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Facilities, a network-provided service to users or the network operating administration.
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FAQ, an initialism for "Frequently Asked Question(s)". The term refers to listed questions and answers, all supposed to be frequently asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic.
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FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface), provides a standard for data transmission in a local area network that can extend in range up to 200 kilometers (124 miles).
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FDM (Frequency-Division Multiplexing), a form of signal multiplexing where multiple baseband signals are modulated on different frequency carrier waves and added together to create a composite signal.
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Fiber, an optical fiber (or fibre) is a glass or plastic fiber designed to guide light along its length by confining as much light as possible in a propagating form.
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File sharing, the practice of making files available for other users to download over the Internet and smaller networks.
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Filter, electronic circuits which perform signal processing functions, specifically intended to remove unwanted signal components and/or enhance wanted ones.
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Firewall, an information technology (IT) security device which is configured to permit, deny or proxy data connections set and configured by the organization's security policy. Firewalls can either be hardware and/or software based.
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Firmware, as its name suggests, firmware is somewhere between hardware and software. Like software, it is a computer program which is executed by a computer. But it is also an intimate and vital part of a piece of hardware, and has little meaning outside of that particular hardware.
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FIX (Federal Internet Exchange), there are two Federal Internet Exchange points: FIX-East at the University of Maryland in College Park, and FIX-WEST at the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffet Field between Sunnyvale and Mountain View, California. These FIXs largely exist to interconnect MILNET and NASA Science Net and some other federal government networks.
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Flavor, the types of DSL are commonly referred to as the different "flavors" of DSL. For example, ADSL, IDSL and SDSL are three different flavors of DSL.
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FOC (Firm Order Confirmation), a notification sent by the LEC confirming the date on which it expects to complete the work on the service order.
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Foot Print, the area on the planet surface where a communication satellite's signal can be received.
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Forward message, redirecting (or forwarding) email messages from an email box to another. By creating a Forward on an email account, the incoming email messages can be redirected to another location without the sender knowing the new address.
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Fractional, leased communications lines sold in incremental bandwidths.
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FTP (File Transfer Protocol), is used to transfer data from one computer to another over the Internet, or through a network.
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FTTC (Fiber To The Curb), a telecommunications system based on fiber-optic cables run to a platform that serves several customers.
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FTTH (Fiber To The Home), a form of fiber optic communication delivery in which the optical signal reaches the end user's living or office space.
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Gateway, a network node equipped for interfacing with another network that uses different protocols.
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GUI (Graphical User Interface), a type of user interface which allows people to interact with a computer or other media formats which employs graphical icons, visual indicators or special graphical elements called "widgets", along with text labels or text navigation to represent the information and actions available to a user.
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Hacker, 1) a term applied often to computer software or computer hardware programmers, designers and administrators, and especially those who are perceived as experts or highly accomplished. 2) person who "hacks" or uses kludges to accomplish programming tasks that are ugly, inelegant, and inefficient.
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Handshake, the harsh, metallic sound of two modems attempting to connect and transmit data.
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HaxOr, the art of hacking.
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HDSL (High Data Rate Digital Subscriber Line), the first DSL technology that uses a higher frequency spectrum of copper, twisted pair cables. HDSL was developed in the USA, as a better technology for high-speed, synchronous circuits typically used to interconnect local exchange carrier systems, and also to carry high-speed corporate data links and voice channels, using T1 lines.
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HFC (Hybrid Fiber-Coaxial), a telecommunications industry term for a network which incorporates both optical fiber along with coaxial cable to create a broadband network.
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Home Directory, a directory which contains the personal files of a particular user of the system.
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Host, a hosts file, stored on the computer's filesystem, is used to look up the Internet Protocol address of a device connected to a computer network, such as your home computer connected to the Internet.
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Host (A) record, an IP address for forward mapping (host-name-to-IP-address).
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Host name, (or sitename) is the unique name by which a network attached device (which could consist of a computer, file server, network storage device, fax machine, copier, cable modem, etc.) is known on a network.
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Hot Potato Routing, or deflection routing, is a routing strategy for networks based on packet switching which can reduce the need of buffering packets.
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HTML (HyperText Markup Language), the predominant markup language for the creation of web pages.
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HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol), a method used to transfer or convey information on the World Wide Web.
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HTTP cookie, sometimes known as web cookies or just cookies, are parcels of text sent by a server to a web browser and then sent back unchanged by the browser each time it accesses that server.
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Hypertext, text on a computer which can be "clicked on" for more information on a subject.
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IAP (Internet Access Provider), or Internet Service Provider (ISP), a business or organization that provides to consumers access to the Internet and related services.
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ICP (Integrated Communications Providers), provides voice, data, and communications solutions usually in a regional market.
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ICQ, an instant messaging computer program.
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IDE (Integrated Development Environment), also known as integrated design environment and integrated debugging environment, is a type of computer software that assists computer programmers in developing software.
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IDSL (ISDN Digital Subscriber Line), transmits data digitally (rather than analog) on a regular twisted pair copper telephone line, across existing ISDN lines, at a rate of 144 kbit/s, slightly higher than a bonded dual channel ISDN connection at 128kbit/s
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IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), an international standards organization dealing with electrical, electronic and related technologies.
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ILEC (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier), a local telephone company in the United States that was in existence at the time of the break up of AT&T into the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) also known as the "Baby Bells".
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IM (Instant Messaging), a form of real-time communication between two or more people based on typed text.
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IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol), commonly known as IMAP or IMAP4, and previously called Internet Mail Access Protocol, Interactive Mail Access Protocol, and Interim Mail Access Protocol, is an application layer Internet protocol that allows a local client to access e-mail on a remote server.
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Integrated Pair Gain, a means of consolidating multiple telephone lines into a lesser number of lines in an effort to avoid running out of telephone lines. DSL cannot be provisioned across integrated pair gain.
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Intranet, a private computer 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 its employees.
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IP (Internet Protocol), a data-oriented protocol used for communicating data across a packet-switched internetwork.
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IP Address (Internet Protocol address), a unique address that certain electronic devices use in order to identify and communicate with each other on a computer network utilizing the Internet Protocol standard. In simpler terms, a computer address.
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IPSec (IP Security), a suite of protocols for securing Internet Protocol communications by authenticating and/or encrypting each IP packet in a data stream.
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ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), a circuit-switched telephone network system, designed to allow digital transmission of voice and data over ordinary telephone copper wires, resulting in better quality and higher speeds than that available with the PSTN system.
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ISO (International Organization for Standardization), an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards bodies.
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ISO image (.iso), a raw image often used to store data going to or from a CD or DVD.
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ISP (Internet Service Provider), also called Internet access provider or IAP, is a business or organization that provides to consumers access to the Internet and related services.
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ITU (International Telecommunication Union), an international organization established to standardize and regulate international radio and telecommunications.
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IXC (IntereXchange Carrier), a U.S. legal and regulatory term for a telecommunications company, commonly called a long-distance telephone company.
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Kbps, a kilobit per second is a unit of data transfer rate equal to 1,000 bits per second.
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L2F (Layer 2 Forwarding), a VPN protocol that supports tunneling to multiple locations and does not contain any security features.
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L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol), a tunneling protocol used to support virtual private networks (VPNs).
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LAN (Local Area Network), a computer network covering a small geographic area, like a home, office, or group of buildings.
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Landing Page, a specific web page that a visitor ultimately reaches after clicking a link or advertisement.
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Last Mile, the final leg of delivering connectivity from a communications provider to a customer.
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LATA (Local Access and Transport Area), a term used in U.S. telecommunications regulation.
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LEC (Local Exchange Carrier), a regulatory term in telecommunications for the local telephone company.
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Levels of Access, five levels of access were formed to give a rational image of the Internet. At the top of the pyramid, Level 1 is the network access points. Level 2 is the national backbone operators. Level 3 is made up of regional networks and the companies that operate regional backbones. Level 4 is the individual Internet service provider. Level 5 is the consumer and business market.
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Line Conditioning, the process through which load coils and or bridge taps are removed from a line to make it capable of carrying DSL service.
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Linux, a Unix-like computer operating system family.
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Loading Coil, a coil (inductor) that does not provide coupling to any other circuit, but is inserted in a circuit to increase its inductance.
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Local Loop, (also referred to as a subscriber line) is the physical link or circuit, that connects from the demarcation point of the customer premises to the edge of the carrier, or telecommunications service provider, network.
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Loop Length, the physical length of the phone line between the CO and the End User's premises. The loop length will always be greater than the airline distance between the CO and the End User, because the telephone cables never run a direct route to an End User location.
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LSR (Local Service Request), the ordering format through which local telecommunications services are ordered from LECs.
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MAE (Metropolitan Area Ethernet), a MAE (pronounced MAY), originally an abbreviation for Metropolitan Area Ethernet or Metropolitan Area Exchange, is a major center in the United States for switching traffic between Internet service providers (ISPs).
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Mailing lists, a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients.
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Mail Server, A mail transfer agent or MTA (also called a mail transport agent, message transfer agent, mail server, or a mail exchanger in the context of the Domain Name System) is a computer program or software agent that transfers electronic mail messages from one computer to another.
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Majordomo, a proprietary mailing list manager (MLM).
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MAN (Metropolitan Area Networks), are large computer networks usually spanning a city.
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Max Users, the maximum number of simultaneous users on a domain.
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Mbps, a megabit per second (abbreviated as Mbps, Mbit/s, or mbps) is a unit of data transfer rates equal to 1,000,000 bits per second (this equals 1,000 kilobits per second).
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MDF (Main Distribution Frame), or Main Frame, is a signal distribution frame for connecting equipment (inside plant) to cables and subscriber carrier equipment (outside plant).
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Memory Quota, the amount of memory assigned to a user. This amount is based on the Service Level Agreement.
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Menu Bar, a feature of most computer graphical user interfaces that implement windows.
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ML Charge, A charge incurred by an ISP if a user shares their account with family and/or friends.
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MODEM (from MOdulate and DEModulate), a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information.
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Modulation, the process of varying a periodic waveform, i.e. a tone, in order to use that signal to convey a message, in a similar fashion as a musician may modulate the tone from a musical instrument by varying its volume, timing and pitch.
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MX (Mail Exchanger) record, a type of resource record in the Domain Name System (DNS) specifying how Internet e-mail should be routed.
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MySQL, a multithreaded, multi-user SQL database management system (DBMS).
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Name-based domain, a domain with a unique host name but shares an IP address with another server.
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NAP (Network Acess Points), defined under the U.S. National Information Infrastructure (NII) document as transitional data communications facilities at which Network Service Providers (NSPs) would exchange traffic, in replacement of the publicly-financed NSFNet Internet backbone.
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NAT (Network Address Translation), also known as network masquerading, native address translation or IP-masquerading, involves re-writing the source and/or destination addresses of IP packets as they pass through a router or firewall.
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NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement), also called a confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), confidentiality agreement or secrecy agreement, is a legal contract between at least two parties which outlines confidential materials or knowledge the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict from generalized use.
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NEBS (Network Equipment-Building System), describes the environment of a typical United States RBOC Central Office.
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Netmask, a subnetwork or subnet is a range of logical addresses within the address space that is assigned to an organization.
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Network, any interconnected group or system.
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NFS (Network File System), a network file system protocol originally developed by Sun Microsystems in 1984, allowing a user on a client computer to access files over a network as easily as if the network devices were attached to its local disks.
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NIC (Network Interface Controller), also known as a network card or network adapter, is a piece of computer hardware designed to allow computers to communicate over a computer network.
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NID (Network Interface Device), also commonly referred to as a smart jack, is a multi-functional device, which includes a protector block to prevent high-voltage surges from affecting premise equipment and inside wiring.
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NMS (Network Management System), a combination of hardware and software used to monitor and administer a network.
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NOC (Network Operations Center), one or more locations from which control is exercised over a computer or telecommunications network, or part thereof.
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NSF (National Science Foundation), an independent United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering.
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NTP (Network Time Protocol), a protocol for synchronizing the clocks of computer systems over packet-switched, variable-latency data networks.
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OC (Optical Cable), also fiber optic cable, is a more efficient way of transmitting data over spun glass fiber through coded pulses of light.
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OC-x (Optical Carrier, OC-3, OC-2, etc), a fiber optic service with an incredibly high capacity for transmitting data. One OC-3 is approximately equal to three T-3 lines, which is about 100 Ti1 lines.
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OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), a term that refers to a situation in which one company purchases a manufactured product from another company and resells the product as its own, usually as a part of a larger product it sells.
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OLE (Object Linking and Embedding), a distributed object system and protocol developed by Microsoft that allows an editor to "farm out" part of a document to another editor and then reimport it.
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OSI (Open Systems Interconnection), an effort to standardize networking that was started in 1982 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), along with the ITU-T.
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Outside Plant, all cables, conduits, ducts, poles, towers, repeaters, repeater huts, and other equipment located between a demarcation point in a switching facility and a demarcation point in another switching center or customer premises.
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