BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) Definition BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) is protocol that manages how packets are routed across the internet through the exchange of routing and reachability information between edge routers. BGP directs packets between autonomous systems (AS) -- networks managed by a single enterprise or service provider. Traffic that is routed within a single network AS is referred to as internal BGP, or iBGP. More often, BGP is used to connect one AS to other autonomous systems,...

Gateway Definition A gateway is a network node that connects two networks using different protocols together. While a bridge is used to join two similar types of networks, a gateway is used to join two dissimilar networks. The most common gateway is a router that connects a home or enterprise network to the internet. In most IP-based networks, the only traffic that doesn't go through at least one gateway is traffic flowing among nodes on the same local area network (LAN) segment -- f...

Multicast Definition Multicast is communication between a single sender and multiple receivers on a network. Typical uses include the updating of mobile personnel from a home office and the periodic issuance of online newsletters. Together with anycast and unicast, multicast is one of the packet types in the Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). Multicast is supported through wireless data networks as part of the Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) technology. Multicast is also used for pro...

UDP (User Datagram Protocol) UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is an alternative communications protocol to Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) used primarily for establishing low-latency and loss-tolerating connections between applications on the internet.Both UDP and TCP run on top of the Internet Protocol (IP) and are sometimes referred to as UDP/IP or TCP/IP. But there are important differences between the two. Where UDP enables process-to-process communication, TCP supports hos...

XML (Extensible Markup Language) Definition   Extensible Markup Language (XML) is used to describe data. The XML standard is a flexible way to create information formats and electronically share structured data via the public Internet, as well as via corporate networks. XML code, a formal recommendation from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), is similar to Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). Both XML and HTML contain markup symbols to describe page or file contents. HTML code describ...

Virtual Hosting Definition On the Internet, virtual hosting is the provision of Web server hosting services so that a company (or individual) doesn't have to purchase and maintain its own Web server and connections to the Internet. A virtual hosting provider is sometimes called a Web or Internet "space provider." Some companies providing this service simply call it "hosting." Typically, virtual hosting provides a customer who wants a Web site with: domain name registration assistance, multiple ...

Peering Definition Peering is the arrangement of traffic exchange between Internet service providers (ISPs). Larger ISPs with their own backbone networks agree to allow traffic from other large ISPs in exchange for traffic on their backbones. They also exchange traffic with smaller ISPs so that they can reach regional end points. Essentially, this is how a number of individual network owners put the Internet together. To do this, network owners and access providers, the ISPs, work out agree...

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Definition Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an automated telephony system that interacts with callers, gathers information and routes calls to the appropriate recipients. An IVR system (IVRS) accepts a combination of voice telephone input and touch-tone keypad selection and provides the appropriate responses in the form of voice, fax, callback, email and other contact methods. IVR systems can consist of telephony equipment, software applications, a datab...