Introduction
This document provides a gross description of internet terms that
may be unfamiliar to MS Windows users. These descriptions are not
definitive definitions, just general descriptions to get you started.
This is a work in progress.
If you have corrections or suggested additions to this document, send them to webmaster@graphcomp.com.
Visit the Internet Spec List for a list of official Internet protocols and specifications.
- ARP - Address Resolution Protocol - a standard internet protocol for resolving hardware addresses from IP addresses
- ATM - Asynchronous Transmission Mode - a new, high speed alternative to ISDN
- Archie - an internet protocol that facilitates queries for files distributed on the internet
- Client - a program (often on your local machine) that provides access to a server
- Domain Name - a standard internet naming scheme that supports heirachical host names
- DNS - Domain Name Service - a standard internet protocol for resolving host names and IP addresses
- Encryption - a method of obscuring data from unauthorized access - secure data has varying expected lifespans based on the encryption technology used
- Firewall - the establishment of procedures that eliminate unauthorized access to a network
- FTP - File Transfer Protocol - a standard internet protocol for transferring files between machines
- Gopher - an internet protocol for presenting the Web in tabular, mostly textual, form
- Guaranteed - in terms of packet delivery, this indicates that the packets will be received in the order sent, and the sender is notified if data fails to be trasnferred
- HTML - HyperText Markup Language - the standard document/data format used in HTTP
- HTTP - HyperText Transport Protocol - a standard WWW protocol for presenting the Web as a document with graphics and imbedded links to data
- Internet - the informal web of interconnecting networks spanning the globe
- IP - Internet Protocol - often associated with the standard addressing format used on the internet
- ISDN - Integrated Switched Ditigal Network
- LAN - Local Area Network - a local network generally interconnected via network cards and cable
- Mosaic - a NCSA HTTP client that facilitates browsing of the internet
- NCSA - National Center for Supercomputing Applications - a driving force behind some early WWW development
- News Groups - internet-based bulletin boards facilitating the posting/reading of messages along a given topic
- NNTP - Network News Transport Protocol - an internet standard protocol for sending/receiving newsgroup messages
- Octet - 8 bits - another name for a byte; generally used in IP specifications
- POP - Post Office Protocol - a standard internet protocol requesting email from a mail box
- POP - Point Of Presence - phone numbers used by a internet service providers to give users modem access to the internet
- PPP - Point-to-Point Protocol - a standard modem interface to an internet host, with error correction and packet header compression
- Private Key - a privately known key that may be used to encrypt data
- Protocol - a specification for how data may be passed from one process to another
- Public Key - a publicly known key that may be used in conjunction with a private key to encrypt data targetted for reception by owner of the public key
- RARP - Reverse Address Resolution Protocol - a standard internet protocol for resolving IP addresses from hardware addresses
- RFC - Request For Comment - a document standard for many internet protocols
- Secure - internet packets can be intercepted; bogus packets can be fabricated. A secure network attempts to minimize unauthhorized access to its data pathways
- Server - a program (often running on a remote host) that provides some sort of service via a standard protocol
- Signature - known data that is encrypted through a key. Decryption can be used to validate the authenticity of the signature.
- SLIP - Serial Line Interface Protocol - a standard modem interface to an internet host
- SMTP - Simple Mail Transport Protocol - a standard internet protocol for sending email to a mail box
- SNMP - Simple Network Management Protocol - a standard internet protocol used in event notification and resource management
- Socket - a mechanism used by an program to send/recieve packets to another location
- TCP - Transmission Control Protocol - a standard internet protocol based on UDP used in guaranteed, connection-based data transport
- Telnet - a standard internet protocol based on TCP used for textual, terminal-style server access
- UDP - User Datagram Protocol - a standard internet protocol used to deliver packets between networking nodes
- Winsock - a standard interface used for accessing sockets in MS Windows
- VRML (pronounced "vermal") - Virtual Reality Modeling Language - a 3D analog to HTML
- WWW or simply The Web - distributed internet servers that provide gateways to information/data/files
For more information on GraphComp's web site, email webmaster@graphcomp.com.