|
|
ARPANET: Advanced Research Projects
Agency Network, the precursor to today's Internet. Developed by Bolt, Beranek
and Newman (BBN), the first packet-switched ARPAnet link connected the
Univeristy of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and Stanford Research Institute
(SRI) in November, 1969. Other defense contractor and research sites were
added to the ARPAnet, while non-military TCP/IP-based networks evolved
independently. Eventually, ARPAnet linked with other networks, creating
The Internet. ARPANet was formally decommissioned in 1990.
ATM: Asynchronous Transfer Mode. An international
standard for cell relay established by the ITU-J. Multiple service types
(voice, data, video) are conveyed in small, fixed-size cells.
bps: Bits Per Second - a measurement of data transmission
speed.
BGP-4: Boarder Gateway Protocol Version 4, an
interdomain routing protocol that more efficiently distributes packets
between independent networks than the older EGP (Exterior Gateway Protocol).
CGI: Common Gateway Interface, an Application Program
Interface (API) peculiar to the UNIX operating system which allows a Web
server to pass data from an HTML document to a CGI script, which runs various
programs as necessary and returns resulting data for display over the Web.
CIDR: Classless interdomain routing, a technique
supported by BGP-4 that allows routers to group routes together in order
to reduce the amount of routing information overhead. With CIDR, several
IP networks' traffic appears to networks outside the group as a single,
larger entity.
CIX: Commercial Internet Exchange, a non-profit
trade association of Public Data Internet service providers promoting and
encouraging development of the public data communications internetworking
services industry in both national and international markets. CIX Association,
P0 Box 1451, Sterling, Virginia 20167-9998. Voice: (703)824-9249 or http://www.cix.org.
COM port: Serial ports on the IBM PC compatible
computer, usually, but not always used for data communications, are referred
to by system designators COM1, COM2, COM3...etc.
CPE: Customer Premise Equipment.
cps: Characters Per Second - characters usually
referring to a single 8-bit byte of data. With start and stop bits, a total
transmission of 10 data bits is usually required to transmit a single character
or data byte.
CSUIDSU: Customer Service Unit/Digital Service
Unit. A hardware device that provides a digital interface to high-speed
leased lines (see Ti). Looks and acts like a modem, and all too many people
call it a "digital modem." However, a CSU/DSU does not MODulate or DEModulate
analog (voice) signals; it deals with digital signals from end to end.
DNS: Domain Name Service, a two-column look-up
table system of matching mnemonic machine names such as cts.com
to their numeric IP addresses (198.68.170.71). The tables are maintained
at local, regional, and global levels by various organizations, making
it easier for humans to find their way around the Internet or their LAN.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions - a file established
for many public discussion groups containing questions and answers new
callers often ask.
FODI: Fiber Distributed Data Interface, an ANSI
standard defining a 100-Mbps token-passing network using fiber optic cable.
Transmission distance may be up to 2km without repeaters.
FIX: Federal Internet Exchange, a network of exchange
points that interconnect federal government networks.
Frame Relay: a protocol used between user
devices (such as hosts and routers) and network equipment (such as switching
nodes). More efficient than the X.25 protocol.
FTP: File Transfer Protocol - an application program
that uses TCP/IP internetworks as a medium for transferring files. You
can logon to an ftp site using an ftp program and transfer files from their
site to your local desktop using a GET command. We recommend and use ourselves
the ftp programWS_FTP
LE which is available free for noncommercial use, or WS_FTP
PRO is available for a nominal fee for professional use. Many sites
allow ANONYMOUS ftp. At the login prompt, enter ANONYMOUS as the login
name, and at the password prompt enter your e-mail address as password.
You will have access to a limited number of public directories from which
you can retrieve files.
Home Page or Homepage: the top-level hypertext
document in a collection of linked HTML documents. Often, the document
implied in a WWW site's URL, e.g. http://www.users.cts.com/crash/l/lilrob/index.html
is generally rendered as http://www.users.cts.com/crash/l/lilrob,
which are essentially equivalent.
HTML: Hyper Text Markup Language, the programming
language used to create WWW pages and define the functions to be performed
when one clicks on a button, image, or hypertext link embedded in the page.
HTTP: Hyper Text Transport Protocol. The method
by which the World Wide Web provides hypertext links between web pages
- often located on entirely different machines.
ICMP: Internet Control Message Protocol, a network
layer Internet protocol that provides message packets to report errors
and other IP packet processing information. Commonly known as PING.
InterNIC: Internet Network Information Center,
a key source of Internet information and directory services as well as
registration of domain names. AT&T Corp. runs the database and directory
sertices, while Network Solutions, Inc., is responsible for domain name
registrations. See http://www.internic.net;
voice (703)742-4777 for Network Solutions Inc.
IP: Internet Protocol. The underlying packet protocol
used to connect networks over the Internet. The term "IP address" refers
to a unique number that is distributed by the InterNIC
to Internet backbone providers and ultimately assigned by ISP's and WSP's
to thier clients for various purposes. An IP address can be used in place
of a Domain Name when browsing the WWW or loging onto an FTP server. For
example, the URL of http://www.cts.com
is equivalent to the URL of http://198.68.170.71.
ISP: Internet Service Provider, a reseller of Internet
access services usually involving Internet dial-up access via modem.
ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network, an
all-digital telephone system specification. Basic Rate Interface (BRI)
consists of two 64 Kbps bearers or B data channels and one 16 Kbps supervisory
"D" channel, leading to the designation "2B+D." BRI ISDN can deliver data
to the home at speeds up to 128 Eops by combining the two B channels and
is the only digital telephone solution capable of using existing copper
wire to the home.
JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group - a standard
for compressing digital photographic images.
KB: Kilobyte - 1024 bytes - often generically applied
to 1000 bytes as well.
Kbps: Kilo Bits Per Second - a measure of data
transmission speed indicating 1024 bits transmitted in one second.
LEC: Local Exchange Carrier - local telephone company.
Mbps: Mega Bits Per Second - a measurement of
data transmission speed indicating 1024 kilobits per second or 1048576
bits per second.
MB: Megabyte - technically 1024 kilobytes or 1,048,576
bytes, but often applied to the more rounded term of one million bytes
as well.
MBONE: Multicast Backbone on the Internet, a
popular network for real-time audio and vidio applications. IP-Multicast
is the class-D addressing scheme in IP. IP multicast-based routing facilitates
distributed applications to achieve time-critical "real-time" communications
over wide area IP networks through a lightweight, highly threaded model
of communication. See http://www.mbone.com/techinfo/
or Email: vinay@mbone.com.
MIME: Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, extensions
to the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) that allow the transmittal
of non-text information (graphics, etc.) via email.
MPEG: Motion Picture Experts Group - a standard
for compressing digital video images.
NAP: Network Access Point, one of four primary
connections to the Internet designated by the National Science Foundation
to provide connections to Regional Network Providers and Network Service
Providers, which in turn provide connections to smaller entities.
NNTP: Net News Transfer Protocol - a protocol
used to transfer USENET News Groups from one Internet site to another via
Internet Protocol.
NSF: National Science Foundation, which nmds U.S.
scientific research and for many years inded and administered the NSFnet,
which wu the backbone of today's Internet. NSFnet was discontinued on April
30, 1990. NSF nili hands Network Solutioma Inc., which maintains the top
level domain name database for the entire Internet.
NSP: National (Internet) Service Provider, an ISP
which services nationwide market with POPs in nost metropolitan areas.
Examples indud&fletcom, CMS and MCI Internet.
NTP: Naetwork Time Protocol, a TCP/IP protocol
which allows a user's computer clock to be synchronized with the network
clock.
Ping: an application program that will tell you
if a particular entity is presently connected to the Internet. Useful in
diagnosing connection problems or checking up on employees who should be
working instead of playing Doom. See also finger and WhoIs. See also ICMP.
POP: Point of Presence - in the telephone world
this is the geographic location of a particular switch or service.
POP3: Post Office Protocol - an alternative mail
protocol used to service intermittent dialup connections to the Internet
whereby mail is held until the caller makes the connection and requests
mail. Most SLIP or PPP dialup account users will receive mail from a POP3
account using a program such as PC Eudora.
PPP: Point to Point Protocol - a type of Internet
Protocol used via serial connections by modem. A dialup connection providing
IP conectifity. Developed later than Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP)
to accomplish the same intermittent dialup connection function.
Protocol: A system of rules and procedures
governing communications between two devices. File transfer protocols in
your communications program refer to a set of rules governing how error
checking will be performed on blocks of data.
RBOC: Regional Bell Operating Company - a provider
of local telephone service such as U.S. West or Bell Atlantic.
RFC: Request for Comments, one of a series of formal
documents edited and managed by the IAB. RFCs are the primary means of
commuicating information about the Internet, its technical standards and
protocols, its history and culture. Archives of RFCs can be found at the
InterNIC, http://www.internic.net/ds/dspg0intdoc.html and at many other
Internet sites.
Router: Adevice that connects two or more networks,
such as your LAN in Boise and mine in Chicago, at the network layer. "Also,"
according to Bernard Aboda's The Online User's Encyclopedia, "an expensive
device manufactured by hi tech firms with inflated stock prices."
Server: a computer dedicated to providing specific
services to client computers. Print servers, for example, do nothing but
accept, store, and print out jobs sent to them by other computers. An FTP
server is dedicated to file-suckers everywhere.
SLIP: Serial Line Internet Protocol - an implementation
of IP over serial ports/modems, usually on an intermittent dialup basis.
Developed by Rick Adams of UUNET Technologies, SLIP is a predecessor of
the Point of Presence Protocol (PPP) also used for dialup IP connections.
SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol - the most
common method for relaying electronic mail over the Internet.
T1: A classification of leased telephone line service
offering 23 voice channels and 1 supervisory channel or 1.544 Mbps digital
data service.
TCP/IP: Transmission Control Program/Internet
Protocol. The basic packet protocol used to connect machines globally on
the Internet is referred to as the Internet Protocol or IP. The Transmission
Control Prototcol (TCP) interacts with IP to provide an application protocol
interface. The term has come to generically refer to a family of protocols
used to connect local area networks to one another, forming and internet,
and more specifically the global internetwork referred to as The Internet.
TELNET: An application program that allows users
to interactively logon to menued services provided at TCP/IP internet sites.
UDP: User Datagram Protocol, part of the IP family
of protocols, UDP adds reliability and multiplexing to IP datagrams.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator, a system of references
to differnet Internet sites indicating both the site and type of protocol
or application program used to reache it: e-mail, ftp, http, gopher, telnet,
etc... Example: http://www.cts.com indicates
a Hyper Text Transport Protocol address on the World Wide Web (WWW) with
location www.cts.com.
USENET: Users Network, one of the earliest networks
of computers which exchange e-mail conferences via the Internet using UUCP
nd NNTP. Properly capitalized in full but often rendered as "Usenet." Estimated
to include over 70,000 nodes, 12,000 newsgroup conferences, and 2 million
readers.
V.34: International standard for modem data communications
at speeds of up to 28,800 bits per second.
WAN: Wide Area Network, a network typically spanning
inter-city distances.
WINSOCK: A Dynamic Link Library (DLL) program
for Microsoft Windows that provides a simple program interface to TCP/IP
services. Originally developed by Net-Manage, Inc, it has become the model
for most Windows based Internet application programs. The most widely used
WINSOCK.DLL would be the shareware program TRUMPET Winsock. Internet application
programs then use WINSOCK for TCP/IP services.
WSP: Web Service Provider, a reseller of World
Wide Web hosting services.
WWW: World Wide Web, a network of graphical hypertext
servers linked by The Internet offering graphics, sound, text, and in some
cases video clips providing information.
|
|
|