The
Techie Glossary
|
- Go To The Top |
Letter
|
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 |
2nd |
|
|
Na    |
Name
resolution
is the process of mapping a computer
name with the corresponding network address.
DNS is a network based name
resolution service that performs
this function. Nanosecond
is a time measurement of one billionth of a second. Processor
speed and RAM chips
can be measured in nanoseconds. A nanosecond is a thousand picoseconds.
It is sometimes abbreviated by the letters ns. NAT
stands for Network Address Translation. It is a method
that uses IP masquerading when connecting
one computer or a network
to the Internet. This makes the IP
address transparent to the outside and the systems are less vulnerable
to attacks by hackers or crackers.
National
Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA)
is a federally funded technical organization studying information
technologies whose mission is to develop and research computing resources
for the scientific community. The NCSA helped create the first web
browser Mosaic. National
Information Infrastructure (NII) is the committee
overseeing the emerging information infrastructure in the United States
with the Internet forming the first
part of this infrastructure. National
Science Foundation
(NSF) is a federally funded organization in the US
that manages the NSFNET. This network
connects major research institutions and universities across the country.
National
Science Foundation NETwork (NSFNET) is a
collection of local, regional, and mid-level networks
run by the National Science Foundation in
the US. It is a high-speed backbone
on the Internet. NSFNET provides scientists
access to several supercomputers across the country. National
Institute of Standards and Technology, (NIST)
formerly known as the NBS, is a national standards body. Their OSI
implementors workshops are OIW along with
AOW and EWOS.
Natural
language
is the way people converse naturally. It is important in information
technologies since computers need
to understand user input.
This ability to comprehend human language can be used in natural
language parsing for speech recognition
along with other applications. Natural
language parsing
is the ability to take the way people converse naturally and turn the
text into language that a computer
program can understand. It is important
in information technologies since computers
need to understand the natural language
to better understand user input.
|
|
NC
|
NCSA
stands for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.
This is a federally funded technical organization studying information
technologies whose mission is to develop and research computing resources
for the scientific community. The NCSA helped create the first web
browser Mosaic.
|
|
Ne |
NetBIOS
stands
for Network Basic Input Output System. This is the interface
to networks for conducting file
and print sharing used by some operating
systems. NetBIOS is a commonly used on end
systems to share files in remote directories
on local access networks. NetBIOS is akin
to the BIOS which is part of each computer
system.
Netiquette
refers to Internet etiquette. It is
a set of unenforced community rules for the Net. These vary depending
on the areas of access on the Net. There is no real etiquette needed on
most web sites where the sole communication
is between the web site and the
web user. Chat
rooms, newsgroups, instant messaging
and even email have certain implicit etiquette
rules. Chat rooms have a much looser netiquette than Usenet
where users should read the FAQs, understand
the topic and observe local customs before participating. Netizen
is derived from the term Net citizen or part of the loose-knit Internet
community. The term connotes civic responsibility and social netiquette.
Netscape
browser
is a proprietary web browser and the
name of the company The Netscape Corporation®. The
web browser was originally based on the Mosaic
program developed at the National Center
for Supercomputing Applications NCSA. Network
is the IT term for a collection of connected
computers. Anything can be considered
a network that is able to continually share
data from one computer to another. A network
needs network protocols to be able
to share the information. The first network was a group of large mainframe
computers networked to form the ARPANET,
it evolved into the Internet which
is now the world's biggest network. Networks are usually built on a layered
networking model like the OSI network model. Network
addresses
are the addresses of the end systems
in the OSI network model. In TCP/IP
the IP address is the same as the network
address. The IP number is used as a numerical address given in dotted
decimal notation. Network
Address Translation
(NAT) is a method that uses IP
masquerading when connecting one computer
or a network to the Internet.
This makes the IP address transparent to
the outside and the systems are less vulnerable to attacks by hackers
or crackers. Network
applications
are software application programs
to run over a network. They can provide
a specific client or server
function on the network. Web
browsers, database servers and FTP
utilities are all examples of commonly
used network applications. Network
architecture
is the standards and specifications used to design a network.
It consists of the network topology with
a complete set of hardware, software
and connection specifications including network
protocols. Network
drives
are any physical or virtual drives that
can be accessed by another computer system
across a network. A network drive could
be a hard drive, tape
drive, CD drive or even floppy
disk. Network
Interface Cards (NIC
Cards), sometimes just called NICs,
is the general name for any network adapter
that provides an interface to connect
a computer system to a network. Network
layers
are the OSI layers
of the OSI network model that is responsible
for network routing,
switching, and subnet
masking while communicating between the different data
link layers. Network
protocols
are rule sets used on a network to facilitate
communications by giving a formal description of messages to be exchanged
and rules to be followed. On the Internet
the low level protocols are TCP
and IP from the TCP/IP
suite. The higher level Newsgroups
are a group of Internet users
who share an interest in a subject and have a Usenet
Internet address specified for that topic.
Using the NNTP protocol
and addressing this information is accessible to anyone else who can access
the Usenet service. Anyone can join
a newsgroup and access is usually available through web
browsers and email programs.
|
|
NF
|
NFS
stands
for Network File System. A distributed file
management system which allows a set of computers
to cooperatively manage files on other
computers transparently across the network.
|
|
NI |
NIC
stands
for the Network Information Center or Network Interface Card which are
referred to as NIC Cards. These are any
network adapter that provides an interface
to connect a computer system to a network.
The National Information Center historically was tasked to serve the ARPANET
community. Today, there are several of these network
help centers operated by local, regional,
national and global information technology
organizations. Such centers provide user
tech support, user training and standards documentation.
NIC
Cards stands
for Network Interface Card, sometimes just called NICs.
It is the general name for any network
adapter that provides an interface to
connect a computer system to a network.
NII
stands for the National Information Infrastructure.
They are the committee overseeing the emerging information infrastructure
in the United States with the Internet
forming the first part of this infrastructure. NIST
stands for National Institute of Standards and Technology. Formerly known
as the NBS, the NIST is a national standards body. Their OSI
implementors workshops are OIW along with
AOW and EWOS.
|
|
NM
|
NMS
stands for Network Management Station. This system is responsible for
managing a portion of a network. The NMS
talks to network management agents, which
reside in the managed nodes, via a network
management protocol.
|
|
NN
|
NNTP
stands for Network News Transport Protocol. It is the standard protocol
for the Usenet network on the Internet.
It has been around since the late 1970s. The current version was released
in 1986.
|
|
NO |
NOC
stands for Network Operations Center. Any center tasked with the operational
aspects of a production network. These
tasks include monitoring and control, troubleshooting, and user
assistance. Nodes
are a network connection point. Sometimes
a node refers to each computer system
linked to the network. Technically, in a local
access network, a node is any point that can create, receive or repeat
a message or packet. This can include
hubs, repeaters,
routers and peripherals. NOS
stands for Network Operating System. A NOS is for running a client-server
network using file
servers and workstation
client computers. The operating
system software integrates the network
hardware devices.
|
|
NS |
NSAP
stands for Network Service Access Point. This is the point at which the
OSI Network Service is made available to
a transport entity. The NSAPs are identified
by OSI network model network
addresses. NSF
stands for the National Science Foundation. They
are a federally funded organization in the US that manages the NSFNET.
This network connects major research institutions
and universities across the country. NSFNET
stands for the National Science Foundation Network
This is a collection of local, regional, and mid-level networks
run by the National Science Foundation in
the US. It is a high-speed backbone
on the Internet. NSFNET provides scientists
access to several supercomputers across the country.
|
|
Nu |
Num-lock
key
refers to a key on the keyboard that locks
in the numbers on the keypad. By pressing this key the keypad turns into
a numeric keypad or conversely changes
it back to the directional keys. The
Num-lock key is normally located near the directional keys. There is usually
an LED indicator to tell the user
whether the num-lock is turned on. The operating
system can turn on the Num-lock key when the system boots
through BIOS settings or boot configuration
settings. Numeric
keypads are a set of usually 17 keys on the keyboard
that can input numbers, mathematical signs
and include an enter key. They form a
10-key calculator layout on the right side of the keyboard. The Num-lock
key must be toggled on for the numbers to work, otherwise the keypad
defaults to directional keys.
|
