| A |
| A
Series |
(Unisys)
mainframe computer systems line, derived from Burroughs. |
| ABI |
Application
Binary Interface – A specification that defines how executable programs
(called binaries) are stored and how they interface with hardware. |
| ACF |
(IBM)
Automated Cartridge Facility |
| ACORD |
(non-profit
standards developer for the Insurance industry) |
| ACPI |
Advanced
Configuration and Power Interface |
| AD |
(Microsoft)
Active Directory, the directory services of Windows 2000. |
| AD |
Applications
Development, the process of building software applications. |
| ADO |
(Microsoft)
ActiveX Data Objects |
| ADSI |
Active
Directory Service Interface |
| ADT |
Application
Development Tool, software tools for building applications software. |
| AFS/DFS |
(types
of ) Distributed File Service protocols |
| AIX |
(IBM)
Unix system - Advanced Interactive eXecutive. See also RS/6000 |
| AIX5L:A58 |
Latest
major release of IBM’s leading UNIX operating system. |
| Alpha |
(Compaq)
computer processor chip series, derived from Digital. |
| AMD |
Advanced
Micro Devices |
| ANSI |
American
National Standards Institute |
| API |
Application
Programming Interface |
| APPC |
Application
Program-to-Program Communication |
| AS/400 |
(IBM)
proprietary mid range business computer system line. |
| ASIC |
Application
Specific Integrated Circuit – A chip designed for a particular application.
ASICs are built by connecting existing circuit building blocks in new ways. |
| ASO |
(CA)
Advanced Storage Option |
| ASP |
(Microsoft)
Active Server Pages |
| ASP |
Applications
Service Provider/Provision. |
| ATL |
Automated
Tape Library |
| ATM |
Automatic
Teller Machine |
| ATM |
Asynchronous
Transfer Mode – A protocol that offers a single and extremely powerful
standard for voice, video, and data transfer. |
| Availability |
Measure
of the per cent of time a computer system is available and working. |
| B |
| B2B |
Business-to-Business
e-business. |
| B2C |
Business-to-Customer/Consumer
e-business. |
| B2P |
Business-to-Partner
e-business. |
| Bandwidth |
The
data throughput a network connection, and bus, etc., can sustain, measured
in Mbps or Gbps. Measures how much data can be moved in a unit of time (see
also Mbps). |
| BASDA |
Business
& Accounting Software Developers’ Association (standards developer) |
| BIOS |
Basic
Input Output System – Key core component of a PC system. |
| BIS |
(Unisys)
Business Information Server development tool (was MAPPER). |
| BOOTP |
Bootstrap
Protocol |
| Bricks
and Mortar |
E-business
term denoting established, traditional business with physical assets, as
compared with a ‘dot.com’. |
| C |
| C/S |
Client/Server
– A distributed computing style popularised in the mid-1990s. |
| CA |
Computer
Associates International |
| CA |
Continuous
Availability – General term for a computer systems able to maintain effectively
continuous availability. Normally taken to mean at least 99.999 per cent
availability. |
| CAD |
Computer
Aided Design. |
| CAGR |
Compound
Annual Growth Rate. |
| CAL |
(Microsoft)
Client Access Licence - term for client device software licence. |
| Capricorn |
(Unisys)
Code name for CMP based ClearPath IX line successor system. |
| CARP |
(Microsoft)
Cache Array Routing Protocol |
| CASE |
Computer
Aided Systems/Software Engineering |
| CBT |
Computer
Based Training. |
| CC |
Cache
Coherence – A term describing the need and/or mechanism used in a multiprocessor
system with processor cache memories to maintain coherence of what is in
cache and main memory. |
| CD |
Compact
Disk. |
| CD-RW:A107 |
Compact
Disc-Read/Write – Popular, recent, high-capacity writeable storage media. |
| CDSA |
(Intel)
Common Data Security Architecture |
| CEO |
Chief
Executive Officer. |
| CFO |
Chief
Financial Officer |
| CGI |
Common
Gateway Interface (script specification) |
| CICS |
(IBM)
Customer Information Control System |
| CIFS |
Common
Internet File System |
| CIM |
(Unisys)
Complex Information Manager |
| CIM |
Common
Information Model (schema) |
| CIO |
Chief
Information Officer – Enterprise executive responsible for IT. |
| CISC |
Complex
Instruction Set Computer – A computer – processor architecture with an extensive
instruction set, used in most proprietary system such as IBM S/390, AS/400
etc. |
| CLB |
Component
Load Balancing |
| ClearPath
IX |
(Unisys)
line of enterprise server computers succeeding, and compatible with, 2200
Series. |
| ClearPath
NX |
(Unisys)
line of enterprise server computers succeeding, and compatible with, A Series. |
| ClearPath |
(Unisys)
lines of enterprise server computers. |
| Clock
Speed |
System
clock speed, of a processor, bus, or interconnect, measured in MHz, and
a coarse indicator of potential speed (see also MHz). |
| Cluster |
A
group of interconnected computer systems able to operate to some degree
as a single image system. |
| CMOS |
Complementary
Metal Oxide Semiconductor – CMOS is a widely used type of semiconductor
for computer processors, usually cheaper than bipolar chips. |
| CMP |
(Unisys)
Cellular MultiProcessing – A Unisys Intel-based computer architecture providing
a very large (up to 32-processor) partitionable SMP-like system. |
| COM+ |
(Microsoft)
Component Object Model Plus – A model for binary code which enables programmers
to develop objects that can be accessed by any COM+ compliant application. |
| Compaq |
Compaq
Computer Corporation, a system vendor. |
| COMTI |
Component
Object Model Transaction Integrator |
| COPS |
Common
Open Protocol Services |
| CORBA |
Common
Object Request Broker Architecture |
| CORe |
Compaq/Oracle
Reseller e-nitiative |
| COTS |
Common
Off The Shelf (parts) – Good things to use when building a low cost computer
system. |
| CPU |
Central
Processing Unit – The brain of a computer, also known as the processor or
central processor. |
| CRM |
Customer
Relationship Management – Term for broad ranges of sales and marketing support
applications. eCRM denotes an e-business/Internet CRM style. |
| CTEC |
(Microsoft)
Certified Tech. Education Center |
| CTI |
Computer
Telephony Integration |
| CTO |
Chief
Technology Officer |
| CY |
Calendar
Year time-period. |
| Cyberspace |
E-business
term referring to the whole connected world of the Internet. |
| D |
| DB2 |
(IBM)
Relational DBMS |
| DBA |
Data
Base Administrator/Administration |
| DBMS |
DataBase
Management System. |
| DCOM |
(Microsoft)
Distributed Component Object Model |
| DDK |
Device
Driver (Tool)Kit |
| DEN |
Directory
Enabled Networks – An industry Initiative (Microsoft and Cisco Systems principal
participants) to provide standards and interoperability between network
systems and enterprise directories. |
| Denim |
(Novell)
Directory-Enabled Net Infrastructure Model |
| Dfs |
Distributed
File System |
| DHCP |
(Microsoft)
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol |
| DIB |
Dual
Independent Bus – A bus architecture that is part of Intel’s Pentium Pro
and subsequent microprocessors. |
| DirectX |
(Microsoft)
- set of hardware access APIs |
| Discontinuity |
Dramatic
change in a previously static or slowly evolving system or economy. |
| DISP |
Directory
Information Shadowing Protocol |
| DLT |
Digital
Linear Tape (tape format) |
| DMR |
(Stratus)
Dual Mode Redundant – Server architecture design which duplicates all key
components. |
| DNA |
(Microsoft
Windows) Distributed interNetwork Architecture – Earlier Microsoft enterprise
software architecture. Windows 2000 DNA a later derivative. |
| DNS |
Domain
Naming System |
| DOJ |
(U.S.)
Department of Justice |
| DOM |
Document
Object Model |
| Dot.com |
Colloquial
term for new Internet based business. |
| DRAM |
Dynamic
Random Access Memory – A type of memory used in most personal computers
for main memory. |
| DRDA |
(IBM)
Distributed Relational Database Architecture |
| DSBM |
(see
SBM/DSBM) |
| DSC |
Development
Service Company |
| DSP |
Digital
Signal Processor |
| DSS |
Decision
Support System |
| DVD |
Digital
Video Disk |
| E |
| e.p.s. |
Earnings
Per Share |
| EAB |
(IBM)
Enterprise Access Builder |
| EAE |
(Unisys)
Enterprise Application Environment development tools (Was LINC). |
| ECC |
Error
Correcting Code (Memory) |
| ECMA
|
European
Computer Manufacturers Association |
| ECRM |
e-business
Customer Relationship Management System application software. |
| EDI |
Electronic
Data Interchange |
| EDIFACT |
(United
Nations Working Party) EDI/MIME protocol |
| EFS |
Encrypting
File System – Secure file system in Windows 2000. |
| EJB |
Enterprise
Java Beans |
| EMEA |
Europe,
Middle East, and Africa geography. |
| EMO |
(Unisys)
Enterprise Output Manager software for network distribution of electronic
output. |
| Enterprise |
Large
commercial computer of mainframe power, but built with lower cost Server
Technologies |
| EPIC |
Explicitly
Parallel Instruction Computing |
| ERP |
Enterprise
Resource Planning applications software. |
| ESA |
Enterprise
Storage Array |
| ESCON |
(tape
drive interface standard) |
| ESS |
(IBM's)
Enterprise Storage System |
| ESV |
Enterprise
Systems Vendor |
| EVP |
Executive
Vice President |
| H |
| HA |
High
Availability – General term for a computer system able to maintain higher
(than average for its class) availability. Normally taken to mean at least
99.9 per cent availability. |
| HCL |
Hardware
Compatibility Lists – Microsoft’s lists of hardware systems compatible with
its software. |
| HD |
Hard
(disc) Drive |
| Heritage
IT |
Positive
term for longer established IT systems, implying of value, used in preference
to pejorative ‘legacy systems’. |
| HIPPA |
(The
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) |
| HIS |
(Microsoft)
Host Integration Server |
| HMP |
(Unisys)
Heterogeneous MultiProcessing – A server architecture permitting multiple,
dissimilar O/Ss to run at the same time in different partitions on the same
system. |
| HP |
Hewlett-Packard,
a maker of UNIX computer systems. |
| HR |
Human
Resources |
| HRMS |
Human
Resources Management System |
| HTML |
Hyper
Text Mark-up Language |
| HTTP |
Hyper
Text Transfer Protocol |
| HTTPS |
HTTP
using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) |
| I |
| I/O |
Input/Output
(channel) |
| IA |
Itanium
Architecture – The architecture of Intel’s new generation of 64-bit systems,
of which Itanium is first instance. (Previously called IA-64.) |
| IA-32 |
Long
established Intel architecture for its 32-bit processor families, including
Pentium and Xeon processor lines.
Can address up to 4 GB. |
| IA-64 |
See
above. Can address up to 16
TB. |
| IAS |
Internet
Authentication Service |
| ICE |
(Unisys)
Internet Commerce Enabler, central Unisys middleware software for building
and deploying e-business systems (was COOL ICE). |
| ICF |
(Unisys)
Integrated Component Framework |
| IDC |
International
Data Corporation - IT markets researcher. |
| IEEE |
Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. |
| IIOP |
Internet
Inter ORB Protocol |
| IIS |
(Microsoft)
Internet Information Server – Microsoft’s Web server that runs on Windows
NT and 2000 platforms. |
| IMAP4 |
Internet
Message Access Protocol (version) 4 |
| IMS |
(IBM)
Information Management System |
| Industry
Standard |
Term
denoting business computer systems built with standard Intel Systems, Microprocessors
and other COTS components, at low cost, in high volume. |
| Intel |
Intel
Corporation, world’s largest microprocessor maker. |
| Internet
Economy |
E-business
term referring to the aggregate of business activity on the Web, and to
its different characteristics. |
| IOE |
(Unisys)
Integrated Operating Environment for the ClearPath IX and NX environments. |
| IOS |
Operating
software for the Cisco Systems family of networking systems. |
| IP |
Internet
Protocol, the increasingly dominant networking standard(s) of the Internet. |
| IPO |
Initial
Public Offering |
| IPP |
Internet
Printing Protocol |
| IPsec |
IP
Security |
| IPX |
Internetwork
Packet eXchange |
| IRC |
Internet
Relay Chat |
| IrDA |
Infrared
Data Association |
| IRMC |
Intel
Remote Management Card |
| IS |
Information
Services |
| ISA |
(Intel)
Instruction Set Architecture |
| ISA |
(Microsoft
IIS) Internet Security & Acceleration Server |
| ISAPI |
(Microsoft
IIS) Internet Server API |
| ISP |
Internet
Service Provider. |
| ISS |
Industry
Standard Systems – Software Strategies categorisation term, denoting systems
based on high volume, standardised technologies, usually including Intel
processors and Microsoft software. |
| ISSLOW |
Integrated
Services over Slow Links |
| ISV |
Independent
Software Vendor |
| IT |
Information
Technology, general term for computing, usually business. |
| Itanium |
New
Intel 64-bit processor, first in a family of Itanium Architecture systems. |
| L |
| LAN |
Local
Area Network – A computer network that spans a relatively small area. |
| Latency |
A
key property of an access path referring to the time a processor operation
takes to complete a subtask (such as fetching a value from cache). |
| LCCM |
(IBM)
LanClient Control Manager |
| LDAP |
Lightweight
Directory Access Protocol – Open industry standard e-directory access standard,
used in Active Directory. |
| Linux |
Increasingly
popular UNIX based operating system, maintained by novel ‘open source’ process,
whereby no one company owns the software code. |
| LPAR |
(IBM)
Logical Partition (of large CPU) |
| LRN |
Learning
Resource INterchange |
| LTO |
(IBM/HP/SeaGate)
Linear Tape Open |
| M |
| Mainframe |
Traditional,
large, powerful business computer system, typically fast but expensive. |
| MAPI |
(Microsoft)
Mail/Messaging Applications Programming Interface |
| MB |
MegaByte
(1,048,576 bytes) – A measure of disk or memory. |
| MBps |
Megabits
per second – A measure of data transfer bandwidth. |
| McKinley |
(Intel)
Code name for next-generation 64-bit chipset to follow Merced. |
| MCP |
(Unisys)
operating system for Unisys A Series enterprise servers and mainframes. |
| MCS |
Microsoft
Consulting Services |
| MCSC |
Microsoft
Certified Support Centre |
| MCSD |
Microsoft
Certified Solution Developers |
| MCSE |
Microsoft
Certified Systems Engineers |
| MCTEC |
Microsoft
Certified Technical Education Center – Microsoft approved training provider. |
| MDAC |
Microsoft
Data Access Components |
| Me |
(Microsoft)
Millennium edition (O/S) |
| MHz |
MegaHertz
– 106 CPU cycles/second – A measure of CPU clock speed. |
| Microsoft |
World’s
largest software products vendor for PCs and ‘industry standard systems’. |
| MIME |
Multipurpose
Internet Mail Extensions |
| MIPS |
(IBM)
Millions of Instructions per Second |
| Mission
Critical |
Refers
to systems whose operation is critical to the business mission of their
owner. |
| MLAPI |
Multilingual
API |
| MLOC |
Millions
of Lines of Code |
| MMC |
Microsoft
Management Console – Key systems management service in Windows 2000. |
| MMS |
Microsoft
Metadirectory Services |
| MOC |
Microsoft
Official Curriculum |
| MOF |
(OMG
standard) Meta Object Facility |
| MPP |
Massively
Parallel Processing – Computer system using a very large number of processing
nodes and operating with high parallelism. |
| MQ |
Generic
Message Queuing, a form of middleware model for loosely interconnecting
systems view message passing. |
| MQSeries |
(IBM)
popular message queuing middleware software line, market leader. |
| MRO |
Maintenance,
Repair & Operations |
| MS
AS |
Microsoft
Advanced Server |
| MSAS |
(Microsoft)
Application Services, the applications software service built into Windows
2000. |
| MSCE |
MicroSoft
Certified Engineer – Software engineer having passed Microsoft certification
exams. |
| MSCS |
Microsoft
Cluster Service |
| MSDA |
Microsoft
Direct Access program |
| MSDSS |
Microsoft
Directory Synchronisation Services |
| MSFMU |
Microsoft
File Migration Utility |
| MSMQ |
MicroSoft
Message Queue – Key middleware service in Windows 2000 Advanced Server and
above for asynchronous messaging. |
| MSMQ |
(Microsoft)Message
Queue Services, the Windows 2000 message queuing software line. |
| MSN |
MicroSoft
Network – The Microsoft Internet portal and consumer network service. |
| MSTS |
Microsoft
Terminal Services/Server |
| MTS |
Microsoft
Transaction Service – Key middleware service in Windows 2000 Advanced Server
and above for transaction processing under the COM+ programming model. |
| MVS |
(IBM)
Multiple Virtual System (mainframe O/S) |
| N |
| NAS |
Network
Attached Storage |
| NASDAQ |
National
Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotations |
| NCA:A379 |
Near
Continuous Availability – General term for a computer systems able to maintain
near continuous availability. Normally taken to mean at least 99.99% availability. |
| NCP |
(Novell)
Connecting Points |
| NDS |
(Novell)
Directory Services |
| NetBIOS |
Network
Basic Input Output System |
| Network
Effects |
Term
denoting a market exhibiting increasing returns to scale effects. |
| NFS |
Network
File System |
| NGWS |
Next
Generation Windows Services |
| NLB |
Network
Load Balancing – Clustering technique used for IP traffic, e.g. Web hits,
in Windows 2000, and other systems. |
| NNTP |
Network
News Transfer Protocol |
| NOS |
Network
Operating System |
| NSP |
Network
Service Provider |
| NSTL |
(independent
software test laboratory) |
| NTFS |
(Windows)
NT File System |
| NUMA |
(Sequent)
Non-Uniform Memory Access – Computer architecture which combines several
SMP building blocks into a single system, where processors may not have
equally fast access to parts of the memory. Can scale to large processor
counts in a single system |
| NUMA-Q |
Brand
name for the IBM range of large NUMA architecture enterprise server systems,
extended from IBM’s purchase of Sequent, and now available. |
| NYSE |
New
Yotk Stock Exchange |
| O |
| O/S |
Operating
System. Suite of programs which operate and control a computer system. |
| OAG |
Open
Applications Group (XML Standards Body) |
| ODBC |
Open
Data Base Connection, a Microsoft standard/facility for giving access to
different data sources. |
| OEM |
Original
Equipment Manufacturer – General term in computing and elsewhere for a manufacturer. |
| OLAP |
On-Line
Analytical Processing |
| OLE
DB |
Object
Linking and Embedding DataBase – A Newer Microsoft standard and facility
for giving programmatic access to databases. |
| OLE |
Object
Linking and Embedding |
| OLTP |
On
Line Transaction Processing - Widely used business-computing mode for processing
transactions on-line. |
| OMG |
Object
Management Group (Standards body) |
| Open
Systems |
Broad
term used to describe mostly UNIX systems, with connotations of ‘openness’
and interoperability through use of common standards. |
| ORB |
Object
Request Broker |
| OS/390 |
(IBM)
mainframe O/S - System 390 |
| OS/400 |
(IBM)
midrange O/S |
| OS2200 |
(Unisys)
operating system for 2200 series enterprise servers and mainframes, now
named ClearPath IX Integrated Operating Environment (IOE). |
| P |
| PA |
(Hewlett-Packard)
Precision Architecture |
| PAE |
(Intel)
Physical Address Extension |
| PC |
Personal
Computer, single user computer built to PC standards. |
| PCI |
(Intel)
Peripheral Component Interconnect – A local bus standard developed by Intel
Corporation. Most modern PCs include a PCI bus in addition to a more general
ISA expansion bus. |
| PCMCIA |
Personal
Computer Memory Card International Association |
| PDA |
Personal
Digital Assistant – small, handheld or pocket computing device, e.g. Palm
Pilot. |
| PFA |
(IBM)
Predictive Failure Analysis |
| PIM |
Personal
Information Manager |
| PKI |
Public
Key Infrastructure |
| POP3 |
Post
Office Protocol (version) 3 |
| PSS |
Product
Support Services – Microsoft |
| R |
| R&D |
Research
& Development, the creation and improvement of new technologies and
products. |
| RADIUS |
Remote
Access Dial-Up User Service |
| RAID |
Redundant
Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks – A category of disk drives
that employ two or more drives in combination for fault tolerance and performance. |
| RAM |
Random
Access Memory |
| RAS |
Reliability,
Availability, and Serviceability – Three key attributes of high performance
server systems. |
| RCn |
Release
Candidate (number) "n" |
| RDBMS |
Relational
DataBase Management System. |
| RDRAM |
(Rambus
Inc.) Rambus DRAM, a type of memory. A replacement for older technologies,
and able to deliver speeds up to 600 MHz. Licensed by Intel in 1997 for
its motherboards. |
| Rip
and Replace |
Strategy
of removing all (old systems) and replacing (usually by the newest). |
| RISC |
Reduced
Instruction Set Computer, a popular, older computer architecture used in
many UNIX servers and workstations. |
| RMI |
(Sun)
Remote Method Invocation |
| RPC |
Remote
Procedure Call |
| RRP |
Recommended
Retail Price. |
| RS/6000 |
(IBM)
UNIX server computer and workstation line. |
| RSVP |
Resource
Reservation Protocol |
| RTM |
Release
To Manufacturing |
| S |
| S/390 |
(IBM)
System/390 mainframe computer system line. |
| SAN |
See
Storage Area Network, or Server Area Network or System Area Network |
| SAP
R/3 |
SAP's
flagship ERP product |
| SAP |
SAP
AG, leading vendor of ERP and –marketplace software applications. |
| SBM/DSBM |
Subnet
Bandwidth Manager/Designated Subnet Bandwidth Manager |
| SCI |
Scaleable
Coherent Interconnect – Standard interface standard for interconnection
of the separate SMP systems in a NUMA architecture system. |
| SCSI |
Small
Computer System Interface |
| SDK |
Software
Development (Tool)Kit |
| SDRAM |
Synchronous
DRAM, an older type of memory that ran at higher clock speeds than prior
memory types. SDRAM could run at a max of about 133 MHz, insufficient for
current PC's, and has since been replaced by newer types such as RDRAM and
SLDRAM. |
| SEC |
Securities
and Exchange Commission |
| Server
Area Network |
Describes
a specific SMP systems architecture in which a switched interconnect is
used instead of a shared bus. |
| SFA |
Sales
Force Automation |
| Shared
Memory |
An
architecture in which several processors access a common, shared memory. |
| Shared
Nothing |
A
clustering architecture in which the processors share neither memory nor
storage. |
| SHV |
(Intel)
Standard High Volume Server – Standardised Intel design SMP commodity server,
usually 2- or 4-way, usually using an Intel motherboard. Low cost and commonality
of standards make it ubiquitous. Can be considered as a building block for
more complex system architectures. |
| SIG |
Special
Interest Group |
| SIMD |
Single
Instruction Multiple Data. |
| SLA |
Service
Level Agreement |
| SLDRAM |
SyncLink
DRAM, a new type of memory being developed by the SyncLink Consortium of
computer manufacturers. Competes with RDRAM, which is backed by Intel. |
| SMB |
Server
Message Block (Protocol) |
| SME |
Small
to Medium Enterprise |
| SMP |
Symmetric
MultiProcessing – The most popular architecture for parallel multiprocessor
computer systems. Widely used in all types of computer systems for 30 years.
Intel SMP systems range from 2-, 4-, and 8-way (CPUs), with a few special
larger designs. |
| SMS |
(Microsoft)
Systems Management Server |
| SMTP |
Simple
Mail Transfer Protocol |
| SNA |
Systems
Network Architecture |
| SNIA |
Storage
Networking Industry Association |
| SNMP |
Simple
Network Management Protocol |
| SOAP |
Simple
Object Access Protocol |
| SOHO |
Small
Office/Home Office |
| SPn |
(Microsoft)
Service Pack "n" |
| SP |
Service
Provider |
| SPARC |
(Sun
Microsystems) Scalable Processor ARChitecture |
| SPEC |
System
Perfomance Evaluation Council |
| SPECInt-rate95 |
SPEC
commercial benchmark |
| SPECweb99+B36 |
SPEC
web benchmark |
| SPO |
(Unisys)
Single Point Operations, software product for systems management of distributed
systems from single point. |
| SPPS |
Serial
Program Parallel Subsystem – A key concept in utilising cluster systems
in practice. If parallel subsystem adapted to support parallel processing,
front-end programs may be of normal serial type. |
| SPX |
Sequenced
Packet eXchange |
| SQL |
Structured
Query Language |
| SQL-J |
Structured
Query Language- Java |
| SRAM |
Static
Random Access Memory – A type of memory that is faster and more reliable
than the more common DRAM, but more expensive. |
| SSL |
Secure
Sockets Layer |
| SSO |
Single
Sign On |
| SSPI |
Security
Support Provider Interface |
| Storage
Area Network |
High-speed
network interconnecting enterprise storage subsystems and the server computers
they support. TCO: |
| SVP |
Senior
Vice President |
| System
Area Network |
Defines
a cluster of multiple SMP systems interconnected through a switched interconnect
fabric. |
| T |
| TB |
Terabyte
1,099,511,627,776 bytes (1,024 Gigabytes) |
| TCO |
Total
Cost of Ownership |
| TCP/IP |
Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol – The suite of communications protocols
used to connect hosts on the Internet. |
| TIP |
(IBM)
Transaction Internet Protocol |
| TMR |
(Stratus)
Triple Mode Redundant - Server architecture design which triplicates all
key server components. |
| TND |
(CA)
The Next Dimension (as in Unicenter TND) |
| TNG |
(CA)
The Next Generation (as in Unicenter
TNG) |
| TPC |
Transaction
Processing Council – A server performance benchmarking standards body. |
| TPC-C |
TPC’s
standard ‘C’ Performance Benchmark for client/server OLTP. |
| tpmC |
(TPC)
Transactions Per Minute (using benchmark) "C" |
| V |
| VAR |
Value
Added Reseller |
| VARCHAR |
(DBMS
variable length character format) |
| VAT |
Value
Added Tax (UK purchase tax) |
| VB |
Visual
Basic |
| VBITS |
Visual
Basic Insider’s Technical Summit |
| VI
Architecture |
Virtual
Interface Architecture – An Intel/Microsoft/others proposed cluster interconnect
standard, defining a new messaging interface optimised for clustered nodes
in systems and SANs. A low-latency, high bandwidth data transport architecture,
VI is significantly increasing the performance of standards-based Intel
clustered systems. |
| Virtual |
E-business
term denoting the electronically connected firm and its suppliers, Enterprise
Partners, channels, and customer. |
| VLIW |
Very
Large Instruction Word – A newer general type of computer architecture. |
| VOIP |
Voice
Over Internet Protocol |
| Voyage |
(Unisys)
Code name for new CMP-based next-generation system for ClearPath IX line,
due in 2001. |
| VP |
Vice
President |
| VPN |
Virtual
Private Network |
| VSAM |
(IBM)Virtual
Storage Access Method |
| W |
| W3C |
World
Wide Web Consortium |
| WAN |
Wide
Area Network – An enterprise network spanning a region, a nation or the
globe. |
| WAP |
Wireless
Application Protocol – A standard for mobile phone Internet connectivity. |
| WBEM |
Web
Based Enterprise Management |
| Whole
Product |
Or
‘Whole Product Solution’, a term covering all the products and services,
from one or several vendors required to provide a complete solution to a
customer’s need. |
| Windows
2000 |
(Microsoft)
new operating system released February 2000, replacing Windows NT. |
| Windows
NT |
(Microsoft)
Windows ‘New Technology’, a popular, low-cost server and workstation operating
system, mostly for Intel-based systems. |
| WinHEC |
Windows
Hardware Engineering Conference |
| WINS |
Windows
Internet Naming Service |
| Wintel |
(Microsoft
and Intel) from ‘Win’dows and In’tel’ |
| WLBS |
Windows
NT Load Balancing Service |
| WMI |
Windows
Management Instrumentation |
| WNLB |
(Microsoft)
Windows Network Load Balancing |
| X |
| X.500 |
(An
ISO and ITU-based standard for Global Directory Structure) |
| X12 |
(An
ANSI-approved EDI standard) |
| XA |
(Open
Group) eXtended Architecture |
| XMI |
XML
Metadata Interchange |
| XML |
eXtensible
Markup Language- Key, open, Internet standard for self describing document
exchange. |
| XP |
(Microsoft).
eXPerience. Suffix for next Windows desktop OS versions. |
| XSL |
XML
Style-sheet Language |
| XSLT |
Extensible
Style Language Transformation |
| XSP |
“X”
Service Provider – Where “X” prefix can be Internet, Application, Host,
Wireless, etc. |