Backbone
- back to Glossary
The
network of connections and high-speed lines that forms the infrastructure
of the Internet. An important consideration in choosing a Web site
host is that host's proximity to the backbone. The less network
distance between your provider and the backbone, the faster and
more reliable your Web site will be.
Bandwidth
- back to Glossary
The
amount of data that can be sent through a network connection, usually
measured in bits per second (bps), megabits per second (Mbps), or
gigabits per second (Gbps).
Bulletin
board
- back to Glossary
A
computerized version of the bulletin boards found in stores and
other public places, where people can leave messages and advertise
things they want to buy or sell.
CGI
scripts
- back to Glossary
Programs
that run on a Web server, in response to input from a browser. CGI
scripts link the server and a program running on the system; for
example, CGI scripts are used with interactive forms.
Chat
- back to Glossary
A forum for online, real-time conversation carried on
by typing messages into a box viewable by all parties involved.
Chat
room
- back to Glossary
A
real-time electronic forum; a virtual room where visitors can meet
others and share ideas on a particular subject.There are chat rooms
on the Internet, BBSs, and other online services.
Common
Gateway Interface (CGI)
- back to Glossary
A
set of rules that describe how a Web server communicates with another
piece of software on the same machine, and how the other piece of
software talks to the Web server. Usually, a CGI program is a small
routine that takes data from a Web server and does something with
it, like putting the content of a form into an email message, or
turning the data into a database query.
Community
- back to Glossary
Many
Web sites choose to develop communities in order to maintain visitor
loyalty. Chat rooms and Bulletin Board Service are common ways of
developing a Web site community.
Control
Panel
- back to Glossary
A
Web site Control Panel provides a simple user interface for maintaining
and monitoring your Web site. Features of the Control Panel vary
among providers, but most include site administration, design, statistical
reporting, and account maintenance tools.
Data
transfer
- back to Glossary
Any
outward-bound traffic from your Web site is considered data transfer.
For example, each time an HTML file, image, or other element on
your Web page is loaded, data transfer is generated.
Disk
space
- back to Glossary
One
of the factors in how much you'll pay for Web hosting is how much
space you will need to store your Web pages. Your Web pages take
up space on the Web server in the same way word processing documents
take up space on your computer's hard drive. Disk space is usually
reported in megabytes (MB).
Domain
name
- back to Glossary
The
unique name that identifies an Internet site. For example, www.artofthegroove.com
is the domain name for our company.
Domain
name registration
- back to Glossary
Most
Web hosts will offer to register your chosen domain name for you.
Alternatively, you can choose to register your domain name directly
through InterNIC. Regardless of the method you choose there is a
standard charge for registration.
Domain
name service
- back to Glossary
Most
Web hosting packages include domain name service. This means your
Web host directs all inquiries to www.yourname.com to your files
on their server.
Down-time
- back to Glossary
The
amount of time your Web site is disconnected or inaccessible via
the Internet is known as down-time.
e-Commerce
- back to Glossary
Electronic
commerce is the exchange of goods or services via the Internet.
Email
- back to Glossary
Electronic
mail. In its simplest form, email is a way of exchanging text by
passing text from one computer through a network to another computer.
File
Transfer Protocol (FTP)
- back to Glossary
A
set of rules for moving files between to Internet sites.
Hyper
Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
- back to Glossary
The
set of rules governing the transmission of hypertext files across
the Internet. Hypertext is any text that contains links to other
documents; Hypertext documents are created using HTML (Hyper Text
Markup Language) to "tag" blocks of text or links. These tags specify
the way text appears as well as the targets for links to other documents
or sites. Every Web page you visit is reached using HTTP.
Linux
- back to Glossary
An
opensource version of the Unix operating system. We utilize RedHat
Linux on our servers.
Megabyte
(MB)
- back to Glossary
The
standard unit for measuring disk space and monthly bandwidth use.
