TCP/IP- Acronym for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, 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.
Telnet- One of the TCP/IP Protocols. It allows a connection to another computer over dedicated phone lines.
Terabyte: (TB) - 2 to the 40th power (1,099,511,627,776) bytes. This is approximately 1 trillion bytes.
10 to the 12th power (1,000,000,000,000). This is exactly one trillion.
Terminal- This is what you look at when you're on the Internet. It's your computer screen.
Terminator- A device attached to the end-points of a bus network or daisy-chain. The purpose of the terminator is to absorb signals so that they do not reflect back down the line. Ethernet networks require a terminator at both ends of the bus, and SCSI chains require a single terminator at the end of the chain.
A character that indicates the end of a string. In the C programming language, the null character serves as a terminator.
Terminal Emulation- This is an application that allows your terminal to act as a dumb terminal.
Thread- In online discussions, a series of messages that have been posted as replies to each other. A single forum or conference typically contains many threads covering different subjects. By reading each message in a thread, one after the other, you can see how the discussion has evolved. You can start a new thread by posting a message that is not a reply to an earlier message.
Throughput- The amount of data transferred from one place to another or processed in a specified amount of time. Data transfer rates for disk drives and networks are measured in terms of throughput. Typically, throughputs are measured in Kbps, Mbps and Gbps.
Transceiver- Short for transmitter-receiver, a device that both transmits and receives analog or digital signals. The term is used most frequently to describe the component in local-area networks (LANs) that actually applies signals onto the network wire and detects signals passing through the wire. For many LANs, the transceiver is built into the network interface card (NIC). Some types of networks, however, require an external transceiver. In Ethernet networks, a transceiver is also called a Medium Access Unit (MAU).
Transfer Rate- The speed at which a disk drive can transfer information between its platters and your CPU. The transfer rate is typically measured in megabytes per second, megabits per second, or megahertz.
Transparent- (Something that occurs without being known to the user.
Transistor- A device composed of semiconductor material that amplifies a signal or opens or closes a circuit. Invented in 1947 at Bell Labs, transistors have become the key ingredient of all digital circuits, including computers. Today's microprocessors contains tens of millions of microscopic transistors.
Prior to the invention of transistors, digital circuits were composed of vacuum tubes, which had many disadvantages. They were much larger, required more energy, dissipated more heat, and were more prone to failures. It's safe to say that without the invention of transistors, computing as we know it today would not be possible.
True Color- Refers to any graphics device or software that uses at least 24 bits to represent each dot or pixel. Using 24 bits means that more than 16 million unique colors can be represented. Since humans can only distinguish a few million colors, this is more than enough to accurately represent any color image.
Turnkey System- A system that already contains all the components and programs required for operation. The vendor takes care of installation and configurations so all the user has to do is "turn the key" to begin using the system.
TWAIN- Stands for Technology Without An Interesting Name.
V.90- A standard for 56-Kpbs modems approved by the International Telecommunication Union(ITU) in February, 1998. The V.90 standard resolves the battle between the two competing 56 Kbps technologies -X2 from 3COM and K56Flex from Rockwell Semiconductor. Both manufacturers have announced that their future modems will conform to V.90. In addition, most users who already purchased 56 Kbps modems will be able to apply a software upgrade to make their modems support V.90.
VDD- Stands for Virtual Device Driver.
Veronica- Stands for Very Easy Rodent Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives. A database of menu names from a large number of Gopher servers. A quick and easy way to search Gopher resources for information by keyword.
VGA- Stands for Video Graphics Adapter. This is a lower level color monitor.
Virtual Device Driver- In Windows systems, a special type of device driver that has direct access to the operating system kernal. This allows them to interact with system and hardware resources at a very low level. In Windows 95, virtual device drivers are often called VxDs because the filenames end with the .vxd extension.
Virtual Machine- A self-contained operating enviorment that behaves as if it is a separate computer. For example, Java applets run in a Java virtual machine (VM) that has no access to the host operating system. This design has two advantages:
- System Independence: A Java application will run the same in any Java VM, regardless of the hardware and software underlying the system.
- Security: Because the VM has no contact with the operating system, there is little possibility of a Java program damaging other files or applications.
The second advantage, however, has a downside. Because programs running in a VM are separate from the operating system, they cannot take advantage of special operating system features.
Virtual Private Network (VPN)- A data network that uses the public telecommunications infrastructure, but maintains privacy through the use of a tunneling protocol and security procedures. A VPN gives a company the same capabilities as a system of owned or leased lines to which that company has exclusive access. However, costs are much lower because the VPN uses the shared public infrastructure rather than exclusive line access.
VIRUS- A program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes. Most viruses can also replicate themselves. All computer viruses are manmade. A simple virus that can make a copy of itself over and over again is relatively easy to produce. Even such a simple virus is dangerous because it will quickly use all available memory and bring the system to a halt. An even more dangerous type of virus is one capable of transmitting itself across networks and bypassing security systems.
VMS- Stands for Virtual Memory System
Voltage Regulator- A device which maintains constant voltage in an electrical line in case of brownout.
VRAM- Video Random Access Memory. A kind of high-speed memory used for the computer's display. VRAM must be fast to keep up with the speed at which the screen is scanned. The VRAM in a PC is on a display adapter card.VRAM has two ports so it can send the data for text and images to memory and to the display at the same time.
VRML- Stands for Virtual Reality Modeling Language. It's a form of application that gives a 3-D effect to pictures sometimes allowing you to "move" through them.
VTAM- Virtual Telecommunications Access Method. The SNA software that runs on IBM mainframes and implements the functions of network control, network management interface, and SNA support for host based application programs.
VxD- Virtual Device Driver
A device driver under Windows 3.x/Windows 95 running as part of the kernel and thus having access to the memory of the kernel and all running processes as well as raw access to the hardware. VxD's usually have the filename extension .386 under Windows 3.x and .vxd under Windows 95. VxD's written for Windows 3.x can be used under Windows 95 but not vice versa.
WWW- Short for World Wide Web.
WAIS- Stands for Wide Area Information Servers. Searches large indexes of information on the Internet.
Wait State- A brief delay added before a microprocessor executes an instruction, to allow time for slower memory chips or external devices to respond. A wait states may be one or more of the computer's clock cycles or may be timed differently. One wait state on each access of memory can make the processor up to 20% slower. With no wait state (called zero wait state) the processor will run faster.
WAN- Wide Area Network - A network in which computers are connected to each other over a long distance, using telephone lines and satellite communications. See local area network (LAN).
WAV- Stands for WAVeform sound format. Microsoft's format for encoding sound files.
Weblog- (Same as blog) This is a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual. Similar to a personal diary, but shared over the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog. Postings on a blog are almost always arranged in chronological order with the most recent additions featured most prominently.
White Papers- These are documents created to help guide you in the use of a particular piece of hardware or software. Usually some kind of extra or advanced help that is provided that goes beyond the normal manual or set of instructions for that product or item. White Papers can provide special or advanced instructions on special features or setup methods.
WiFi- Wireless Fidelity - Otherwise known as Wireless Networking, commonly using the 802.11b protocol. Hardware that displays the WiFi logo claims 802.11b compliance should interconnect seamlessly.
WinFS- (Windows File System) WinFS is the code name for the next generation storage platform in Windows "Longhorn." Taking advantage of database technologies, Microsoft is advancing the file system into an integrated store for file data, relational data, and XML data. Windows users will have intuitive new ways to find, relate, and act on their information, regardless of what application creates the data. Also, "WinFS" will have built-in support for multi-master data synchronization across other Longhorn machines and other data sources. The platform supports rich managed Longhorn APIs as well as Win32 APIs.
WOL: (Wake-on-LAN)- This technology is used to remotely wake up a sleeping or powered off PC over a network. When the system is turned off, the managed network adapter uses an alternate power source to monitor the network and watch for a wake-up packet from the server. Once it receives a packet, it alerts the system to power up and accept any maintenance task it is given.
Wake-on-LAN is a part of Intel's Wired for Management System and is a result of the Intel-IBM Advanced Manageability Alliance.
Wake-on-LAN is also called remote wake-up.
Workgroup- Persons sharing files and data between themselves.
Workstation- The computer attached to the Internet.
WPG- Stands for Word Perfect Graphics.
UDMA- A protocol developed by Quantum Corporation and Intel that supports burst mode data transfer rates of 33.3 MBps. This is twice as fast as the previous disk drive standard for PCs, and is necessary to take advantage of new, faster Ultra ATA disk drives.
The official name for the protocol is Ultra DMA/33. It's also called UDMA, UDMA/33 and DMA mode 33.
UNIX- This is an operating system developed by AT&T. It's big push it that it allows one server to service many different end users at one time.
UPS- Uninterruptible Power Supply. A backup power unit that provides continuous power when the normal power supply is interrupted. UPS systems can be stand-by, only supplying power when the regular supply is interrupted, or fulltime, relying on regular power and/or batteries to supply it while it supplies power to the protected device. A UPS is not necessary on most computer systems, but can be important on systems that need to be up 24 hours a day, such as servers.
Upstream- The data flowing from the Cable Modem to the CMTS
Upstream frequency- The frequency used to transmit data from the CM to the CMTS. Normally in the 5-42 MHz range for US systems and 5-65 MHz for European systems.
URL- Stands for Universal Resource Locator. It's a fancy way of saying Internet Address.
USB- Short for Universal Serial Bus, a new external bus standard that supports data transfer rates of 12 MBps (12 million bytes per second). A single USB port can be used to connect up to 128 peripheral devices, such as mice, modems, and keyboards. USB also supports Plug-and-Play installation and hot plugging.
Starting in 1996, a few computer manufacturers started including USB support in their new machines. Since the release of Intel's 440LX chipset in 1997, USB has become more widespread. It is expected to eventually completely replace serial and parallel ports.
User- Someone attached to a server or host.
X2- A technology developed by U.S. Robotics (now 3COM) for delivering data rates up to 56 Kbps over plain old telephone service (POTS). It was long believed that the maximum data transmission rate over copper telephone wires was 33.6 Kbps, but X2 achieves higher rates by taking advantage of the fact that most phone switching stations are connected by high-speed digital lines. X2 bypasses the normal digital-to-analog conversion and sends the digital data over the telephone wires directly to your modem where it is decoded.
XML: (eXtensible Markup Language) - Like HTML, XML is a markup language, but unlike HTML, it is not limited to Web documents. XML lets Web developers and designers create customized tags that offer greater flexibility in organizing and presenting information than is possible with the older HTML document coding system.
ZIF Socket- Zero Insertion Force socket. A special socket for plugging in integrated circuits easily. The socket can be opened with a small lever or screw; the chip is dropped in, then the socket is closed.
ZIP- Stands for Zone Information Protocol. This is an application that allows for the compression of application files.
Source: "The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, http://www.foldoc.org/, Editor Denis Howe"
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Network Technologies