache of retrieved documents.

SMIL
With the World Wide Web Consortium's Synchronised Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) standard, a language for building time-based, streaming multimedia presentations that combine audio, video, images, and text is defined. Like HTML SMIL is a markup language, but unlike HTML, it offers controls such as sequence, timing, multiple runtime options which are selected from by the user's browser, and a means of assembling separate media objects into a single coherent presentation. It has been described as "a universal glue for joining all kinds of different formats and types of media in interesting and useful ways" (Synchronised Multimedia on the Web). An early implementation of SMIL is RealNetworks' G2 RealPlayer.

SVG
Scalable Vector Graphics is an emerging Web standard for two-dimensional graphics. Like HTML, SVG is written in plain text and rendered by the browser, except that in this case, it is not just text that is rendered but also shapes and images, which can be animated and made interactive. SVG is written in XML (Extensible Markup Language) and developed by the World Wide Web Consortium.

URL
The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) provides a way of uniquely specifying the address of any document on the Internet. This is the lynchpin of WWW's embedded linking. The typical URL specifies the method used to access the resource (the protocol), the name of the host computer on which it is located, and the path of the resource, e.g.

http://www.terena.nl/gnrt/websearch/index.html

The protocol specified in this example is http (HyperText Transfer Protocol), the protocol of the World Wide Web. Other protocols can also by used within the WWW.

VRML Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) is an Internet standard for the rendering of 3D graphics. VRML files can be viewed with plug-ins such as Live3D.

XML XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a standard for creating markup languages which describe the structure of data. It is not a fixed set of elements like HTML, but rather, it is like SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) in that it is a metalanguage, or a language for describing languages. XML enables authors to define their own tags. XML is a formal specification of the World Wide Web Consortium. To find XML editors, see `Whirlwind Guide to SGML to ols' http://www.infotek.no/sgmltool/editetc.htm and also http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsga/linker/XMLtools.html. .

XSL XSL (Extensible Style Language) is a style sheet language aimed at activities such as rearranging the document that are not supported by CSS, though XSL and CSS share the same underlying concepts. XSL can be used to style XML documents using sets of rules and definitions of actions to be applied. XSL is a specification from the W3C.

WYSIWYG
What You See Is What You Get. A graphical interface to a process which shows how the end-result will look as it is being produced, e.g. a WYSIWYG HTML editor generates HTML markup but displays the document as if viewed with a Web browser.