Glossary
Library
This page contains terms and definitions related to computing and the Internet.
This is a glossary of acronyms and technical terms related to CITES services and computing in general. This page is still very much in progress. If there are terms you would like to see here, please email cites-webmaster@illinois.edu.
Here are a few other online computing glossaries you might find useful:
FOLDOC: The Free Online Dictionary of Computing
The Internet Acronym Server
Webopedia: Online Computing Dictionary
A
Address resolution
Conversion of an Internet address to the corresponding physical
address. On an ethernet, resolution requires broadcasting
on the local area network.
Administrative Information Technology
Services (AITS)
The organization that provides information technology systems
and services to support administrative processes for all three
campuses of the University of Illinois.
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)
Former name of DARPA, the government agency that funded ARPAnet
and later the DARPA Internet.
AITS
See Administrative Information Technology
Services.
Antivirus software
A software package that prevents computer viruses from
damaging or destroying your computer system. Antivirus software
may also repair your system should a virus attack it. It is
important to keep the software current as new viruses appear
every day.
ARPA
See Advanced Research Projects Agency
ARPAnet
The prototype for the Internet, first implemented in 1969
at UCLA, Stanford, and, later, at the University of Utah.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
A network technology based on transferring data in cells
or packets of a fixed size. The cell used with ATM is relatively
small compared to units used with older technologies. The
small, constant cell size allows ATM equipment to transmit
video, audio, and computer data over the same network, and
assure that no single type of data hogs the line.
Current implementations of ATM support data transfer rates of from 25 to 622 Mbps (megabits per second). This compares to a maximum of 100 Mbps for Ethernet, the current technology used for most LANs.
ATM creates a fixed channel, or route, between two points whenever data transfer begins. This differs from TCP/IP, in which messages are divided into packets and each packet can take a different route from source to destination. This difference makes it easier to track and bill data usage across an ATM network, but it makes it less adaptable to sudden surges in network traffic.
When purchasing ATM service, you generally have a choice of four different types of service:
- Constant Bit Rate (CBR) specifies a fixed bit rate so that data is sent in a steady stream. This is analogous to a leased line.
- Variable Bit Rate (VBR) provides a specified throughput capacity but data is not sent evenly. This is a popular choice for voice and videoconferencing data.
- Unspecified Bit Rate (UBR) does not guarantee any throughput levels. This is used for applications, such as file transfer, that can tolerate delays.
- Available Bit Rate (ABR) provides a guaranteed minimum capacity but allows data to be bursted at higher capacities when the network is free.
ATM
See Asynchronous Transfer Mode.
B
Banner
A packaged Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software product
that is used by the University to support a variety of student
administration, human resources, and finance functions, including
accounting, purchasing, student registration, new hires, and
payroll. It forms the core of the UI-Integrate system. See UI-Integrate.
Note that Banner is maintained by AITS and not by CITES.
BIOS
Basic Input/Output System. The built-in software that helps
your system start up and contains the code required to control
the keyboard, display screen, disk drives, and other functions.
Your computer must successfully run its BIOS software before
it starts your operating system (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc).
Bluestem
A software system (developed by CITES) that enables one or
more high-security SSL HTTP servers in a domain (entrusted
with handling user passwords) to provide reliable client identification
for applications running on other authorized SSL HTTP servers
within the domain.
BSD
Berkeley Software Distribution of Unix. It was the first commercial
version of Unix.
C
Cabling Installation and Maintenance Services (CIMS)
A group within CITES that installs cabling infrastructure within campus buildings and maintains the external infrastructure between buildings, providing customers with installation and maintenance for voice services and wired and wireless data connectivity.
Campus Information Technologies and
Educational Services (CITES)
An organization responsible for the telephone and computer
networks, information technology services, and educational
technologies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
CCSO
See Computing and Communications Services
Office
CCSP (Computer Consultant Support Program)
Center for Educational Technology (CET)
Former name of CITES Educational Technologies
CET
See Center for Educational Technology
Chief Information Officer (CIO)
Paula T. Kaufman is the Interim CIO. The CIO's Office works with the campus community
to develop visions and strategies for information and educational
technologies at UIUC.
CIDR
See Classless Inter-Domain Routing
CIMS
See Cable Installation and Maintenance Services
CIO
See Chief Information Officer
CITES
See Campus Information Technologies and Educational
Services
CITES Data Access / Information Security Compliance Form
Official form for requesting access to data owned by Campus
Information and Educational Technologies (CITES), available
as downloadable PDF file.
CITES Help Desk
Located in 1211 Digital Computer Laboratory, the CITES Help
Desk provides assistance in computing to faculty and staff.
They help with CITES network accounts, dialup networking,
E-mail clients, productivity applications, disk and file restoration,
virus removal, and software installation.
Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR)
(This information is of special interest to network administrators.)
CIDR notation: A shorter way of indicating a netmask. Since
all netmasks are solid strings of 1s followed by solid strings
of 0s, such as 11111111.11111111.11111110.00000000, the CIDR
notation gives the number of 1s in the netmask, indicated
by the number which follows the / character in the notation.
For example, /23 indicates the subnet mask of 255.255.254.0,
which is given in binary above; this netmask describes a group
of 512 machines. Possible CIDR values range from /0 (netmask
0.0.0.0, a string of 32 0s, which includes the entire range
of IP addresses) to /32 (netmask 255.255.255.255, a string
of 32 1s, which includes a single machine).
The /# notation usually follows the IP address of the machine that begins the range the netmask applies to. For example, the notation 192.168.0.32 /28 would indicate the range of 16 machines from 192.168.0.32 to 192.168.0.47. However, it can also follow the number of any machine within that range. If a machine is described as 192.168.0.36 /28, that information says that the netmask is 255.255.255.240, and because of the possible ways that subnets can be divided, it must belong to the block from 32 to 47 if its final number is 36 and it has been assigned the /28 netmask.
Client
The user of a network service; also used to describe a computer
that relies upon another for some or all of its resources.
Compression
A means by which information can be encoded such that the
encoded information is more concise than the unencoded information.
Compression can be lossless (meaning that no information is
lost by the compression and decompression process) or lossy
(some information may be lost). There are numerous compression
techniques for both data transmission and storage (file compression),
some of which are standardized.
Computer Consultant Support Program
(CCSP)
A group that sponsors a mailing list and periodic on-campus
conferences to provide technical support to campus system
and network administrators.
Computing and Communications Services
Office (CCSO)
CCSO no longer exists as such, and its services have been
integrated into CITES.
Cross-platform
The capability of software or hardware to run identically
on different platforms. Many applications for Windows and
Macintosh, for example, now produce binary-compatible files,
which means that users can switch from one platform to another
without converting the data to a new format.
D
Departmental User Services (DUS)
Previous name of Departmental Services.
Departmental Services (DS)
Provides technical support, strategic technology planning,
and many computing resources to over 90 departments, schools,
and colleges.
Disassembling
Converting a binary program into human-readable machine language
code.
DNS
See Domain Name System
Domain Name
A name that identifies one or more IP addresses. For example,
the uiuc.edu domain is used by the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign. Within that domain are distinct hostnames
(such as argus.cites.uiuc.edu) that point to individual computers
on the campus network. [Alternate: In the URL http://www.cites.illinois.edu/,
the domain name is uiuc.edu.] See Also: Domain Name
Service, Hostname, IP Address.
Domain Name Server, Domain Name Service, Domain Name
System (DNS)
A facility that maps IP addresses (e.g., 128.174.5.58) to
hostnames (e.g., argus.cites.uiuc.edu) and vice versa. CITES
maintains DNS servers that anyone on campus can use, plus
a few departments maintain their own name servers. See Also:
Domain Name, Hostname, IP address.
DS
See Departmental Services
E
Electronic Industries Association (EIA) US trade organization that issues its own standards and contributes to ANSI. Membership includes US manufacturers.
Email Paging
A service that accepts email for NetID@pager.uiuc.edu and
sends the text of the email to the pager number found in the
pager field of NetID's entry in the UIUC Electronic Directory.
Emoticon
:-) This odd symbol is one of the ways a person
can portray "mood" in the very flat medium of computers--by
using "smilies." This is `metacommunication', and there are
literally hundreds of them, from the obvious to the obscure.
This particular example expresses "happiness." Don't see it?
Tilt your head to the left 90 degrees. Smilies are also used
to denote sarcasm.
Encap
Encap allows Unix users to install software in separate directories
while still making them accessible from the traditional usr/local
location in the directory tree.
Encryption
The translation of data into a secret code. To read an encrypted file, you must have access to a secret key or password that enables you to decrypt it.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
An integrated system to provide student, financial, and
human resources administration facilities.
ERP
See Enterprise Resource Planning
Ethernet
A technology that interconnects computers into a high-speed
network originally developed by Xerox Corporation. Ethernet
is widely used for LANs because it can network a wide variety
of computers, it is not proprietary, and components are widely
available from many commercial sources.
For more information, visit Charles Spurgeon's Ethernet Web Site at http://www.ethermanage.com/ethernet/ethernet.html.
*Extensible Markup Language (XML)
A system for organizing elements of web documents. XML
allows designers a great deal of flexibility in defining how
the information should be formatted.
F
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
The Internet standard high-level protocol for transferring
files from one computer to another.
Filtering
A method by which incoming electronic mail can be redirected
to locations other than your inbox.
Freeware
Software that is distributed free of charge by the author.
FTP
See File Transfer Protocol.
G
H
Hostname
A convenient method of identifying computers using DNS
to map a unique name to an IP address.
HP-UX
Hewlett Packard implementation of Unix that incorporates BSD and System V.
HTML
Web pages are written in the HyperText Markup Language,
or HTML. A reference guide to working with HTML can be found
at: http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/ .
HTTP
See Hypertext Transfer Protocol
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
-
The protocol used to transmit Web pages and their graphics/new,
sounds, etc. across the Internet. Whenever you go to a Web
page, your browser sends an HTTP request to that Web site's
HTTP daemon, or server.
I
ICS
See Instructional Computing Services
IlliCall
Telephone service for students in University Residence Halls
(URH) and long-distance access cards for all students.
Illinois Directory (ID)
The University's online directory of student and staff
contact information. Formerly the Electronic Directory (ED).
Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)
A standard method of communication between a store of messages
and a client program that displays and manages them.
Instructional Computing Services (ICS)
The public computing labs of the University of Illinois.
ICS provides instructional support to the faculty and students
at the University through computer classrooms and public sites.
Internet Protocol (IP)
Internet Protocol is a standardized method of transporting
information across the Internet in packets of data. It is
often linked to Transmission Control Protocol, which assembles
the packets once they have been delivered to the intended
location.
Internet Protocol Address (IP
Address)
"Internet or IP addresses are used by networking
software to identify machines. An IP address is four bytes
or more properly octets (since they are eight bits, and bytes
are not guaranteed to be eight bits); each byte is interpreted
as either defining the network address or the host address
on that network. The network portion is denoted by N; the
host portion by H. There are thrfee primary address classes:
class A of the form N.H.H.H. Class B of the form N.N.H.H,
and Class C of the form N.N.N.H. The N portions of an address
are assigned by the NIC, and the H portions are up to the
local site to assign." (Nemeth, Evi, Garth Snyder, and
Scott Seebass. Unix System Administrator's Handbook.
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1989)
On the Internet, it is necessary that each IP address be unique, and so IP addresses on computers connected to the internet must be registered. Internet addresses are distributed by a company called InterNIC. Because there are a finite number of IP addresses, and eventually they will al be used up, IP addresses are being replaced by a system called CIDR.
You can visit InterNIC's Website at http://www.internic.com/.
Internet Service Provider (ISP)
A company or organization that provides Internet access
for users. (An ISP can provide dialup, broadband, wireless,
and/or other forms of Internet access.)
IP
See Internet Protocol
IP address
See Internet Protocol Address
IRIS
IRIS is a Web application allowing Network Administrators
to configure the ports on the switches in their buildings.
J
K
Kerberos
A centrally managed network-based authentication system, originally
developed at MIT but used extensively around the world. Locally,
it is used to authenticate users of services such as Bluestem.
L
LAN
See Local Area Network
LDAP
See Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
(LDAP)
A universal set of protocols for accessing database information.
LDAP is frequently used for consistency in situations where
a variety of vendor applications must access a database.
Listserv
Software that manages electronic mailing lists available
to affiliates of UIUC.
Local Area Network (LAN)
Any physical network technology that operates at high
speed over short distances (up to a few thousand meters).
Lynx
A text-only Web browser. For more information, see http://lynx.browser.org/.
M
Mail Relay
A computer that routes mail to its destination. The University's
mail relays are separate from the data
servers where mail is actually stored.
Massmail
University-authorized mass email distribution.
N
NDO
See Network Design Office
NetID
See Network Identification
NetFiles
A service providing storage of electronic files and
personal web page hosting for faculty, staff, and students,
and access to those files from anywhere.
Network Design Office (NDO)
A group in CITES that provides consultation, design, and
implementation of Local Area Networks (LANs) in campus-related
buildings.
Network Identification (NetID)
A name used to identify you on the campus network, your NetID
is unique. It is used in combination with your Kerberos password
to identify you for various campus services.
Network Time Protocol (NTP)
CITES provides NTP (Network Time Protocol) servers that can
be used to synchronize the time of other computers on campus.
Configure your system to use ntp.uiuc.edu, which will resolve
(randomly) to one of CITES's three Stratum-2 time providers.
If you're interested in general information on NTP, you can find an overview, history, and other interesting references at http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~ntp/ntpfaq/NTP-a-faq.htm.
NovaNet
Computer-aided instrution tool for students and faculty.
NTP
See Network Time Protocol
O
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
Formerly a CITES service, the online OED was retired on
Monday, August 6, 2001. New enhanced OED access is
available:
- On campus: http://dictionary.oed.com/entrance.dtl
- Off campus: http://www.library.uiuc.edu/proxy/go.asp?url=http://dictionary.oed.com/
P
Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
A handheld device that combines computing, telephone/fax,
and networking features. A typical PDA can function as a cellular
phone, fax sender, and personal organizer. Many PDAs incorporate
handwriting and/or voice recognition features. PDAs also are
called palmtops, handheld computers, and pocket computers.
Post Office Protocol (POP)
A protocol used to retrieve email from an email server.
POP3, a newer version, can be used with or without SMTP.
POP is also used to indicate the action of transferring email
from your inbox on your mail server to your inbox on your
desktop client, as in "If you POP your email..."
Protocol
A protocol is a standardized means of communication among
machines across a network. Protocols allow data to be taken
apart for faster transmission, transmitted, and then reassembled
at the destination in the correct order. The protocol used
determines the way errors are checked, the type of compression,
the way the sender indicates the end of the transmission,
and the way the receiver indicates that the message has been
received. Protocols can describe low-level details of machine-to-machine
interfaces (e.g., the order in which bits and bytes are sent
across a wire) or high-level exchanges between allocation
programs (e.g., the way in which two programs transfer a file
across the Internet).
Q
Quota
An established amount of space allocated to a user
on a network for data storage (for file storage, email storage,
and Web page storage). A quota allows system resources to
be shared efficiently and prevents the host machine from running
out of disk space.
R
RC
See Resource Center
Resource Center (RC)
The old name for the CITES Help Desk.
S
Secure Shell (SSH)
Secure Shell is a program which allows an individual to remotely
log in to another computer on the Internet. SSH provides more
security by encoding (encrypting) certain data, including
your password, preventing would-be hackers from stealing it.
SSH is now widely used for remote logins.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
A security protocol that provides communications privacy
over the Internet. The protocol allows client/server applications
to communicate in a way that is designed to prevent eavesdropping,
tampering, or message forgery.
Secure Web server/site
A server/site on the Internet which uses various means
of authentication to verify a user accessing private or personal
data.
Server A computer that shares its resources, such as printers and files, with other computers on the network. An example of this is a Web, or HTTP server, which serves Web pages to other computers.
Shared Ethernet
The traditional type of Ethernet, in which all hosts are
connected to the same bus and compete with one another for
bandwidth. In contrast, a switched Ethernet has one or more
direct, point-to-point connections between hosts or segments.
Devices connected to the Ethernet with a switch do not compete
with each other and therefore have dedicated bandwidth.
Shareware
Software that is openly distributed, but requires users
to pay a modest registration fee to the author.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) The Internet standard protocol for transferring electronic mail messages from one computer to another. SMTP specifies how two mail systems interact and the format of control messages they exchange to transfer mail.
Site licensed software
Software that, through an agreement with software manufacturers,
can be distributed at reduced prices or for free, but has
more stringent use limitations than full-price software (e.g.,
some licenses state that the software can be used at UIUC
only).
Sniffer
A program and/or device that monitors data traveling over
a network. Sniffers can be used both for legitimate network
management functions and for stealing information off a network.
Unauthorized sniffers can be extremely dangerous to a network's
security because they are virtually impossible to detect and
can be inserted almost anywhere. This makes them a favorite
weapon in the hacker's arsenal.
On TCP/IP networks, where they sniff packets, they're often called packet sniffers.
Spam
Unwanted email sent to multiple strangers, generally for
the purpose orf advertising. For more information see the
site CAUCE (Coalition Against Unwanted Email) (http://www.cauce.org/)
Often Spam is made to appear as if it is sent from a server
other than the one it was sent from.
SSH
See Secure Shell
SSL
See Secure Sockets Layer
Status Server
A web application that provides timely information on
outages, planned maintenance, and service announcements for
users of central computing and network facilities.
Student Computing Resources for Excellence
in Education (SCORE)
Aids University students, faculty and staff in locating software,
computing facilities, and documentation.
Switched Ethernet
An Ethernet LAN that uses switches to connect individual
hosts or segments. In the case of individual hosts, the switch
replaces the repeater and effectively gives the device full
10 Mbps bandwidth (or 100 Mbps for Fast Ethernet) to the rest
of the network. This type of network is sometimes called a
desktop switched Ethernet. In the case of segments, the hub
is replaced with a switching hub.
Traditional Ethernets, in which all hosts compete for the same bandwidth, are called shared Ethernets. Switched Ethernets are becoming very popular because they are an effective and convenient way to extend the bandwidth of existing Ethernets.
System V
AT&T's version of Unix. Created in 1969 by Dennis Ritchie
and Kenneth Thompson at AT&T's Bell Laboratories, this
is the first commercial implementation AT&T provided.
T
TCP/IP
See Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol
TIA
See Telecommunications Industry Association
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) US organization that specifies minimum requirements for telecommunications cabling within an office. TIA has recommendations for topology and distances, media parameters which determine performance, connectors and pin assignments (to ensure inter-connectivity), and demands that the useful life of telecommunications cabling systems be in excess of 10 years.
Telnet The Internet standard protocol for remote terminal connection service. Telnet allows a user at one site to interact with a remote timesharing system at another site as if the user's terminal were connected directly to the remote computer
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP): A set of protocols, resulting from ARPA efforts, used by the Internet to support services such as remote login (telnet), file transfer (FTP) and mail (SMTP).
U
UFAS
University Financial and Administrative Systems
UI-Integrate
The University of Illinois multi-year project to implement
integrated ERP software for the areas of student, finance,
and human resources. The project is under the auspices of
AITS, and will replace many existing administrative applications,
such as UI Direct, Payroll, and UFAS. For more information,
see http://www.ui-integrate.uillinois.edu/ .
UIUCnet
The campus-wide network at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
connecting nearly every departmental or college building on
campus, available to faculty, staff, and students.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
Commonly referred to as a web address. For example, the URL
for CITES's home page is http://www.cites.illinois.edu.
Unix
now a trademark of X/Open Company Ltd., is a powerful computer
operating system originally developed by AT&T Bell Laboratories.
URHnet
The University Residence Hall (URH) ethernet network.
V
W
Walkup Computing
A service that allows UIUC affiliates to connect a laptop
to the campus network in a Walkup-equipped location after
authentication.
Web-based Distributed Authoring and
Versioning (WebDAV)
A set of extensions to the HTTP protocol
that allows users to collaboratively edit and manage files
on remote web servers. WebDAV is the protocol used by CITES
NetFiles.
WebDAV
See Web-based Distributed Authoring and
Versioning.
Workstation A networked personal computing device with more power than a standard IBM PC or Macintosh. Typically, a workstation has an operating system such as unix that is capable of running several tasks at the same time. It has several megabytes of memory and a large, high-resolution display. Examples are Sun workstations and Digital DECstations.
Workstation Services Group (WSG)
For Unix workstation users, WSG provides system administration
support and software distribution/technical support.
WSG
See Workstation Services Group
X
XML
See Extensible Markup Language