Bandwidth

The amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time.

Broadband

A type of data transmission in which a single medium (optical wire) can carry several channels at once. Cable TV, for example, uses broadband transmission. In contrast, baseband transmission allows only one signal at a time.

Co-Location

A server, usually a Web server, that is located at a dedicated facility designed with resources which include regulated power, dedicated Internet connection, security and support. These co-location facilities offer the customer a secure place to physically house their hardware and equipment as opposed to locating it in their offices or warehouse where the potential for fire, theft or vandalism is much greater. Most co-location facilities offer high-security, including cameras, fire detection and extinguishing devices, multiple connection feeds, filtered power, backup power generators and other items to ensure high-availability which is mandatory for all Web-based, virtual businesses. Co-location sites are being erected at various points around the world to provide services to the rapidly expanding Web hosting and e-commerce marketplace. The term co-location is also known as colo.

Dev Site

A dev site is secondary web site (host header) where web development takes place before it is published to a live domain. A dev site provides redundancy to the primary domain and private development space.

Domain Name

A name that identifies one or more IP addresses. For example, the domain name microsoft.com represents about a dozen IP addresses. Domain names are used in URLs to identify particular Web pages. For example, in the URL http://www.netalberta.com the domain name is netalberta.com.

FTP

File Transfer Protocol, the protocol for exchanging files over the Internet. FTP works in the same way as HTTP for transferring Web pages from a server to a user's browser and SMTP for transferring electronic mail across the Internet in that, like these technologies, FTP uses the Internet's TCP/IP protocols to enable data transfer. FTP is most commonly used to download a file from a server using the Internet or to upload a file to a server (e.g., uploading a Web page file to a server)

Hop

An intermediate connection in a string of connections linking two network devices. On the Internet, for example, most data packets need to go through several routers before they reach their final destination. Each time the packet is forwarded to the next router, a hop occurs. The more hops, the longer it takes for data to go from source to destination. You can see how many hops it takes to get to another Internet host by using the PING or traceroute utilities. Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) advertise how many hops away from Internet backbone they are. Theoretically, the fewer hops it takes to get your data onto the backbone, the faster your access will be.

HTML

Short for HyperText Markup Language, the authoring language used to create documents on the World Wide Web.

IP Address

An identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP network. Networks using the TCP/IP protocol route messages based on the IP address of the destination.

ISP

Short for Internet Service Provider, a company that provides internet services.

Java

Developed by Sun Microsystems, Java is a programming language that is specifically designed for writing programs that can be safely downloaded to your computer through the Internet. Using small Java programs (Applets), Web pages can include functions such as animations, calculators, and other fancy tricks.

Javascript

A scripting language for Web pages. Scripts written with JavaScript can be embedded into HTML documents. With JavaScript, you have many possibilities for enhancing your Web page with interesting elements.

JPEG/JPG

(Joint Photographic Experts Group). A compressed graphics format for images. Jpegs can be used on the World Wide Web.

LISTSERV

A software program for setting up and maintaining e-mail discussion groups.

Ping

A utility to determine whether a specific IP address is accessible. It works by sending a packet to the specified address and waiting for a reply. PING is used primarily to troubleshoot Internet connections. The names comes from the sound that a sonar makes.

POP

(Post Office Protocol). The protocol used by mail clients to retrieve messages from a mail server.

Style Sheets

In web design, a style sheet defines the layout of a document’s pages. When you create a style sheet, you specify such parameters as the page size, margins, and fonts. Style sheets are useful because you can use the same style sheet for many pages.

Spider

Also called wanderers or robots (bots), spiders are programs that search the Internet for new, publicly accessible resources such as Web pages and files in public FTP archives. Spiders contribute their discoveries to a database, which Internet users can search by using search engines such as Lycos or WebCrawler.

SQL

(Structured Query Language). The standardized query language for requesting information from a database.

SSL

Secure Sockets Layer, SSL is a protocol developed by Netscape for transmitting private documents via the Internet. SSL works by using a private key to encrypt data that's transferred over the SSL connection. Both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer support SSL, and many Web sites use the protocol to obtain confidential user information, such as credit card numbers. By convention, URLs that require an SSL connection start with https: instead of http:

URL

Abbreviation of Uniform Resource Locator, the global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web. The first part of the address indicates what protocol to use, and the second part specifies the IP address or the domain name where the resource is located

Virus

A program which replicates itself on computer systems by incorporating itself into other programs that are shared among computer systems. Viruses vary, and can be harmless or completely debilitating to a computer system.

WHOIS

A means of looking up names in a remote database. Used initially as an aid for finding e-mail addresses for people at large institutions or companies.

XML

Short for Extensible Markup Language, a specification developed by the W3C. XML is a pared-down version of SGML, designed especially for Web documents. It allows designers to create their own customized tags, enabling the definition, transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and between organizations.

Java

Developed by Sun Microsystems, Java is a programming language that is specifically designed for writing programs that can be safely downloaded to your computer through the Internet. Using small Java programs (Applets), Web pages can include functions such as animations, calculators, and other fancy tricks.

Javascript

A scripting language for Web pages. Scripts written with JavaScript can be embedded into HTML documents. With JavaScript, you have many possibilities for enhancing your Web page with interesting elements.