Glossary

Hosting glossary

271 definitions · page 3 of 5.

IP
(Internet Protocol) is tha main protocol used on the Internet.
IP Address
Internet Protocol Address. A unique number identifying all devices connected to the Internet. This number is usually shown in groups of numbers from 0 to 255, separated by periods, for example 207.46.230.218.
IP packet
IP packet is the basic data chunk that can be sent over the Internet. All the data is partitioned into IP packets on the sending computer and reassembled on the receiving computer.
IPX
Internet Packet Exchange. A Novell's proprietary network protocol.
IRC
Internet Relay Chat. Multi-user chat service. IRC users can go into public or private channels to discuss a topic or transfer files. IRC servers are connected into networks. The most popular IRC client program is mIRC. Many hosts are vary of letting…
ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network). An international standard that governs the transmission of both voice and data. It uses a digital circuits and has speed of 64Kbps. It can be used for normal telephone service as well as data transmission.
ISO
(International Organisation for Standardisation). An Geneva-based international organization that develops and publishes various international standards.
ISP
Internet Service Provider. A company that provides its subscribers with Internet access. Customers have a username and a password and can dial-up or use a cable or DSL line to connect to ISP's network which is connected to the Internet. The biggest ISP is AOL.
ITU
(International Telecommunication Union). (Formerly CCITT). Another international standards body concerned with telecommunications.
JAR
A popular compression format. Also a name of a compression utility.
Java
Sun's popular programming language. Java is a platform-independent (at least in theory), crash-protected, object-oriented language that can be used to write applets that run in a browser, servlets that run server-side, or independent programs. Java's syntax…
Java class files
The file or set of files that contain the code for a Java applet.
Java Servlet
Servlets are programs written in Java that run on a Web server and can produce dynamic pages. Also see JSP.
Java Virtual Machine (JVM Java Runtime Environment)
A set of programs that allow for Java applets to be run on a particular computer system.
Java Virtual Machine (JVM, Java Runtime Environment)
A set of programs that allow for Java applets to be run on a particular computer system.
JDBC
Java Database Connectivity - a mechanism allowing Java applets to access different databases.
JPEG
(Joint Photographic Experts Group) A image compression format designed for the Internet. Uses lossy compression, meaning that the quality of the image can be lowered.
JScript
Microsoft's implementation of ECMAScript standard based on JavaScript. Limited, object-based, interpreted scripting language. Here is the official JScript site. JScript is comparable to VBScript.
JSP
Java Server Pages. Extension of Java Servlet technology for combining Java server-side programs and HTML. JSP pages have an extension .jsp.
Kbps
Kilobits per second. 1Kbps = 1024bps.
Kermit
Protocol for transferring files over the modem connection. It's very slow.
Kilobyte (Kb)
1024 bytes.
LAN
Local Area Network. A network of devices (computers, printers, hubs) occupying a small area. Usually LANs do not span more than one building. LANs are very fast compared to WANs.
LANmodem
A LAN Modem is used to connect multiple computers to some other network (eg. ISP) over a phone line. It has the hub functionality built in.
Leased line
A dedicated communication line. User is charged a flat fee instead of being billed per minute of usage.
Line provisioning
It is the process of configuring the ISDN line by the service provider to suit user's particular needs and to assure hardware compatibility. It's due to the fact that ISDN is not completely standardized.
Link
Another name for a connection. Sometimes refers to a physical line.
Linux
A free UNIX-like operating system developed by Linus Torvalds. Linux and FreeBSD are very often used by hosting companies as their operating systems.
Login
An alias for an individual that is used for identification and authentication when accessing a computer system. Usually it is a sequence of characters and digits.
LOL
Laughing Out Loud
Lossless
A compression scheme is loseless when decompressed file is exactly the same as the original. This is needed for compressing executable programs and data files.
Lossy
A lossy compression allows for the quality of the compressed data to be diminished after decompression. It is suitable for audio, video and image compression.
LZW compression
Lempel Ziv Welch compression - a popular compression algorithm.
MAC
Media Access Control. A network protocol used to control the access to the network by different devices.
MAC Address
Media Access Control address (also hardware or physical address). Every device on the Local Area Network has an unique MAC address. It is used to identify devices and to control access to the network using MAC protocol.
Mailing List
A way of having a group discussion with list subscribers by email. Emails are sent to all list subscribers. Popular mailing list programs, like Listserv and Majordomo, allow for automated subscription and un-subscription from a mailing list. Some hosting…
Mailserver
The Internet host (together with the appropriate software) that is used to send, receive and forward email messages.
Mainframe Computer
A powerful computer used for computing-intensive tasks.
MBps
MegaBytes (MB) per second, 1 MB = 1,048,576 bytes
Megabyte (MB)
1MB = 1024 KiloBytes = 1,048,576 bytes
MHz
MegaHertz = 1.000.000 Hertz
Microsoft Access
Microsoft's low-end relational database included with the MS Office suite. Here is the official site for Microsoft Access. Cheaper NT hosting plans sometimes include MS Access database.
Microsoft FoxPro
Microsoft's RAD tool for creating relational databases. FoxPro is a part of Microsoft's Visual Studio. Here is the official MS FoxPro site.
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft's high-end SQL database running on Windows systems. Here is the official Microsoft SQL Server site.
MIME
(Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) a method of including binary data and other multimedia content within email messages.
Mirror site
An FTP site that stores the exact content of some other site. Mirroring is done in order to minimize the load on a particular server and also to increase reliability.
Miva Empressa
Miva's XML based server-side scripting language. Available for multiple platforms. Here is Miva Empressa home page.
Miva Merchant
Browser-based storefront development and management system for merchants. Here is Miva Merchant home page.
Modem
MOdulator-DEModulator. A device used to transform digital data sent by a computer to analog format suitable for transmission over a telephone line. It also transforms analog signals back to the digital form. A modem is required for the dial up connection to…
MP3
An extremely popular lossy audio compression format. Widely used over the Internet.
MPEG
(Motion Picture Experts Group) video compression format for movies or animations.
mSQL (Mini SQL)
Light-weight relational database. Here is mSQL home page.
Multicast
A message that is sent to a specific group of hosts.
MySQL
Most popular open-source relational database. Many Unix-based plans allow MySQL databases. Here is MySQL home page.
Netiquette
Informal set of rules that should be followed when using internet services like email, message boards and newsgroups. Describes what it means to be "well behaved" while interacting with other people online.
Netscape Communications
A company that developed one of the most popular web browsers: Netscape Navigator.
Network
A group of electronic devices connected together that are able to communicate with each other.
Network Management
Network management can be defined as a set of activities (e.g. network monitoring, gathering and analyzing the statistics, adjusting network configuration) performed in order to increase the network performance and availability.
Newsgroup
A virtual Internet place where people exchange thoughts, ideas and interests, amuse themselves and do a zillion other things, all by means of text messages.
Newsreader
An application that allows to use newsgroups.