Glossary RD Glossary
- Address
- Unique identifier of a web page. URL (Uniformed Resource Locator) is more frequently used for this purpose.
- ASP
- Active Server Pages. ASP is Microsoft's server-side scripting technology. An Active Server Page has an .asp extension and it mixes HTML and scripting code that can be written in VBScript or JScript. ASP is distributed with Microsoft's IIS web server, so most host using IIS will also offer ASP for dynamic web programming. ASP.NET is the next version of ASP. Other popular server-side scripting languages are Perl, PHP, ColdFusion, TCL, Python, and JSP.
- Availability (Uptime)
- Refers to the amount of time within a 24 hour period a system is active or available for servicing requests. For example, if a hosting company says it is available 99.9% of the time, they are claiming that your web site will up all the time except for about 8 seconds each day. Over the course of a year, in this example, the hosting company is claiming that your site will only be unavailable (couldn't surf to it) for 48 hours.
- Backups
- Web hosts back up data on their servers. Many host packages offer backups every 24 hours. This is supposed to prevent the loss of data should something happen to the server.
- Bandwidth
- A data transmission rate; the maximum amount of information (bits/second) that can be transmitted along a channel.
- Broadcast
- Sending a packet to all machines on the network.
- Browser
- Computer program that allows to search the World Wide Web and displays the content of the webpages. Examples are Mosaic, Netscape, Mozilla, Opera and Internet Explorer.
- Chat Server / Software
- Some hosting companies allow you to develop a chat room or other type of chat service for your visitors. Be sure to check with the web host company about the details of the chat services offered. Some servers permit you to configure the service, and others pre-configure everything for you while others do not allow chat rooms at all.
- Client
- A computer program that requests a service from the server program, usually over the network.
- Clustering
- Connecting many computers and making them appear as one machine. This is done to increase reliability and performance.
- Co-location
- A server, usually a Web server, that is located at a dedicated facility designed with resources which include a secured cage or cabinet, regulated power, dedicated Internet connection, security and support.
- Control Panel
- Control panel included in web hosting packages is an online web-based application that allows you to easily manage different aspects of your account. Most control panels will let you upload files, add email accounts, change contact information, set up shopping carts or databases, view usage statistics, etc.
- Credit Card Billing
- A merchant account gives a business the ability to accept credit cards as payment for the company's goods and services. It provides your customers with an extremely popular payment option, beyond cash and checks. This is usually done via a 3rd party provider.
- Data center
- A centralized repository, either physical or virtual, for the storage, management, and dissemination of data and information organized around a particular body of knowledge or pertaining to a particular business.
- Data transfer
- In Web hosting, the total size of files transferred by an account in a month. Sites with a lots of graphics, downloads, or streaming audio or video and a lot of visitors will require plans with more available transfer.
- Database
- Data in a structured format stored on a web server. Most popular type is a relational database. The most common query (information retrieval) language for relational databases is SQL. Linux-based hosts most commonly include MySQL database and Windows NT-based hosts usually include Access or MS SQL databases.
- Database Support
- If your web site will leverage a database to store information, database support by the hosting company will be required. After you have developed your web site, you will know which database will be required. Some commonly used database programs are SQL Server, MySQL, Access, Oracle, and FoxPro. Databases can be difficult to configure properly. Before you sign up with a web host, first inquire if the host can support your database needs.
- Dedicated hosting service
- A type of Internet hosting where the client leases an entire server not shared with anyone.
- DHCP
- (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). An automated way of obtaining an IP address in the Local Area Network.
- DNS
- Domain Name System. Internet service that maps Internet domains into corresponding IP addresses. DNS database is distributed and replicated among many DNS servers, so when you change your domain's IP address, the changes take a while to propagate.
- Domain Name
- The unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by dots. The part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right is the most general (FindMyHosting.com). Technically, the domain name is a name that identifies an IP address. Simply stated, domain names allow people to find your web site by name rather than by its numerical (IP) address.
- Filtering
- Screening network packets for certain properties, such as the source or destination address, protocol used or even a pattern in the data. It is used in firewalls in order to decide if the traffic is to be forwarded or rejected. Provides the basis for network security.
- FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
- A method to allow users and web servers to transfer files.
- Host
- A networked computer dedicated to providing a certain kind of service. Usually refers to a computer that stores the website files and has a web server running on it.
- HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)
- The protocol used to tranfer HTML files across the Internet. HTTP requires a client browser and a HTTP server.
