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ABR (Available Bit Rate), a service used in ATM networks when source and destination don’t need to be synchronized. ABR does not guarantee against delay or data loss. ABR mechanisms allow the network to allocate the available bandwidth fairly over the present ABR sources. ABR is the fourth of five Quality of Service (QoS) levels in an ATM Network.
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ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), a form of DSL, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide.
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Aggregation, the collection of several streams of data into a single, higher speed connection.
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Aggregation Circuit, a T-1 or T-3 line connecting a Wholesale Customer’s network to the network provider’s network at either an ‘A’ Site or a RAP.
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Alias (CNAME) record, an alias of one name to another. The A record that the alias is pointing to can be either local or remote - on a foreign name server. This is useful when running multiple services (like an FTP and a webserver) from a single IP address. Each service can then have its own entry in DNS (like ftp.example.com and www.example.com.)
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Allocate, to assign resources for a specific task. This is often used to refer to memory use, disk space, bandwidth, or process cycles.
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Always On, a reference to the fact that a Broadband connection never turns off. In contrast, a dial-up connection must be reestablished every time the End User wants to connect to a network.
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The Apache HTTP Server, a web server for Unix-like systems, Microsoft Windows, Novell NetWare, Mac OS X and other operating systems. Apache is notable for playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web.
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Appliance, a collection of related server applications with all dependent applications bundled into one optimized package.
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Architecture, the physical topology and configuration of a network.
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ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency NETwork), developed by ARPA of the United States Department of Defense was the world’s first operational packet switching network, and the predecessor of the global Internet.
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ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode), a cell relay, Circuit switching network and data link layer protocol which encodes data traffic into small (53 bytes; 48 bytes of data and 5 bytes of header information) fixed-sized cells.
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AUP (Acceptable Use Policy), a set of rules applied by network and website owners which restrict the ways in which the network or site may be used.
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Authentication, a way to ensure users are who they say they are; that the user who attempts to perform functions in a system is in fact the user who is authorized to do so.
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Authentication servers (aka Radius Servers), servers that provide authentication services to users or other systems. Users and other servers authenticate to such a server, and receive cryptographic tickets. These tickets are then exchanged with one another to verify identity.
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Authorize.net, a payment gateway service provider allowing merchants to accept credit card and electronic checks payments through their Web site and over an IP (Internet Protocol) connection. With a userbase of over 160,000 merchants Authorize.Net is the largest payment gateway service provider.
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Autoresponder, An autoresponder is a computer program that automatically answers e-mail sent to it.
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Autostart, setting an application to automatically run when the system starts.
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AWG, also known as the 'Brown and Sharpe' wire gauge, is used in the United States and other countries as a standard method of denoting wire diameter, especially for nonferrous, electrically conducting wire.
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Baby Bell, effective January 1, 1984, AT&T’s local operations were split into seven independent Regional Bell Operating Companies known as 'Baby Bells.'
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Backbone, the main ‘trunk’ connections of the Internet. It is made up of a large collection of interconnected commercial, government, academic and other high-capacity data routes and core routers that carry data across the countries, continents and oceans of the world.
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Backup, the copying of data so that these additional copies may be restored after a data loss event.
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Bandwidth, refers to data (information) transmission rates when communicating over certain media or devices.
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Bandwidth Quota, the percentage of network space assigned to a user on a server.
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BERT (Bit Error Rate Test), a testing method for digital communication circuits that uses predetermined stress patterns comprising of a sequence of logical ones and zeros.
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Binary, The binary numeral system, or base-2 number system, is a numeral system that represents numeric values using two symbols, usually 0 and 1.
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BPL, the use of PLC technology to provide broadband Internet access through ordinary power lines.
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Bps, In telecommunications and computing, bitrate (sometimes written bit rate, data rate or as a variable Rbit) is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time.
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BRI (Basic Rate Interface), an Integrated Services Digital Network configuration defined in the physical layer standard I.430 produced by the ITU.
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Bridge Tap, long-used method of cabling for telephone lines. One cable pair (of wires) will 'appear' in several different terminal locations (poles or pedestals). This allows the telephone company to use or 'assign' that pair to any subscriber near those terminal locations. Once that customer disconnects, that pair becomes usable at any of the terminals. In the days of party lines 2, 4, 6, or 8 customers were commonly connected on the same pair which appeared at several different locations.
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Broadband, a term which refers to a signaling method which includes or handles a relatively wide range of frequencies which may be divided into channels or frequency bins.
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Browser, a software application that enables a user to display and interact with text, images, and other information typically located on a web page at a website on the World Wide Web or a local area network.
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Burstable, Burstable billing is a method of measuring bandwidth based on peak utilization. It also allows usage to exceed a specified threshold for brief periods of time without the financial penalty of purchasing a higher Committed Information Rate (CIR, 'commitment') from an Internet service provider (ISP).
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Cable, one, two or more wires or optical fibers bound together, typically in a common protective jacket or sheath.
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CAP, a non-standard variation of quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). CAP divides the available space into three bands.
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CATV (CAble TV), originally stood for Community Antenna Television, from cable television’s origins in 1948: in areas where over-the-air reception was limited by mountainous terrain, large 'community antennas' were constructed, and cable was run from them to individual homes.
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CBR (Constant BitRate), a term used in telecommunications, relating to the quality of service. Compare with variable bit rate.
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CCITT, the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) coordinates standards for telecommunications on behalf of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to 1992, it was known as the International Telephone and Telegraph Consultative Committee.
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CFA (Carrier Facility Assignment), an address on the telephone network noting where an Inter Exchange Carrier (IXC) or Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) connects for service. CFA refers to a specific port on the DSLAM where the wiring will connect for an End Users Broadband Service.
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CGI (Common Gateway Interface), a standard protocol for interfacing external application software with an information server, commonly a web server. This allows the server to pass requests from a client web browser to the external application. The web server can then return the output from the application to the web browser.
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CGI-BIN, the directory on a Web server where CGI scripts are typically stored.
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Circuit, any line or circuit on which information is transmitted.
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Circuit ID, a company specific identifier assigned to a data or voice network between two locations. This circuit is then leased to a customer by that id. If and when a subscriber has an issue with a circuit, the subscriber contacts the telecommunications provider to provide this circuit id for action on the designated circuit.
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CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier), a telecommunications provider company (sometimes called a 'carrier') that competes with other, already established carriers (generally the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC)).
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CLLI (Common Language Location Identifier code), pronounced ‘silly’, an identifier used within the North American telecommunications industry to specify the location and type of a piece of telecommunications equipment.
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Cloud, an analogy for an overall data transmission network, often depicted in conceptual drawings of networks as a fluffy white cloud.
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Cluster, a term used to denote all COs in a given region (usually all COs in a single city). All COs in a Cluster are connected to the same 'A' Site.
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CO (Central Office), the physical building used to house inside plant equipment including telephone switches, which make phone calls 'work' in the sense of making connections and relaying the speech information.
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Coaxial cable, an electrical cable consisting of a round conducting wire, surrounded by an insulating spacer, surrounded by a cylindrical conducting sheath, usually surrounded by a final insulating layer (jacket). It is used as a high-frequency transmission line to carry a high-frequency or broadband signal.
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CODEC (COmpression/DECompression), a device or program capable of performing encoding and decoding on a digital data stream or signal. The word codec may be a combination of any of the following: ‘Compressor-Decompressor’, ‘Coder-Decoder’, or ‘Compression/Decompression algorithm’.
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Colocation, a type of data center where multiple customers locate network, server and storage gear and interconnect to a variety of telecommunications and other network service provider(s) with a minimum of cost and complexity.
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COM (Component Object Model), a Microsoft platform for software componentry introduced by Microsoft in 1993. It is used to enable interprocess communication and dynamic object creation in any programming language that supports the technology.
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Command Line Interfaces, interfaces that allow automating many functions using scripts.
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CPE (Customer-Premises Equipment or Customer-Provided Equipment), any terminal and associated equipment and inside wiring located at a subscriber’s premises and connected with a carrier’s telecommunication channel(s) at the demarcation point ('demarc').
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CRM (Customer Relationship Management), a broad term that covers concepts used by organizations to manage their relationships with customers, including collecting, storing and analyzing customer information.
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Cross-Connect, connecting two or more lines together.
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CSM (Customer Self-Maintenance), java servlets that allow customers to manage many aspects of their accounts over the web.
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CSU (Channel Service Unit), a line bridging device.
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CSU/DSU (Channel Service Unit/Data Service Unit), a digital-interface device used to connect a router to a digital circuit such as a T1 or T3 line.
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Custom Log, an Apache log file that contains information from Internet browsers accessing a Web site. Whenever a visitor accesses a Web site, information about the visitor and the nature of the visit is recorded in this log file.
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Daemon, a computer program that runs in the background, rather than under the direct control of a user.
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DAO (Data Access Objects), an object oriented interface created by Microsoft which allowed early versions of Microsoft Access and Visual Basic to use the Jet database engine.
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DBA, The phrase 'doing business as' (abbreviated DBA or d/b/a) is a legal term, meaning that the name of the business or operation does not include the legal name of its proprietor, the names of all partners, or the official registered name of the limited partnership or corporation that owns it.
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DBA (Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation), a technique by which traffic bandwidth in a shared telecommunications medium can be allocated on demand and fairly between different users of that bandwidth.
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DCE (Data Circuit-terminating Equipment), also known as Data Communications Equipment or Data Carrier Equipment, the equipment that performs functions, such as signal conversion and coding at the network end of the line between the data terminal equipment (DTE) and the line, and that may be a separate or an integral part of the DTE or of intermediate equipment.
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Dedicated line, a communications cable dedicated to a specific application, in contrast with a shared resource such as the telephone network or the Internet.
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Defective Pairs, a telephone line that is not working.
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Delimiter, a sequence of one or more characters used to specify the boundary between separate, independent regions in plain text or other data stream.
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Dependent Service, an application that requires certain other basic applications to be installed on the system before it can run.
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Deployment, all of the activities that make a software system available for use.
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DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), a set of rules used by communications devices such as a computer, router or network adapter to allow the device to request and obtain an IP address from a server which has a list of addresses available for assignment.
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Dial-up, a form of Internet access through which the client uses a modem connected to a computer and a telephone line to dial into an Internet service provider’s (ISP) node to establish a modem-to-modem link, which is then routed to the Internet.
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DID (Direct Inward Dialing), also called DDI in Europe, is a feature offered by telephone companies for use with their customers’ PBX system, whereby the telephone company (telco) allocates a range of numbers all connected to their customer’s PBX.
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Digital, A digital system is one that uses discrete values (often electrical voltages), representing numbers or non-numeric symbols such as letters or icons, for input, processing, transmission, storage, or display, rather than a continuous spectrum of values (ie, as in an analog system).
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Digital Certificates, a certificate which uses a digital signature to bind together a public key with an identity; information such as the name of a person or an organization, their address, and so forth. The certificate can be used to verify that a public key belongs to an individual.
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DLC (Digital Loop Carrier), a system which uses digital transmission to extend the range of the local loop farther than would be possible using only twisted pair copper wires.
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DLCI (Data Link Connection Identifier), a channel number which is attached to frame relay data frames to tell the network how to route the data.
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DLR (Design Layout Record), the final document sent by the LEC on a UNE order, which lists the technical specifications of the line. Technical specifications included on the DLR might be loop length and presence of load coils and/or bridge taps.
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DMARC, the point at which the telephone company network ends and connects with the wiring at the customer premises.
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DMT (Discrete Multitone Technique), also known as Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM), is a digital multi-carrier modulation scheme, which uses a large number of closely-spaced orthogonal sub-carriers.
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DNS (Domain Name System), stores and associates many types of information with domain names; most importantly, it translates domain names (computer hostnames) to IP addresses.
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DNS/BIND Server, BIND (Berkeley Internet Name Domain, previously: Berkeley Internet Name Daemon) is the most commonly used DNS server on the Internet, especially on Unix-like systems, where it is a de facto standard.
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DNS Server, a computer that maintains a database of domain names and their corresponding IP addresses.
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Domain, an Internet address or a subsection of the Internet.
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Domain Name, a name that identifies a computer or computers on the internet.
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DS1 (Digital Signal 1), also known as T1, sometimes 'DS-1', is a T-carrier signaling scheme devised by Bell Labs.
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DS3 (Digital Signal 3), a digital signal level 3 T-carrier. It may also be referred to as a T3 line.
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DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), or xDSL, is a family of technologies that provide digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network.
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DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer), allows telephone lines to make faster connections to the Internet.
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DSU (Data Service Unit), has the following meanings: 1. A device used for interfacing data terminal equipment (DTE) to the public switched telephone network. 2. A type of short-haul, synchronous-data line driver, usually installed at a user location, that connects user synchronous equipment over a 4-wire circuit at a preset transmission rate to a servicing central-office.
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DTE/DCE (Data Terminal Equipment), refers to an end instrument that converts user information into signals for transmission, or reconverts the received signals into user information. A DTE device communicates with the Data Circuit-terminating Equipment (DCE).
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DVI (Digital Visual Interface), a video interface standard designed to maximize the visual quality of digital display devices such as flat panel LCD computer displays and digital projectors.
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E-1, a link that operates over two separate sets of wires, usually coaxial cable.
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Echeck, an electronic transfer of funds in which the money is taken from a bank account, typically a checking account.
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Echo Suppressor/Echo Canceller , a telecommunications device used to reduce the echo heard on long telephone circuits, particularly circuits that traverse satellite links.
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E-commerce, Electronic Commerce (also referred to as EC, e-commerce eCommerce or ecommerce) consists primarily of the distributing, buying, selling, marketing and servicing of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks.
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Email, Electronic mail (abbreviated 'e-mail' or, often, 'email') is a store and forward method of composing, sending, storing, and receiving messages over electronic communication systems.
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Email alias, a method of mapping a nickname to an actual email address or addresses. Aliases are commonly used for mail distribution lists or to forward and email message to more than one email address at one time.
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End-user, used to distinguish the person for whom a hardware or software product is designed from the developers, installers, and services of the product.
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ErrorLog, an Apache log file that contains information about errors encountered by visitors accessing the Web site, or information about problems with the server.
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Ethernet, a large, diverse family of frame-based computer networking technologies that operates at many speeds for local area networks (LANs).
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Exchange, a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls.
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Extranet, a private network that uses Internet protocols, network connectivity, and possibly the public telecommunication system to securely share part of an organization’s information or operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers or other businesses.
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