A-Z
Here is the terminology for most of the phrases/words associated with music and downloading.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ADSL - An acronym for Asymmetric Digital
Subscriber Line. ADSL is technology
that allows more data to be sent over existing copper telephone lines.
ADSL supports data rates of from 128 kilobits per second to 9 megabits
per second when receiving data (known as the downstream rate) and from
16 kilobits per second to 4 megabits per second when sending data (known
as the upstream rate). ADSL requires a special ADSL modem.
(Also see xDSL)
Bandwidth - The amount of data
that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time. For digital devices,
the bandwidth is usually expressed in bits per second(bps) or bytes per
second(Bps).
Bit - An abbreviation for binary digit.
A bit is the smallest unit of information on any machine. A single
bit can hold only one of two values: 0 or 1. More meaningful information
is obtained by combining consecutive bits into larger units. For
example, a byte is composed of 8 consecutive bits.
bps - An acronym for bits per
second. This is the standard measurement of data
transmission speeds, mainly used for bandwidth speeds.
Bps - An acronym for bytes per
second. This is a more popular form of measurement
of data transmission speeds.
Broadband - A type of data transmission in which
a single medium (wire) can carry several channels at once. Cable
TV, for example, uses broadband transmission.
Byte - An abbreviation for binaryterm.
It's a unit of storage capable of holding a single character. On
almost all modern computers, a byte is equal to 8 bits. Large amounts
of memory are indicated in terms of kilobytes, megabytes, and gigabytes.
Cable - Through the use
of a cable modem you can have a broadband Internet connection that
is designed to operate over cable TV lines. Cable Internet works
by using TV channel space for data transmission, with certain channels
used for downstream transmission, and other channels for upstream transmission.
Because the coaxial cable used by cable TV provides much greater
bandwidth than telephone lines, a cable modem can be used to achieve extremely
fast access to the Web. This, combined with the fact that millions
of homes are already wired for cable TV, has made cable Internet service
something cable TV companies have really jumped onboard with.
Choked - When a connection is choked, it means
that the transmitter isn't currently sending anything else on the link.
A BitTorrent Client signals that it's choked to other clients for a number
of reasons, the most common is that by default a client will only maintain
-- max_uploads active simultaneous uploads, the rest will be marked choked.
A connection can also be choked for other reasons, for example a peer
downloading from a seed will mark his connection as choked since the seed
has no need to receive. (Also see Snubbed)
Client - The client part of a client-server architecture.
Typically, a client is an application that runs on a personal computer
or workstation and relies on a server to perform some operations.
More commonly referred to as a BitTorrent client in the torrent community.
Credit System - A forced sharing situation that attempts
to eliminate leechers. In this system a user is given credit towards
downloading for each upload made. (See also Ratio)
Data - Distinct pieces of information,
usually formatted in a special way. All software is divided into
two general categories: data and programs. Programs are collections
of instructions for manipulating data. Data can exist in a variety
of forms -- as numbers or text on pieces of paper, as bits and bytes stored
in electronic memory, or as facts stored in a person's mind. Strictly
speaking, data is the plural of datum, a single piece of information.
In practice, however, people use data as both the singular and plural
form of the word.
Decentralized Network - A network topology where each
user of the network is able to distribute information and queries directly
through other users of the network rather than relying on a central server
to act as an indexing agent.
DHCP - An acronym for Dynamic
Host Configuration Protocol.
This is a protocol for assigning dynamic IP addresses to devices on a
network. With dynamic addressing, a device can have a different
IP address every time it connects to the network. In some systems,
the device's IP address can even change while it is still connected.
DHCP also supports a mix of static and dynamic IP addresses. Dynamic
addressing simplifies network administration because the software keeps
track of IP addresses rather than requiring an administrator to manage
the task. This means that a new computer can be added to a network
without the hassle of manually assigning it a unique IP address.
DHT - An acronym for Distributed Hash
Tables. These are a class of decentralized, distributed
systems and algorithms being developed to provide a scalable, self-configuring
infrastructure with a clean programming interface. This infrastructure
can then be used to support more complex services. DHTs can be used to
store data, as well as route and disseminate information. DHTs are named
after hash tables because they assign responsibility for a piece of data
based on a hash function (often SHA-1); each node acts like a bucket in
a hash table. A DHT provides an efficient lookup algorithm (or network
routing method) that allows one participating node to quickly determine
which other machine is responsible for a given piece of data.
Distributed Copies - In some versions of the client,
you will see "Connected to x seeds; also seeing x.xxx distributed copies."
A seed is a computer with the complete file. However, the swarm
can collectively have a complete copy (or copies) of the file, even without
seeds a complete distributed copy can be available if the sum total of
the users have a complete copy among themselves. BitTorrent doesn't
distribute in sequential order, so this is possible.
Distributed Hash - A technology that can be used to
develop a common infrastructure for distributed or peer-to-peer applications,
including storage and multicasting. (See also DHT)
Download - To copy data (usually an entire file)
from a main source to a peripheral device. The term is often used
to describe the process of copying a file from an online service or bulletin
board service (BBS) to one's own computer. Downloading can
also refer to copying a file from a network file server to a computer
on the network. (Also see Downstream)
Downstream - A transmission from a server to an end
user. A downstream transmission can be in the form of a signal being
transmitted from a server to a workstation across a network, such as a
LAN, or a signal being sent from a cable service provider to a customer.
(Also see Download)
DSL - An acronym for Digital Subscriber
Line. (Also see xDSL)
Dynamic - Refers to actions that take place at
the moment they are needed rather than in advance. For example,
you are not assigned an IP address from your ISP, until you connect to
your ISP. Once you disconnect, that IP address you were assigned,
is sent back to the IP pool. When you connect again, you will be
given a different IP address than the last one you were assigned.
E1 - Similar to the North
American T1, E1 is the European format for digital transmission.
E1 carries signals at 2 Mbps (32 channels at 64Kbps, with 2 channels reserved
for signaling and controlling), versus the T1, which carries signals at
1.544 Mbps (24 channels at 64Kbps). E1 and T1 lines may be interconnected
for international use.
Encryption - The translation of data into a secret
code. Encryption is the most effective way to achieve data security.
To read an encrypted file, you must have access to a secret key or password
that enables you to decrypt it. Unencrypted data is called plain
text ; encrypted data is referred to as cipher text. There are two
main types of encryption: asymmetric encryption (also called public-key
encryption) and symmetric encryption.
File - A collection of data or
information that has a name, called the filename. Almost all information
stored in a computer must be in a file. There are many different
types of files: data files, text files, program files, directory
files, and so on. Different types of files store different types
of information. For example, program files store programs, whereas
text files store text.
File Sharing - The act of BOTH receiving AND sending
of files to other users. This is different from someone who only receives
files, called a leeching.
Firewall - A system designed to prevent unauthorized
access to or from a private network. Firewalls can be implemented
in both hardware and software, or a combination of both. Firewalls
are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing
private networks connected to the Internet, especially intranets.
All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall,
which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified
security criteria. (For more information, please see Firewall)
FiOS - An acronym for Fiber Optic
Service. An internet service which uses optic fiber
for data transfers. (Also see Optic fiber)
Gb - An abbreviation for gigabit.
There are 1073741824 bits in (1) gigabit. (Also see Gigabit)
GB - An abbreviation for gigabyte. There are 1073741824
bytes in (1) gigabyte. (Also see Gigabyte)
Gigabit - Used to describe data storage. (Also
see Gb)
Gigabyte - Used to describe data storage. (Also
see GB)
Hash(ing) - Producing hash values
for accessing data or for security. A hash value (or simply hash),
also called a message digest, is a number generated from a string of text.
The hash is substantially smaller than the text itself, and is generated
by a formula in such a way that it is extremely unlikely that some other
text will produce the same hash value. Hashes play a role in security
systems where they're used to ensure that transmitted messages have not
been tampered with. The sender generates a hash of the message,
encrypts it, and sends it with the message itself. The recipient
then decrypts both the message and the hash, produces another hash from
the received message, and compares the two hashes. If they're the
same, there is a very high probability that the message was transmitted
intact.
HDSL - An acronym for High data rate
Digital Subscriber Line.
HDSL is an international standard for symmetric DSL developed by the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU). HDSL provides for sending and receiving
high-speed symmetrical data streams over a single pair of copper wires
at rates between 192 KBps and 2.31 MBps. HDSL was developed to incorporate
the features of other DSL technologies, such as ADSL and SDSL and will
transport T1, E1, ISDN, ATM and IP signals. (Also see xDSL)
HTTP - An acronym for HyperText
Transfer Protocol. HTTP is the
underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web. HTTP defines how
messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web servers and
browsers should take in response to various commands. For example,
when you enter a URL in your browser, this actually sends an HTTP command
to the Web server directing it to fetch and transmit the requested Web
page. In the world of BitTorrent, a HTTP torrent is a torrent tracked
by a tracker using the TCP ports.
Hub - A common connection point for devices in
a network. Hubs are commonly used to connect segments of a LAN.
A hub contains multiple ports. When a packet arrives at one port,
it is copied to the other ports so that all segments of the LAN can see
all packets. A passive hub serves simply as a conduit for the data,
enabling it to go from one device (or segment) to another. So-called
intelligent hubs include additional features that enables an administrator
to monitor the traffic passing through the hub and to configure each port
in the hub. Intelligent hubs are also called manageable hubs.
A third type of hub, called a switching hub, actually reads the destination
address of each packet and then forwards the packet to the correct port.
Intrested - Term used in
the protocol specification. Refers to the state of a downloader
with respect to a connection. A downloader is marked as interested
if the other end of the link has any pieces that the client wants, otherwise
the connection is marked as not interested.
IP - An acronym for Internet Protocol.
IP specifies the format of packets, also called datagrams, and the addressing
scheme. IP by itself, is something like the postal system.
It allows you to address a package and drop it in the system, but there's
no direct link between you and the recipient.
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. The format of an IP
address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers separated
by periods. Each number can be zero to 255. For example, 1.160.10.240
could be an IP address. Within an isolated network, you can assign
IP addresses at random as long as each one is unique. However, connecting
a private network to the Internet requires using registered IP addresses
(called Internet addresses) to avoid duplicates.
ISDN - An acronym for Integrated Services
Digital Network. This is an international
communications standard for sending voice, video, and data over digital
telephone lines or normal telephone wires. ISDN supports data transfer
rates of 64 Kbps (64,000 bits per second). The original version
of ISDN employs baseband transmission. Another version, called B-ISDN,
uses broadband transmission and is able to support transmission rates
of 1.5 Mbps. B-ISDN requires fiber optic cables and is not widely
available.
ISP - An acronym for Internet Service
Provider. These are companies that provides access
to the Internet. For a monthly fee, the service provider gives you
a software package, username, password and access phone number(s) (for
dial-up). Equipped with a modem, you can then log on to the Internet
and browse the World Wide Web and USENET, and send and receive e-mail.
In addition to serving individuals, ISPs also serve large companies, providing
a direct connection from the company's networks to the Internet.
ISPs themselves are connected to one another through Network Access Points
(NAPs). ISPs are also called IAPs (Internet Access Providers).
kb - An abbreviation for kilobit.
There are 1024 bits in (1) kilobit. (Also see Kilobit)
Kb - An abbreviation for kilobyte.
There are 1024 bytes in (1) kilobyte. (Also see Kilobyte)
Kbps - An acronym for Kilobits
per second. (Also see
bps)
KBps - An acronym for Kilobytes
per second. (Also see
Bps)
Kilobit - Used to describe data storage. (Also
see kb)
Kilobyte - Used to describe data storage. (Also
see Kb)
LAN - An acronym for Local
Area Network. A computer
network that spans a relatively small area. Most LANs are confined to
a single building or group of buildings. Most LANs connect
workstations and personal computers. Each node (individual computer
) in a LAN has its own CPU with which it executes programs, but it also
is able to access data and devices anywhere on the LAN. This means
that many users can share expensive devices, such as laser printers, as
well as data. LANs are capable of transmitting data at very
fast rates, much faster than data can be transmitted over a telephone
line; but the distances are limited, and there is also a limit on the
number of computers that can be attached to a single LAN. (For more
information, see LAN)
(Also see WAN)
Leech(er) - A file-sharing user that does not allow
others to download from him and only takes from others is a LEECH. And
remember folks, nobody likes a leecher
.
Locally Queued - The amount of files you permit to simultaneously
download is referred to as your local queue.
mb - An abbreviation for megabit.
There are 1048576 bits in (1) megabit. (Also see Megabit)
MB - An abbreviation for megabyte.
There are 1048576 bytes in (1) megabyte. (Also see Megabyte)
Mbps - An acronym for megabits
per second. This is a standard
measurement of data transmission speeds, mainly used for bandwidth speeds.
MBps - An acronym for megabytes
per second.
Megabit - Used to describe data storage. (Also
see mb)
Megabyte - Used to describe data storage. (Also
see MB)
MPAA - An acronym for Motion Pictures
Association of America. The MPAA,
originally called the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors Association,
is a non-profit trade association based in the United States which was
formed to advance the interests of movie studios. Its members consist
of seven major studios: the Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Studios, and Warner
Bros. The organization produces the well-known voluntary film rating system.
This is an organization who attempts
to fight piracy. Visit the MPAA
home page for more information, as well as contact information
to send hate mail.
MultiSource - Multi-source is a term that describes
the transfer of a file that is downloaded from two or more locations.
NAT - An acronym for Network
Address Translation. This is an
Internet standard that enables a local-area network (LAN) to use one set
of IP addresses for internal traffic and a second set of addresses for
external traffic. A NAT box located where the LAN meets the Internet
makes all necessary IP address translations.
NAT serves three main purposes:
- Provides a type of firewall by hiding internal IP addresses
- Enables a company to use more internal IP addresses. Since they're used internally only, there's no possibility of conflict with IP addresses used by other companies and organizations.
- Allows a company to combine multiple ISDN connections into a single Internet connection.
Newbie - Although originally designed to describe "newbies"
to the gaming scene, this is now a general term to describe anyone who
is consistent with being or acting stupid. Also used the same way,
is newb, noob, and noobie.
NFO - Pronounced like 'info'. That is exactly what it
means also. This can also be a file with a .nfo extension.
These are ascii text files that describe a release of some sort (program,
movie, game, album, etc.) .nfo files can be viewed in any text editor/viewer,
but are best viewed by an ascii text enabled editor/viewer.
Octet - An octet is 8 bits.
It is equivalent to a byte, as long as the byte is also 8 bits. Bytes
range from 4 - 10 bits, but octets are always 8 bits.
Optic fiber - An optical fiber (or fibre) is a transparent
thin fiber, usually made of glass or plastic, for transmitting light.
Fiber optics is the branch of science and engineering concerned with such
optical fibers. For more information, see Optic
Fiber. (Also see FiOS)
Optimistic Unchoking - Periodically, the client
shakes up the list of uploaders and tries sending on different connections
that were previously choked, and choking the connections it was just using.
You can observe this action every 10 or 20 seconds or so, by watching
the "Advanced" panel of one of the experimental clients.
P2P - An abbreviation of
Peer-to(2)-Peer.
This is a type of network in which each workstation has equivalent capabilities
and responsibilities. This differs from client/server architectures, in
which some computers are dedicated to serving the others. Peer-to-peer
networks are generally simpler, but they usually do not offer the same
performance under heavy loads.
Peer(s) - A peer is another computer on the internet
that is sharing the file you wish to download. Typically a peer does not
have the complete file, if it did it would be called a seed. Peers are
also called leeches, to distinguish them from those who have completed
their download and continue to leave their BitTorrent Client running and
act as a seed.
PeerGuardian - PeerGuardian is a program that acts as
a firewall against known malicious sources (IP ranges of the RIAA and
MPAA for example). Using this software one can take one step in
protecting oneself from the tactics employed by these organizations.
Port(s) - In TCP/IP and UDP networks, an endpoint to
a logical connection. The port number identifies what type of port it
is. For example, port 80 is used for HTTP traffic.
PPPoE - An acronym for Point to Point
Protocol over Ethernet.
PPPoE relies on two widely accepted standards: PPP and Ethernet.
PPPoE is a specification for connecting the users on an Ethernet to the
Internet through a common broadband medium, such as a single DSL line,
wireless device or cable modem. All the users over the Ethernet
share a common connection, so the Ethernet principles supporting multiple
users in a LAN combine with the principles of PPP, which apply to serial
connections.
Protocol - This is an agreed-upon format for transmitting
data between two devices.
The protocol determines the following:
- the type of error checking to be used
- data compression method, if any
- how the sending device will indicate that it has finished sending a message
- how the receiving device will indicate that it has received a message
There are a variety of standard protocols from which
programmers can
choose. Each has particular advantages and disadvantages; for
example,
some are simpler than others, some are more reliable, and some are
faster. From a user's point of view, the only
interesting aspect
about protocols is that your computer or device must support the right
ones if you want to communicate with other computers. The
protocol can
be implemented either in hardware or in software.
Proxy Server
- This is a server that sits between a client application,
such as a
Web browser, and a real server. It intercepts all requests to the real
server to see if it can fulfill the requests itself. If not, it
forwards the request to the real server.
Proxy servers have two main purposes:
- Improve Performance: Proxy servers can dramatically improve performance for groups of users. This is because it saves the results of all requests for a certain amount of time. Consider the case where both user X and user Y access the World Wide Web through a proxy server. First user X requests a certain Web page, which we'll call Page 1. Sometime later, user Y requests the same page. Instead of forwarding the request to the Web server where Page 1 resides, which can be a time-consuming operation, the proxy server simply returns the Page 1 that it already fetched for user X. Since the proxy server is often on the same network as the user, this is a much faster operation. Real proxy servers support hundreds or thousands of users. The major online services such as Compuserve and America Online, for example, employ an array of proxy servers.
- Filter Requests: Proxy servers can also be used to filter requests. For example, a company might use a proxy server to prevent its employees from accessing a specific set of Web sites.
Query - This is a request for
information from a database. There are three general methods for posing
queries:
- Choosing parameters from a menu: In this method, the database system presents a list of parameters from which you can choose. This is perhaps the easiest way to pose a query because the menus guide you, but it is also the least flexible.
- Query by example (QBE): In this method, the system presents a blank record and lets you specify the fields and values that define the query.
- Query language: Many database systems require you to make requests for information in the form of a stylized query that must be written in a special query language. This is the most complex method because it forces you to learn a specialized language, but it is also the most powerful.
Queue - There are a few meanings for
queue.
- In computer science, queuing refers to lining up jobs for a computer or device. For example, if you want to print a number of documents, the operating system (or a special print spooler) queues the documents by placing them in a special area called a print buffer or print queue. The printer then pulls the documents off the queue one at a time. Another term for this is print spooling. The order in which a system executes jobs on a queue depends on the priority system being used. Most commonly, jobs are executed in the same order that they were placed on the queue, but in some schemes certain jobs are given higher priority.
- In programming, a queue is a data structure in which elements are removed in the same order they were entered. This is often referred to as FIFO (first in, first out). In contrast, a stack is a data structure in which elements are removed in the reverse order from which they were entered. This is referred to as LIFO (last in, first out).
- In the P2P community, a queue is a first in, first out order that is kept to allow only a certain amount of uploads at a time. Also, at which downloads execute first.
Ratio - A ratio of your
amount uploaded divided by your amount downloaded. The amounts used
are for the current session only, not over the history of the file.
If you achieve a share ratio of 1.0, that would mean you've uploaded as
much as you've downloaded. The higher the number, the more you have
contributed. If you see a share ratio of ∞ (infinity), this
happened because you opened a BitTorrent Client with a complete file (i.e.,
you seed the file.). In this case you download nothing since you
have the full file, and so anything you send will cause the ratio to reach
infinity. While share ratings are just displayed for your convenience,
courtesy to others should cause you to keep this ratio as high as possible.
(Also see Credit System)
Reseed - When there are zero seeds for a given
torrent (and not enough peers to have a distributed copy), all the peers
will get stuck with an incomplete file, since no one in the swarm has
the missing pieces. When this happens, someone with a complete file
(a seed) must connect to the swarm so that those missing pieces can be
transferred. This is called reseeding. Usually a request for
a reseed comes with an implicit promise that the requester will leave
his or her client open for some time period after finishing (to add longevity
to the torrent).
RIAA - An acronym for The Recording
Industry Association of America.
The RIAA is the trade group that represents the recording industry in
the United States. The RIAA has continued to participate in creating
and administering technical standards for later systems of music recording
and reproduction, including magnetic tape, cassette tapes, digital audio
tapes, CDs, and software-based digital technologies. The RIAA also
participates in the collection, administration and distribution of music
licenses and royalties. The association is responsible for certifying
gold and platinum albums and singles in the USA. For more information
about sales data see list of best selling albums and list of best selling
singles. The RIAA has been at the heart of the file-sharing controversy,
especially music files in the popular MP3 format uploaded onto the Internet
using peer-to-peer software. The RIAA has long contended that sharing
of copyrighted music was a form of piracy, applying the well-known computing
term to music. Visit the RIAA
home page for more information, as well as contact information
to send hate mail.
SDSL - An acronym for Symmetric
Digital Subscriber Line.
This is a technology that allows more data to be sent over existing copper
telephone lines. SDSL supports data rates up to 10 Mbps. SDSL
works by sending digital pulses in the high-frequency area of telephone
wires and can not operate simultaneously with voice connections over the
same wires. SDSL requires a special SDSL modem. SDSL is called
symmetric because it supports the same data rates for upstream and downstream
traffic. A similar technology that supports different data rates
for upstream and downstream data is called asymmetric digital subscriber
line (ADSL). ADSL is more popular in North America, whereas SDSL
is being developed primarily in Europe. (Also see xDSL)
Seed(er) - A computer that has a complete copy
of the specific torrent you are downloading. Once your client finishes
downloading, it will remain open until you click the Finish button.
This is known as seeding. You can also start a BitTorrent Client
with a complete file, and once BitTorrent has checked the file it will
connect and seed the file to others. It is good to continue seeding
a file after you have finished downloading, to help others finish.
Also, when a new torrent is posted to a tracker, someone must seed it
in order for it to be available to others. The tracker doesn't know
anything of the actual contents of a file, so it's important to follow
through and seed a file if you upload the torrent to a tracker.
Server - A computer or device on a network that manages
network resources. For example, a file server is a computer and
storage device dedicated to storing files. Any user on the network
can store files on the server. A print server is a computer that
manages one or more printers, and a network server is a computer
that manages network traffic. A database server is a computer
system that processes database queries. Servers are often
dedicated, meaning that they perform no other tasks besides their server
tasks. On multiprocessing operating systems, however, a single computer
can execute several programs at once. A server in this case could
refer to the program that is managing resources rather than the entire
computer.
Share rating - (See Ratio)
Snubbed - If the client has not received anything
after a certain period (default: 60 seconds), it marks a connection as
snubbed, in that the peer on the other end has chosen not to send.
The real function of keeping track of this variable is to improve download
speeds. Occasionally the client will find itself in a state where
even though it is connected to many peers, it is choked by all of them.
The client uses the snubbed flag in an attempt to prevent this situation.
It notes that a peer with whom it would like to trade pieces with has
not sent anything in a while, and rather than leaving it up to the optimistic
choking to eventually select that peer, it instead reserves one of its
upload slots for sending to that peer. (Also see Choked)
SOCKS - A protocol for handling TCP traffic through
a proxy server. It can be used with virtually any TCP application,
including Web browsers and FTP clients. It provides a simple firewall
because it checks incoming and outgoing packets and hides the IP addresses
of client applications. There are two main versions of SOCKS --
V4 and V5. V5 adds an authentication mechanism for additional security.
There are many freeware implementations of both versions. One of
the most common V5 implementations is SOCKS5.
Static - Generally refers to elements of the Internet
or computer programming that are fixed and not capable of action or change.
A Web site that is static can only supply information that is written
into the HTML and this information will not change unless the change is
written into the source code. When a Web browser requests the specific
static Web page, a server returns the page to the browser and the user
only gets whatever information is contained in the HTML code. Similarly,
a static IP, will always remain the same, regardless of if/when you disconnect.
Swarm - The group of users that are collectively
connected for a particular file. Example, if you start a BitTorrent
Client and it tells you that you're connected to 5 peers and 1 seeds,
then the swarm consists of you and those 6 other people.
T1 - A dedicated phone
connection supporting data rates of 1.544 Mbps per second. A T-1
line actually consists of 24 individual channels, each of which supports
64Kbits per second. Each 64Kbit/second channel can be configured
to carry voice or data traffic. Most telephone companies allow you
to buy just some of these individual channels, known as fractional T-1
access. T-1 lines are a popular leased line option for businesses
connecting to the Internet and for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) connecting
to the Internet backbone. The Internet backbone itself consists
of faster T-3 connections. T-1 lines are sometimes referred to as DS1
lines.
T3 - A dedicated phone connection supporting data
rates of about 43 Mbps. A T-3 line actually consists of 672 individual
channels, each of which supports 64 Kbps. T-3 lines are used mainly
by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) connecting to the Internet backbone
and for the backbone itself. T-3 lines are sometimes referred to
as DS3 lines.
Tb - An abbreviation for terabit. There are 1099511627776
bits in (1) terabit. (Also see Terabit)
TB - An abbreviation for terabyte. There are 1099511627776
bytes in (1) terabyte. (Also see Terabyte)
TCP - An acronym for Transmission Control
Protocol. TCP is one of the main protocols in TCP/IP
networks. Whereas the IP protocol deals only with packets, TCP enables
two hosts to establish a connection and exchange streams of data.
TCP guarantees delivery of data and also guarantees that packets will
be delivered in the same order in which they were sent.
TCP/IP - An acronym for Transmission
Control Protocol / Internet
Protocol. This is the suite of communications protocols
used to connect hosts on the Internet. TCP/IP uses several protocols,
the two main ones being TCP and IP. TCP/IP is built into the UNIX
operating system and is used by the Internet, making it the de facto standard
for transmitting data over networks. Even network operating systems
that have their own protocols, such as Netware, also support TCP/IP.
Terabit - Used to describe data storage. (Also
see Tb)
Terabyte - Used to describe data storage. (Also
see TB)
Torrent - A small metadata file which contains
information about the data you want to download, not the data itself.
It is downloaded from a web site (BitTorrent file extension is .torrent)
by clicking on a download link. It can also be saved to your computer.
This is useful if you want to be able to re-open the torrent later on
without having to find the link again.
Tracker - Server on the Internet that coordinates
the action of BitTorrent Clients. Upon opening a torrent, you contact
the tracker and receive a list of peers to connect to. Throughout
the transfer, your computer will query the tracker, telling it how much
you've downloaded and uploaded and how much before finishing. If
a tracker is down and you try to open a torrent, you will be unable to
connect. If a tracker goes down during a torrent (you have already
connected at some point and are already talking to peers), you will be
able to continue transferring with those peers, but no new peers will
be able to contact you. Tracker errors are often temporary, leave
the client open and continue trying.
UDP - An acronym for User
Datagram Protocol. This a connectionless
protocol that, like TCP, runs on top of IP networks. Unlike TCP/IP,
UDP/IP provides very few error recovery services, offering instead a direct
way to send and receive datagrams over an IP network. It's used
primarily for broadcasting messages over a network. In the world
of BitTorrent, a UDP torrent is a torrent tracked by a tracker using the
UDP ports.
Upload - To transmit data from a computer to a
bulletin board service, mainframe, or network. For example, if you use
a personal computer to log on to a network and you want to send files
across the network, you must upload the files from your PC to the network.
(Also see Upstream)
Upstream - A transmission from an end user to a server.
An upstream transmission can be in the form of a signal being transmitted
from a workstation to a server across a network, such as a LAN, or a signal
being sent from a customer to a cable service provider. (Also see
Upload)
UPnP - An acronym for Universal Plug
and Play. This is a networking
architecture that provides compatibility among networking equipment, software
and peripherals of the 400+ vendors that are part of the Universal Plug
and Play Forum. UPnP works with wired or wireless networks and can
be supported on any operating system. UPnP boasts device-driver
independence and zero-configuration networking.
URL - An acronym for Uniform Resource
Locator. This is 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.
VDSL - An acronym for Very
High Speed Digital Subscriber Line.
DSL transmits data in the 13 Mbps - 55 Mbps range over short distances,
usually between 1000 and 4500 feet (300 - 1500 meters), of twisted pair
copper wire. The shorter the distance, the faster the connection
rate. As the final length of cable into the home or office, VDSL
connects to neighborhood Optical Network Units (ONUs), which connect to
the central office's main fiber network backbone. This architecture
will allow VDSL users to access the maximum bandwidth available through
normal phone lines. VDSL is currently going through a standards
issue, so it isn't widely deployed yet. The VDSL alliance favors
a line coding scheme based on Discrete Multitone (DMT), a multi-carrier
system that is more compatible with existing ADSL technology. The
VDSL coalition favors a line coding scheme based on Quadature Amplitude
Modulation (QAM), a single-carrier system that is less expensive and consumes
less power. (Also see xDSL)
WAN - An acronym for Wide-Area
Network. This is a computer network
that spans a relatively large geographical area. Typically, a WAN
consists of two or more local-area networks (LANs). Computers connected
to a wide-area network are often connected through public networks, such
as the telephone system. They can also be connected through leased
lines or satellites. The largest WAN in existence is the Internet.
(Also see LAN)
WiFi - An abbreviation of Wireless
Fidelity. This is meant to be used generically
when referring of any type of 802.11 network, whether 802.11b, 802.11a,
dual-band, etc.
xDSL - This refers collectively
to all types of digital subscriber lines, the two main categories being
ADSL and SDSL. Two other types of xDSL technologies are High-data-rate
DSL (HDSL) and Very high DSL (VDSL). DSL technologies use
sophisticated modulation schemes to pack data onto copper wires.
They are sometimes referred to as last-mile technologies because they
are used only for connections from a telephone switching station to a
home or office, not between switching stations. xDSL is similar
to ISDN in as much as both operate over existing copper telephone lines
(POTS) and both require the short runs to a central telephone office (usually
less than 20,000 feet). However, xDSL offers much higher speeds
- up to 32 Mbps for downstream traffic, and from 32 Kbps to over 1 Mbps
for upstream traffic.
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