116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Tech Talk: Terms
Michael Chevy Castranova
Dec. 8, 2011 2:54 pm
I have managed companies in five totally different industries. One thing every industry has in common is their own jargon.
I quickly found that the only way to understand what is essentially a new dialect was to make my own lists of key words and phrases.
I am sure that many of you have heard the technology terms below and have some level of understanding of them. For many of you, the terms may have inferred meanings and are thus a little fuzzy.
The purpose of the column today is to provide some clarity to a few of the most common terms.
Network - This is the commonly used term for a collection of 2 or more devices that communicate with each other. Ethernet is the most common type of computer network. It usually uses 4 pairs of twisted wires making up the cable (usually blue) that connects computers and other devices within a specific area.
This is also called a local-area network or a LAN.
DNS - This stands for domain name system, the phone book of the Internet. This system converts human names for addresses (such as www.google.com) into a numerical format (such as 74.125.47.103).
Servers are used to assign the IP addresses, then map them so that they can be found.
IP - This stands for Internet protocol. It is the standard for transmitting data and voice over the Internet.
It includes size of the data packets and their encoding. An IP address identifies the end devices, or nodes, participating in a computer network.
Every computer and printer, for instance, has an IP address associated with it.
Firewall - This is a device that stops unauthorized, inbound access to a network while allowing proper outbound communications. Sets of rules are used to govern access and traffic.
Software for spam filtering, virus protection and content filtering are often installed on firewalls. A firewall is also often a router. (See next item.)
Router - This device can forward traffic from one type of network to another. Your Internet cable, for instance, goes through a router that connects the public Internet signal to the private network in your office or home.
A router is not a firewall, but can be part of one.
Switch - A switch connects network segments and devices. Switches are often referred to as hubs, which they function as but are more intelligent.
POE switch - This is a switch that allows electrical power to be delivered to devices on the network. This means that certain devices plugged into the network, such as VoIP phones and IP cameras, do not need their own power.
Server - This has become a near meaningless term, although everyone continues to use it for lack of a better one.
A “server” was once a computer dedicated to providing (serving) other computers (clients) with a specific application, such as email. Now one machine can be used to perform multiple server functions, including hosting other servers. (See below.)
Virtual server - Using sophisticated software and configurations, one computer can simultaneously function as several different computers on a network. This technology allows one physical computer to perform what used to take several computers.
Need I say that this is definitely your “green” way to go?
Remote desktop - This is a term to describe software that allows the user to work on a computer that is physically remote. This can be so transparent that the user often forgets that the computer is not her or his own, dedicated desktop.
Remote desktop software is now available for smartphones. Run your computer in your office from your phone.
Thin client - This is a computer workstation that typically does not even have a hard drive and depends upon a server to provide the applications and data to allow a user to use the work station in a remote desktop “session.” When the work is done, the user is signed off and is then available for another user.
It is “thin” because it does not need a full operating system and requires little processing power.
VPN - Virtual private network technology is used with the public Internet as a way to have a secure link between two locations without leasing lines.
VPN tunnel - This technology allows your in-house network to be linked to networks at remote sites. This allows the remote sites to securely use the company's internal network in real time.
FTP/SFTP - A file transfer protocol site is where documents are stored and shared within a company or between companies. These are sometimes used by different companies to share versions of work and files. A secure version of FTP - SFTP - is preferable, as FTP is not very secure.