Glossary of terms

1U, 2U, etc.
This number represents the actual size of a rack mount server in “rack units”. 1U is the standardized size of a rack mount server. A 2U server takes as much space as 2 1U servers, and a 3.5U server would take the space of 3 and a half 1U servers. Server racks have a finite amount of space available, which is normally measured using “rack unit” dimensions.

Apache
Web Server software freely available for both Unix and Linux.

Bandwidth
Bandwidth has a general meaning of how much information can be carried in a given time period (usually a second) over a wired or wireless communications link.

CGI
Common Gateway Interface. In Layman’s terms, a CGI program is a program that can be executed as part of a web server process.

Check Verification
This is the ability to accept checks online from a customer without actually having to have the customer send you the check.

Cold Fusion
Special software package that simplifies the creation of database driven web sites.

Co-location
In general, co-location is moving or placing things together, sometimes implying a proper order. On the Internet, this term is used to mean the provision of space for a customer's telecommunications equipment on the service provider's premises. For example, a Web site owner could place the site's own computer servers on the premises of the Internet service provider (ISP). Or an ISP could place its network routers on the premises of the company offering switching services with other ISPs. The alternative to collocation is to have the equipment and the demarcation point located at the customer's premises.

Control Panel
A web based interface, which allows users to administer their server by clicking on different icons instead of having to memorize commands. The commands would be run on the command line and if typed in incorrect they could seriously harm a system and stop it from running forcing the hosting company to have to restore the system from a backup.

Collaboration
The idea of employees working together in a joint intellectual effort. This is usually achieved by using tools that allows the employees to share information dynamically between one another to boost performance and productivity.

Command Line
This resembles DOS in that it is just a blank screen with a prompt where the administrator/user would type in commands for the system to run. Most users would rather use a web base interface or a graphical interface to administer their system because there is less chance of error.

CRM
Customer Resource Management systems usually run on database servers because they are database intensive applications. While there are some web based CRM systems most are not web based and therefore require a special client to connect to the system. CRM systems are used to manage issues with customers to make sure no one is left unhappy.
Database
A database is a collection of data in tables and rows arranged in such a way that searching and retrieving the data is quick.

Dedicated Server
The Dedicated Hosting environment provides an exclusive server or servers devoted solely to your web site. You do not share a server with other customers, as with shared hosting.

DNS
The domain name system (DNS) is the way that Internet domain names are located and translated into Internet Protocol addresses. A domain name is a meaningful and easy-to-remember "handle" for an Internet address.

DSL
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is a technology for bringing high-bandwidth information to homes and small businesses over ordinary copper telephone lines.

ERP
Enterprise Resource Planning systems usually run on database servers much like CRM systems because they are database intensive applications. Much like CRM systems, ERP systems are not usually web based either and require a special client to connect to the application. ERP systems are used to help companies manage their resources from money to personnel to make the most of what they have.

File System
A system of storing files on the hard drive and in this case the files are stored in such a way that only your account(s) have access to them. This is more secure than shared hosting where everyone is on the same file system and could go look in other areas where they should not be.

GNU General Public License
An agreement by the author of certain software to offer his or her software for free, and to abide by the stipulations of copyleft. Specifically, the copyleft philosophy stipulates that anyone redistributing free software must also pass along the freedom to further copy and change the program, thereby ensuring that no one can claim ownership of future versions and place restrictions on users.

Groupware
Groupware refers to programs that help people work together collectively while located remotely from each other. Groupware services can include the sharing of calendars, collective writing, e-mail handling, shared database access, electronic meetings with each person able to see and display information to others, and other activities.

HTML
The markup language used to define what a web page looks like including text, colors, and images.

IP Address
In the most widely installed level of the Internet Protocol (IP) today, an IP address is a 32-bit number that identifies each sender or receiver of information that is sent in packets across the Internet.
Rack mount - Much professional video, audio, and computer equipment can be mounted in standardized 19" racks. Rack dimensions are often given in "rack units."
Uptime - Uptime is a computer industry term for the time during which a computer is operational. Downtime is the time when it isn't operational. Uptime is sometimes measured in terms of a percentile. For example, one standard for uptime that is sometimes discussed is a goal called five 9s - that is, a computer that is operational 99.999 percent of the time.

IIS
IIS (Internet Information Server) is a Web server built for the Windows operating system.

Kernel
The kernel is the essential center of a computer operating system, the core that provides basic services for all other parts of the operating system.

MCSA
Microsoft Certified Systems Administrators (MCSAs) administer network and systems environments based on the Microsoft Windows® platforms.

MCSE
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers (MCSEs) analyze business requirements to design and implement an infrastructure solution based on the Windows platform and Microsoft Servers software.

Merchant Account
An account setup so that a business can accept payments for products or services with by credit card.

Mirrored Drives
Drive mirroring (also known as RAID-1) is the practice of duplicating data in separate volumes on two hard disks to make storage more fault-tolerant. Mirroring provides data protection in the case of disk failure, because data is constantly updated to both disks.

MS SQL
“The enterprise relational database management and analysis system” as Microsoft calls it. Microsoft’s SQL server runs on the Windows operating system.

MySQL
“The world’s most popular open source database” as they say. MySQL does not have all the features the other database servers have but because it leaves out a few features it tends to be faster than some of the other database servers.

PC Anywhere
PC Anywhere is a software program available for the Windows operating system that allows a remote computer to take virtual control of another computer, as if the user were sitting at the remote computer itself.

PERL
Perl is a script programming language that is similar in syntax to the C language and that includes a number of popular Unix facilities.

PHP
In Web programming, PHP is a script language and interpreter that is freely available and used primarily on Linux Web servers.

Root
This is the super user, or the user with control over everything, on a computer system. This user can do anything they want on the computer system from installing software to deleting everything on a system.

Scripting Language
The tool used by a web developer to build interactivity into a website.

Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is Web hosting in which the service provider serves pages for multiple Web sites, each having its own Internet domain name, from a single Web server. Most web hosting companies provide shared hosting. Although shared hosting is a less expensive way for businesses to create a Web presence, it is usually not sufficient for Web sites with high traffic.

Shopping Cart
Shopping cart software is software that allows the owner of the web site to easily add new items to their store without any programming. The software also allows users of the site to easily add multiple items to their list of items they want to buy and then checkout with all items at once.

SPAM
Spam is unsolicited e-mail on the Internet. From the sender's point-of-view, it's a form of bulk mail, often to a list culled from subscribers to a Usenet discussion group or obtained by companies that specialize in creating e-mail distribution lists. To the receiver, it usually seems like junk e-mail. In general, it's not considered good netiquette to send Spam. It's generally equivalent to unsolicited phone marketing calls except that the user pays for part of the message since everyone shares the cost of maintaining the Internet.

SSL
Stands for “Secure Socket Layer” which is a web security protocol used to protect data being sent between the web browser to the web server.

Unmanaged Hosting
Unmanaged Hosting is for customers who have extensive system administration expertise to maintain and manage their dedicated servers. This option generally provides customers with full access to their server allowing them to customize configurations.

Uptime
Uptime is a computer industry term for the time during which a computer is operational. Downtime is the time when it isn't operational. Uptime is sometimes measured in terms of a percentile. For example, one standard for uptime that is sometimes discussed is a goal called five 9s - that is, a computer that is operational 99.999 percent of the time.

Virtual Terminal
This is a web-based interface for processing credit cards.

VNC
VNC stands for Virtual Network Computing. It is, in essence, a remote display system which allows you to view a computing 'desktop' environment not only on the machine where it is running, but from anywhere on the Internet and from a wide variety of machine architectures. In essence, VNC is a freely available application that offers similar capabilities of PC Anywhere. VNC is available for several platforms, including Windows and several flavors of Unix and Linux.