Transport Layer Security (TLS) Definition
Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a protocol that provides privacy and data integrity between two communicating applications. It's the most widely deployed security protocol used today, and is used for Web browsers and other applications that require data to be securely exchanged over a network, such as file transfers, VPN connections, instant messaging and voice over IP.
TLS evolved from Netscape's Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol and has largely...
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Virtual Hosting Definition
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 ...
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Peering Definition
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...
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MAE Definition
MAE Definition
A MAE (pronounced MAY), originally an abbreviation for Metropolitan Area Exchange and now a service mark of MCI WorldCom, is a major center in the United States for interconnecting traffic between Internet service providers (ISPs). There are three major MAEs in the United States: MAE-East in the Washington, D.C. area; MAE-West in the San Jose, California area; and MAE-Central in Dallas, Texas. These three points along with several interconnection points previously identified ...
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Online Service Provider (OSP) Definition
Online Service Provider (OSP) Definition
1) On the Internet, OSP (online service provider) has several different meanings.
The term has had some currency in distinguishing Internet access providers that have their own online independent content, such as America Online (AOL), from Internet service providers (ISPs) that simply connect the user directly with the Internet. In general, the companies sometimes identified as OSPs (in this usage) offer an extensive online array of services of ...
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SSD (solid-state drive) Definition
SSD (solid-state drive) Definition
An SSD (solid-state drive) is a type of nonvolatile storage media that stores persistent data on solid-state flash memory. Two key components make up an SSD: a flash controller and NAND flash memory chips. The architectural configuration of the SSD controller is optimized to deliver high read and write performance for both sequential and random data requests. SSDs are sometimes referred to as flash drives or solid-state disks.
Unlike a hard disk dri...
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Packet Loss Definition
Packet Loss Definition
Packet loss is the failure of one or more transmitted packets to arrive at their destination. This event can cause noticeable effects in all types of digital communications.
The effects of packet loss:
In data, packet loss produces errors.
In videoconference environments it can create jitter.
In pure audio communications, such as VoIP, it can cause jitter and frequent gaps in received speech.
In the worst cases, packet loss can cause severe mutila...
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Jitter Definition
Jitter Definition
Jitter is any deviation in, or displacement of, the signal pulses in a high-frequency digitalsignal. The deviation can be in terms of amplitude, phase timing or the width of the signal pulse. Among the causes of jitter are electromagnetic interference (EMI) and crosstalk with other signals. Jitter can cause a display monitor to flicker, affect the ability of the processor in a desktop or server to perform as intended, introduce clicks or other undesired effects in audio sign...
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hop Definition
hop Definition
1) In a packet-switching network, a hop is the trip a data packet takes from one router or intermediate point to another in the network. On the Internet (or a network that uses TCP/IP), the number of hops a packet has taken toward its destination (called the "hop count") is kept in the packet header. A packet with an exceedingly large hop count is discarded.
2) Using Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), a hop is a switch to another radio frequency (RF) channel.
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Packet Definition
Packet Definition
A packet is the unit of data that is routed between an origin and a destination on the Internet or any other packet-switched network. When any file (e-mail message, HTML file, Graphics Interchange Format file, Uniform Resource Locator request, and so forth) is sent from one place to another on the Internet, the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) layer of TCP/IPdivides the file into "chunks" of an efficient size for routing. Each of these packets is separately numbered and i...
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