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Select a letter from the alpha index below and use any clickable sub-heading to return.
- A -
ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Loop. DSL where the incoming and out going data speeds are different.
ASCII - American Standard Coded Information Interchange. This is what most of your RS232 serial data is coded in. It uses 7 bit words that each encode a single character of text.
ATM - Asynchronous Transfer Mode. A transfer mode in which data is transmitted in the form of 53 byte units called cells. Each cell consists of a 5 byte header and a 48 byte payload. The term "asynchronous" in this context refers to the fact that cells from any one particular source need not be periodically spaced within the overall cell stream. In other words, users are not assigned a set position in a recurring frame as is common in circuit switching
where voice circuits requires a streaming quality. This allows better use of telephone equipment bandwidth for data purposes.
- B -
BGP - Border Gateway Protocol. An exterior gateway routing protocol that enables groups of routers (called autonomous systems) to share routing information so that efficient, loop-free routes can be established. BGP is commonly used within and between Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The protocol is defined in RFC 1771.
BIND - Berkeley Internet Name Domain is an implementation of the Domain Name System (DNS) protocols and provides an openly redistributable reference implementation of the major components of the Domain Name System
TreeWalk - Berkeley Internet Name Domain - Personal Edition. (Currently known as TreeWalk). "TreeWalk is a complete functional DNS Server for Microsoft Windows® NT series workstations. TreeWalk will act as a multi-threaded recursive and caching Domain Name Server upon default installation. Features include a Persistent Cache capability that retains a current store of
resolutions between reboots and dynamically prevents the reload of expired data. This will speed up client-side browser "website-name to end-point" IP/DNS lookups. TreeWalk was designed for Home/SOHO use on Windows® NT4 SP6, Windows® 2000 Pro, and Windows® XP workstations. No special skills or BIND DNS experience is required to install TreeWalk; the process is completely automated!" - ntcanuck.com
|d
- C -
CHX-I - CHX-I Packet Filter. Used here for integrating and customizing IPSec Security Policies.
CLIENT - not an acronym. On this system, it represents any computer on the LAN, behind the HOST machine.
CLIENT LAN NIC - the Network Interface Card (Adapter) that accepts Internet Connection Sharing from the HOST ICS NIC.
CSS - Cascading Style Sheets. "Cascading Style Sheets is formally described in two specifications from W3C: CSS1 and CSS2. CSS1 was issued in December 1996 and describes a simple formatting model mostly for screen-based presentations. CSS1 has around 50 properties (for example color and font-size). CSS2 was finalized in May 1998 and builds on CSS1. CSS2 includes all CSS1 properties and adds
around 70 of its own, such as properties to describe aural presentations and page breaks." - W3C.
- D -
DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Used to automatically configure network settings.
DNS - Domain Name Server/System. The DNS function changes the Domain name axnswebsite.com into an IP address such as 24.78.206.129. When you click on a link, your browser goes to your ISP's DNS, which looks up the domain name and returns the IP address number. Your browser then asks your ISP's GBR
(Gateway Border Router) to route the request packet to the server you are trying to look at.
This is a round-trip communication transaction to get the IP address and introduces latency delays of what ever interfaces are between you and the server. The DNS server will ask other servers for the IP number if it isn't in its current table. Your ISP's DNS can also be quite busy which will also add more delay.
DNSRU - Domain Name Server Research Utility. This is Steve Gibson's excellent tool which times your ISP's DNS server's responses, or any other DNS server that you may input into your adapter's TCP/IP properties.
DoS - Denial of Service A type of attack on a network that is designed to bring the network to its knees by flooding it with useless traffic. Many DoS attacks, such as the Ping of Death and Teardrop attacks, exploit limitations in the TCP/IP protocols. For all known DoS attacks, there are software fixes that system administrators can install to limit the damage caused by the attacks. But, like viruses, new DoS attacks are constantly being dreamed
up by hackers.
DOS - Disk Operating System. A round plate on which data can be encoded. There are two basic types of disks: magnetic disks and optical disks.
DSL - Digital Subscriber Loop. Refers collectively to all types of digital subscriber lines, the two main categories being ADSL and SDSL. Two other types of xDSL technologies are High-data-rate DSL (HDSL) and Very high DSL (VDSL).
- E -
ECP - Enhanced Capability Port. See IEEE 1284 for more details.
EOF - End Of File
EPP - Enhanced Parallel Port is a parallel port standard for PCs that supports bi-directional communication between the PC and attached non-printer devices. EPP is about 10 times faster than the older Centronics standard.
ESD - Electro Static Discharge. The discharging of electrostatic fields; usually resulting in a small spark.
ETX - End Of Text. ASCII control character $03.
- F -
FANAFI - Find A Need And Fill It
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
FLA - Four Letter Acronym. Similar to Three Letter Acronym, but with one addition.
FQDN - Fully Qualified Domain name. For example: secure1.grapevine.net - note the last period is the root domain and is actually required to access that domain.
FTP - File Transfer Protocol
- G -
GMT - Greenwich Mean Time. Same as UTC and Zulu.
- H -
HOST ICS NIC. The Network Interface Card (Adapter) that is assigned the Internet Connection Sharing load for this home network.
HOST LAN NIC. This Network Interface Card (Adapter) carries the NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT), which is necessary for File and Printer Sharing over the LAN, and Internet Connection Sharing
from the HOST ICS NIC.
HOST - not an acronym. On this system, it represents the computer with TreeWalk and ICS installed.
HTML - Hyper Text Markup Language. "HTML is the lingua franca for publishing hypertext on the World Wide Web. It is a non-proprietary format based upon SGML, and can be created and processed by a wide range of tools, from simple plain text editors - you type it in from scratch - to sophisticated WYSIWYG
authoring tools. HTML uses tags such as <h1> and </h1> to structure text into headings, paragraphs, lists, hypertext links etc." - W3C.
HTTPS - Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure sockets
- I -
ICANN - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a nonprofit organization that has assumed the responsibility for IP address space allocation, protocol parameter assignment, domain name system management and root server system management functions previously performed under U.S. Government contract. ICANN was created by the late Jon Postel in the fall of 1998 in response to a policy statement issued by the US Department of Commerce.
This statement called for the formation of a private sector not-for-profit Internet stakeholder to administer policy for the Internet name and address system.
ICMP - Internet Control Message Protocol. An extension to the Internet Protocol (IP) defined by RFC 792. ICMP supports packets containing error, control, and informational messages. The PING command, for example, uses ICMP to test an Internet connection.
ICS - Internet Connection Sharing. "With the Internet connection sharing feature of Network and Dial-up Connections, you can use Windows® 2000 to connect your home network or small office network to the Internet" - Microsoft®,
specifically from this page of their Frame Set. Furthermore, despite what ICS critics may say, you can run ICS under "Stealth" conditions, which means your ICS Network will be invisible to other machines on the Internet. This site will show you how to do exactly that.
IDSL - ISDN DSL. DSL over ISDN. integrated services digital network, an international communications standard for sending voice, video, and data over digital telephone lines or normal telephone wires. ISDN supports data transfer rates of 64 Kbps (64,000 bits per second). There are two types of ISDN: Basic Rate (BRI) ISDN -- consists of two 64-Kbps B-channels and one D-channel for transmitting control information. Primary Rate ISDN -- consists of 23
B-channels and one D-channel (U.S.) or 30 B-channels and one D-channel (Europe). The original version of ISDN employs baseband transmission. Another version, called B-ISDN, uses broadband transmission and is able to support transmission rates of 1.5 Mbps. B-ISDN requires fiber optic cables and is not widely available.
IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. A clearing house for many standards.
IEEE 1284. The standard for the parallel printer port of the common Personal Computer.
IETF - Internet Engineering Task Force. The IETF is a large open international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. It is open to any interested individual.
IMAP - Internet Message Access Protocol. A more advanced method of remotely accessing your mail that works better than pop if you work from more than one computer.
IP - Internet Protocol. IP is pronounced as two separate letters. IP specifies the format of packets, also called datagrams, and the addressing scheme. Most networks combine IP with a higher-level protocol called Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which establishes a virtual connection between a destination and a source. IP by itself is something like the postal system. It allows you to address a package and drop it in the system, but there's no direct
link between you and the recipient. TCP/IP, on the other hand, establishes a connection between two hosts so that they can send messages back and forth for a period of time. The current version of IP is IPv4. A new version, called IPv6 or IPng, is under development.
IPSec - Secure Internet Protocol. As per the IETF. A set of protocols developed by the IETF to support secure exchange of packets at the IP layer, IPsec has been deployed widely to implement Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). IPsec supports two encryption modes: Transport and Tunnel. Transport mode encrypts only the data portion (payload) of each packet, but leaves the header
untouched. The more secure Tunnel mode encrypts both the header and the payload. On the receiving side, an IPSec-compliant device decrypts each packet. For IPsec to work, the sending and receiving devices must share a public key. This is accomplished through a protocol known as Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol/Oakley (ISAKMP/Oakley), which allows the receiver to obtain a public key and authenticate the sender using digital certificates.
ISDN - Integrated Services Digital Network. ISDN was supposed to be a way to share digital and voice over the same line. It has always been too expensive and didn't anticipate broadband data rates. It is two 64Kbit channels that can pass 128K bits of data. Not much compared to DSL, but the data rates are symmetric and ISDN is available in some areas where you can't get DSL. Also see IDSL.
ISO - International Organization for Standardization. Note that ISO is not an acronym; instead, the name derives from the greek word iso, which means equal.
ISP - Internet Service Provider. In addition to serving individuals, ISPs also serve large companies, providing a direct connection from the company's networks to the Internet. ISPs themselves are connected to one another through Network Access Points (NAPs). ISPs are also called IAPs (Internet Access Providers).
- J -
j/k - Just Kidding - okay, it's a placeholder!
- K -
KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid - not very nice, but still an FLA!
- L -
LAN - Local Area Network. A computer network that spans a relatively small area. Most LANs are confined to a single building or group of buildings. However, one LAN can be connected to other LANs over any distance via telephone lines and radio waves. A system of LANs connected in this way is called a wide-area network (WAN). LANs are capable of transmitting data at very fast rates, much faster than data can be transmitted over a telephone line; but the
distances are limited, and there is also a limit on the number of computers that can be attached to a single LAN.
LF - Line Feed. ASCII control character $0A frequently referred to as newline in the Unix world.
LF - Low frequency
LMHOSTS or LMHosts (LAN Manager Hosts). This is a file used by Windows® to map IP addresses to NetBIOS computer names. This file is included for compatibility with utilities that support the Microsoft LAN Manager 2.x networking first implemented in early versions of
Windows® NT.
LRP - LINUX Router Project. A very small version of Linux that does big things.
- M -
MAC - Media Access Control. IEEE specifications for the lower half of the data link layer (layer 2) that defines topology dependent access control protocols for IEEE LAN specifications. This is usually used as in "MAC address" of a network card; a byte number that uniquely defines an Ethernet Card's address.
ME - Millennium Edition. A Windows® platform.
MMU - Memory Management Unit. A hardware structure in the processor that keeps track of what task has accesses to what memory. Unix, Windows® NT and 2000 use the MMU, but Windows® 95, 98, 98 SE and ME don't.
- N -
NAP - Network Access Point. A public network exchange facility where Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can connect with one another in peering arrangements. The NAPs are a key component of the Internet backbone because the connections within them determine how traffic is routed. They are also the points of most Internet congestion.
NAT - Network Address Translation. An Internet standard that enables a local-area network (LAN) to use one set of IP addresses for internal traffic and a second set of addresses for external traffic. A NAT box located where the LAN meets the Internet makes all necessary IP address translations.
NetBIOS - Network Basic Input/Output System. An API that augments the DOS BIOS by adding special functions for local-area networks (LANs). Almost all LANs for PCs are based on the NetBIOS. Some LAN manufacturers have even extended it, adding additional network capabilities. NetBIOS relies on a message format called Server Message Block (SMB).
NetBT - NETBIOS over TCP/IP
NIC - Network Interface Card. Most often your Ethernet or LAN card that your computer uses to connect you to 10/100-base-T. A NIC could also be a token ring adapter, or other such "critter".
NNTP - Network News Transport Protocol. Often known as Usenet - news groups that replace list servers. RFC 977 provides all the appropriate details.
NT - New Technology or Network Technology. A version of the Windows operating system. Windows NT (New Technology) is a 32-bit operating system that supports preemptive multitasking. There are actually two versions of Windows NT: Windows NT Server, designed to act as a server in networks, and Windows NT Workstation for stand-alone or client workstations.
- O -
ORSC - Open Root Server Confederation
- P -
POP - Post Office Protocol. As in POP3; the most popular POP protocol. The most common method of remotely retrieving your mail from your mail server.
- Q -
QLAB - Quick Like A Bunny - not many TLAs or FLAs to worry about for "Q".
- R -
RAM - Random Access Memory. In common usage, the term RAM is synonymous with main memory, the memory available to programs. For example, a computer with 8M RAM has approximately 8 million bytes of memory that programs can use. In contrast, ROM (read-only memory) refers to special memory used to store programs that boot the computer and perform diagnostics. Most personal computers have a small amount of ROM (a few thousand bytes). In fact, both types of
memory (ROM and RAM) allow random access. To be precise, therefore, RAM should be referred to as read/write RAM and ROM as read-only RAM.
RAS - Remote Access Service(s). A feature built into Windows NT that enables users to log into an NT-based LAN using a modem, X.25 connection or WAN link. RAS works with several major network protocols, including TCP/IP, IPX, and Netbeui. To use RAS from a remote node, you need a RAS client program, which is built into most versions of Windows, or any PPP client software. For example, most remote control programs work with RAS.
RFC - Request For Comment
RR - Resource Record. The record in a DNS server that links a domain name with an IP address.
- S -
SDSL - Symmetric DSL. DSL where the incoming and out going data speeds are the same.
SE - Second Edition. The last Windows® 98 edition.
SGML - Standard Generalized Markup Language. A system for organizing and tagging elements of a document. SGML was developed and standardized by the International Organization for Standards (ISO) in 1986. SGML itself does not specify any particular formatting; rather, it specifies the rules for tagging elements. These tags can then be interpreted to format elements in different ways. SGML is used widely to manage large documents that are subject to
frequent revisions and need to be printed in different formats. Because it is a large and complex system, it is not yet widely used on personal computers. However, the growth of Internet, and especially the World Wide Web, is creating renewed interest in SGML because the World Wide Web uses HTML, which is one way of defining and interpreting tags according to SGML rules.
SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. This is the standard used to send mail across the internet.
SNMP - Simple Network Management Protocol. Used to remotely monitor/configure network hardware, typically switches, routers and the like, but this protocol can be used to monitor full blown workstations and servers as well.
SOHO - Small Office/Home Office is a term that refers to the small or home office environment and the business culture that surrounds it. A SOHO is also called a virtual office.
SP - Service Pack. Critical software from Microsoft that comes in the form of a large update file.
SPP - Standard Parallel Port. A setting that disables EPP and ECP settings. See IEEE 1284 for details. Microsoft has called this the Scalable Printer Port.
SSL - Secure Socket Layer. The protocol you use when you get a lock icon on your browser when accessing HTTPS:// sites for secure transactions.
- T -
TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol is the suite of communications protocols used to connect hosts on the Internet. TCP/IP uses several protocols, the two main ones being TCP and IP. TCP/IP is built into the UNIX operating system and is used by the Internet, making it the de facto standard for transmitting data over networks. Even network operating systems that have their own protocols, such as Netware, also support TCP/IP.
TLA - Three Letter Acronym. Technically, a word that is formed by combining some parts (usually the first letters) of some other terms. For example, modem is the acronym derived from modulator/demodulator. In everyday speech, the term is also used to refer to initialisms, which are combinations of letters representing a longer phrase. For example, CRT is an initialism for cathode ray tube. The difference is that an acronym is pronounced as if it were a
word rather than just a series of individual letters. Newsgroups, chat rooms, and e-mail have spawned a rich set of acronyms and initialisms for common phrases.
TLD - Top Level Domains. A dot (.) all by itself is the very top of the domain tree, but all the domains under dot (.) such as .com. and .net are referred to as TLDs.
TTL - Time To Live. The length of time a RR is valid in a DNS cache.
- U -
UPS - Uninterruptible Power Supply. Powers your computer in case of a power outage - the Volt-Ampere specification is maximum power output while the Watt rating is the battery capacity. There are switched systems that transfer the load to the UPS on power fail while on line systems always generate Alternating Current.
URL - Uniform Resource Locator. That http:// portion in the address bar of your browser.
UTC - Coordinated Universal Time. Same as Zulu or GMT.
- V -
VNC - Virtual Network Computing. A remote display system which allows you to view a computing desktop environment not only on the machine where it is running, but from anywhere on the Internet and from a wide variety of machine architectures.
VOT - Voice Output Technology
- W -
W2K - Microsoft's Windows® 2000 Operating System. W2K Professional is the Operating System used on all machines in this LAN.
W3C - World Wide Web Consortium. The W3C develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential. W3C is a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding. World Wide Web Consortium.
WAI - Web Accessibility Initiative
WAN - Wide Area Network. A computer network that spans a relatively large geographical area. Typically, a WAN consists of two or more local-area networks (LANs). Computers connected to a wide-area network are often connected through public networks, such as the telephone system. They can also be connected through leased lines or satellites. The largest WAN in existence is the Internet.
WINS - Windows® Internet Naming Service a system that determines the IP address associated with a particular network computer. This is called name resolution. WINS supports network client and server computers running Windows and can provide name resolution for other computers with special arrangements. Determining the IP address for a computer is a complex process when DHCP servers assign IP addresses dynamically. For example, it is possible for
DHCP to assign a different IP address to a client each time the machine logs on to the network. WINS uses a distributed database that is automatically updated with the names of computers currently available and the IP address assigned to each one. DNS is an alternative system for name resolution suitable for network computers with fixed IP addresses.
WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get. Pronounced WIZ-zee-wig. A WYSIWYG application is one that enables you to see on the display screen exactly what will appear when the document is printed. This differs, for example, from word processors that are incapable of displaying different fonts and graphics on the display screen even though the formatting codes have been inserted into the file. WYSIWYG is especially popular for desktop publishing.
Note that the WYSIWYGness of an application is relative. Originally, WYSIWYG referred to any word processor that could accurately show line breaks on the display screen. Later WYSIWYGs had to be able to show different font sizes, even if the screen display was limited to one typeface. Now, a word processor must be able to display graphics and many different typefaces to be considered WYSIWYG. Still, some WYSIWYG applications are more WYSIWYG than others. For example, many desktop
publishing systems print text using outline fonts (PostScript fonts, for example). Many of these systems, however, use corresponding bit-mapped fonts to display documents on a monitor. What you see on the display screen, therefore, is not exactly what you see when you print out the document. In addition, standard laser printers have a resolution of at least 300 dpi, whereas even the best graphics monitors have resolutions of only 100 dpi. Graphics and text, therefore, always look sharper
when printed than they do on the display screen. And colors often appear differently on a monitor than they do when printed out.
- X -
XHTML - eXtended Hyper Text Markup Language. "XHTML is a family of current and future document types and modules that reproduce, subset, and extend HTML 4 (HTML4). XHTML family document types are XML based, and ultimately are designed to work in conjunction with XML-based user agents. XHTML is the successor of HTML, and a series
of specifications has been developed for XHTML." - W3C.
XML - eXtensible Markup Language. "Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a simple, very flexible text format derived from SGML (ISO 8879). Originally designed to meet the challenges of large-scale electronic publishing, XML is also playing an increasingly important role in the exchange of a wide variety of
data on the Web and elsewhere." - W3C.
XP - Windows® XP Operating System
- Y -
- Z -
Zulu - Same as UTC or GMT time.
