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A Record
An A record is part of the zone file and 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 209.132.X.XX. 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 (not
megabytes) 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. See Also:
bit
, bps
, ISDN
Anonymous FTP
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. See Also: HTML
, Java Archie
A tool (software) for finding files stored on anonymous FTP
sites. You need to know the exact file name or a substring of it.
ARPANet
(Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) -- The precursor
to the Internet. Developed in the late 60's and early 70's by the
US Department of Defense as an experiment in wide-area-networking
that would survive a nuclear war. 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. 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. See Also: Network Bandwidth
How much stuff you can send through a connection. Usually
measured in bits-per-second. A full page of English text is about
16,000 bits. A fast modem can move about 15,000 bits in one
second. Full-motion full-screen video would require roughly
10,000,000 bits-per-second, depending on compression. See Also: Bps
, Bit
, T-1,
OC-3.
Baud
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). See
Also: Bit
, Modem. 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. See Also: ASCII
, MIME
, UUENCODE
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. See Also:
Bandwidth
, Bps
, Byte
, Kilobyte
, Megabyte
. 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. See Also: Bandwidth
, Bit
Browser
BTW
(By The Way) -- A shorthand appended to a comment written in
an online forum. See Also: IMHO
, TTFN Byte
A set of Bits that represent a single character. Usually there
are 8 Bits in a Byte, sometimes more, depending on how the
measurement is being made. See Also: Bit
Certificate Authority
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.
You can often see that a CGI
program is being used by seeing 'cgi-bin' in a URL, but not
always. See Also: cgi-bin
, Web 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 refered 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 same
machine. See Also: 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 is a specific
kind of Client. See Also: Browser
, Server
Co-location
Data centers such as Global Internet´s offer the ability for
customers to place their machine in an access center which are
connected via high speed data lines to the backbone of the
Internet. Administration is done remotely so that a customer in
Europe can configure and control a dedicated server located in
Colorado. 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. See
Also: Browser
, Server
DNS: Domain Naming System
The DNS is a distributed, replicated hierarchy of name servers
that map a domain name ("www.cngs.com") to an IP
address. Dedicated Server
A Global Internet-owned server that is wholly dedicated to a
single customer task, e.g. email or MS SQL Server. See colocation.
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: accentric.net,mail.accentric.net,ftp.accentric.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 (accentric.net 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. See
Also: IP
Number E-Commerce
Electronic Commerce. Refers to the general exchange of goods
and services via the Internet. E-mail
(Electronic Mail) -- Messages, usually text, sent from one
person to another via computer. E-mail can also be sent
automatically to a large number of addresses (Mailing List). See
Also: Listserv
, Maillist
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. See Also: Bandwidth
, LAN
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. See Also: Network
, LAN
Flame
Originally, flame meant to carry forth in a passionate manner
in the spirit of honorable debate. Flames most often involved the
use of flowery language and flaming well was an art form. More
recently flame has come to refer to any kind of derogatory comment
no matter how witless or crude. See Also: Flame
War Flame War
When an online discussion degenerates into a series of
personal attacks against the debators, rather than discussion of
their positions. A heated exchange. See Also: Flame
FTP
(File Transfer Protocol) -- A very common method of moving
files between two Internet sites. FTP is a special way to login to
another Internet site for the purposes of retrieving and/or
sending files. There are many Internet sites that have established
publicly accessible repositories of material that can be obtained
using FTP, by logging in using the account name anonymous, thus
these sites are called anonymous ftp servers. Gateway
The technical meaning is a hardware or software set-up that
translates between two dissimilar protocols, for example Prodigy
has a gateway that translates between its internal, proprietary
e-mail format and Internet e-mail format. Another, sloppier
meaning of gateway is to describe any mechanism for providing
access to another system, e.g. AOL might be called a gateway to
the Internet. Gigabyte
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. See Also: Client
, Server
, WWW
, Hypertext 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.' See Also:
Browser
, Web
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. See Also: Node
, Network
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. See Also: Client
, Server
, WWW 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). See Also: Client
, Server
, WWW Hypertext
Generally, any text that contains links to other documents -
words or phrases in the document that can be chosen by a reader
and which cause another document to be retrieved and displayed.
IMHO
(In My Humble Opinion) -- A shorthand appended to a comment
written in an online forum, IMHO indicates that the writer is
aware that they are expressing a debatable view, probably on a
subject already under discussion. One of may such shorthands in
common use online, especially in discussion forums. See Also: TTFN
, BTW
InterNIC
InterNIC currently holds an exclusive contract with the U.S.
government to assign domain names for .COM, .NET and .ORG. The
contract is scheduled to expire September 30, 1998. Network
Solutions is the company that under contract runs the InterNIC
registry. Intranet
A private network inside a company or organization that uses
the same kinds of software that you would find on the public
Internet, but that is only for internal use.
As the
Internet has become more popular many of the tools used on the
Internet are being used in private networks, for example, many
companies have web servers that are available only to employees.
Note that an Intranet may not actually be an internet -- it
may simply be a Network.
See Also: Network
IPP
(Internet Presence Provider) -- A company that provides web
services like web hosting but that usually does not provide
connectivity. The complement to an ISP. CNET Global International. an IPP. 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. See Also: Domain
Name , TCP/IP
IRC
(Internet Relay Chat) -- Basically a huge multi-user live chat
facility. There are a number of major IRC servers around the world
which are linked to each other. Anyone can create a channel and
anything that anyone types in a given channel is seen by all
others in the channel. Private channels can (and are) created for
multi-person conference calls. ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network) -- Basically a way to
move more data over existing regular phone lines. ISDN is rapidly
becoming available to much of the USA and in most markets it is
priced very comparably to standard analog phone circuits. It can
provide speeds of roughly 128,000 bits-per-second over regular
phone lines. In practice, most people will be limited to 56,000 or
64,000 bits-per-second. ISP
(Internet Service Provider) -- An institution that provides
access to the Internet in some form, usually for money. Java
Java is a network-oriented programming language invented by
Sun Microsystems that is specifically designed for writing
programs that can be safely downloaded to your computer through
the Internet and immediately run without fear of viruses or other
harm to your computer or files. Using small Java programs (called
"Applets"), Web pages can include functions such as animations,
calculators, and other fancy tricks.
We can expect to see a
huge variety of features added to the Web using Java, since you
can write a Java program to do almost anything a regular computer
program can do, and then include that Java program in a Web page.
See Also: Applet
JDK
(Java Development Kit) -- A software development package from
Sun Microsystems that implements the basic set of tools needed to
write, test and debug Java applications and applets See Also: Applet
, Java
Kilobyte
A thousand bytes. Actually, usually 1024 (2^10) bytes. See
Also: Byte
, Bit
LAN
(Local Area Network) -- A computer network limited to the
immediate area, usually the same building or floor of a building.
See Also: Ethernet
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. See Also: T-1
, T-3
Listserv
The most common kind of maillist, Listservs originated on
BITNET but they are now common on the Internet. See Also: BitNET
, E-mail
, Maillist
Local Registry Fees
Most TLDs require initial registration fees as well as annual
or bi-annual renewal fees. Prices vary from cost-free to thousands
of dollars per domain depending on the TLD chosen. For example,
.COM domains cost $70 which covers the first two years. Renewal
fees for .COM are $35 annually after the first two years expire.
Login
Noun or a verb. Noun: The account name used to gain access to
a computer system. Not a secret (contrast with Password). Verb:
The act of entering into a computer system, e.g. Login to the WELL
and then go to the GBN conference. See Also: Password
Maillist
(or Mailing List) A (usually automated) system that allows
people to send e-mail to one address, whereupon their message is
copied and sent to all of the other subscribers to the maillist.
In this way, people who have many different kinds of e-mail access
can participate in discussions together. Megabyte
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. See Also: Browser
, Client
, Server
, Binhex
, UUENCODE
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. See Also: FTP
, Web
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. See Also: Browser
, Client
, WWW
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 or a DNS 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. Netscape
A WWW Browser and the name of a company. The Netscape (tm)
browser was originally based on the Mosaic program developed at
the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).
Netscape has grown in features rapidly and is widely
recognized as the best and most popular web browser. Netscape
corporation also produces web server software.
Netscape
provided major improvements in speed and interface over other
browsers, and has also engendered debate by creating new elements
for the HTML language used by Web pages -- but the Netscape
extensions to HTML are not universally supported.
The main
author of Netscape, Mark Andreessen, was hired away from the NCSA
by Jim Clark, and they founded a company called Mosaic
Communications and soon changed the name to Netscape
Communications Corporation. See Also: Browser
, Mosaic
, Server
, WWW
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. See Also: Intranet
Newsgroup
The name for discussion groups on USENET. See Also: USENET
NIC
(Networked Information Center) -- Generally, any office that
handles information for a network. The most famous of these on the
Internet is the InterNIC, 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. See Also: Newsgroup
, TCP/IP
, USENET
Node
Any single computer connected to a network. See Also: Network
OC-3
Refers to a circuit that transmits 155,000,000 bits per
second. This is the size of the largest Internet backbone
providers networks. Packet
Switching
The method used to move data around on the Internet. In packet
switching, all the data coming out of a machine is broken up into
chunks, each chunk has the address of where it came from and where
it is going. This enables chunks of data from many different
sources to co-mingle on the same lines, and be sorted and directed
to different routes by special machines along the way. This way
many people can use the same lines at the same time. Parking (Domain Name)
Registering a domain name requires having a location to host
the site. Parked domain names are registered domain names
that have only a simple "this page reserved" web page at their
domain name address. Typically this is very inexpensive as
few hosting resources are used. 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$1-6 See Also: Login
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. See Also: SLIP
, PPP
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.
See Also: Domain
Name , Server
, URL
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. See Also: IP
Number , SLIP
, TCP/IP
Propagation
The process whereby the nameservers throughout the world have
updated their records for a specific domain. For example, if you
move your domain from one host to another, it will take around 24
hours or so for the new address to broadcast everywhere. During
that 24 hour period, the traffic is decreasing at the old location
and increasing at the new location. PSTN
(Public Switched Telephone Network) -- The regular
old-fashioned telephone system. Register
(Domain Name)
Since every domain is unique, registries have been set up to
assign domains to individuals and organziations. When a domain is
registered with the appropriate registry, that domain is assigned
and becomes no longer available for anyone else to use. Typically,
there are registration and renewal fees (local registry fees)
associated with the right to use a domain. However, there are some
TLDs that are provided at no charge. Registrant (Domain Name)
The entity, organization or individual that will be using the
domain name. Registrar (Domain
Name)
Some registries don't provide the ability for end users to
register domains with them directly. They might require end users
to purchase the domain through an internet provider that is acting
as the registrar. Registry (Domain
Name)
An organization responsible for assigning domain names for the
TLD that they manage. Furthermore, it is their responsibility to
update the global DNS tables that all nameservers use to resolve
domain names. For example, InterNIC is the registry for .COM, .NET
and .ORG domain names. Renewal (Domain
Name)
Most TLDs need to be renewed at some scheduled yearly
interval. This is an opportunity for both the registrant and the
registry to update their records as well as collect any applicable
renewal fees. Resolution (domain
Name)
The conversion of an internet address or domain name into the
corresponding physical location. RFC
(Request For Comments) -- The name of the result and the
process for creating a standard on the Internet. New standards are
proposed and published on line, as a Request For Comments. The
Internet Engineering Task Force is a consensus-building body that
facilitates discussion, and eventually a new standard is
established, but the reference number/name for the standard
retains the acronym RFC, e.g. the official standard for e-mail is
RFC 822. Router
A special-purpose computer (or software package) that handles
the connection between 2 or more networks. Routers spend all their
time looking at the destination addresses of the packets passing
through them and deciding which route to send them on. See Also:
Network
, Packet
Switching 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. See Also: Certificate
Authority , SSL
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. See Also: Client
, Network
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. See Also: 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. See Also: Client
, Server
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. See
Also: Network
, Router
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. See Also: Maillist
, USENET
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. See Also: Browser
, Server
, Security
Certificate , URL
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. See Also: Bandwidth
, Bit
, Byte
, Ethernet
, T-3
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. See Also: Bandwidth
, Bit
, Byte
, Ethernet
, T-1
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.
See Also: IP
Number , UNIX
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
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. See Also: LAN
, Modem
, Host
, Node
, PPP
, SLIP
Top Level Domain: (TLD)
A Top Level Domain (TLD) is the uppermost in the heirarchy of
domain names. For example, SimpleNIC.net is our domain name. The
"net" is considered the TLD and the "SimpleNIC" 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 possiblity 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. TTFN
(Ta Ta For Now) -- A shorthand appended to a comment written
in an online forum. See Also: IMHO
, BTW
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:
contacts.htm.
The most common
way to use a URL is to enter into a WWW browser program, such as
Netscape, or Lynx. See Also: Browser
, WWW
USENET
A world-wide system of discussion groups, with comments passed
among hundreds of thousands of machines. Not all USENET machines
are on the Internet, maybe half. USENET is completely
decentralized, with over 10,000 discussion areas, called
newsgroups. See Also: Newsgroup
UUENCODE
(Unix to Unix Encoding) -- A method for converting files from
Binary to ASCII (text) so that they can be sent across the
Internet via e-mail. See Also: Binhex
, MIME
Veronica
(Very Easy Rodent Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized
Archives) -- Developed at the University of Nevada, Veronica is a
constantly updated database of the names of almost every menu item
on thousands of gopher servers. The Veronica database can be
searched from most major gopher menus. See Also: Gopher
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. See Also: intranet
, LAN
, Network
Web
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. See Also: Browser
, FTP
, Gopher
, HTTP
, Telnet
, URL
, WAIS
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