Complete Glossary of Terms for Windows XP Operating System

Symbols
.inf -> The file name extension for files that contain device information or scripts to control hardware operations.
100baseT -> The Ethernet standard for local area networks using twisted-pair cable carrying data at 100 megabits per second (Mbps).
10base2 -> The Ethernet and IEEE 802.3 standard for baseband local area networks using a thin coaxial cable up to 200 meters long and carrying data
at 10 megabits per second (Mbps). Cables connect to network adapters by a BNC connector.
10baseT -> The Ethernet standard for local area networks using twisted-pair cable carrying data at 10 megabits per second (Mbps).

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A active volume -> The volume from which the computer starts up. The
A (address) resource record -> A resource record used to map a DNS
domain name to a host IP address on the network. See also: domain
name; Domain Name System (DNS); resource record (RR)
access control -> A security mechanism that determines which operations
a user, group, service, or computer is authorized to perform on a computer
or on a particular object, such as a file, printer, registry key, or directory
service object. See also: permission; group; object; registry; service
access control entry (ACE) -> An entry in an object's discretionary
access control list (DACL) that grants permissions to a user or group. An
ACE is also an entry in an object's system access control list (SACL) that
specifies the security events to be audited for a user or group. See also:
access control; permission; discretionary access control list (DACL);
object; system access control list (SACL)
account lockout -> A Windows security feature that locks a user account
if a number of failed logon attempts occur within a specified amount of
time, based on security policy lockout settings. Locked accounts cannot
log on.
acknowledgment message -> For Message Queuing, a message class
that indicates that a message arrived or was retrieved by the target
application (a positive acknowledgment), or that an error occurred before
the original message could be retrieved (a negative acknowledgment).
These messages are sent to administration queues on the source
computer. See also: administration queue; Message Queuing
active -> Describes the window or icon that you are currently using or that
is currently selected. The operating system always applies the next
keystroke or command you choose to the active window. Windows or icons
on the desktop that are not selected are inactive. See also: channel
active content -> Dynamic content, such as a stock ticker, a weather map,
or news, that is usually updated from the World Wide Web or a channel.
Active Directory -> The directory service that stores information about
objects on a network and makes this information available to users and
network administrators. Active Directory gives network users access to
permitted resources anywhere on the network using a single logon
process. It provides network administrators with an intuitive, hierarchical
view of the network and a single point of administration for all network
objects. See also: directory partition; service
Active Directory data model -> A model derived from the LDAP data
model. The directory holds objects that represent entities of various sorts,
described by attributes. The objects and classes of objects that can be
stored in the directory are defined in the schema. For each class of
objects, the schema defines the attributes an instance of the class must
have, the additional attributes it can have, and the class that can be its
parent. See also: Active Directory; attribute; Lightweight Directory
Access Protocol (LDAP); schema
Active Directory Users and Computers -> An administrative tool
designed to perform day-to-day Active Directory administration tasks.
These tasks include creating, deleting, modifying, moving, and setting
permissions on objects stored in the directory. These objects include
organizational units, users, contacts, groups, computers, printers, and
shared file objects. See also: permission; Active Directory; object
active partition -> A partition from which an x86-based computer starts
up. The active partition must be a primary partition on a basic disk. If you
use Windows exclusively, the active partition can be the same as the
system volume. See also: basic disk; primary partition; system
partition; system volume; x86
active volume must be a simple volume on a dynamic disk. You cannot
mark an existing dynamic volume as the active volume, but you can
upgrade a basic disk containing the active partition to a dynamic disk.
Once the disk is upgraded to dynamic, the partition becomes a simple
volume that is active. See also: active partition; basic disk; dynamic
disk; dynamic volume; simple volume
ActiveX -> A set of technologies that allows software components to
interact with one another in a networked environment, regardless of the
language in which the components were created.
address (A) resource record -> A resource record used to map a DNS
domain name to a host IP address on the network. See also: domain
name; Domain Name System (DNS); resource record (RR)
address classes -> Predefined groupings of Internet addresses with each
class defining networks of a certain size. The range of numbers that can
be assigned for the first octet in the IP address is based on the address
class. Class A networks (values 1 to 126) are the largest, with more than
16 million hosts per network. Class B networks (128 to 191) have up to
65,534 hosts per network, and Class C networks (192 to 223) can have up
to 254 hosts per network. See also: Class A IP address; Class B IP
address; Class C IP address
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) -> In TCP/IP, a protocol that uses
broadcast traffic on the local network to resolve a logically assigned IP
address to its physical hardware or media access control layer address.
In ATM, ARP is used two different ways. For classical IP over
ATM, ARP is used to resolve addresses to ATM hardware addresses. For
ATM LAN emulation, ARP is used to resolve Ethernet/802.3 or Token Ring
addresses to ATM hardware addresses. See also: Internet Protocol (IP);
Message Authentication Code (MAC); packet; Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
administration queue -> For Message Queuing, a queue that stores
acknowledgment messages. See also: acknowledgment message;
Message Queuing
administrative alerts -> Alerts that relate to server and resource use.
They notify users about problems in areas such as security and access,
user sessions, server shutdown due to power loss (when an uninterruptible
power supply is available), directory replication, and printing. When a
computer generates an administrative alert, a message is sent to a
predefined list of users and computers. See also: Alerter service
administrator -> For Windows XP Professional, a person responsible for
setting up and managing domain controllers or local computers and their
user and group accounts, assigning passwords and permissions, and
helping users with networking problems. Administrators are members of
the Administrators group and have full control over the domain or
computer.
For Windows XP Home Edition, a person who can make system-
wide changes to the computer, install software, and who has access to all
files on the computer. A person with a computer administrator account has
full access to other user accounts on the computer.
Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) -> An open
industry specification that defines power management on a wide range of
mobile, desktop, and server computers and peripherals. ACPI is the
foundation for the OnNow industry initiative that allows system
manufacturers to deliver computers that will start at the touch of a
keyboard. ACPI design is essential to take full advantage of power
management and Plug and Play. See also: Plug and Play

Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center 11 January 2011
affinity -> For Network Load Balancing, the method used to associate
client requests to cluster hosts. When no affinity is specified, all network
requests are load balanced across the cluster without respect to their
source. Affinity is implemented by directing all client requests from the
same IP address to the same cluster host. See also: IP address; client
request
agent -> An application that runs on a Simple Network Management
Protocol (SNMP) managed device. The agent application is the object of
management activities. A computer running SNMP agent software is also
sometimes referred to as an agent. See also: service; Simple Network
Management Protocol (SNMP)
Alerter service -> A service used by the server and other services to
notify selected users and computers of administrative alerts that occur on
a computer. The Alerter service requires the Messenger service. See also:
administrative alerts; Messenger service; service
allocation unit -> The smallest amount of disk space that can be allocated
to hold a file. All file systems used by Windows organize hard disks based
on allocation units. The smaller the allocation unit size, the more efficiently
a disk stores information. If you do not specify an allocation unit size when
formatting the disk, Windows picks default sizes based on the size of the
volume. These default sizes are selected to reduce the amount of space
that is lost and the amount of fragmentation on the volume. An allocation
unit is also called a cluster. See also: file system; volume
American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) -> A
standard single-byte character encoding scheme used for text-based data.
ASCII uses designated 7-bit or 8-bit number combinations to represent
either 128 or 256 possible characters. Standard ASCII uses 7 bits to
represent all uppercase and lowercase letters, the numbers 0 through 9,
punctuation marks, and special control characters used in U.S. English.
Most current x86-based systems support the use of extended (or "high")
ASCII. Extended ASCII allows the eighth bit of each character to identify
an additional 128 special symbol characters, foreign-language letters, and
graphic symbols. See also: Unicode
AppleTalk -> The Apple Computer network architecture and network
protocols. A network that has Macintosh clients and a computer running
Windows 2000 Server or Windows NT Server with Services for Macintosh
functions as an AppleTalk network.
AppleTalk Phase 2 -> The extended AppleTalk Internet model designed
by Apple Computer that supports multiple zones within a network and
extended addressing capacity.
application programming interface (API) -> A set of routines that an
application uses to request and carry out lower-level services performed
by a computer's operating system. These routines usually carry out
maintenance tasks such as managing files and displaying information.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) See
definition for: American Standard Code for Information Interchange
(ASCII)
Assistive Technology Program -> A service that provides
recommendations for technology that can help people with disabilities.
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) -> A high-bandwidth digital
transmission technology that uses existing phone lines and also allows
voice transmissions over the same lines. Most of the traffic is transmitted
downstream to the user, generally at rates of 512 Kbps to about 6 Mbps.
asynchronous communication -> A form of data transmission in which
information is sent and received at irregular intervals, one character at a
time. Because data is received at irregular intervals, the receiving modem
must be signaled to let it know when the data bits of a character begin and
end. This is done by means of start and stop bits. See also: modem
(modulator/demodulator)
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) -> A high-speed connection-
oriented protocol used to transport many different types of network traffic.
ATM packages data in a 53-byte, fixed-length cell that can be switched
quickly between logical connections on a network. See also: protocol
ATM adaptation layer (AAL) -> The layer of the ATM protocol stack that
parses data into the payload portion of the ATM cell for transport across an
ATM network. See also: Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
Attribute -> For files, information that indicates whether a file is read-only,
hidden, ready for archiving (backing up), compressed, or encrypted, and
whether the file contents should be indexed for fast file searching.
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
In Active Directory, characteristics of an object and the type of
information an object can hold. For each object class, the schema defines
what attributes an instance of the class must have and what additional
attributes it might have.
audio input device -> An audio input device records music and voice
input into your computer. Examples of audio input devices are CD-ROM
players and microphones.
audit policy -> A policy that determines the security events to be reported
to the network administrator.
auditing -> The process that tracks the activities of users by recording
selected types of events in the security log of a server or a workstation.
authentication -> The process for verifying that an entity or object is who
or what it claims to be. Examples include confirming the source and
integrity of information, such as verifying a digital signature or verifying the
identity of a user or computer. See also: smart card; trust relationship
authoritative -> For DNS, describes a DNS server hosting a zone, or a
zone containing a name or record. When a DNS server is configured to
host a zone, it is said to be authoritative for names that do exist or could
exist within that zone. A DNS server is allowed to respond authoritatively to
queries for domain names for which it is authoritative. A zone is said to be
authoritative for a name if the name exists or could exist within a zone, and
it is said to be authoritiative for a record if the owner name of the record
exists or could exist within a zone. See also: DNS Server; domain name;
Domain Name System (DNS); name server (NS) resource record;
start-of-authority (SOA) resource record; zone
authoritative restore -> In Backup, a type of restore operation performed
on an Active Directory domain controller in which the objects in the
restored directory are treated as authoritative, replacing (through
replication) all existing copies of those objects. Authoritative restore is
applicable only to replicated system state data such as Active Directory
data and File Replication service data. Use the Ntdsutil.exe utility to
perform an authoritative restore. See also: Active Directory;
nonauthoritative restore
authorization -> The process that determines what a user is permitted to
do on a computer system or network.
Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) -> A feature of Windows XP
TCP/IP that automatically configures a unique IP address from the range
169.254.0.1 through 169.254.255.254 and a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0
when the TCP/IP protocol is configured for dynamic addressing and a
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is not available. See also:
DHCP server; Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP); IP address
availability -> A measure of the fault tolerance of a computer and its
programs. A highly available computer runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week. See also: fault tolerance
B
B-channel -> A single channel of an ISDN line that is used to carry either
voice or data information. ISDN Basic Rate Interface (BRI) has 2 B-
channels. ISDN Primary Rate Interface (PRI) in North America has 23 B-
channels. ISDN Primary Rate Interface (PRI) in Europe has 30 B-
channels. B-channel is also called bearer channel. See also: Integrated
Services Digital Network (ISDN)
background -> The screen background image used on a graphical user
interface such as Windows. Any pattern or picture that can be stored as a
bitmap (.bmp) file can be set as a screen background.
background program -> A program that runs while the user is working on
another task. The computer's microprocessor assigns fewer resources to
background programs than foreground programs. See also: foreground
program
backup domain controller (BDC) -> In Windows NT Server 4.0 or earlier,
a computer running Windows NT Server that receives a copy of the
domain's directory database (which contains all account and security
policy information for the domain).
The copy is synchronized periodically and automatically with the
master copy on the primary domain controller (PDC). BDCs also
authenticate user logon information and can be promoted to function as
PDCs as needed. Multiple BDCs can exist in a domain. Windows NT 3.51
and 4.0 BDCs can participate in a Windows 2000 domain when the
domain is configured in mixed mode. See also: primary domain
controller (PDC)
11 January 2011
backup media pool -> A logical collection of data-storage media that has
been reserved for use by Microsoft Windows Backup. Backup uses
Removable Storage to control access to specific media within a library.
See also: library; media pool; Removable Storage
backup operator -> A type of local or global group that contains the user
rights you need to back up and restore files and folders. Members of the
Backup Operators group can back up and restore files and folders
regardless of ownership, permissions, encryption, or auditing settings. See
also: auditing; global group; local group; user rights
backup set -> A collection of files, folders, and other data that has been
backed up and stored in a file or on one or more tapes. See also: backup
set catalog; on-disk catalog; on-media catalog
backup set catalog -> A summary of the files and folders that have been
saved in a backup set. See also: backup set
backup types -> A type that determines which data is backed up and how
it is backed up. There are five backup types: copy, daily, differential,
incremental, and normal. See also: copy backup; daily backup;
differential backup; incremental backup; normal backup
bandwidth -> In analog communications, the difference between the
highest and lowest frequencies in a given range. For example, an analog
telephone line accommodates a bandwidth of 3,000 hertz (Hz), the
difference between the lowest (300 Hz) and highest (3,300 Hz)
frequencies it can carry. In digital communications, bandwidth is expressed
in bits per second (bps). See also: bits per second (bps)
Bandwidth Allocation Protocol (BAP) -> A PPP control protocol that is
used on a multiprocessing connection to dynamically add and remove
links. See also: Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)
base priority -> A precedence ranking that determines the order in which
the threads of a process are scheduled for the processor. Use Task
Manager to view and change base priorities.
For Message Queuing, a property that specifies the queue's
priority in a public queue. You can set the base priority from -32,768 to
32,767; the default priority is 0. Private queues do not support base
priority. Message Queuing routes and delivers messages first by base
priority, then by message priority. See also: Message Queuing; private
queue; public queue
basic disk -> A physical disk that can be accessed by MS-DOS and all
Windows-based operating systems. Basic disks can contain up to four
primary partitions, or three primary partitions and an extended partition
with multiple logical drives. If you want to create partitions that span
multiple disks, you must first convert the basic disk to a dynamic disk using
Disk Management or the Diskpart.exe command-line utility. See also:
dynamic disk; extended partition; logical drive; MS-DOS (Microsoft
Disk Operating System); primary partition
basic input/output system (BIOS) -> On x86-based computers, the set of
essential software routines that test hardware at startup, start the
operating system, and support the transfer of data among hardware
devices. The BIOS is stored in read-only memory (ROM) so that it can be
executed when you turn on the computer. Although critical to performance,
the BIOS is usually invisible to computer users. See also: Extensible
Firmware Interface (EFI); read-only memory (ROM); x86
basic storage -> A storage method in MS-DOS, Windows, Windows NT,
and Windows 2000 for primary partitions, extended partitions, and logical
drives. See also: dynamic storage; extended partition; logical drive
basic volume -> A primary partition or logical drive that resides on a basic
disk. See also: basic disk; logical drive; primary partition
batch program-> An ASCII (unformatted text) file that contains one or
more operating system commands. A batch program's file name has a
.cmd or .bat extension. When you type the file name at the command
prompt, or when the batch program is run from another program, its
commands are processed sequentially. Batch programs are also called
batch files. See also: American Standard Code for Information
Interchange (ASCII); logon script
baud rate -> The speed at which a modem communicates. Baud rate
refers to the number of times the condition of the line changes. This is
equal to bits per second only if each signal corresponds to one bit of
transmitted data.
Modems must operate at the same baud rate in order to
communicate with each other. If the baud rate of one modem is set higher
than that of the other, the faster modem usually alters its baud rate to
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
match that of the slower modem. See also: bits per second (bps);
modem (modulator/demodulator)
Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND) -> An implementation of DNS
written and ported to most available versions of the UNIX operating
system. The Internet Software Consortium maintains the BIND software.
See also: DNS; BIND boot file
binary -> A base-2 number system in which values are expressed as
combinations of two digits, 0 and 1.
BIND boot file -> Configuration file used by Domain Name System (DNS)
servers running under versions of the Berkeley Internet Name Domain
(BIND) software implementation. The BIND boot file is a text file,
Named.boot, where individual lines in the file list boot directives used to
start a service when the DNS server is started. By default, Microsoft DNS
servers use DNS service parameters stored in the registry, but they allow
the use of a BIND boot file as an alternative for reading boot configuration
settings. See also: Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND); registry
boot
bindery -> A database in Novell NetWare 3.x that contains organizational
and security information about users and groups.
BIOS See definition for: basic input/output system (BIOS)
bit (binary digit) -> The smallest unit of information handled by a
computer. One bit expresses a 1 or a 0 in a binary numeral, or a true or
false logical condition. A group of 8 bits makes up a byte, which can
represent many types of information, such as a letter of the alphabet, a
decimal digit, or other character. Bit is also called binary digit. See also:
binary
bits per second (bps) -> The number of bits transmitted every second,
used as a measure of the speed at which a device, such as a modem, can
transfer data. See also: modem (modulator/demodulator)
boot -> The process of starting or resetting a computer. When first turned
on (cold boot) or reset (warm boot), the computer runs the software that
loads and starts the computer's operating system, which prepares it for
use.
boot files -> The system files needed to start Windows. The boot files
include Ntldr and Ntdetect.com. See also: partition boot sector
Boot Logging -> A process in which a computer that is starting (booting)
creates a log file that records the loading of each device and service. The
log file is called Ntbtlog.txt, and it is saved in the system root directory. See
also: systemroot
boot partition -> The partition that contains the Windows operating
system and its support files. The boot partition can be, but does not have
to be, the same as the system partition. See also: partition; Primary
disk; system partition
boot volume -> The volume that contains the Windows operating system
and its support files. The boot volume can be, but does not have to be, the
same as the system volume. See also: system volume; volume
BOOTP extensions -> A set of optional information types defined
originally in RFC 1497 for use with BOOTP service and later supported by
DHCP. In DHCP, these extensions form the legacy core set of client
parameters available and supported by most standard DHCP and BOOTP
servers. See also: bootstrap protocol (BOOTP)
bootstrap protocol (BOOTP) -> A protocol used primarily on TCP/IP
networks to configure diskless workstations. RFCs 951 and 1542 define
this protocol. DHCP is a later boot configuration protocol that uses this
protocol. The Microsoft DHCP service provides limited support for BOOTP
service. See also: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP); Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP); Request for
Comments (RFC)
broadband -> Of or relating to communications systems in which the
medium of transmission (such as a wire or fiber-optic cable) carries
multiple messages at a time, each message modulated on its own carrier
frequency by a modem.
broadband connection -> A high-speed connection. Broadband
connections are typically 256 kilobytes per second (KBps) or faster.
Broadband includes DSL and cable modem service.
broadband integrated services digital network (B-ISDN) -> An ITU-T
communication standard for high-speed networking that provides new
services, including voice, video, and data on the same network. See also:
11 January 2011
International Telecommunication Union - Telecommunication callback security -> A form of network security in which a remote access
[Standardization Sector] (ITU-T) server calls a user back at a preset number after the user has made an
initial connection and has been authenticated. See also: preset-to
broadcast -> An address that is destined for all hosts on a particular
callback; remote access server
network segment.
called subscriber ID (CSID) string -> A string that specifies the called
browser -> Software that interprets the markup of files in HTML, formats
subscriber ID transmitted by the receiving fax machine when receiving an
them into Web pages, and displays them to the end user. Some browsers
inbound fax. This string is usually a combination of the fax or telephone
also permit end users to send and receive e-mail, read newsgroups, and
number and the name of the business. It is often the same as the
play sound or video files embedded in Web documents. See also: World
transmitter subscriber ID. See also: string; transmitting station ID
Wide Web
(TSID) string
buffer -> A region of RAM reserved for use with data that is temporarily
canonical (CNAME) resource record -> A resource record used to map
held while waiting to be transferred between two locations, such as
an alternate alias name to a primary canonical DNS domain name used in
between an application's data area and an input/output device. See also:
the zone. See also: resource record (RR)
random access memory (RAM)
canonical name -> An object's distinguished name presented with the
built-in groups -> The default security groups installed with the operating
root first and without the LDAP attribute tags (such as: CN=, DC=). The
system. Built-in groups have been granted useful collections of rights and
segments of the name are delimited with forward slashes (/). For example,
built-in abilities.
In most cases, built-in groups provide all the capabilities needed CN=MyDocuments,OU=MyOU,DC=Microsoft,DC=Com
by a particular user. For example, if a domain user account belongs to the
is presented as
built-in Administrators group, logging on with that account gives a user
administrative capabilities over the domain and the domain servers. To microsoft.com/MyOU/MyDocuments
provide a needed set of capabilities to a user account, assign it to the
in canonical form. See also: distinguished name; Lightweight Directory
appropriate built-in group. See also: group
Access Protocol (LDAP)
bus -> A communication line used for data transfer among the
cartridge font -> A font contained in a plug-in cartridge and used to add
components of a computer system. A bus essentially allows different parts
fonts to laser, ink-jet, or high-end dot-matrix printers. Cartridge fonts are
of the system to share data. For example, a bus connects the disk-drive
distinguished both from internal fonts, which are contained in ROM in the
controller, memory, and input/output ports to the microprocessor. See
printer and are always available, and from downloadable (soft) fonts, which
also: expansion slot; universal serial bus (USB)
reside on disk and which can be sent to the printer as needed. See also:
bytes -> A unit of data that typically holds a single character, such as a downloadable fonts; font; font cartridge; read-only memory (ROM)
letter, a digit, or a punctuation mark. Some single characters can take up
cascading hubs -> A network configuration in which hubs are connected
more than one byte. See also: bit (binary digit)
to other hubs. See also: hub
C
catalog -> For Indexing Service, a collection of all index information and
cable modem -> A device that enables a broadband connection to the
stored properties for a particular group of file system directories. By
Internet by using cable television infrastructure. Access speeds vary
default, Indexing Service indexes the System and Web catalogs on your
greatly, with a maximum throughput of 10 megabits per second (Mbps).
hard drive. See also: property
cache -> For DNS and WINS, a local information store of resource records
CD-R -> Recordable compact disc. Data can be copied to the CD on more
for recently resolved names of remote hosts. Typically, the cache is built
than one occasion; however, data cannot be erased from the CD.
dynamically as the computer queries and resolves names. It also helps
optimize the time required to resolve queried names. See also: cache file; CD-RW -> Rewritable compact disc. Data can be copied to the CD on
resource record (RR) more than one occasion and can be erased.
cache file -> A file used by the Domain Name System (DNS) server to certificate -> A digital document that is commonly used for authentication
preload its names cache when service is started. Also known as the root and secure exchange of information on open networks, such as the
hints file because DNS uses resource records stored in this file to help Internet, extranets, and intranets. A certificate securely binds a public key
locate root servers that provide referral to authoritative servers for remote to the entity that holds the corresponding private key. Certificates are
names. For Windows DNS servers, the cache file is named Cache.dns and digitally signed by the issuing certification authority and can be issued for a
is located in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Dns folder. See also: user, a computer, or a service. The most widely accepted format for
authoritative; cache; systemroot certificates is defined by the ITU-T X.509 version 3 international standard.
See also: International Telecommunication Union -
caching -> The process of temporarily storing recently used data values in
Telecommunication [Standardization Sector] (ITU-T); certification
a special pool in memory for quicker subsequent access. For DNS,
authority (CA); private key; public key; service
typically the ability of the DNS server to store information learned about
the DNS namespace during the resolution of DNS queries. (For example, certificate revocation list (CRL) -> A document maintained and
the DNS server can cache DNS records received from other DNS servers.) published by a certification authority that lists certificates that have been
Caching is also available through the DNS Client service as a way for DNS revoked. See also: certificate; certification authority (CA)
clients to keep a cache of information learned during recent queries. See
certificate store -> Typically, a permanent storage where certificates,
also: caching resolver; DNS Server; Domain Name System (DNS)
certificate revocation lists, and certificate trust lists are stored. See also:
caching resolver -> A client-side DNS name resolution service that certificate; certificate revocation list (CRL); certificate trust list (CTL)
performs caching of recently learned DNS domain name information. The
certificate template -> A Windows construct that profiles certificates (that
caching resolver service provides system-wide access to DNS-aware
is, it prespecifies the format and content) based on their intended usage.
programs for resource records obtained from DNS servers during
When requesting a certificate from a Windows enterprise certification
processing of name queries. Cached data is used for a limited period of
authority (CA), certificate requestors are, depending on their access rights,
time and aged according to the active Time-to-Live (TTL) value. You can
able to select from a variety of certificate types that are based on
set the TTL individually for each resource record (RR). Otherwise, it
certificate templates, such as User and Code Signing. See also:
defaults to the minimum TTL set in the SOA RR for the zone. See also:
certificate; certification authority (CA)
caching; expire interval; minimum TTL; resolver; resource record
(RR); Time to Live (TTL) certificate trust list (CTL) -> A signed list of root certification authority
certificates that an administrator considers reputable for designated
callback number -> The number that a remote access server uses to call
purposes, such as client authentication or secure e-mail. See also:
back a user. This number can be preset by the administrator or specified
certificate; certification authority (CA); root certificate
by the user at the time of each call, depending on how the administrator
configures the user's callback options. The callback number should be the certification authority (CA) -> An entity responsible for establishing and
number of the phone line to which the user's modem is connected. See vouching for the authenticity of public keys belonging to users (end
also: preset-to callback; remote access server; set-by-caller callback entities) or other certification authorities. Activities of a certification
authority can include binding public keys to distinguished names through
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center 11 January 2011
signed certificates, managing certificate serial numbers, and certificate
revocation. See also: certificate; public key; root authority
certification hierarchy -> A model of trust for certificates in which
certification paths are created by means of the establishment of parent-
child relationships between certification authorities. See also: certification
authority (CA); certification path
certification path -> An unbroken chain of trust, consisting of certificates
from trusted certificate authorities, from a specific certificate to the root
certification authority in a certification hierarchy. See also: public key
Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) -> A challenge-
response authentication protocol for PPP connections documented in RFC
1994 that uses the industry-standard Message Digest 5 (MD5) one-way
encryption scheme to hash the response to a challenge issued by the
remote access server.
channel -> A path or link through which noncontrol information passes
between two devices. A single Basic Rate Interface (BRI) connection, for
example, has one physical connection but two channels for exchanging
information between devices. This is often called a bearer channel,
implying a channel that carries information.
On the Internet, a Web site designed to deliver content from the
Internet to your computer, similar to subscribing to a favorite Web site. See
also: active content; B-channel; D-channel
CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol) -> An
authentication protocol used by Microsoft remote access and Network
Connections. Using CHAP, a remote access client can send its
authentication credentials to a remote access server in a secure form.
Microsoft has created a Windows-specific variant of CHAP called MS-
CHAP. See also: remote access server; remote access
character mode -> A display mode in which the monitor can display
letters, numbers, and other text characters, but no graphical images or
character formatting (italics, superscript, and so on).
checkpoints See definition for: Restore Point
child object -> An object that resides in another object. A child object
implies relation. For example, a file is a child object that resides in a folder,
which is the parent object. See also: object; parent object
Class A IP address -> A unicast IP address that ranges from 1.0.0.1
through 126.255.255.254. The first octet indicates the network, and the
last three octets indicate the host on the network. See also: Class B IP
address; Class C IP address; IP address
Class B IP address -> A unicast IP address that ranges from 128.0.0.1
through 191.255.255.254. The first two octets indicate the network, and
the last two octets indicate the host on the network. See also: Class A IP
address; Class C IP address; IP address
Class C IP address -> A unicast IP address that ranges from 192.0.0.1 to
223.255.255.254. The first three octets indicate the network, and the last
octet indicates the host on the network. Network Load Balancing provides
optional session support for Class C IP addresses (in addition to support
for single IP addresses) to accommodate clients that make use of multiple
proxy servers at the client site. See also: Class A IP address; Class B IP
address; IP address
classical IP over ATM (CLIP) -> A proposed Internet standard, described
in RFC 2225, that allows IP communication directly on the ATM layer,
bypassing an additional protocol (such as Ethernet or Token Ring) in the
protocol stack. See also: Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM); Internet
Protocol (IP)
clear -> To turn off an option by removing the X or check mark from a
check box. You clear a check box by clicking it, or by selecting it and then
pressing the SPACEBAR.
client -> Any computer or program connecting to, or requesting the
services of, another computer or program. Client can also refer to the
software that enables the computer or program to establish the
connection.
For a local area network (LAN) or the Internet, a computer that
uses shared network resources provided by another computer (called a
server). See also: server
client application -> A Windows-based application that can display and
store linked or embedded objects. For distributed applications, the
application that imitates a request to a server application.
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
client request -> A service request from a client computer to a server
computer or, for Network Load Balancing, a cluster of computers. Network
Load Balancing forwards each client request to a specific host within the
cluster according to the system administrator's load-balancing policy. See
also: client; cluster; host; load balancing; server
ClipBook Server -> A system service that supports ClipBook Viewer,
which allows pages to be seen by remote ClipBooks.
cluster -> In data storage, the smallest amount of disk space that can be
allocated to hold a file. All file systems used by Windows organize hard
disks based on clusters, which consist of one or more contiguous sectors.
The smaller the cluster size, the more efficiently a disk stores information.
If no cluster size is specified during formatting, Windows picks defaults
based on the size of the volume. These defaults are selected to reduce the
amount of space that is lost and the amount of fragmentation on the
volume. A cluster is also called an allocation unit.
In computer networking, a group of independent computers that
work together to provide a common set of services and present a single-
system image to clients. The use of a cluster enhances the availability of
the services and the scalability and manageability of the operating system
that provides the services. See also: availability; client; file system;
scalability; volume
cluster adapter -> The adapter that, when using multiple network
adapters in each host of a Network Load Balancing cluster, handles the
network traffic for cluster operations (the traffic for all hosts in the cluster).
This adapter is programmed with the host's cluster IP address. See also:
cluster; dedicated adapter; IP address
Cluster Administrator -> An application that is used to configure a cluster
and its nodes, groups, and resources. Cluster Administrator can run on
any member of the trusted domain regardless of whether the computer is a
cluster node. See also: cluster; Cluster.exe; server cluster
Cluster Administrator extension -> A software component that
implements the Cluster Administrator extension application programming
interface (API) for allowing Cluster Administrator to configure a new
resource type. See also: application programming interface (API);
cluster; Cluster Administrator
Cluster API -> A collection of functions that are implemented by the
cluster software and used by a cluster-aware client or server application, a
cluster management application, or a Resource DLL. The Cluster API is
used to manage the cluster, cluster objects, and the cluster database. See
also: cluster; Resource DLL; server cluster
cluster disk -> A disk on a shared bus connected to the cluster nodes,
which all the cluster nodes can access (though not at the same time).
Cluster service -> The essential software component that controls all
aspects of server cluster operation and manages the cluster database.
Each node in a server cluster runs one instance of the Cluster service. See
also: cluster; server cluster
cluster-aware application -> An application that can run on a cluster
node and that can be managed as a cluster resource. Cluster-aware
applications use the Cluster API to receive status and notification
information from the server cluster. See also: server cluster; Cluster
API; cluster-unaware application; cluster
cluster-unaware application -> An application that can run on a cluster
node and be managed as a cluster resource but that does not support the
Cluster API. See also: cluster-aware application; cluster; Cluster API
Cluster.exe -> An alternative to using Cluster Administrator to administer
clusters from the command prompt. You can also call Cluster.exe from
command scripts to automate many cluster administration tasks. See also:
Cluster Administrator; cluster
Cmd Show Override, with -> When checked, opens the DDE server
application as specified by the integer in value. Possible values are 1
(normal), 2 (minimized), 3 (maximized), and 10 (application default).
When cleared, the DDE server application opens.
CMYK color space -> Multidimensional color space consisting of the
cyan, magenta, yellow, and black intensities that make up a given color.
Commercial color printing devices generally use this system of four-color
process inks. See also: color management; color space
code page -> A means of providing support for character sets and
keyboard layouts for different countries or regions. A code page is a table
that relates the binary character codes used by a program to keys on the
keyboard or to characters on the display.
11 January 2011

codec -> Hardware that can convert audio or video signals between
analog and digital forms (coder/decoder); hardware or software that can
compress and uncompress audio or video data
(compression/decompression); or the combination of coder/decoder and
compression/decompression. Generally, a codec compresses
uncompressed digital data so that the data uses less memory.
color depth -> The number of colors per pixel your monitor and graphics
adapter support.
color gamut -> The particular range of colors that a device is able to
produce. A device such as a scanner, monitor, or printer can produce a
unique range of colors, which is determined by the characteristics of the
device itself. See also: color profile; rendering intent
color management -> Process of producing accurate, consistent color
among a variety of input and output devices. A color management system
(CMS) maps colors between devices such as scanners, monitors, and
printers; transforms colors from one color space to another (for example,
RGB to CMYK); and provides accurate on-screen or print previews. See
also: CMYK color space; RGB color space
color profile -> A profile that contains the data needed for translating the
values of a color gamut. This data includes information about color, hue,
saturation, and brightness. See also: color gamut; hue; saturation
color space -> A set of three values that defines how a color can be
represented on computer devices such as monitors, scanners, and
printers. For example, in the LAB color space, the terms luminance or
whiteness (L), redness-greenness (A), and yellowness-blueness (B) are
used; in the HVC system, the terms are hue (H), value (V), and chroma
(C). Color space refers to the three-dimensional space that is defined by
the respective values, such as L, A, and B. See also: CMYK color space;
color space; RGB color space
command prompt window -> A window displayed on the desktop used to
interface with the MS-DOS operating system. MS-DOS commands are
typed at an entry point identified by a blinking cursor. See also: MS-DOS
(Microsoft Disk Operating System)
common groups -> Groups that appear in the program list on the Start
menu for all users who log on to the computer. Only administrators can
create or change common groups. See also: group
communication port -> A port on a computer that allows asynchronous
communication of one byte at a time. A communication port is also called a
serial port. See also: asynchronous communication; serial port
communication settings -> Operating parameters, such as bits per
second (bps) and modem type, that apply to serial ports on a computer.
See also: bits per second (bps); modem (modulator/demodulator);
serial port
community name -> A name used to group SNMP hosts. This name is
placed in SNMP messages sent between SNMP-managed devices such
as Windows 2000-based server computers and SNMP management
stations. Typically, all hosts belong to Public, which is the standard name
for a common community of all SNMP hosts. See also: Simple Network
Management Protocol (SNMP); trap
compatibility mode -> A feature of a computer or operating system that
allows it to run programs written for a different system. Programs often run
slower in compatibility mode.
Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) -> A specific type
of semiconductor technology that requires very little power. The term has
been popularized to mean a small storage area where your system keeps
track of certain hardware parameters, such as the size of your hard disk,
the number of serial ports your computer has, etc. CMOS is also called
Setup RAM.
Compression Control Protocol (CCP) -> A protocol used in the
negotiation process in a PPP connection. Compression Control Protocol is
one type of Network Control Protocol (NCP). NCPs are used to establish
and configure different network protocol parameters for IP, IPX, and
NetBEUI. See also: Internet Protocol (IP); Internetwork Packet
Exchange (IPX); Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)
computer account -> An account that is created by a domain
administrator and uniquely identifies the computer on the domain. The
Windows computer account matches the name of the computer joining the
domain. See also: domain
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
computer administrator -> A user who manages a computer. The
computer administrator makes system-wide changes to the computer,
including installing programs and accessing all files on the computer, and
can create, change and delete the accounts of other users.
Computer Browser service -> A service that maintains an up-to-date list
of computers and provides the list to applications when requested. The
Computer Browser service provides the computer lists displayed in the My
Network Places, Select Computer, and Select Domain dialog boxes and
(for Windows 2000 Server only) in the Server Manager window. See also:
service
Computer Management -> A component you can use to view and control
many aspects of the computer configuration. Computer Management
combines several administration utilities into a single console tree,
providing easy access to a local or remote computers administrative
properties and tools.
computer quota -> For Message Queuing, the storage size limit for
messages on a computer, based on the total size of the messages. When
a computer quota is reached, Message Queuing can no longer send
messages to that computer until one or more messages are removed from
queues. Message Queuing enforces the computer quota before it enforces
the queue quota on a computer. See also: Message Queuing; queue
quota
connect -> To assign a drive letter, port, or computer name to a shared
resource so that you can use it. See also: shared resource
connected, authenticating user -> A user's status when a telephone
connection has been established but authentication has not yet taken
place. The user may be trying to prove security clearance, or the system
may be idle. If this condition occurs, followed by the Waiting for Call phase,
then the user was unable to provide a correct user name or password. If
this phase is repeated, followed by the Waiting for Call phase, an
unauthorized attempt to access the network may be under way. See also:
authentication; Waiting for Call
connected, user authenticated -> A user's status when a telephone
connection has been established and the user has entered a correct user
name and password. If the user has callback permission and has
requested callback, the connection is followed by the calling-back phase. If
the calling-back phase is followed by a waiting-for-call phase, then the
server was unable to reach the user at the specified number. The user
may have supplied an inaccurate callback number (in the case of set-by-
caller callback), or an unauthorized attempt to access the network may be
under way (in the case of preset-to callback). See also: preset-to
callback; set-by-caller callback
connector application -> For Message Queuing, an application that
enables Message Queuing computers to communicate with computers that
use other messaging systems. See also: connector queue; foreign
computer; Message Queuing
connector queue -> For Message Queuing, a queue created on servers
running a connector application. You can use the connector application to
exchange messages with computers that are running other message-
queuing products. See also: connector application; foreign computer;
Message Queuing
console tree -> The left pane in a Microsoft Management Console (MMC)
that displays the items contained in the console. By default it is the left
pane of a console window, but it can be hidden. The items in the console
tree and their hierarchical organization determine the capabilities of a
console. See also: Microsoft Management Console (MMC)
constant bit rate (CBR) -> An ATM service type that supports constant
bandwidth allocation. This service type is used for voice and video
transmissions that require little or no cell loss and rigorous timing controls
during transmission. See also: Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
container object -> An object that can logically contain other objects. For
example, a folder is a container object. See also: noncontainer object;
object
convergence -> The process of stabilizing a system after changes occur
in the network. For routing, if a route becomes unavailable, routers send
update messages throughout the internetwork, reestablishing information
about preferred routes.
For Network Load Balancing, a process by which hosts
exchange messages to determine a new, consistent state of the cluster
and to elect the host with the highest host priority, known as the default
host. During convergence, a new load distribution is determined for hosts
11 January 2011
that share the handling of network traffic for specific TCP or UDP ports.
See also: cluster; default host; host; User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
copy backup -> A backup that copies all selected files but does not mark
each file as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is
not cleared). Copying is useful if you want to back up files between normal
and incremental backups because copying does not affect these other
backup operations. See also: daily backup; differential backup;
incremental backup; normal backup
count limit -> For Process Control, the maximum number of active
processes in a process group. You can configure this in the Process
Control snap-in.
CPU Time -> In Task Manager, the total processor time, in seconds, used
by a process since it started. See also: Task Manager
CPU Usage -> In Task Manager, the percentage of time that a process
used the CPU since the last update. On the Task Manager Process tab,
the column heading is CPU. See also: Task Manager
crash consistency -> A feature of shadow copy backups that ensures all
files are backed up, regardless of their state. See also: volume shadow
copy
CRC errors -> Errors caused by the failure of a cyclic redundancy check.
A CRC error indicates that one or more characters in the data packet
received were found garbled on arrival.
credentials -> A set of information that includes identification and proof of
identification that is used to gain access to local and network resources.
Examples of credentials are user names and passwords, smart cards, and
certificates.
CRL distribution point -> An optional extension in an X.509v3 certificate
that identifies how information is obtained. Also, a directory entry or other
distribution source for certificate revocation lists. See also: certificate;
certificate revocation list (CRL); X.509v3 certificate
cross-reference object -> Objects in which Active Directory stores
information about directory partitions and external directory services. An
example of an external directory service is another LDAP-compliant
directory. See also: Active Directory; directory partition; Lightweight
Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)
CryptoAPI -> An application programming interface (API) that is provided
as part of Microsoft Windows. CryptoAPI provides a set of functions that
allow applications to encrypt or digitally sign data in a flexible manner while
providing protection for the user's sensitive private key data. Actual
cryptographic operations are performed by independent modules known
as cryptographic service providers (CSPs). See also: application
programming interface (API); cryptographic service provider (CSP);
private key
cryptographic service provider (CSP) -> The code that performs
authentication, encoding, and encryption services that Windows-based
applications access through the CryptoAPI. A CSP is responsible for
creating keys, destroying them, and using them to perform a variety of
cryptographic operations. Each CSP provides a different implementation of
the CryptoAPI. Some provide stronger cryptographic algorithms, while
others contain hardware components, such as smart cards. See also:
smart card; CryptoAPI; service
cryptography -> The processes, art, and science of keeping messages
and data secure. Cryptography is used to enable and ensure
confidentiality, data integrity, authentication (entity and data origin), and
nonrepudiation.
custom file type -> Typically, files with extensions that have been created
for special kinds of files. Custom file types are not tracked by the system
registry. See also: registry
D which the processes of a server reside as nodes and on which the server
D-channel -> A separate channel of an ISDN line that is used for ISDN
signaling. For ISDN Basic Rate Interface (BRI), the D-channel is 16 kilobits
per second (Kbps). For ISDN Primary Rate Interface (PRI), the D-channel
is 64 Kbps. D-channel is also called data channel. See also: Integrated
Services Digital Network (ISDN); switch type
daily backup -> A backup that copies all selected files that have been
modified the day the daily backup is performed. The backed-up files are
not marked as having been backed up (in other words, the archive
attribute is not cleared). See also: copy backup; differential backup;
incremental backup; normal backup
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
Data Communications Equipment (DCE) -> One of two types of
hardware connected by an RS-232-C serial connection, the other being a
Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) device. A DCE is an intermediary device
that often transforms input from a DTE before sending it to a recipient. A
modem, for example, is a DCE that modulates data from a microcomputer
(DTE) and sends it along a telephone connection. See also: Data
Terminal Equipment (DTE); RS-232-C standard
Data Link Control (DLC) -> An address that uniquely identifies a node on
a network. Every network adapter has a DLC address or DLC identifier
(DLCI). Some network protocols, such as Ethernet and Token Ring, use
DLC addresses exclusively. Other protocols, such as TCP/IP, use a logical
address at the OSI Network layer to identify nodes.
However, all network addresses must eventually be translated to
DLC addresses. In TCP/IP networks, this translation is performed by the
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP). See also: Address Resolution
Protocol (ARP); Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model
data packet -> A unit of information transmitted as a whole from one
device to another on a network.
Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) -> In the RS-232-C hardware standard,
any device, such as a remote access server or client, that has the ability to
transmit information in digital form over a cable or a communications line.
See also: Data Communications Equipment (DCE); remote access
server; RS-232-C standard
data-overrun error -> A state in which the sending computer is
transmitting characters faster than the receiving computer can
accommodate them. If this problem persists, reduce the bits-per-second
(bps) rate. See also: bits per second (bps)
datagram -> One packet, or unit, of information that includes relevant
delivery information, such as the destination address, that is sent through
a packet-switching network. See also: packet
dead-letter queue -> For Message Queuing, a queue that stores
nontransactional messages that are undeliverable or expired. These
queues store failed messages on the computer on which the message
expired. Messages in these queues are written to disk and are therefore
recoverable. See also: transaction dead-letter queue; transactional
message
debugger -> A program designed to aid in detecting, locating, and
correcting errors in another program by allowing the programmer to step
through the program, examine the data, and monitor conditions such as
the values of variables.
dedicated adapter -> The network adapter that, when using multiple
network adapters in each host of a Network Load Balancing cluster,
handles network traffic not related to cluster operations (the traffic for
individual hosts on the network). This adapter is programmed with the
host's dedicated IP address. See also: cluster adapter; IP address
default button -> In some dialog boxes, the command button that is
selected or highlighted when the dialog box is initially displayed. The
default button has a bold border, indicating that it will be chosen
automatically if you press ENTER. You can override a default button by
clicking Cancel or another command button.
default gateway -> A configuration item for the TCP/IP protocol that is the
IP address of a directly reachable IP router. Configuring a default gateway
creates a default route in the IP routing table.
default host -> The host with the highest host priority for which a
drainstop command is not in progress. After convergence, the default host
handles all of the network traffic for TCP and UDP ports that are not
otherwise covered by port rules. See also: convergence; drainstop;
host priority; port rule; User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
default network -> In the Macintosh environment, the physical network on
appears to users. The default network of the server must be one to which
that server is attached. Only servers on AppleTalk Phase 2 internets have
default networks. See also: internet
default printer -> The printer to which a computer sends documents if you
select the Print command without first specifying which printer you want to
use with a program. You can have only one default printer; it should be the
printer you use most often. See also: printer
default user -> The profile that serves as a basis for all user profiles.
Every user profile begins as a copy of the default user profile.
11 January 2011
default zone -> The zone to which all Macintosh clients on the network
are assigned by default. See also: zone
defragmentation -> The process of rewriting parts of a file to contiguous
sectors on a hard disk to increase the speed of access and retrieval. When
files are updated, the computer tends to save these updates on the largest
continuous space on the hard disk, which is often on a different sector than
the other parts of the file. When files are thus fragmented, the computer
must search the hard disk each time the file is opened to find all of the
file's parts, which slows down response time. See also: fragmentation
delegation -> The ability to assign responsibility for management and
administration of a portion of the namespace to another user, group, or
organization.
For DNS, a name service record in the parent zone that lists the
name server authoritative for the delegated zone. See also: Domain
Name System (DNS)
denial-of-service attack -> An attack in which an attacker exploits a
weakness or a design limitation of a network service to overload or halt the
service, so that the service is not available for use. This type of attack is
typically launched to prevent other users from using a network service
such as a Web server or a file server.
dependency -> A relationship of reliance between two resources that
makes it necessary for them to run in the same group on the same node.
For example, an application is dependent on the disks that contain its data
resources. See also: resource
dependency tree -> A diagram for visualizing the dependency
relationships between resources. See also: dependency; resource
dependent client -> For Message Queuing, a computer that requires
synchronous access to a Message Queuing server to perform all standard
message queuing operations, such as sending and receiving messages
and creating queues. See also: independent client; Message Queuing
server
descendent key -> All the subkeys that appear when a key in the registry
is expanded. A descendent key is the same as a subkey. See also: key;
subkey
desired zone -> The zone in which AppleTalk network integration appears
on the network. See also: default zone; zone
desktop -> The on-screen work area on which windows, icons, menus,
and dialog boxes appear.
desktop pattern -> A design that appears across your desktop. You can
create your own pattern or select a pattern provided by Windows. See
also: desktop
destination document -> The document into which a package or a linked
or embedded object is being inserted. For an embedded object, this is
sometimes also called the container document. See also: embedded
object
details pane -> The pane in the Microsoft Management Console (MMC)
that displays the details for the selected item in the console tree. The
details can be a list of items or they can be administrative properties,
services, and events that are acted on by a snap-in. See also: Microsoft
Management Console (MMC); service; snap-in
device -> Any piece of equipment that can be attached to a network or
computer; for example, a computer, printer, joystick, adapter, or modem
card, or any other peripheral equipment. Devices normally require a device
driver to function with Windows. See also: device driver; peripheral
device conflict -> A conflict that occurs when the same system resources
have been allocated to two or more devices. System resources include
interrupt request (IRQ) lines, direct memory access (DMA) channels,
input/output (I/O) ports, and memory addresses. See also: direct memory
access (DMA); input/output (I/O) port; interrupt request (IRQ) lines;
memory address; resource
device driver -> A program that allows a specific device, such as a
modem, network adapter, or printer, to communicate with the operating
system. Although a device might be installed on your system, Windows
cannot use the device until you have installed and configured the
appropriate driver.
If a device is listed in the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL), a
driver is usually included with Windows. Device drivers load automatically
(for all enabled devices) when a computer is started, and thereafter run
invisibly.
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
device fonts -> Fonts that reside in your printer. They can be built into the
printer itself or provided by a font cartridge or font card. See also: font;
font cartridge; printer fonts
Device Manager -> An administrative tool that you can use to manage the
devices on your computer. Using Device Manager, you can view and
change device properties, update device drivers, configure device settings,
and uninstall devices. See also: device; uninstall
DFS link -> An element in the Distributed File System (DFS) namespace
that lies below the root and maps to one or more targets, each of which
corresponds to a shared folder or another DFS root. See also: DFS root;
domain DFS
DFS root -> The starting point of the Distributed File System (DFS)
namespace. The root is often used to refer to the namespace as a whole.
A root maps to one or more root targets, each of which corresponds to a
shared folder on a server. See also: DFS link
DFS topology -> The overall logical hierarchy of the Distributed File
System (DFS), including elements such as roots, links, shared folders, and
replica sets, as depicted in the DFS administrative console. This is not to
be confused with the DFS namespace, which is the logical view of shared
resources seen by users. See also: DFS link; DFS root; domain DFS
DHCP client -> Any network-enabled device that supports the ability to
communicate with a DHCP server for the purpose of obtaining dynamic
leased IP configuration and related optional parameters information. See
also: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP); DHCP server;
lease
DHCP option -> Address configuration parameters that a DHCP service
assigns to clients. Most DHCP options are predefined, based on optional
parameters defined in Request for Comments (RFC) 1542, although
extended options can be added by vendors or users. See also: Dynamic
Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP); service
DHCP server -> A computer running the Microsoft DHCP service that
offers dynamic configuration of IP addresses and related information to
DHCP-enabled clients. See also: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP); service; IP address
DHCP service resource -> A resource type that provides DHCP services
from a cluster. See also: cluster; Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP)
DHCP/BOOTP Relay Agent -> The agent program or component
responsible for relaying DHCP and BOOTP broadcast messages between
a DHCP server and a client across an IP router. A DHCP relay agent
supports DHCP/BOOTP message relay as defined in RFCs 1541 and
2131. The DHCP Relay Agent service is managed using the Routing and
Remote Access service. See also: DHCP server; bootstrap protocol
(BOOTP); Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
dial location -> The country code, area code, and specific dialing
requirements for the place you are dialing from. Once you have created a
dial location, you can select it to apply the dialing requirements to all your
calls. To change dialing locations, select or create a different one.
dial-up connection -> The connection to your network if you are using a
device that uses the telephone network. This includes modems with a
standard phone line, ISDN cards with high-speed ISDN lines, or X.25
networks.
If you are a typical user, you may have one or two dial-up
connections, for example, to the Internet and to your corporate network. In
a more complex server situation, multiple network modem connections
might be used to implement advanced routing. See also: Integrated
Services Digital Network (ISDN); modem (modulator/demodulator)
dialog box -> A secondary window that contains buttons and various kinds
of options through which you can carry out a particular command or task.
dictionary attack -> A method of guessing a user's password or PIN by
trying every word in the dictionary until successful.
differential backup -> A backup that copies files created or changed since
the last normal or incremental backup. It does not mark files as having
been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared). If you
are performing a combination of normal and differential backups, restoring
files and folders requires that you have the last normal as well as the last
differential backup. See also: copy backup; daily backup; incremental
backup; normal backup
11 January 2011
differential data -> Saved copies of changed data that can be applied to
an original volume to generate a volume shadow copy. See also: volume;
volume shadow copy
digital signature -> A means for originators of a message, file, or other
digitally encoded information to bind their identity to the information. The
process of digitally signing information entails transforming the information,
as well as some secret information held by the sender, into a tag called a
signature. Digital signatures are used in public key environments, and they
provide nonrepudiation and integrity services. See also: Digital Signature
Standard (DSS); service; time stamp
Digital Signature Standard (DSS) -> A standard that uses the Digital
Signature Algorithm (DSA) for its signature algorithm and SHA-1 as its
message hash algorithm. DSA is a public-key cipher that is used only to
generate digital signatures and cannot be used for data encryption. See
also: digital signature; Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA-1)
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) -> A type of high-speed Internet
connection using standard telephone wires. This is also referred to as a
broadband connection.
digital video disc (DVD) -> A type of optical disc storage technology. A
digital video disc (DVD) looks like a CD-ROM disc, but it can store greater
amounts of data. DVDs are often used to store full-length movies and
other multimedia content that requires large amounts of storage space.
See also: DVD decoder; DVD drive
direct cable connection -> A link between the I/O ports of two computers
created with a single cable rather than a modem or other interfacing
devices. In most cases, a direct cable connection is made with a null
modem cable. See also: input/output (I/O) port; null modem cable
direct memory access (DMA) -> Memory access that does not involve
the microprocessor. DMA is frequently used for data transfer directly
between memory and a peripheral device such as a disk drive. See also:
hardware configuration
directory partition -> A contiguous subtree of the directory that forms a
unit of replication. A given replica is always a replica of some directory
partition. The directory always has at least three directory partitions:
 The schema, which defines the object classes and attributes
contained in Active Directory.
 The configuration, which identifies the domain controllers, replication
topology and other related information about the domain controllers
within a specific implementation of Active Directory.
 One or more domains that contain the actual directory object data.
A domain controller always stores the partitions for the schema,
configuration, and its own (and no other) domain. The schema and
configuration are replicated to every domain controller in the domain tree
or forest. The domain is replicated only to domain controllers for that
domain. A subset of the attributes for all domain objects is replicated to the
global catalog. See also: Active Directory; attribute; domain; replica;
replication
directory service -> Both the directory information source and the service
that make the information available and usable. A directory service enables
the user to find an object given any one of its attributes.
DirectX -> An extension of the Microsoft Windows operating system.
DirectX technology helps games and other programs use the advanced
multimedia capabilites of your hardware.
disable -> To make a device nonfunctional. For example, if you disable a
device in a hardware configuration, you cannot use the device when your
computer uses that hardware configuration. Disabling a device frees the
resources that were allocated to the device. See also: enable; hardware
configuration
discretionary access control list (DACL) -> The part of an object's
security descriptor that grants or denies specific users and groups
permission to access the object. Only the owner of an object can change
permissions granted or denied in a DACL; thus, access to the object is at
the owner's discretion. See also: distribution group; object; security
descriptor; security group
disk -> A storage device that is attached to a computer. See also: basic
disk; dynamic disk
disk configuration information -> Information in the Windows registry on
assigned drive letters, simple volumes, striped volumes, mirrored volumes,
spanned volumes, and RAID-5 volumes. You can change the disk
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
configuration by using Disk Management. See also: mirrored volume;
RAID-5 volume; registry; simple volume; spanned volume; volume
dismount -> To remove a removable tape or disc from a drive. See also:
library; mount
display adapter See definition for: video adapter
distinguished name -> A name that uniquely identifies an object by using
the relative distinguished name for the object, plus the names of container
objects and domains that contain the object. The distinguished name
identifies the object as well as its location in a tree. Every object in Active
Directory has a distinguished name. A typical distinguished name might be
CN=MyName,CN=Users,DC=Microsoft,DC=Co
This identifies the MyName user object in the microsoft.com domain. See
also: Active Directory; domain; object
distribution group -> A group that is used solely for e-mail distribution
and that is not security-enabled. Distribution groups cannot be listed in
discretionary access control lists (DACLs) used to define permissions on
resources and objects. Distribution groups can be used only with e-mail
applications (such as Microsoft Exchange) to send e-mail to collections of
users. If you do not need a group for security purposes, create a
distribution group instead of a security group. See also: discretionary
access control list (DACL); security group
DLL See definition for: dynamic-link library (DLL)
DNS See definition for: Domain Name System (DNS)
DNS Server -> A service that maintains information about a portion of the
Domain Name System (DNS) database and responds to and resolves
DNS queries. A computer running this service is also known as a DNS
server. See also: Domain Name System (DNS)
DNS suffix -> For DNS, a character string that represents a domain name.
The DNS suffix shows where a host is located relative to the DNS root,
specifying a host’s location in the DNS hierarchy. Usually, DNS suffice
describes the latter portion of a DNS name, following one or more of the
first labels of a DNS name.
dock -> To connect a laptop or notebook computer to a docking station.
See also: docking station; hot docking; undock
docking station -> A unit for housing a portable computer that contains a
power connection, expansion slots, and connections to peripherals, such
as a monitor, printer, full-sized keyboard, and mouse. The docking station
turns the portable computer into a desktop computer. See also: dock; hot
docking; undock
document -> Any self-contained piece of work created with an application
program and, if saved on disk, given a unique file name by which it can be
retrieved. See also: filter; property cache
domain -> A group of computers that are part of a network and share a
common directory database. A domain is administered as a unit with
common rules and procedures. Each domain has a unique name.
An Active Directory domain is a collection of computers defined
by the administrator of a Windows network. These computers share a
common directory database, security policies, and security relationships
with other domains. An Active Directory domain provides access to the
centralized user accounts and group accounts maintained by the domain
administrator. An Active Directory forest is made up of one or more
domains, each of which can span more than one physical location.
A DNS domain is any tree or subtree within the DNS
namespace. Although the names for DNS domains often correspond to
Active Directory domains, DNS domains should not be confused with
Active Directory domains. See also: Active Directory; Domain Name
System (DNS)
domain controller -> In a Windows domain environment, a computer
running Active Directory that manages user access to a network, which
includes logging on, authentication, and access to the directory and shared
resources. See also: Active Directory; authentication; shared resource
domain controller locator (Locator) -> An algorithm that runs in the
context of the Net Logon service and that finds domain controllers on a
Windows 2000 network. Locator can find domain controllers by using DNS
names (for IP/DNS-compatible computers) or by using NetBIOS names
(for computers that are running Windows 3.x, Windows for Workgroups,
Windows NT 3.5 or later, Windows 95, or Windows 98, or it can be used
on a network where IP transport is not available).
11 January 2011
domain DFS -> An implementation of DFS in which DFS topological
information is stored in Active Directory. Because this information is made
available on multiple domain controllers in the domain, domain DFS
provides fault-tolerance for any distributed file system in the domain. See
also: DFS topology; fault tolerance
domain local group -> A security or distribution group that can contain
universal groups, global groups, and accounts from any domain in the
domain tree or forest. A domain local group can also contain other domain
local groups from its own domain. Rights and permissions can be assigned
only at the domain containing the group. See also: distribution group;
domain tree; forest; global group; security group; universal group
domain name -> The name given by an administrator to a collection of
networked computers that share a common directory. Part of the Domain
Name System (DNS) naming structure, domain names consist of a
sequence of name labels separated by periods. See also: domain;
Domain Name System (DNS); label; namespace
Domain Name System (DNS) -> A hierarchical, distributed database that
contains mappings of DNS domain names to various types of data, such
as IP addresses. DNS enables the location of computers and services by
user-friendly names, and it also enables the discovery of other information
stored in the database. See also: domain; service; Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP); IP address
domain namespace -> The database structure used by the Domain Name
System (DNS). See also: Domain Name System (DNS)
domain naming master -> The domain controller assigned to control the
addition or removal of domains in the forest. At any time, there can be only
one domain naming master in the forest. See also: domain controller;
forest; multimaster replication; operations master; replication
domain of origin -> The parent DNS domain name that is used to root
either a zone or a resource record within a zone. This name is joined to the
end of unqualified or relative domain names to form a fully qualified
domain name (FQDN) within the zone. In DNS Manager, the domain of
origin will correspond to Zone name as it appears in the Add Zone Wizard
or the name that appears in the Parent domain name field for any resource
records created within the zone. See also: domain; domain name;
Domain Name System (DNS); fully qualified domain name (FQDN);
relative name; resource record (RR)
domain tree -> In DNS, the inverted hierarchical tree structure that is used
to index domain names. Domain trees are similar in purpose and concept
to the directory trees used by computer filing systems for disk storage.
For example, when numerous files are stored on disk,
directories can be used to organize the files into logical collections. When
a domain tree has one or more branches, each branch can organize
domain names used in the namespace into logical collections.
In Active Directory, a hierarchical structure of one or more
domains, connected by transitive, bidirectional trusts, that forms a
contiguous namespace. Multiple domain trees may belong to the same
forest. See also: Active Directory; domain; transitive trust; two-way
trust; domain name; Domain Name System (DNS); forest; namespace
dots per inch (DPI) -> The standard used to measure screen and printer
resolution, expressed as the number of dots that a device can display or
print per linear inch. The greater the number of dots per inch, the better the
resolution.
double-byte characters -> A set of characters in which each character is
represented by two bytes. Some languages, such as Japanese, Chinese,
and Korean, require double-byte character sets.
downloadable fonts -> A set of characters stored on disk and sent
(downloaded) to a printer's memory when needed for printing a document.
Downloadable fonts are most commonly used with laser printers and other
page printers, although many dot-matrix printers can accept some of them.
Downloadable fonts are also called soft fonts. See also: font; font
cartridge; PostScript fonts
drag -> To move an item on the screen by selecting the item and then
pressing and holding down the mouse button while moving the mouse. For
example, you can move a window to another location on the screen by
dragging its title bar.
drain -> For Network Load Balancing, a command that disables new traffic
handling for the rule whose port range contains the specified port. All ports
specified by the port rule are affected. See also: cluster; drainstop; port;
port rule
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
drainstop -> For Network Load Balancing, a command that disables all
new traffic handling on the specified hosts. The hosts then enter draining
mode to complete existing connections.
While draining, hosts remain in the cluster and stop their cluster
operations when there are no more active connections. To terminate
draining mode, explicitly stop cluster mode with the stop command, or
restart new traffic handling with the start command. To drain connections
from a specific port, use the drain command. See also: drain; host
drive -> An area of storage that is formatted with a file system and has a
drive letter. The storage can be a floppy disk, a CD, a hard disk, or another
type of disk. You can view the contents of a drive by clicking its icon in
Windows Explorer or My Computer. See also: drive letter; file system;
volume
drive letter -> The naming convention for disk drives on IBM and
compatible computers. Drives are named by letter, beginning with A,
followed by a colon. See also: drive
drop folder -> In the Macintosh environment, a folder for which you have
the Make Changes permission but not the See Files or See Folders
permission. You can copy files into a drop folder, but you cannot see what
files and subfolders the drop folder contains. See also: Make Changes
dual boot -> A computer configuration that can start two different
operating systems. See also: boot; multiple boot; startup environment
duplex -> A system capable of transmitting information in both directions
over a communications channel. See also: full-duplex; half-duplex
DVD decoder -> A hardware or software component that allows a digital
video disc (DVD) drive to display movies on your computer screen. See
also: digital video disc (DVD); DVD drive; hardware decoder; software
decoder
DVD drive -> A disk storage device that uses digital video disc (DVD)
technology. A DVD drive reads both CD-ROM and DVDs; however, you
must have a DVD decoder to display DVD movies on your computer
screen. See also: DVD decoder; digital video disc (DVD)
DWORD -> A data type composed of hexadecimal data with a maximum
allotted space of 4 bytes.
dynamic data exchange (DDE) -> A form of interprocess communication
(IPC) implemented in the Microsoft Windows family of operating systems.
Two or more programs that support dynamic data exchange (DDE) can
exchange information and commands. See also: Network DDE service
dynamic disk -> A physical disk that can be accessed only by Windows
2000 and Windows XP. Dynamic disks provide features that basic disks do
not, such as support for volumes that span multiple disks. Dynamic disks
use a hidden database to track information about dynamic volumes on the
disk and other dynamic disks in the computer. You convert basic disks to
dynamic by using the Disk Management snap-in or the DiskPart command
line utility. When you convert a basic disk to dynamic, all existing basic
volumes become dynamic volumes. See also: active volume; basic
disk; basic volume; dynamic volume; volume
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) -> A TCP/IP service
protocol that offers dynamic leased configuration of host IP addresses and
distributes other configuration parameters to eligible network clients.
DHCP provides safe, reliable, and simple TCP/IP network configuration,
prevents address conflicts, and helps conserve the use of client IP
addresses on the network.
DHCP uses a client/server model where the DHCP server
maintains centralized management of IP addresses that are used on the
network. DHCP-supporting clients can then request and obtain lease of an
IP address from a DHCP server as part of their network boot process. See
also: IP address; service; Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP); lease
dynamic storage -> A storage method in Windows that allows disk and
volume management without requiring operating system restart. See also:
basic storage
dynamic update -> An updated specification to the Domain Name System
(DNS) standard that permits hosts that store name information in DNS to
dynamically register and update their records in zones maintained by DNS
servers that can accept and process dynamic update messages. See
also: DNS Server; Domain Name System (DNS); host; zone
dynamic volume -> A volume that resides on a dynamic disk. Windows
supports five types of dynamic volumes: simple, spanned, striped,
mirrored, and RAID-5. A dynamic volume is formatted by using a file
11 January 2011
system, such as FAT or NTFS, and it has a drive letter assigned to it. See
also: basic disk; basic volume; dynamic disk; mirrored volume;
RAID-5 volume; simple volume; spanned volume; volume
dynamic-link library (DLL) -> An operating system feature that allows
executable routines (generally serving a specific function or set of
functions) to be stored separately as files with .dll extensions. These
routines are loaded only when needed by the program that calls them. See
also: Resource DLL
E Event Viewer -> A component you can use to view and manage event
EFI See definition for: Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI)
EFI system partition -> On Itanium-based computers, a portion on a
GUID partition table (GPT) disk that is formatted with the FAT file system
and contains the files necessary to start the computer. Every Itanium-
based computer must have at least one GPT disk with an EFI system
partition. The EFI system partition serves the same purpose as the system
volume found on x86-based computers. See also: Extensible Firmware
Interface (EFI); GUID partition table (GPT); Microsoft Reserved (MSR)
partition; Itanium; x86
embedded object -> Information created in another program that has
been pasted inside your document. When information is embedded, you
can edit the information in the new document using toolbars and menus
from the original program.
To edit the embedded information, double-click it and the
toolbars and menus from the program used to create the information
appear. Embedded information is not linked to the original source. If you
change information in one place, it is not updated in the other. See also:
OLE; package; source document
emulated local area network (ELAN) -> A logical ATM network that
emulates the services of an Ethernet or Token Ring LAN. See also: local
area network (LAN)
enable -> To make a device functional. For example, if a device in your
hardware configuration settings is enabled, the device is available for use
when your computer uses that hardware configuration. See also: disable;
hardware configuration
encapsulated PostScript (EPS) file -> A file that prints at the highest
possible resolution for your printer. An EPS file may print faster than other
graphical representations. Some Windows-based and non-Windows-based
graphical programs can import EPS files. See also: PostScript
encrypted password -> A password that is scrambled. Encrypted
passwords are more secure than plaintext passwords, which are
susceptible to network sniffers. See also: encryption
Encrypting File System (EFS) -> A feature in this version of Windows
that enables users to encrypt files and folders on an NTFS volume disk to
keep them safe from access by intruders. See also: NTFS file system;
recovery agent
encryption -> The process of disguising a message or data in such a way
as to hide its substance. See also: public key encryption; symmetric
encryption
enhanced small device interface (ESDI) -> A standard that can be used
with high-capacity hard disks, floppy disk drives, and tape drives to allow
these devices to communicate with a computer at high speeds.
environment variable -> A string consisting of environment information,
such as a drive, path, or file name, associated with a symbolic name that
can be used by Windows. You use System in Control Panel or the set
command from the command prompt to define environment variables. See
also: string; variable
error detection -> A technique for detecting when data is lost during
transmission. This allows the software to recover lost data by notifying the
transmitting computer that it needs to retransmit the data.
Ethernet -> An IEEE 802.3 standard for contention networks. Ethernet
uses a bus or star topology and relies on the form of access known as
Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/DC) to
regulate communication line traffic. Network nodes are linked by coaxial
cable, fiber-optic cable, or by twisted-pair wiring. Data is transmitted in
variable-length frames containing delivery and control information and up
to 1,500 bytes of data. The Ethernet standard provides for baseband
transmission at 10 megabits (10 million bits) per second.
event -> Any significant occurrence in the system or an application that
requires users to be notified or an entry to be added to a log.
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
Event Log service -> A service that records events in the system,
security, and application logs. The Event Log service is located in Event
Viewer. See also: Event Viewer; event; service
event logging -> The process of recording an audit entry in the audit trail
whenever certain events occur, such as services starting and stopping, or
users logging on and off and accessing resources. You can use Event
Viewer to review AppleTalk network integration events as well as Windows
events. See also: event; service
logs, gather information about hardware and software problems, and
monitor security events. Event Viewer maintains logs about program,
security, and system events. See also: event; event logging
everyone category -> In the Macintosh environment, one of the user
categories to which you assign permissions for a folder. Permissions
granted to everyone apply to all users who use the server, including
guests. See also: permission
expanded memory -> Type of memory that can be added to IBM personal
computers. The use of expanded memory is defined by the Expanded
Memory Specification (EMS), which supports memory boards containing
RAM that can be enabled or disabled by software. See also: extended
memory
expansion slot -> A socket in a computer, designed to hold expansion
boards and connect them to the system bus. See also: bus
expire interval -> For DNS, the number of seconds that DNS servers
operating as secondary masters for a zone will use to determine if zone
data should be expired when the zone is not refreshed and renewed. See
also: DNS Server; Domain Name System (DNS); secondary master;
zone
explicit permissions -> Permissions on an object that are automatically
assigned when the object is created, or specifically assigned or changed
by the owner of the object. See also: permission; object
express message -> For Message Queuing, a message that uses fewer
resources and is faster than a recoverable message. However, because
express messages are mapped to memory, they are lost if the computer
storing them fails. See also: recoverable message
extended characters -> Any of the 128 additional characters in the
extended ASCII (8-bit) character set. These characters include those in
several non-English languages, such as accent marks, and special
symbols used for creating pictures.
extended memory -> Memory beyond one megabyte in 80286, 80386,
80486, and Pentium computers. See also: expanded memory
extended partition -> A type of partition that you can create only on basic
master boot record (MBR) disks. Extended partitions are useful if you want
to create more than four volumes on a basic MBR disk. Unlike primary
partitions, you do not format an extended partition with a file system and
then assign a drive letter to it. Instead, you create one or more logical
drives within the extended partition. After you create a logical drive, you
format it and assign it a drive letter. An MBR disk can have up to four
primary partitions, or three primary partitions, one extended partition, and
multiple logical drives. See also: basic disk; drive letter; logical drive;
master boot record (MBR); partition; primary partition; volume
Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) -> An extension to the Point-
to-Point Protocol (PPP) that allows for arbitrary authentication mechanisms
to be employed for the validation of a PPP connection. See also: CHAP
(Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol); Point-to-Point
Protocol (PPP)
Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) -> In computers with the Intel
Itanium processor, the interface between a computer's firmware, hardware,
and the operating system. The Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) defines
a new partition style called GUID partition table (GPT). EFI serves the
same purpose for Itanium-based computers as the BIOS found in x86-
based computers. However, it has expanded capabilities that provide a
consistent way to start any compatible operating system and an easy way
to add EFI drivers for new bootable devices without the need to update the
computer's firmware. See also: basic input/output system (BIOS); GUID
partition table (GPT); Itanium; x86
Extensible Markup Language (XML) -> A meta-markup language that
provides a format for describing structured data. This facilitates more
precise declarations of content and more meaningful search results across
11 January 2011
multiple platforms. In addition, XML will enable a new generation of Web-
based data viewing and manipulation applications.
external network number -> A 4-byte hexadecimal number used for
addressing and routing purposes. The external network number is
associated with physical network adapters and networks. To communicate
with each other, all computers on the same network that use a specific
frame type must have the same external network number. All external
network numbers must be unique to the IPX internetwork. See also: frame
type; internal network number; Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX)
extract -> When you extract a file, an uncompressed copy of the file that is
created in a folder you specify. The original file remains in the compressed
folder.
F
failback -> The process of moving resources, either individually or in a
group, back to their preferred node after the node has failed and come
back online. See also: failback policy; resource
failback policy -> Parameters that an administrator can set using Cluster
Administrator that affect failback operations. See also: Cluster
Administrator; failback
failed -> A state that applies to a resource or a node in a cluster. A
resource or a node is placed in the failed state after an unsuccessful
attempt has been made to bring it online. See also: cluster; resource
failover -> The process of taking resource groups offline on one node and
bringing them back online on another node. When a resource group goes
offline, all resources belonging to that group go offline. The offline and
online transitions occur in a predefined order, with resources that are
dependent on other resources taken offline before and brought online after
the resources upon which they depend. See also: failover policy;
failover time; IIS Server Instance resource; offline; possible owners;
resource
failover policy -> Parameters that an administrator can set, using Cluster
Administrator, that affect failover operations. See also: Cluster
Administrator; failover
failover time -> The amount of time it takes a resource, either individually
or in a group, to complete the failover process. See also: failover;
resource
FAT See definition for: file allocation table (FAT)
FAT32 -> A derivative of the file allocation table (FAT) file system. FAT32
supports smaller cluster sizes and larger volumes than FAT, which results
in more efficient space allocation on FAT32 volumes. See also: file
allocation table (FAT); NTFS file system; volume
fault tolerance -> The ability of computer hardware or software to ensure
data integrity when hardware failures occur. Fault tolerant features appear
in many server operating systems and include mirrored volumes, RAID-5
volumes, and server clusters. See also: cluster; mirrored volume; RAID-
5 volume
Fax Service -> A system service that provides fax services to local and
remote network clients. Fax services include receiving faxes and faxing
documents, fax wizard messages, and e-mail messages. See also:
service
Federal Information Processing Standard 140-1 (FIPS 140-1) -> A
standard entitled Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules. FIPS
140-1 describes government requirements that hardware and software
cryptomodules should meet for Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) use.
file allocation table (FAT) -> A file system used by MS-DOS and other
Windows-based operating systems to organize and manage files. The file
allocation table (FAT) is a data structure that Windows creates when you
format a volume by using the FAT or FAT32 file systems. Windows stores
information about each file in the FAT so that it can retrieve the file later.
See also: FAT32; file system; NTFS file system
File and Print Servers for Macintosh -> A software component that
allows Macintosh users access to a computer running any version of the
Windows Server family. The services provided with this component allow
personal computer and Macintosh users to share files and resources, such
as printers on the AppleTalk network or printers attached to the Windows
server.
file control block (FCB) -> A small block of memory temporarily assigned
by a computer's operating system to hold information about a file that has
been opened for use. An FCB typically contains such information as the
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
file's identification, its location on disk, and a pointer that marks the user's
current (or last) position in the file.
File Server for Macintosh -> An AppleTalk network integration service
that allows Macintosh clients and personal computer clients to share files.
File Server for Macintosh is also called MacFile. See also: service
File Share resource -> A file share accessible by a network path that is
supported as a cluster resource by a Resource DLL. See also: Resource
DLL
file system -> In an operating system, the overall structure in which files
are named, stored, and organized. NTFS, FAT, and FAT32 are types of file
systems. See also: FAT32; NTFS file system; FAT
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) -> A member of the TCP/IP suite of
protocols, used to copy files between two computers on the Internet. Both
computers must support their respective FTP roles: one must be an FTP
client and the other an FTP server. See also: Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
file type -> In the Windows environment, a designation of the operational
or structural characteristics of a file. The file type identifies the program,
such as Microsoft Word, that is used to open the file. File types are
associated with a file name extension. For example, files that have the .txt
or .log extension are of the Text Document type and can be opened using
any text editor.
In the Macintosh environment, a four-character sequence that
identifies the type of a Macintosh file. The Macintosh Finder uses the file
type and file creator to determine the appropriate desktop icon for that file.
filter -> For Indexing Service, software that extracts content and property
values from a document in order to index them.
For IPSec, a specification of IP traffic that provides the ability to
trigger security negotiations for a communication based on the source,
destination, and type of IP traffic. See also: document; property value
filtering mode -> For Network Load Balancing, the method by which
network traffic inbound to a cluster is handled by the hosts within the
cluster. Traffic can either be handled by a single server, load balanced
among the hosts within the cluster, or disabled completely. See also:
cluster; host; load balancing
FilterKeys -> A keyboard feature that instructs your keyboard to ignore
brief or repeated keystrokes. You can also adjust the keyboard repeat rate,
which is the rate at which a key repeats when you hold it down. See also:
StickyKeys; ToggleKeys; MouseKeys
firewall -> A combination of hardware and software that provides a
security system, usually to prevent unauthorized access from outside to an
internal network or intranet. A firewall prevents direct communication
between network and external computers by routing communication
through a proxy server outside of the network. The proxy server
determines whether it is safe to let a file pass through to the network. A
firewall is also called a security-edge gateway.
folder -> A container for programs and files in graphical user interfaces,
symbolized on the screen by a graphical image (icon) of a file folder. A
folder is a means of organizing programs and documents on a disk and
can hold both files and additional folders.
font -> A graphic design applied to a collection of numbers, symbols, and
characters. A font describes a certain typeface, along with other qualities
such as size, spacing, and pitch. See also: OpenType fonts; PostScript
fonts; screen fonts; Type 1 fonts
font cartridge -> A plug-in unit available for some printers that contains
fonts in several styles and sizes. As with downloadable fonts, printers
using font cartridges can produce characters in sizes and styles other than
those created by the fonts built into it. See also: downloadable fonts;
font
foreground program -> The program that runs in the active window (the
uppermost window with the highlighted title bar). The foreground program
responds to commands issued by the user. See also: background
program; title bar
foreign computer -> A computer that uses another message queuing
system but, through a connector application, can exchange messages with
computers that run Message Queuing. See also: connector application;
Message Queuing
forest -> A collection of one or more Windows domains that share a
common schema, configuration, and global catalog and are linked with
11 January 2011
two-way transitive trusts. See also: domain; domain tree; global
catalog; schema; transitive trust; two-way trust
form -> The specification of physical characteristics such as paper size
(that is, letter or legal) and printer area margins of paper or other print
media. For example, by default, the Letter form has a paper size of 8.5
inches by 11 inches and does not reserve space for margins.
format -> The structure of a file that defines the way it is stored and laid
out on the screen or in print. The format of a file is usually indicated by its
extension. For example, .txt after a file name indicates the file is a text
document, and .doc after a file name indicates it is a Word document.
FORTEZZA -> A family of security products, including PCMCIA-based
cards, compatible serial port devices, combination cards (such as
FORTEZZA/Modem and FORTEZZA/Ethernet), server boards, and others.
FORTEZZA is a registered trademark held by the National Security
Agency.
fragmentation -> The scattering of parts of the same disk file over
different areas of the disk. Fragmentation occurs as files on a disk are
deleted and new files are added. It slows disk access and degrades the
overall performance of disk operations, although usually not severely. See
also: defragmentation
frame type -> The way in which a network type, such as Ethernet, formats
data to be sent over a network. When multiple frame types are allowed for
a particular network type, the packets are structured differently and are,
therefore, incompatible. All computers on a network must use the same
frame type to communicate. Frame type is also called frame format. See
also: packet
free media pool -> A logical collection of unused data-storage media that
can be used by applications or other media pools. When media are no
longer needed by an application, they are returned to a free media pool so
that they can be used again. See also: media pool; Removable Storage
free space -> Available space that you use to create logical drives within
an extended partition. See also: extended partition; logical drive;
unallocated space
front-end processor (FEP) -> In communications, a computer that is
located between communications lines and a main (host) computer and
used to relieve the host of tasks related to communications; sometimes
considered synonymous with communications controller. A front-end
processor is dedicated entirely to handling transmitted information,
including error detection and control; receipt, transmission, and possibly
encoding of messages; and management of the lines running to and from
other devices.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) See definition for: File Transfer Protocol
(FTP)
full name -> A user's complete name, usually consisting of the last name,
first name, and middle initial. The full name is information that Local Users
and Groups or Active Directory Users and Computers can maintain as part
of the information identifying and defining a user account. See also: user
account; Active Directory Users and Computers
full zone transfer (AXFR) -> The standard query type supported by all
DNS servers to update and synchronize zone data when the zone has
been changed. When a DNS query is made using AXFR as the specified
query type, the entire zone is transferred as the response. See also: DNS
Server; zone
full-duplex -> A system capable of simultaneously transmitting information
in both directions over a communications channel. See also: half-duplex;
duplex
fully qualified domain name (FQDN) -> A DNS domain name that has
been stated unambiguously so as to indicate with absolute certainty its
location in the domain namespace tree. Fully qualified domain names
differ from relative names in that they are typically stated with a trailing
period (.) - for example, host.example.microsoft.com. - to qualify their
position to the root of the namespace. See also: namespace; domain
name; Domain Name System (DNS)
G Distribution groups are used only for e-mail. Security groups are used both
game port -> An input/output connector to which you attach a joy stick or
other game device to your computer. It is typically a 15-pin socket on the
back of a PC. See also: serial port
gateway -> A device connected to multiple physical TCP/IP networks
capable of routing or delivering IP packets between them. A gateway
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
translates between different transport protocols or data formats (for
example, IPX and IP) and is generally added to a network primarily for its
translation ability.
In the context of interoperating with Novell NetWare networks, a
gateway acts as a bridge between the server message block (SMB)
protocol used by Windows networks and the NetWare core protocol (NCP)
used by NetWare networks. A gateway is also called an IP router.
GDI objects -> Objects from the Graphics Device Interface (GDI) library of
application programming interfaces (APIs) for graphics output devices. In
Task Manager, the number of GDI objects currently used by a process.
See also: Task Manager
Generic Service resource -> A Windows service that is supported as a
cluster resource by a Resource DLL. See also: Resource DLL
gigabyte (GB) -> 1,024 megabytes, though often interpreted as
approximately one billion bytes.
global account -> In an Active Directory network, a normal user account
in a user's domain. Most user accounts are global accounts. If there are
multiple domains in the network, it is best if each user in the network has
only one user account in only one domain, and each user's access to other
domains is accomplished through the establishment of domain trust
relationships. See also: Active Directory; domain
global catalog -> A domain controller that contains a partial replica of
every domain in Active Directory. In other words, a global catalog holds a
replica of every object in Active Directory, but with a limited number of
each object's attributes. The global catalog stores those attributes most
frequently used in search operations (such as a user's first and last
names) and those attributes required to locate a full replica of the object.
The Active Directory replication system builds the global catalog
automatically. The attributes replicated into the global catalog include a
base set defined by Microsoft. Administrators can specify additional
properties to meet the needs of their installation. See also: Active
Directory; attribute; domain controller; replication
global group -> A security or distribution group that can have users,
groups, and computers from its own domain as members. Global security
groups can be granted rights and permissions on resources in any domain
in the forest. Global groups cannot be created or maintained on computers
running Windows XP Professional. However, for Windows XP Professional
computers that participate in a domain, domain global groups can be
granted rights and permissions at those workstations and can become
members of local groups at those workstations. See also: permission;
group; local group; user account
glue chasing -> The follow-up queries or successive lookups that are
made to resolve glue records in a zone to other remote DNS servers that
are authoritative for a derivative zone. When glue chasing is performed,
name server (NS) resource records for delegated DNS servers are
chased, or followed, by using successive queries to resolve the servers
named in NS records to their host address (A) resource records and to
obtain server IP addresses. See also: A (address) resource record;
delegation; DNS Server; glue record; name server (NS) resource
record; zone
glue record -> A resource record for out-of-zone information used to
provide helpful pointer information for locating DNS servers that have been
delegated authority for specific subdomains derived from a zone's domain
of origin. These records are used to glue zones together and provide an
effective delegation and referral path for other DNS servers to follow when
performing a recursive lookup to fully resolve a name. See also:
delegation; DNS Server; domain of origin; glue chasing; resource
record (RR); zone
graphics mode -> A display mode in which lines and characters on the
screen are drawn pixel by pixel. Graphics mode displays images by
grouping individual dots into shapes, such as the arrowhead of a mouse
pointer. It can also preview character formatting, such as boldface and
italics, as it will appear in print.
group -> A collection of users, computers, contacts, and other groups.
Groups can be used as security or as e-mail distribution collections.
to grant access to resources and as e-mail distribution lists. See also:
domain; global group; local group
group account -> A collection of user accounts. By making a user account
a member of a group, you give the related user all the rights and
permissions granted to the group. See also: group; user account
11 January 2011
group memberships -> The groups to which a user account belongs.
Permissions and rights granted to a group are also provided to its
members. In most cases, the actions a user can perform in Windows are
determined by the group memberships of the user account to which the
user is logged on. See also: group; user account
group name -> A unique name identifying a local group or a global group
to Windows. A group's name cannot be identical to any other group name
or user name in its own domain or computer. See also: global group;
local group
Group Policy -> The Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that
is used to edit Group Policy objects. See also: Group Policy object;
Microsoft Management Console (MMC); policy; snap-in
Group Policy object -> A collection of Group Policy settings. Group Policy
objects are essentially the documents created by the Group Policy snap-in,
a Windows utility. Group Policy objects are stored at the domain level, and
they affect users and computers contained in sites, domains, and
organizational units. In addition, each Windows computer has exactly one
group of settings stored locally, called the local Group Policy object. See
also: Group Policy; object; policy
guest account -> A built-in account used to log on to a computer running
Windows when a user does not have an account on the computer or
domain, or in any of the domains trusted by the computer's domain. See
also: domain
GUID partition table (GPT) -> A disk-partitioning scheme that is used by
the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) in Itanium-based computers. GPT
offers more advantages than master boot record (MBR) partitioning
because it allows up to 128 partitions per disk, provides support for
volumes up to 18 exabytes in size, allows primary and backup partition
tables for redundancy, and supports unique disk and partition IDs (GUIDs).
See also: Itanium; Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI); master boot
record (MBR)
H
half-duplex -> A system capable of transmitting information in only one
direction at a time over a communications channel. See also: duplex; full-
duplex
handle -> In the user interface, an interface added to an object that
facilitates moving, sizing, reshaping, or other functions pertaining to an
object. In programming, a pointer to a pointer, that is, a token that lets a
program access an identified resource.
handle count -> In Task Manager, the number of object handles in a
process's object table. See also: Task Manager
handshaking -> A series of signals acknowledging that communication
can take place between computers or other devices. A hardware
handshake is an exchange of signals over specific wires (other than the
data wires), in which each device indicates its readiness to send or receive
data. A software handshake consists of signals transmitted over the same
wires used to transfer data, as in modem-to-modem communications over
telephone lines.
handwriting input device -> A tool, such as a digital pen and tablet, used
to enter text by writing instead of typing. Along with writing tablets, you can
use 3-D drawing or Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) tablets, or a tablet-PC.
You can also write by moving your mouse on the mouse pad.
handwriting recognition -> The ability to interpret handwritten text and
convert it into computer-readable text. Handwriting recognition programs
allow you to enter text using a pen stylus or other handwriting input device,
rather than a keyboard.
hard disk -> A device, also called hard disk drive, that contains one or
more inflexible platters coated with material in which data can be recorded
magnetically with read/write heads. The hard disk exists in a sealed case
that protects it and allows the head to fly 10 millionths to 25 millionths of an
inch above the surface of a platter. Data can both be stored and accessed
much more quickly than on a floppy disk.
hardware -> The physical components of a computer system, including
any peripheral equipment such as printers, modems, and mouse devices.
hardware compression -> A feature available on some tape devices that
automatically compresses the data that is being stored on the device. This
is usually an option that is turned on or off in a backup program.
hardware configuration -> Resource settings that have been allocated
for a specific device. Each device on your computer has a hardware
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
configuration, which may consist of IRQ lines, DMA, an I/O port, or
memory address settings. See also: device; direct memory access
(DMA); input/output (I/O) port; interrupt request (IRQ) lines; memory
address
hardware decoder -> A type of digital video disc (DVD) decoder that
allows a DVD drive to display movies on your computer screen. A
hardware decoder uses both software and hardware to display movies.
See also: DVD decoder; DVD drive; software decoder
hardware profile -> Data that describes the configuration and
characteristics of specific computer equipment. This information can be
used to configure computers for using peripheral devices. See also:
device
hardware type -> A classification for similar devices. For example,
Imaging Device is a hardware type for digital cameras and scanners. See
also: device
hash -> A fixed-size result that is obtained by applying a one-way
mathematical function (sometimes called a hash algorithm) to an arbitrary
amount of data. If there is a change in the input data, the hash changes.
The hash can be used in many operations, including authentication and
digital signing. A hash is also called a message digest. See also:
authentication; hash algorithm
hash algorithm -> An algorithm used to produce a hash value of some
piece of data, such as a message or session key. A good hash algorithm
has a quality where changes in the input data can change every bit in the
resulting hash value; for this reason, hashes are useful in detecting any
modification in a large data object, such as a message. Furthermore, a
good hash algorithm makes it computationally infeasible to construct two
independent inputs that have the same hash. Typical hash algorithms
include MD2, MD4, MD5, and SHA-1. Hash algorithm is also called a hash
function. See also: Hash-based Message Authentication Mode
(HMAC); MD2; MD4; MD5; message digest; Secure Hash Algorithm
(SHA-1)
Hash-based Message Authentication Mode (HMAC) -> A mechanism for
message authentication using cryptographic hash functions. HMAC can be
used with any iterative cryptographic hash function (for example, MD5 and
SHA-1) in combination with a secret shared key. The cryptographic
strength of HMAC depends on the properties of the underlying hash
function. See also: hash algorithm; MD5; Secure Hash Algorithm
(SHA-1)
hexadecimal -> A base-16 number system represented by the digits 0
through 9 and the uppercase or lowercase letters A (equivalent to decimal
10) through F (equivalent to decimal 15).
hibernation -> A state in which your computer shuts down after saving
everything in memory on your hard disk. When you bring your computer
out of hibernation, all programs and documents that were open are
restored to your desktop. See also: standby
High Contrast -> A display feature that instructs programs to change the
color scheme to a high-contrast scheme and to increase legibility
whenever possible.
histogram -> A chart consisting of horizontal or vertical bars, the widths or
heights of which represent the values of certain data.
hive -> A section of the registry that appears as a file on your hard disk.
The registry subtree is divided into hives (named for their resemblance to
the cellular structure of a beehive). A hive is a discrete body of keys,
subkeys, and values that is rooted at the top of the registry hierarchy. A
hive is backed by a single file and a .log file, which are in the
systemroot\System32\Config or the systemroot\Profiles\username folders.
By default, most hive files (Default, SAM, Security, and System)
are stored in the systemroot\System32\Config folder. The
systemroot\Profiles folder contains the user profile for each user of the
computer. Because a hive is a file, it can be moved from one system to
another. However, you must use the Registry Editor to edit the file. See
also: registry; key; systemroot
home folder -> A folder (usually on a file server) that administrators can
assign to individual users or groups. Administrators use home folders to
consolidate user files onto specific file servers for easy backup. Home
folders are used by some programs as the default folder for the Open and
Save As dialog boxes. Home folders are sometimes referred to as home
directories. See also: administrator; group
11 January 2011
host -> A Windows computer that runs a server program or service used
by network or remote clients. For Network Load Balancing, a cluster
consists of multiple hosts connected over a local area network (LAN). See
also: client; cluster; local area network (LAN); server; service
host name -> The DNS name of a device on a network. These names are
used to locate computers on the network. To find another computer, its
host name must either appear in the Hosts file or be known by a DNS
server. For most Windows computers, the host name and the computer
name are the same. See also: DNS Server; Domain Name System
(DNS)
host priority -> For Network Load Balancing, a host's precedence for
handling default network traffic for TCP and UDP ports. It is used if a host
within the cluster goes offline, and it determines which host within the
cluster will assume responsibility for the traffic previously handled by the
offline host. See also: cluster; host; User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
Hosts file -> A local text file in the same format as the 4.3 Berkeley
Software Distribution (BSD) UNIX /etc/hosts file. This file maps host names
to IP addresses, and it is stored in the \%Systemroot
%\System32\Drivers\Etc folder. See also: systemroot
hot docking -> The process of attaching a laptop computer to a docking
station while the computer is running, and automatically activating the
docking station's video display and other functions. See also: dock;
docking station; undock
HTTP -> See definition for: Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
hub -> A common connection point for devices in a network. Typically
used to connect segments of a local area network (LAN), a hub contains
multiple ports. When data arrives at one port, it is copied to the other ports
so that all segments of the LAN can see the data. See also: local area
network (LAN); port; switching hub
hubbed mode -> A mode in which the ARP/MARS provides ATM
addresses to requesting clients in the form of a multicast server (MCS) list
value. In this mode, the ARP/MARS acts as a multicast server, providing
active forwarding of all multicast and broadcast traffic destined for IP
addresses contained within the ranges specified in the list. See also:
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP); Asynchronous Transfer Mode
(ATM); multicast address resolution service (MARS); multicast server
(MCS); nonhubbed mode;
IP address
hue -> The position of a color along the color spectrum. For example,
green is between yellow and blue. This attribute can be set using Display
in Control Panel. See also: saturation
hyperlink -> Colored and underlined text or a graphic that you click to go
to a file, a location in a file, an HTML page on the World Wide Web, or an
HTML page on an intranet. Hyperlinks can also go to newsgroups and to
Gopher, Telnet, and FTP sites.
In Windows folders, hyperlinks are text links that appear in the
folder's left pane. You can click these links to perform tasks, such as
moving or copying a file, or to go to other places on your computer, such
as the My Documents folder or Control Panel.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) -> A simple markup language used
to create hypertext documents that are portable from one platform to
another. HTML files are simple ASCII text files with codes embedded
(indicated by markup tags) to denote formatting and hypertext links. See
also: American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) -> The protocol used to transfer
information on the World Wide Web. An HTTP address (one kind of
Uniform Resource Locator [URL]) takes the form:
http://www.microsoft.com.
I infrared network connection -> A direct or incoming network connection
icon -> A small image displayed on the screen to represent an object that
can be manipulated by the user. Icons serve as visual mnemonics and
allow the user to control certain computer actions without having to
remember commands or type them at the keyboard.
IEEE 1394 -> A standard for high-speed serial devices such as digital
video and digital audio editing equipment. See also: device
IEEE 1394 connector -> A type of connector that enables you to connect
and disconnect high-speed serial devices. An IEEE 1394 connector is
usually on the back of your computer near the serial port or the parallel
port.
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
If a device is IEEE 1394 compatible, you can connect the device
to the IEEE 1394 connector while the computer is running and Windows
will detect the device and inform you when it is ready for use. Similarly, you
can unplug the device while the computer is running, but you should use
the Add Hardware Wizard to inform Windows that you are unplugging the
device. Windows will then inform you when the device can be unplugged
from the computer.
The IEEE 1394 bus is used primarily to connect high-end digital
video and digital audio devices to your computer; however, some hard
disks, printers, scanners, and DVD drives can also be connected to your
computer using the IEEE 1394 connector.
IIS Server Instance resource -> A server-instance designation used with
Internet Information Services (IIS) that supports the WWW and FTP
services. IIS server instances are supported as cluster resources by a
Resource DLL. IIS Server Instance resources may have dependencies on
IP Address resources, Network Name resources, and Physical Disk
resources. Access information for server instances does not fail over. See
also: dependency; failover; Resource DLL
Image Name -> The name of a process as displayed in Task Manager.
See also: Task Manager
import media pool -> A logical collection of data-storage media that has
not been cataloged by Removable Storage. Media in an import media pool
should be cataloged as soon as possible so that they can be used by an
application. See also: media pool; Removable Storage
in-addr.arpa domain -> A special top-level DNS domain reserved for
reverse mapping of IP addresses to DNS host names. See also: Domain
Name System (DNS); reverse lookup; top-level domains
incremental backup -> A backup that copies only those files created or
changed since the last normal or incremental backup. It marks files as
having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is cleared). If
you use a combination of normal and incremental backups to restore your
data, you will need to have the last normal backup and all incremental
backup sets. See also: copy backup; daily backup; differential
backup; normal backup
incremental zone transfer (IXFR) -> An alternate query type that can be
used by some DNS servers to update and synchronize zone data when a
zone is changed. When incremental zone transfer is supported between
DNS servers, servers can keep track of and transfer only those
incremental resource record changes between each version of the zone.
See also: DNS Server; secondary master; zone; zone transfer
independent client -> A computer with Message Queuing installed that
can host queues and store messages locally. Independent clients do not
require synchronous access to a Message Queuing server to send and
receive messages, but they can use Message Queuing servers with
routing enabled for efficient message routing. See also: dependent
client; Message Queuing server; routing services
infrared (IR) -> Light that is beyond red in the color spectrum. While the
light is not visible to the human eye, infrared transmitters and receivers
can send and receive infrared signals. See also: Infrared Data
Association (IrDA); infrared device; infrared port
Infrared Data Association (IrDA) -> The industry organization of
computer, component, and telecommunications vendors who establish the
standards for infrared communication between computers and peripheral
devices, such as printers. See also: infrared (IR)
infrared device -> A computer, or a computer peripheral such as a printer,
that can communicate using infrared light. See also: infrared (IR)
infrared file transfer -> Wireless file transfer between a computer and
another computer or device using infrared light. See also: infrared (IR)
to a remote access server using an infrared port. See also: infrared port
infrared port -> An optical port on a computer that enables
communication with other computers or devices by using infrared light,
without cables. Infrared ports can be found on some portable computers,
printers, and cameras. See also: infrared (IR); infrared device; port
infrastructure master -> The domain controller assigned to update group-
to-user references whenever group memberships are changed, and to
replicate these changes to any other domain controllers in the domain. At
any time, there can be only one infrastructure master in a particular
domain. See also: domain controller; multimaster replication;
operations master
11 January 2011

inheritance -> A mechanism that allows a given access control entry
(ACE) to be copied from the container where it was applied to all children
of the container. Inheritance can be combined with delegation to grant
administrative rights to a whole subtree of the directory in a single update
operation. See also: access control entry (ACE); delegation
inherited permissions -> Permissions on an object that are automatically
inherited from its parent object. Inherited permissions cannot be modified.
See also: permission; object; parent object
Initial master -> A shared folder whose existing files and folders are
replicated to other shared folders when replication is initially configured.
After replication is complete, there is no initial master, since any of the
replicas can accept changes and propagate them to the other replicas.
The initial master then becomes another replica. See also: shared folder;
replica; replication
initialize -> In Disk Management, the process of detecting a disk or
volume and assigning it a status (for example, healthy) and a type (for
example, dynamic). See also: basic disk; basic volume; dynamic disk;
dynamic volume
Initiate to Application Enable -> When checked, new connections to the
DDE share are allowed. When cleared, only current DDE conversations
are allowed.
Ink -> An option that allows you to enter text in handwritten form. Instead
of converting your handwritten text to typed text, the text is converted to an
object and displayed exactly as you wrote it. For example:
input language -> The specification of the language you want to type in.
Some programs that are designed for Windows recognize this setting.
When you add a new input language, a keyboard layout for that language
is also added.
Input Method Editor (IME) -> Programs used to enter the thousands of
different characters in written Asian languages with a standard 101-key
keyboard. An IME consists of both an engine that converts keystrokes into
phonetic and ideographic characters and a dictionary of commonly used
ideographic words. As the user enters keystrokes, the IME engine
attempts to identify which character or characters the keystrokes should be
converted into.
input/output (I/O) port -> A channel through which data is transferred
between a device and the microprocessor. The port appears to the
microprocessor as one or more memory addresses that it can use to send
or receive data. See also: device; memory address; port
insertion point -> The place where text will be inserted when typed. The
insertion point usually appears as a flashing vertical bar in an application's
window or in a dialog box.
install -> When referring to software, to add program files and folders to
your hard disk and related data to your registry so that the software runs
properly. Installing contrasts with upgrading, where existing program files,
folders, and registry entries are updated to a more recent version.
When referring to hardware, to physically connect the device to
your computer, to load device drivers onto your computer, and to configure
device properties and settings. See also: device driver; registry;
uninstall
integrated device electronics (IDE) -> A type of disk-drive interface in
which the controller electronics reside on the drive itself, eliminating the
need for a separate adapter card. IDE offers advantages such as look-
ahead caching to increase overall performance.
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) -> A digital phone line used
to provide higher bandwidth. ISDN in North America is typically available in
two forms: Basic Rate Interface (BRI) consists of 2 B-channels at 64
kilobits per second (Kbps) and a D-channel at 16 Kbps; Primary Rate
Interface (PRI) consists of 23 B-channels at 64 Kbps and a D-channel at
64 Kbps. An ISDN line must be installed by the phone company at both the
calling site and the called site. See also: B-channel; D-channel;
multilink dialing; Service Profile Identifier (SPID); switch type
interactive dialog box -> A dialog box that requires a response from the
user. Intermediary devices such as a security host require such a dialog
box as an added layer of security between the client and the remote
access server. In such dialog boxes, the user types an access code or a
user name and password on the remote access terminal screen. See also:
dialog box; intermediary device; remote access server; static dialog
box
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
interactive logon -> A network logon from a computer keyboard, when the
user types information in the Logon Information dialog box displayed by
the computer's operating system.
interconnect -> A private network that connects nodes in a cluster. See
also: cluster
intermediary device -> A device other than a modem or X.25 PAD,
located between a network connection and the remote access server. This
device is typically a modem-pool switch or security host and requires either
a static or interactive dialog box between the client and itself. See also:
remote access server; static dialog box; interactive dialog box; PAD
(packet assembler/disassembler)
internal network number -> A 4-byte hexadecimal number used for
addressing and routing purposes. The internal network number identifies a
virtual network inside a computer. The internal network number must be
unique to the IPX internetwork. Internal network number is also called
virtual network number. See also: external network number;
Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX)
international prefix -> Digits dialed before the country code to access the
international phone service. The actual digits depend on the country or
region in which you are dialing an international number. For example, in
the United States of America, the prefix for international dialing is 011. To
dial from the United States of America to Honduras, which has the country
code 504, you would dial: (011) (504) (000) 000-0000
International Telecommunication Union - Telecommunication
[Standardization Sector] (ITU-T) -> The sector of the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) responsible for telecommunication
standards. ITU-T replaces the Comite Consultatif International
Telegraphique et Telephonique (CCITT). Its responsibilities include
standardizing modem design and operations, and standardizing protocols
for networks and facsimile transmission. ITU is an international
organization within which governments and the private sector coordinate
global telecom networks and services.
internet -> internet. Two or more network segments connected by routers.
Another term for internetwork.
Internet. A worldwide network of computers. If you have access
to the Internet, you can retrieve information from millions of sources,
including schools, governments, businesses, and individuals. See also:
World Wide Web
Internet address -> An address for a resource on the Internet that is used
by Web browsers to locate Internet resources. An Internet address
typically starts with a protocol name, followed by the name of the
organization that maintains the site; the suffix identifies the kind of
organization it is. For example, the address http://www.yale.edu/ provides
the following information:
 http: This Web server uses the Hypertext Transfer Protocol.
 www: This site is on the World Wide Web.
 edu: This is an educational institution.
Internet address is also called Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
See also: Web server; protocol
Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) -> A required maintenance
protocol in the TCP/IP suite that reports errors and allows simple
connectivity. ICMP is used by the Ping tool to perform TCP/IP
troubleshooting. See also: Internet Protocol (IP); protocol;
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) -> An open community of
network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with
the evolution of Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the
Internet. Technical work is performed by working groups organized by topic
areas (such as routing, transport, and security) and through mailing lists.
Internet standards are developed in IETF Requests for Comments (RFCs),
which are a series of notes that discuss many aspects of computing and
computer communication, focusing on networking protocols, programs,
and concepts. See also: subnet bandwidth management (SBM);
Session Description Protocol (SDP)
Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) -> A protocol used by IP
hosts to report their multicast group memberships to any immediately
neighboring multicast routers. See also: Internet Protocol multicasting;
protocol
Internet Information Services (IIS) -> Software services that support
Web site creation, configuration, and management, along with other
Internet functions. Internet Information Services include Network News
11 January 2011
Transfer Protocol (NNTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol (SMTP). See also: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
(SMTP); File Transfer Protocol (FTP); Network News Transfer
Protocol (NNTP)
Internet Protocol (IP) -> A routable protocol in the TCP/IP protocol suite
that is responsible for IP addressing, routing, and the fragmentation and
reassembly of IP packets. See also: Compression Control Protocol
(CCP); packet; Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP); voluntary tunnel
Internet Protocol multicasting -> The extension of local area network
multicasting technology to a TCP/IP network. Hosts send and receive
multicast datagrams, the destination fields of which specify IP host group
addresses rather than individual IP addresses. A host indicates that it is a
member of a group by means of the Internet Group Management Protocol
(IGMP). See also: Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP);
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
Internet Protocol security (IPSec) -> A set of industry-standard,
cryptography-based protection services and protocols. IPSec protects all
protocols in the TCP/IP protocol suite and Internet communications using
L2TP.
Internet service provider (ISP) -> A company that provides individuals or
companies access to the Internet and the World Wide Web. An ISP
provides a telephone number, a user name, a password, and other
connection information so users can connect their computers to the ISP's
computers. An ISP typically charges a monthly or hourly connection fee.
See also: Web server
Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) -> A network protocol native to
NetWare that controls addressing and routing of packets within and
between LANs. IPX does not guarantee that a message will be complete
(no lost packets). See also: Compression Control Protocol (CCP);
IPX/SPX; local area network (LAN); Routing Information Protocol over
IPX (RIPX)
interrupt -> A request for attention from the processor. When the
processor receives an interrupt, it suspends its current operations, saves
the status of its work, and transfers control to a special routine known as
an interrupt handler, which contains the instructions for dealing with the
particular situation that caused the interrupt.
interrupt request (IRQ) lines -> Hardware lines over which devices can
send signals to get the attention of the processor when the device is ready
to accept or send information. Each device must have a unique IRQ line.
See also: device
intersite messaging service (ISM) -> A service that supports transports
for asynchronous, site-to-site messaging. Each transport serves two major
roles: send/receive and topology queries (such as, what are the various
sites connected by this transport, and at what cost?). The intersite
messaging services shipped in Windows are RPC and SMTP (mail). See
also: remote procedure call (RPC); service; Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol (SMTP)
intranet -> A network within an organization that uses Internet
technologies and protocols, but is available only to certain people, such as
employees of a company. An intranet is also called a private network.
IP address -> A 32-bit address used to identify a node on an IP
internetwork. Each node on the IP internetwork must be assigned a unique
IP address, which is made up of the network ID, plus a unique host ID.
This address is typically represented with the decimal value of each octet
separated by a period (for example, 192.168.7.27). In this version of
Windows, you can configure the IP address statically or dynamically
through DHCP. See also: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP); IP Address resource; scope
IP Address resource -> A 32-bit number in dotted decimal format that
represents an Internet Protocol (IP) address and is supported as a cluster
resource by a Resource DLL provided with Windows. See also: IP
address; Resource DLL
IPX/SPX -> Transport protocols used in Novell NetWare networks, which
together correspond to the combination of TCP and IP in the TCP/IP
protocol suite. Windows implements IPX through NWLink. See also:
NWLink; Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP);
Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX)
ISA expansion slot -> A connection socket for a peripheral designed to
the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) on a computer motherboard.
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) -> A high-speed digital
telephone service that can dramatically increase the speed at which you
connect to the Internet or to your corporate LAN (local area network).
ISDN can operate at 128 kilobytes per second (Kbps), which is five or
more times faster than many analog modems.
ISP (Internet service provider) See definition for: Internet service
provider (ISP)
Itanium -> An Intel microprocessor that uses explicitly parallel instruction
set computing and 64-bit memory addressing.
J
job object -> A system-level structure that allows processes to be grouped
together and managed as a single unit. See also: process
journal queue -> For Message Queuing, a queue where journal
messages are stored. See also: journal quota; Message Queuing;
source journaling; target journaling
journal quota -> For Message Queuing, a property that specifies the
cumulative limit for journal messages in a journal queue. The limit is based
on cumulative journal message size. When a journal queue's quota is
reached, messages are no longer stored. See also: journal queue;
Message Queuing
junction point -> A physical location on a hard disk that points to data
located at another location on your hard disk or another storage device.
Junction points are created when you create a mounted drive. You can
also create a junction point using the linkd command. See also: mounted
drive
K
Kerberos�V5 authentication protocol -> An authentication mechanism
used to verify user or host identity. The Kerberos�V5 authentication
protocol is the default authentication service for Windows 2000. Internet
Protocol security (IPSec) and the QoS Admission Control Service use the
Kerberos protocol for authentication. See also: Key Distribution Center
(KDC); realm; service ticket; ticket-granting service (TGS); ticket-
granting ticket (TGT)
kernel -> The core of layered architecture that manages the most basic
operations of the operating system and the computer's processor. The
kernel schedules different blocks of executing code, called threads, for the
processor to keep it as busy as possible and coordinates multiple
processors to optimize performance. The kernel also synchronizes
activities among Executive-level subcomponents, such as I/O Manager
and Process Manager, and handles hardware exceptions and other
hardware-dependent functions. The kernel works closely with the
hardware abstraction layer.
key -> In Registry Editor, a folder that appears in the left pane of the
Registry Editor window. A key can contain subkeys and value entries. For
example, Environment is a key of HKEY_CURRENT_USER.
In IP security (IPSec), a value used in combination with an
algorithm to encrypt or decrypt data. Key settings for IP security are
configurable to provide greater security. See also: registry; subkey
Key Distribution Center (KDC) -> A network service that supplies session
tickets and temporary session keys used in the Kerberos�V5
authentication protocol. In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, the KDC runs
as a privileged process on all domain controllers. See also: ticket-
granting ticket (TGT); Kerberos�V5 authentication protocol; ticket-
granting service (TGS)
keyboard language -> The language you want to use when you type.
Some programs that are designed for the Windows platform recognize this
setting. When you add a new keyboard language, a keyboard layout for
that language is also added.
keyboard layout -> The arrangement that accommodates the special
characters and symbols used in different languages. Keyboard layouts
affect which characters appear when you press the keys on your
keyboard. After you change your keyboard layout, the characters that
appear on your screen may no longer correspond to the characters that
are printed on your keyboard keys.
L
L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol) -> An industry-standard Internet
tunneling protocol. Unlike Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), L2TP
does not require IP connectivity between the client workstation and the
server. L2TP requires only that the tunnel medium provide packet-oriented
point-to-point connectivity. The protocol can be used over media such as
11 January 2011
ATM, Frame Relay, and X.25. L2TP provides the same functionality as
PPTP. Based on Layer 2 Forwarding (L2F) and PPTP specifications, L2TP
allows clients to set up tunnels across intervening networks. See also:
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM); Internet Protocol (IP); Point-to-
Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP); tunnel
label -> Each part of a full DNS domain name that represents a node in
the domain namespace tree. Domain names are made up of a sequence
of labels, such as the three labels (example, microsoft, and com) that
make up the DNS domain name example.microsoft.com. Each label used
in a DNS name must be 63 bytes or less in character length. See also:
domain name; Domain Name System (DNS)
LAN emulation (LANE) -> A set of protocols that allow existing Ethernet
and Token Ring LAN services to overlie an ATM network. LANE allows
connectivity among LAN- and ATM-attached stations. See also:
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM); local area network (LAN);
protocol
LAN emulation client (LEC) -> The client on an ELAN that performs data
forwarding, address resolution, and other control functions. The LEC
resides on end stations in an ELAN. See also: client; emulated local
area network (ELAN); LAN emulation (LANE)
LAN emulation configuration server -> The service that assigns
individual local area network emulation (LANE) clients to particular
emulated local area networks (ELANs) by directing them to the LAN
emulation server (LES). See also: emulated local area network (ELAN);
LAN emulation (LANE); LAN emulation server (LES); service
LAN emulation server (LES) -> The central control point for an emulated
local area network (ELAN). Enables LAN emulation clients to join the
ELAN and resolves LAN addresses to ATM addresses. See also:
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM); emulated local area network
(ELAN); LAN emulation (LANE)
latency -> In Active Directory replication, the delay between the time an
update is applied to a given replica and the time it is applied to some other
replica. Latency is sometimes referred to as propagation delay. See also:
replication; Active Directory; replica
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) See definition for: liquid crystal display
(LCD)
LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF) -> Files that contain LDAP
instructions that manipulate directory information. Before the LDAP
commands in an LDIF file are carried out, they can be read or modified,
providing an opportunity for fine-tuning. See also: Lightweight Directory
Access Protocol (LDAP)
lease -> The length of time for which a DHCP client can use a dynamically
assigned IP address configuration. Before the lease time expires, the client
must either renew or obtain a new lease with DHCP. See also: Dynamic
Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP); IP address
library -> A data-storage system, usually managed by Removable
Storage. A library consists of removable media (such as tapes or discs)
and a hardware device that can read from or write to the media. There are
two major types of libraries: robotic libraries (automated multiple-media,
multidrive devices) and stand-alone drive libraries (manually operated,
single-drive devices). A robotic library is also called a jukebox or changer.
See also: Removable Storage
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) -> The primary access
protocol for Active Directory. Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)
version 3 is defined by a set of Proposed Standard documents in Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF) RFC 2251. See also: Active Directory;
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF); protocol
Line Printer Daemon (LPD) -> A service on the print server that receives
documents (print jobs) from Line Printer Remote (LPR) utilities running on
client systems. See also: Line Printer Remote (LPR); print job; print
server; service
Line Printer Remote (LPR) -> A connectivity utility that runs on client
systems and is used to print files to a computer running an LPD server.
See also: Line Printer Daemon (LPD)
Link Control Protocol (LCP) -> A PPP control protocol that negotiates
link and PPP parameters to dynamically configure the data-link layer of a
PPP connection.
linked object -> An object that is inserted into a document but still exists
in the source file. When information is linked, the new document is
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
updated automatically if the information in the original document changes.
If you want to edit the linked information, double-click it. The toolbars and
menus from the original program will appear. If the original document is on
your computer, changes that you make to the linked information will also
appear in the original document. See also: embedded object; OLE;
package; source document
liquid crystal display (LCD) -> A type of display used in digital watches
and many portable computers. LCD displays utilize two sheets of
polarizing material with a liquid crystal solution between them. An electric
current passed through the liquid causes the crystals to align so that light
cannot pass through them. Each crystal, therefore, is like a shutter, either
allowing light to pass through or blocking the light.
Lmhosts file -> A local text file that maps NetBIOS names (commonly
used for computer names) to IP addresses for hosts that are not located
on the local subnet. In this version of Windows, the file is stored in the
systemroot\System32\Drivers\Etc folder. See also: systemroot; IP
address
load balancing -> A technique used by Windows Clustering to scale the
performance of a server-based program (such as a Web server) by
distributing its client requests across multiple servers within the cluster.
Each host can specify the load percentage that it will handle, or the load
can be equally distributed across all the hosts. If a host fails, Windows
Clustering dynamically redistributes the load among the remaining hosts.
See also: cluster; host
local area network (LAN) -> A communications network connecting a
group of computers, printers, and other devices located within a relatively
limited area (for example, a building). A LAN allows any connected device
to interact with any other on the network. See also: NetBIOS Extended
User Interface (NetBEUI); network basic input/output system
(NetBIOS); virtual local area network (VLAN); workgroup
local computer -> The computer that you are currently logged on to as a
user. More generally, a local computer is a computer that you can access
directly without using a communications line or a communications device,
such as a network adapter or a modem.
local group -> For computers running Windows and member servers, a
group that can be granted permissions and rights from its own computer
and (if the computer participates in a domain) user accounts and global
groups both from its own domain and from trusted domains. See also:
global group; user account
local printer -> A printer that is directly connected to one of the ports on
your computer.
local user -> A person who uses a computer that is not connected to a
network. A local user is most likely someone using a computer at home.
local user profile -> A computer-based record about an authorized user
that is created automatically on the computer the first time a user logs on
to a workstation or server computer.
log file -> A file that stores messages generated by an application,
service, or operating system. These messages are used to track the
operations performed. For example, Web servers maintain log files listing
every request made to the server. Log files are usually plain text (ASCII)
files and often have a .log extension.
In Backup, a file that contains a record of the date the tapes
were created and the names of files and directories successfully backed
up and restored. The Performance Logs and Alerts service also creates
log files. See also: American Standard Code for Information
Interchange (ASCII); service
log on -> To begin using a network by providing a user name and
password that identifies a user to the network.
logical drive -> A volume that you create within an extended partition on a
basic master boot record (MBR) disk. Logical drives are similar to primary
partitions, except that you are limited to four primary partitions per disk,
whereas you can create an unlimited number of logical drives per disk. A
logical drive can be formatted and assigned a drive letter. See also: basic
disk; basic volume; drive letter; extended partition; master boot
record (MBR); primary partition; volume
logical printer -> The software interface between the operating system
and the printer in Windows. While a printer is the device that does the
actual printing, a logical printer is its software interface on the print server.
This software interface determines how a print job is processed and how it
is routed to its destination (to a local or network port, to a file, or to a
11 January 2011
remote print share). When you print a document, it is spooled (or stored)
on the logical printer before it is sent to the printer itself. See also: printer;
spooling
logon right -> A user right that is assigned to a user and that specifies the
ways in which a user can log on to a system. An example of a logon right
is the right to log on to a system remotely.
logon script -> Files that can be assigned to user accounts. Typically a
batch file, a logon script runs automatically every time the user logs on. It
can be used to configure a user's working environment at every logon, and
it allows an administrator to influence a user's environment without
managing all aspects of it. A logon script can be assigned to one or more
user accounts. See also: logon script path; user account
logon script path -> A sequence of directory names that specifies the
location of the logon script. When a user logs on, the authenticating
computer locates the specified logon script (if one has been assigned to
that user account) by following that computer's local logon script path
(usually systemroot\System32\Repl\Import\Scripts). See also: logon
script; systemroot; user account
long distance operator -> Digits dialed before the area or city code to
access a long distance phone service. For example, in the United States of
America, you dial a 1 before the area or city code: (1) (206) 000-0000. The
actual digits depend on the country/region or phone service. Area codes
and long distance operators are not used in all countries/regions.
long name -> A folder name or file name longer than the 8.3 file name
standard (up to eight characters followed by a period and an extension of
up to three characters) of the FAT file system. This version of Windows
supports long file names up to 255 characters.
In a Macintosh environment, users can assign long names to
files and folders on the server and, using AppleTalk network integration,
you can assign long names to Macintosh-accessible volumes when you
create them. This version of Windows automatically translates long names
of files and folders to 8.3 names for MS-DOS and Windows 3.x users. See
also: file allocation table (FAT); MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating
System)
loopback address -> The address of the local computer used for routing
outgoing packets back to the source computer. This address is used
primarily for testing.
loose name checking -> A form of domain name checking DNS uses that
examines characters in DNS names for valid ANSI character compliance.
However, loose name checking does not check for compliance with DNS
naming requirements and valid character usage for Internet host names,
as specified in RFC 1123, Requirements for Internet Hosts - Applications
and Support.
For RFC compliance, DNS domain names will use name labels
made up only of valid uppercase and lowercase letters, number
characters, and hyphens (A through Z, a through z, 0 through 9, and -)
separated by periods. See also: domain name; Domain Name System
(DNS); label
luminosity -> The brightness of a color based on a scale from black to
white on your monitor.
M
Make Changes -> The Macintosh-style permission that gives users the
right to make changes to a folder's contents; for example, modifying,
renaming, moving, creating, and deleting files. When AppleTalk network
integration translates access privileges into permissions, a user who has
the Make Changes privilege is given Write and Delete permissions. See
also: permission
Management and Monitoring Tools -> Software components that include
utilities for network management and monitoring, along with services that
support client dialing and the updating of client phone books. Also included
is the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). See also: Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
Management Information Base (MIB) -> A set of objects that represent
various types of information about a device, used by Simple Network
Management Protocol (SNMP) to manage the device. Because different
network management services are used for different types of devices and
protocols, each service has its own set of objects. See also: Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMP); service
management system -> A network-enabled host running Simple Network
Management Protocol (SNMP) management software. This software
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
requests information from SNMP agents. Management system is also
called a management console.
mandatory user profile -> A user profile that is not updated when the
user logs off. It is downloaded to the user's desktop each time the user
logs on, and is created by an administrator and assigned to one or more
users to create consistent or job-specific user profiles. Only members of
the Administrators group can change profiles. See also: roaming user
profile; user profile
map -> To translate one value into another. In virtual memory systems, a
computer might map a virtual address into a physical address.
master boot record (MBR) -> The first sector on a hard disk, which starts
the process of booting the computer. The MBR contains the partition table
for the disk and a small amount of executable code called the master boot
code. See also: Recovery Console; partition boot sector
master domain -> A Windows NT 4.0 domain that is used for managing
user and group accounts in a multidomain network. See also: domain;
group account; user account
Master File Table (MFT) -> An NTFS system file on NTFS-formatted
volumes that contains information about each file and folder on the
volume. The MFT is the first file on an NTFS volume. See also: file
allocation table (FAT); NTFS file system; volume
master server -> An authoritative DNS server for a zone. Master servers
can vary and are one of two types (either primary or secondary masters),
depending on how the server obtains its zone data. See also: DNS
Server; primary master; secondary master; zone; zone transfer
maximize -> To enlarge a window to its largest size by clicking the
Maximize button (at the right of the title bar), or by pressing
ALT+SPACEBAR and then pressing X. See also: minimize; title bar
MD2 -> A hash algorithm that creates a 128-bit hash value and was
developed by RSA Data Security, Inc. See also: hash algorithm
MD4 -> A hash algorithm that creates a 128-bit hash value and was
developed by RSA Data Security, Inc. See also: hash algorithm
MD5 -> An industry-standard one-way, 128-bit hashing scheme, developed
by RSA Data Security, Inc., and used by various Point-to-Point Protocol
(PPP) vendors for encrypted authentication. A hashing scheme is a
method for transforming data (for example, a password) in such a way that
the result is unique and cannot be changed back to its original form. The
CHAP authentication protocol uses challenge-response with one-way MD5
hashing on the response. In this way, you can prove to the server that you
know your password without actually sending the password over the
network. See also: CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication
Protocol); hash algorithm; message digest
media -> Any fixed or removable objects that store computer data.
Examples include hard disks, floppy disks, tapes, and compact discs.
media pool -> A logical collection of removable media that have the same
management policies. Media pools are used by applications to control
access to specific tapes or discs within libraries managed by Removable
Storage. There are four media pools: unrecognized, import, free, and
application-specific. Each media pool can only hold either media or other
media pools. See also: free media pool; import media pool; backup
media pool; Removable Storage
media sensing -> A feature that, when it detects a network cable
connection failure, removes the bound protocols from the failed network
adapter until the cable connection is reestablished. Without these bound
protocols, the network interface connected through the failed network
adapter is not available for cluster communication.
mediator -> For Process Control, a process used to preserve information
when a service stops or starts.
memory address -> A portion of computer memory that can be allocated
to a device or used by a program or the operating system. Devices are
usually allocated a range of memory addresses. See also: device
Memory Usage -> In Task Manager, the current working set of a process,
in kilobytes. The current working set is the number of pages currently
resident in memory. On the Task Manager Processes tab, the column
heading is Mem Usage. See also: Task Manager
Memory Usage Delta -> In Task Manager, the change in memory, in
kilobytes, used since the last update. See also: Task Manager
11 January 2011
message -> For Message Queuing, a unit of information sent between
computers running Message Queuing. The message can contain text or
binary data as defined by the sending application. All messages, including
status messages, are stored in queues on Message Queuing computers.
See also: Message Queuing
Message Authentication Code (MAC) -> An algorithm that ensures the
quality of a block of data.
message digest See definition for: hash
Message Queuing -> A message queuing and routing system for
Windows that enables distributed applications running at different times to
communicate across heterogeneous networks and with computers that
may be offline. Message Queuing provides guaranteed message delivery,
efficient routing, security, and priority-based messaging. Message Queuing
was formerly known as MSMQ. See also: Microsoft Distributed
Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC)
Message Queuing server -> For Message Queuing (also known as
MSMQ), a computer that can provide message queuing, routing, and
directory services to client computers. Message Queuing servers can be
used to:
 Provide message routing and session concentration for independent
clients.
 Provide message routing between sites over routing links.
 Create queues and store messages for dependent clients.
 Access information in Active Directory (if installed on a Windows
domain controller).
See also: Active Directory; dependent client; independent client;
routing link; routing services; session concentration
Messenger service -> A service that sends and receives messages sent
by administrators or by the Alerter service. See also: service; Alerter
service; performance alert
metadata -> Data about data. For example, the title, subject, author, and
size of a file constitute the file's metadata.
metric -> A number used to indicate the cost of a route in the IP routing
table that enables the selection of the best route among possible multiple
routes to the same destination.
Microcom Networking Protocol Five (MNP5) -> A data-compression
standard that allows modems to increase throughput by compressing data
before transmission. Data can be compressed with a ratio of up to 2:1.
MNP5 sometimes expands data that has already been compressed,
resulting in poorer performance in those cases. If you have an MNP5
modem, do not turn on modem compression and software compression at
the same time. To turn on MNP5 compression, you must also turn on
MNP4 error control. See also: Microcom Networking Protocol Four
(MNP4)
Microcom Networking Protocol Four (MNP4) -> An industry-standard
communication protocol that allows modems to automatically retransmit
corrupted data, assuring that only error-free data passes through the
modem. MNP2 and MNP3 standards are included in MNP4. See also:
Microcom Networking Protocol Five (MNP5)
Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC) -> A
transaction manager that coordinates transactions that span multiple
resource managers, such as Message Queuing and Microsoft SQL Server.
MS DTC is automatically installed when Message Queuing is installed.
See also: Message Queuing; transaction
Microsoft Management Console (MMC) -> A framework for hosting
administrative tools, called consoles. A console may contain tools, folders
or other containers, World Wide Web pages, and other administrative
items. These items are displayed in the left pane of the console, called a
console tree. A console has one or more windows that can provide views
of the console tree.
The main MMC window provides commands and tools for
authoring consoles. The authoring features of MMC and the console tree
itself may be hidden when a console is in User Mode. See also: snap-in;
console tree
Microsoft Point-to-Point Encryption (MPPE) -> A 128-bit key or 40-bit
key encryption algorithm using RSA RC4. MPPE provides for packet
confidentiality between the remote access client and the remote access or
tunnel server and is useful where IP security (IPSec) is not available.
MPPE 40-bit keys are used to satisfy current North American export
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
restrictions. MPPE is compatible with Network Address Translation. See
also: remote access server; tunnel server
Microsoft Reserved (MSR) partition -> A required partition on every
GUID partition table (GPT) disk. System components can allocate portions
of the MSR partition into new partitions for their own use. For example,
when you convert a basic GPT disk to dynamic, the system allocates a
portion of the MSR partition to be used as the Logical Disk Manager (LDM)
metadata partition. The MSR partition varies in size based on the size of
the GPT disk. For disks smaller than 16 GB, the MSR partition is 32 MB.
For disks larger than 16 GB, the MSR partition is 128 MB. The MSR
partition is not visible in Disk Management, and you cannot store data on
the MSR partition or delete it. See also: GUID partition table (GPT);
partition
MIDI setup -> The setup that specifies the type of MIDI device you are
using, the channel and patch settings needed to play MIDI files, and the
port your device is using. See also: Musical Instrument Digital Interface
(MIDI)
minimize -> To reduce a window to a button on the taskbar by clicking the
Minimize button (at the right of the title bar), or by pressing
ALT+SPACEBAR and then pressing N. See also: maximize; title bar
minimum TTL -> A default Time to Live (TTL) value set in seconds for use
with all resource records in a zone. This value is set in the start of authority
(SOA) resource record for each zone. By default, the DNS server includes
this value in query answers to inform recipients how long it can store and
use resource records provided in the query answer before they must
expire the stored records data. When TTL values are set for individual
resource records, those values will override the minimum TTL. See also:
DNS Server; start-of-authority (SOA) resource record; Time to Live
(TTL); zone
mirror -> One of the two volumes that make up a mirrored volume. Each
mirror of a mirrored volume resides on a different disk. If one mirror
becomes unavailable (due to a disk failure, for example), Windows can
use the remaining mirror to gain access to the volume's data. See also:
fault tolerance; mirrored volume; volume
mirror set -> A fault-tolerant partition created with Windows NT 4.0 or
earlier that duplicates data on two physical disks. You can only repair,
resynchronize, break, or delete mirror sets in Windows 2000. To create
new volumes that are mirrored, use mirrored volumes on dynamic disks.
See also: basic disk; dynamic disk; fault tolerance; mirrored volume
mirrored volume -> A fault-tolerant volume that duplicates data on two
physical disks. A mirrored volume provides data redundancy by using two
identical volumes, which are called mirrors, to duplicate the information
contained on the volume. A mirror is always located on a different disk. If
one of the physical disks fails, the data on the failed disk becomes
unavailable, but the system continues to operate in the mirror on the
remaining disk. You can create mirrored volumes only on dynamic disks.
See also: volume; dynamic disk; dynamic volume; fault tolerance;
RAID-5 volume
modem (modulator/demodulator) -> A device that allows computer
information to be transmitted and received over a telephone line. The
transmitting modem translates digital computer data into analog signals
that can be carried over a phone line. The receiving modem translates the
analog signals back to digital form. See also: modem compression; null
modem cable; port; Telephony API (TAPI); Waiting for Call
modem compression -> A technique used to reduce the number of
characters transmitted without losing data content. The transmitting
modem compresses the data and the receiving computer or modem
decompresses the data back to its original state. See also: modem
(modulator/demodulator)
modulation standards -> Protocols that determine how modems convert
digital data into analog signals that can be transmitted over telephone
lines.
Initially, Bell created modulation standards used in the United
States, and the CCITT created international recommendations. The ITU-T
(formerly called the CCITT) now makes recommendations generally
adopted by modem manufacturers both internationally and in the United
States. The ITU-T V series recommendations (such as V.34 and V.90)
define data communication over the telephone network. The suffixes -bis
and -ter (for example, V.32bis) indicate later versions. See also:
International Telecommunication Union - Telecommunication
[Standardization Sector] (ITU-T); V.34; V.90
11 January 2011
mount -> To place a removable tape or disc into a drive. See also:
dismount; library; mounted drive
mounted drive -> A drive attached to an empty folder on an NTFS
volume. Mounted drives function the same as any other drive, but are
assigned a label or name instead of a drive letter. The mounted drive's
name is resolved to a full file system path instead of just a drive letter.
Members of the Administrators group can use Disk Management to create
mounted drives or reassign drive letters. See also: drive; mount; NTFS
file system; volume
MouseKeys -> A keyboard feature that enables you to use the numeric
keypad to move the mouse pointer and to click, double-click, and drag.
See also: ToggleKeys; FilterKeys; StickyKeys
MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) -> An operating system
used on all personal computers and compatibles. As with other operating
systems, such as OS/2, it translates user keyboard input into operations
the computer can perform. MS-DOS can be easily accessed by using the
command prompt, while MS-DOS-based programs can be accessed
through the use of shortcuts on the desktop. See also: OS/2; command
prompt window; MS-DOS-based program
MS-DOS-based program -> A program that is designed to run with MS-
DOS and therefore may not be able to take full advantage of all Windows
features. See also: MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System);
program information file (PIF)
multicast -> Network traffic destined for a set of hosts that belong to a
multicast group.
Multicast Address Dynamic Client Allocation Protocol (MADCAP) ->
An extension to the DHCP protocol standard used to support dynamic
assignment and configuration of IP multicast addresses on TCP/IP-based
networks. See also: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP);
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
multicast address resolution service (MARS) -> A service for resolving
multicast IP addresses to the ATM addresses of the clients that have
joined that multicast group. The MARS can work in conjunction with the
MCS and clients to distribute multicast data through point-to-multipoint
connections. See also: Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM); multicast
server (MCS); IP address
multicast scope -> A range of multicast group IP addresses in the Class
D address range that are available to be leased or assigned to multicast
DHCP clients by DHCP. See also: address classes; Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol (DHCP); lease
multicast server (MCS) -> A service that manages zero or more multicast
groups and distributes multicast data sent to it by clients of those multicast
groups through point-to-multipoint connections. See also: nonhubbed
mode; service
multicasting -> The process of sending a message simultaneously to
more than one destination on a network.
multihomed computer -> A computer that has multiple network adapters
or that has been configured with multiple IP addresses for a single network
adapter. See also: virtual IP address; IP address; network adapter
multilink dialing -> The combination of two or more physical
communications links' bandwidth into a single logical link to increase your
remote access bandwidth and throughput by using remote access
Multilink. Based on the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard
RFC 1990, Multilink combines analog modem paths, ISDN B-channels,
and mixed analog and digital communications links on both your client and
server computers. This increases your Internet and intranet access speed
and decreases the amount of time you are connected to a remote
computer. See also: B-channel; bandwidth; Integrated Services Digital
Network (ISDN)
multimaster replication -> A replication model in which any domain
controller accepts and replicates directory changes to any other domain
controller. This differs from other replication models in which one computer
stores the single modifiable copy of the directory and other computers
store backup copies. See also: domain controller; replication
multiple boot -> A computer configuration that runs two or more operating
systems. See also: dual boot; startup environment
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) -> A serial interface standard
that allows for the connection of music synthesizers, musical instruments,
and computers. The MIDI standard is based partly on hardware and partly
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
on a description of the way in which music and sound are encoded and
communicated between MIDI devices. The information transmitted
between MIDI devices is in a form called a MIDI message, which encodes
aspects of sound, such as pitch and volume, as 8-bit bytes of digital
information.
MIDI devices can be used for creating, recording, and playing
back music. Using MIDI, computers, synthesizers, and sequencers can
communicate with each other, either keeping time or actually controlling
the music created by other connected equipment. See also: MIDI setup
My Documents -> A folder that provides you with a convenient place to
store documents, graphics, or other files you want to access quickly. When
you save a file in a program such as WordPad or Paint, the file is
automatically saved in My Documents, unless you choose a different
folder. See also: home folder
N
name -> The identifier of your computer on the network.
name resolution -> The process of having software translate between
names that are easy for users to work with and numerical IP addresses,
which are difficult for users but necessary for TCP/IP communications.
Name resolution can be provided by software components such as DNS or
WINS. See also: Domain Name System (DNS); Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP); Windows Internet Name Service
(WINS)
name server (NS) resource record -> A resource record used in a zone
to designate the DNS domain names for authoritative DNS servers for the
zone. See also: DNS Server; Domain Name System (DNS); resource
record (RR); zone
named pipe -> A portion of memory that can be used by one process to
pass information to another process, so that the output of one is the input
of the other. The second process can be local (on the same computer as
the first) or remote (on a networked computer).
namespace -> A set of unique names for resources or items used in a
shared computing environment.
For Microsoft Management Console (MMC), the namespace is
represented by the console tree, which displays all of the snap-ins and
resources that are accessible to a console.
For Domain Name System (DNS), namespace is the vertical or
hierarchical structure of the domain name tree. For example, each domain
label, such as host1 or example, used in a fully qualified domain name,
such as host1.example.microsoft.com, indicates a branch in the domain
namespace tree. See also: console tree; Domain Name System (DNS);
label; resource; snap-in
naming context See definition for: directory partition
native mode -> The condition in which all domain controllers in the
domain have been upgraded to Windows 2000 and an administrator has
enabled native mode operation (through Active Directory Users and
Computers). See also: Active Directory Users and Computers
NetBIOS Extended User Interface (NetBEUI) -> A network protocol
native to Microsoft Networking. It is usually used in small, department-size
local area networks (LANs) of 1 to 200 clients. It can use Token Ring
source routing as its only method of routing. It is the Microsoft
implementation of the NetBIOS standard. See also: Compression
Control Protocol (CCP); local area network (LAN); network basic
input/output system (NetBIOS); protocol
NetWare Core Protocol (NCP) -> The file-sharing protocol that governs
communications about resource (such as disk and printer), bindery, and
NDS operations between server and client computers on a Novell NetWare
network. Requests from client computers are transmitted by the IPX
protocol. Servers respond according to NCP guidelines. See also:
bindery; Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX); Novell Directory
Services (NDS)
network -> A group of computers and other devices, such as printers and
scanners, connected by a communications link, enabling all the devices to
interact with each other. Networks can be small or large, permanently
connected through wires or cables, or temporarily connected through
phone lines or wireless transmissions. The largest network is the Internet,
which is a worldwide group of networks. See also: network adapter
network adapter -> A device that connects your computer to a network.
This device is sometimes called an adapter card or network interface card.
11 January 2011
network administrator -> A person responsible for planning, configuring,
and managing the day-to-day operation of the network. Network
administrator is also called a system administrator.
network basic input/output system (NetBIOS) -> An application
programming interface (API) that can be used by programs on a local area
network (LAN). NetBIOS provides programs with a uniform set of
commands for requesting the lower-level services required to manage
names, conduct sessions, and send datagrams between nodes on a
network. See also: application programming interface (API); basic
input/output system (BIOS); local area network (LAN); service
network card driver -> A device driver that works directly with the network
card, acting as an intermediary between the card and the protocol driver.
With AppleTalk network integration, the AppleTalk Protocol stack on the
server is implemented as a protocol driver and is bound to one or more
network card drivers. See also: device driver
Network Connections -> A component you can use to gain access to
network resources and functionality, whether you are physically at the
network location or in a remote location. By using the Network
Connections folder you can create, configure, store, and monitor
connections.
Network DDE service -> A service that provides network transport and
security for DDE conversations. See also: dynamic data exchange
(DDE); service
network media -> The type of physical wiring and lower-layer protocols
used for transmitting and receiving packets; for example, Ethernet, FDDI,
and Token Ring.
Network Name resource -> The name of a device that exists on a
network and is supported as a cluster resource by a Resource DLL
provided with Windows. See also: Resource DLL
Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) -> A member of the TCP/IP
suite of protocols used to distribute network news messages to NNTP
servers and clients (newsreaders) on the Internet. NNTP is designed so
that news articles are stored on a server in a central database, thus
enabling a user to select specific items to read. See also: Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
network number -> In the Macintosh environment, the routing address or
range of addresses assigned to the physical network that AppleTalk Phase
2 routers use to direct information to the appropriate network. Network
number is also called network range and cable range.
network partition -> A state in which one or more of the nodes in a cluster
cannot communicate with the other cluster nodes.
network place -> A folder on a Web server. You can view files and folders
on Web servers just as you would view files and folders on network
servers. However, when you save a file to a network place, the file is
saved on a Web server, not on your computer's hard disk. You can create
network places by using the Add Network Place Wizard, which is located in
My Network Places. Network places are available only on Web servers
that support Web Extender Client (WEC), FrontPage extensions, and
Distributed Authoring and Versioning (DAV) protocols.
non-Plug and Play -> A device, such as a printer, modem, or game
controller, that requires manual configuration of hardware settings before it
can be used. Non-Plug and Play devices are becoming increasingly rare
as manufacturers stop producing them in favor of Plug and Play devices.
Non-Plug and Play typically applies to older pieces of equipment. See
also: device; Plug and Play
nonauthoritative restore -> A restore of a backup copy of a Windows
domain controller in which the objects in the restored directory are not
treated as authoritative. The restored objects are updated with changes
held in other replicas of the restored domain. See also: authoritative
restore
noncontainer object -> An object that cannot logically contain other
objects. For example, a file is a noncontainer object. See also: container
object; object
nonhubbed mode -> A mode in which the ATM ARP/MARS does not
forward multicast and broadcast traffic for multicast group clients. In this
mode, the service returns a dynamic listing of ATM hosts currently
registered for the multicast group address to requesting clients. Clients
then use this list to initiate and establish their own point-to-multipoint virtual
connections with each of the members in the multicast list. See also:
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
hubbed mode; multicast address resolution service (MARS);
multicast server (MCS)
nonpaged memory -> Memory that cannot be paged to disk. Paging is
the moving of infrequently used parts of a program's working memory from
RAM to another storage medium, usually the hard disk. See also: paging
file
nonpaged pool -> Operating system memory that is never paged to disk.
Paging is the moving of infrequently used parts of a program's working
memory from RAM to another storage medium, usually the hard disk. In
Task Manager, the amount of memory used by a process, in kilobytes. See
also: paging file
normal backup -> A backup that copies all selected files and marks each
file as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is
cleared). With normal backups, you need only the most recent copy of the
backup file or tape to restore all of the files. You usually perform a normal
backup the first time you create a backup set. See also: copy backup;
daily backup; differential backup; incremental backup
notification area -> The area on the taskbar to the right of the taskbar
buttons. The notification area displays the time and can also contain
shortcuts that provide quick access to programs, such as Volume Control
and Power Options. Other shortcuts can appear temporarily, providing
information about the status of activities. For example, the printer shortcut
icon appears after a document has been sent to the printer and disappears
when printing is complete.
notify list -> A list maintained by the primary master for a zone of other
DNS servers that should be notified when zone changes occur. The notify
list is made up of IP addresses for DNS servers configured as secondary
masters for the zone. When the listed servers are notified of a change to
the zone, they will initiate a zone transfer with another DNS server and
update the zone. See also: DNS Server; primary master; zone transfer;
secondary master; zone
Novell Directory Services (NDS) -> On networks running Novell NetWare
4.0, a distributed database that maintains information about every
resource on the network and provides access to these resources.
Nslookup -> A command-line tool used to diagnose Domain Name
System (DNS) infrastructure. See also: Domain Name System (DNS)
NTDS-DSA object -> An object that represents the configuration of the
Active Directory service running on a specific domain controller. For
example, the NTDS-DSA object holds the setting that determines whether
or not the Active Directory service provides global catalog services. NTDS-
DSA objects are created and deleted in the course of running the Active
Directory Installation Wizard (dcpromo.exe).
An NTDS-DSA object is stored in the Configuration directory
partition and is always a child of the Server object representing the domain
controller where this particular Active Directory service is running. For
example, if the distinguished name of an NTDS-DSA object is:
CN=NTDS Settings,CN=RESKIT1,CN=Servers,
CN=Washington,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=reskit,DC=com
then the distinguished name of the corresponding Server object is:
CN=RESKIT1,CN=Servers,CN=Washington,CN=Sites,
CN=Configuration,DC=reskit,DC=com
See also: Active Directory; domain controller; global catalog
NTFS file system -> An advanced file system that provides performance,
security, reliability, and advanced features that are not found in any version
of FAT. For example, NTFS guarantees volume consistency by using
standard transaction logging and recovery techniques. If a system fails,
NTFS uses its log file and checkpoint information to restore the
consistency of the file system. In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, NTFS
also provides advanced features such as file and folder permissions,
encryption, disk quotas, and compression. See also: FAT32; file
allocation table (FAT); file system
NTLM -> A security package that provides authentication between clients
and servers.
NTLM authentication protocol -> A challenge/response authentication
protocol. The NTLM authentication protocol was the default for network
authentication in Windows NT version 4.0 and earlier. The protocol
continues to be supported in Windows 2000 but no longer is the default.
null modem cable -> Special cabling that eliminates the modem's need
for asynchronous communications between two computers over short
11 January 2011
distances. A null modem cable emulates modem communication. See
also: modem (modulator/demodulator)
NWLink -> An implementation of the Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX),
Sequenced Packet Exchange (SPX), and NetBIOS protocols used in
Novell networks. NWLink is a standard network protocol that supports
routing and can support NetWare client-server applications, where
NetWare-aware Sockets-based applications communicate with IPX/SPX
Sockets-based applications. See also: Routing Information Protocol
over IPX (RIPX); IPX/SPX; network basic input/output system
(NetBIOS)
O failed due to a severe cause, such as a loss of power or a complete hard-
object -> An entity, such as a file, folder, shared folder, printer, or Active
Directory object, described by a distinct, named set of attributes. For
example, the attributes of a File object include its name, location, and size;
the attributes of an Active Directory User object might include the user's
first name, last name, and e-mail address.
For OLE and ActiveX, an object can also be any piece of
information that can be linked to, or embedded into, another object. See
also: attribute; child object; OLE; parent object
offline -> A state that marks a component in a cluster as unavailable. A
node in an offline state is either inactive or not running. Resources and
groups also have an offline state. See also: group; online; pending;
resource
OLE -> A way to transfer and share information between applications by
pasting information created in one application into a document created in
another application, such as a spreadsheet or word processing file. See
also: embedded object; linked object; package
on-disk catalog -> Information stored on a local disk drive. The on-disk
catalog contains a list of files and folders that have been backed up in a
backup set. See also: backup set; on-media catalog
on-media catalog ->Information stored on backup storage media. The on-
media catalog contains a list of files and folders that have been backed up
in a backup set. See also: backup set; on-disk catalog
one-way trust -> A type of trust relationship in which only one of the two
domains trusts the other domain. For example, domain A trusts domain B
and domain B does not trust domain A. All one-way trusts are
nontransitive. See also: transitive trust; two-way trust
online -> A state that marks a component in a cluster as available. When a
node is online, it is an active member of the cluster and can own and run
groups as well as honor cluster database updates, contribute votes to the
quorum algorithm, and maintain heartbeats. Resources and groups also
have an online state. See also: group; offline; pending; resource
Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model -> A networking
model introduced by the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) to promote multi-vendor interoperability. Open Systems
Interconnection (OSI) is a seven-layered conceptual model consisting of
the application, presentation, session, transport, network, data-link, and
physical layers. See also: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP)
OpenType fonts -> Outline fonts that are rendered from line and curve
commands, and can be scaled and rotated. OpenType fonts are clear and
readable in all sizes and on all output devices supported by Windows.
OpenType is an extension of TrueType font technology. See also: font;
TrueType fonts
operations master -> A domain controller that has been assigned one or
more special roles in an Active Directory domain.
The domain controllers assigned these roles perform operations
that are single-master (not permitted to occur at different places on the
network at the same time). Examples of these operations include resource
identifier allocation, schema modification, PDC election, and certain
infrastructure changes.
The domain controller that controls the particular operation owns
the operations master role for that operation. The ownership of these
operations master roles can be transferred to other domain controllers.
See also: Active Directory; domain controller; domain naming
master; infrastructure master; schema master
operator -> In mathematics and in programming and computer
applications, a symbol or other character indicating an operation that acts
on one or more elements. You can use the following four operators in
standard calculations:
/ divide * multiply - subtract + add
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
For Indexing Service, a word or character that specifies a
relationship in a query.
organizational unit -> An Active Directory container object used within
domains. An organizational unit is a logical container into which users,
groups, computers, and other organizational units are placed. It can
contain objects only from its parent domain. An organizational unit is the
smallest scope to which a Group Policy object can be linked, or over which
administrative authority can be delegated. See also: Active Directory;
container object; Group Policy object; parent domain
orphan -> A member of a mirrored volume or a RAID-5 volume that has
disk head failure. When this happens, the fault-tolerant driver determines
that it can no longer use the orphaned member and directs all new reads
and writes to the remaining members of the fault-tolerant volume. See
also: fault tolerance; mirrored volume; RAID-5 volume
orphan file -> A file that is stored inside My Briefcase and not linked to
any file outside My Briefcase. When you update files, the orphan file is not
synchronized with any other file.
OS/2 -> A protected-mode, virtual memory, multitasking operating system
for personal computers based on the Intel 80286, 80386, i486, and
Pentium processors. OS/2 can run most MS-DOS-based programs and
can read all MS-DOS disks. See also: MS-DOS-based program
owner -> In a Windows environment, the person who controls how
permissions are set on objects and can grant permissions to others.
In the Macintosh environment, an owner is the user responsible
for setting permissions for a folder on a server. A Macintosh user who
creates a folder on the server automatically becomes the owner of the
folder, and can then transfer ownership to someone else. Each Macintosh-
accessible volume on the server also has an owner.
owner category -> In the Macintosh environment, the user category to
which you assign permissions for the owner of a folder or a Macintosh
volume.
P
package -> An icon that represents embedded or linked information. That
information may consist of a complete file, such as a Paint bitmap, or part
of a file, such as a spreadsheet cell. When you choose the package, the
application used to create the object either plays the object (for example, a
sound file) or opens and displays the object. If you change the original
information, linked information is automatically updated. However, you
must manually update embedded information. See also: embedded
object; linked object; OLE
packet -> An Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) network layer
transmission unit that consists of binary information representing both data
and a header containing an identification number, source and destination
addresses, and error-control data. See also: Internet Protocol (IP);
packet header; packet switching; switching hub
packet header -> In network protocol communications, a specially
reserved field of a defined bit length that is attached to the front of a packet
for carry and transfer of control information. When the packet arrives at its
destination, the field is then detached and discarded as the packet is
processed and disassembled in a corresponding reverse order for each
protocol layer. See also: packet
packet switching -> A technology for breaking data into packets and then
sending the packets over a network. Each packet has a header containing
its source and destination, a sequence number to reassemble the
information, a block of data content, and an error-checking code. The data
packets may take different routes to their destination, where the original
information is reassembled after the packets arrive. The international
standard for packet switching networks is X.25. See also: packet
PAD (packet assembler/disassembler) -> A device that connects a non-
X.25 device such as a modem to an X.25 packet switching network.
page -> In virtual memory systems, a unit of data storage that is brought
into random access memory (RAM), typically from a hard drive, when a
requested item of data is not already in RAM. See also: virtual memory
page fault -> The interrupt that occurs when software attempts to read
from or write to a virtual memory location that is marked not present.
In Task Manager, page fault is the number of times data has to
be retrieved from disk for a process because it was not found in memory.
The page fault value accumulates from the time the process started. See
also: Page Faults Delta; Task Manager; virtual memory
11 January 2011
Page Faults Delta -> In Task Manager, the change in the number of page
faults since the last update. See also: Task Manager
page-description language (PDL) -> A computer language that describes
the arrangement of text and graphics on a printed page. See also: Printer
Control Language (PCL); Printer Job Language (PJL); PostScript;
PostScript fonts
paged pool -> The system-allocated virtual memory that has been
charged to a process and that can be paged. Paging is the moving of
infrequently-used parts of a program's working memory from RAM to
another storage medium, usually the hard disk.
In Task Manager, the amount of system-allocated virtual
memory, in kilobytes, used by a process. See also: registry size limit
(RSL); virtual memory
paging file -> A hidden file on the hard disk that Windows uses to hold
parts of programs and data files that do not fit in memory. The paging file
and physical memory, or RAM, comprise virtual memory. Windows moves
data from the paging file to memory as needed and moves data from
memory to the paging file to make room for new data.
Paging file is also called a swap file. See also: Peak Memory Usage;
registry size limit (RSL); virtual memory
Panose -> A font-classification method that measures values, such as
serifs, weight, and stroke variations, for a TrueType font. These values are
represented by a Panose number. The Panose number is then used to
associate the font with other fonts of similar appearance but different
names. The closer the Panose number of two fonts, the more similar they
are.
paper source -> The location (such as Upper Paper Tray or Envelope
Feeder) of the paper at the printer.
parallel port -> The input/output connector for a parallel interface device.
Printers are generally plugged into a parallel port. See also: serial port
parent domain -> For DNS and Active Directory, domains that are located
in the namespace tree directly above other derivative domain names (child
domains). For example, microsoft.com would be the parent domain for
example.microsoft.com, a child domain. See also: domain; Domain
Name System (DNS)
parent object -> The object in which another object resides. A parent
object implies relation. For example, a folder is a parent object in which a
file, or child object, resides. An object can be both a parent and a child
object. For example, a subfolder that contains files is both the child of the
parent folder and the parent folder of the files. See also: child object;
object
parity -> A calculated value that is used to reconstruct data after a failure.
RAID-5 volumes stripe data and parity intermittently across a set of disks.
When a disk fails, some server operating systems use the parity
information together with the data on good disks to recreate the data on
the failed disk. See also: fault tolerance; RAID-5 volume
parity bit -> In asynchronous communications, an extra bit used in
checking for errors in groups of data bits transferred within or between
computer systems. In modem-to-modem communications, a parity bit is
often used to check the accuracy with which each character is transmitted.
See also: parity
partition -> A portion of a physical disk that functions as though it were a
physically separate disk. After you create a partition, you must format it
and assign it a drive letter before you can store data on it.
On basic disks, partitions are known as basic volumes, which
include primary partitions and logical drives. On dynamic disks, partitions
are known as dynamic volumes, which include simple, striped, spanned,
mirrored, and RAID-5 volumes. See also: basic disk; basic volume;
drive letter; dynamic volume; extended partition; primary partition;
system partition
partition boot sector -> A portion of a hard disk partition that contains
information about the disk's file system and a short machine language
program that loads the Windows operating system. See also: partition
password -> A security measure used to restrict logon names to user
accounts and access to computer systems and resources. A password is a
string of characters that must be provided before a logon name or an
access is authorized. A password can be made up of letters, numbers, and
symbols, and it is case sensitive. See also: user account
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
Password Authentication Protocol (PAP) -> A simple, plaintext
authentication scheme for authenticating PPP connections. The user name
and password are requested by the remote access server and returned by
the remote access client in plaintext. See also: Point-to-Point Protocol
(PPP); remote access; password
paused -> A state that applies to a node in a cluster. The node is a fully
active member in the cluster but cannot accept new resource groups (for
example, a resource group cannot fail over or fail back to a paused node).
You can administer and maintain a paused node. See also: cluster;
failback; failover; offline
PC Card -> A removable device, approximately the size of a credit card,
that can be plugged into a Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association (PCMCIA) slot in a portable computer. PCMCIA devices can
include modems, network cards, and hard disk drives. See also: modem
(modulator/demodulator)
PCI expansion slot -> A connection socket for a peripheral designed for
the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) local bus on a computer
motherboard.
PDC emulator master -> The domain controller assigned to act as a
Windows NT 4.0 primary domain controller (PDC) to service network
clients that do not have Active Directory client software installed, and to
replicate directory changes to any Windows NT backup domain controllers
(BDCs) in the domain.
The PDC emulator master receives preferential replication of
password changes performed by other domain controllers in the domain
and handles any password authentication requests that fail at the local
domain controller. At any time, there can be only one PDC emulator
master in a particular domain. See also: Active Directory; primary
domain controller (PDC); replication; backup domain controller
(BDC); domain controller; multimaster replication; operations master
Peak Memory Usage -> In Task Manager, the peak amount of physical
memory resident in a process since it started. See also: Task Manager
pending -> A state that refers to a resource in a cluster when the resource
is in the process of being brought online or taken offline. See also: offline;
online; resource
Per Seat Licensing -> A licensing mode that requires a separate Client
Access License for each client computer, regardless of whether all the
clients access the server at the same time. See also: client; Per Server
Licensing
Per Server Licensing -> A licensing mode that requires a separate Client
Access License for each concurrent connection to the server, regardless of
whether there are other client computers on the network that do not
happen to connect concurrently. See also: client; Per Seat Licensing
performance alert -> A feature that detects when a predefined counter
value rises above or falls below the configured threshold and notifies a
user by means of the Messenger service. See also: Messenger service
performance counter -> In System Monitor, a data item that is associated
with a performance object. For each counter selected, System Monitor
presents a value corresponding to a particular aspect of the performance
that is defined for the performance object. See also: performance object
performance object -> In System Monitor, a logical collection of counters
that is associated with a resource or service that can be monitored. See
also: performance counter
performance object instance -> In System Monitor, a term used to
distinguish between multiple performance objects of the same type on a
computer. See also: performance object
peripheral -> A device, such as a disk drive, printer, modem, or joystick,
that is connected to a computer and is controlled by the computer's
microprocessor. See also: device
peripheral component interconnect (PCI) -> A specification introduced
by Intel Corporation that defines a local bus system that allows up to 10
PCI-compliant expansion cards to be installed in the computer.
permission -> A rule associated with an object to regulate which users
can gain access to the object and in what manner. Permissions are
granted or denied by the object's owner. See also: object; printer
permissions; security descriptor; shared folder permissions; special
access permissions
11 January 2011
Physical Disk resource -> A disk on a cluster storage device. Physical
disks are supported as cluster resources by a Resource DLL. See also:
Resource DLL
ping -> A utility that verifies connections to one or more remote hosts. The
ping command uses the ICMP echo request and echo reply packets to
determine whether a particular IP system on a network is functional. Ping
is useful for diagnosing IP network or router failures. See also: Internet
Control Message Protocol (ICMP)
pixel -> Short for picture element, one spot in a rectilinear grid of
thousands of such spots that form an image produced on the screen by a
computer or on paper by a printer. A pixel is the smallest element that
display or print hardware and software can manipulate to create letters,
numbers, or graphics. A pixel is also called a pel. See also: screen
resolution
PKCS #10 -> The Certification Request Syntax Standard, developed and
maintained by RSA Data Security, Inc. A syntax for certificate requests.
See also: certificate; Public Key Cryptography Standards (PKCS)
PKCS #12 -> The Personal Information Exchange Syntax Standard,
developed and maintained by RSA Data Security, Inc. This syntax
standard specifies a portable format for storing or transporting a user's
private keys, certificates, and miscellaneous secrets. See also:
certificate; Public Key Cryptography Standards (PKCS)
PKCS #7 -> The Cryptographic Message Syntax Standard. It is a general
syntax, developed and maintained by RSA Data Security, Inc., for data to
which cryptography may be applied, such as digital signatures and
encryption. It also provides a syntax for disseminating certificates or
certificate revocation lists. See also: certificate; certificate revocation
list (CRL); encryption; Public Key Cryptography Standards (PKCS)
plaintext -> Data that is not encrypted. Sometimes also called cleartext.
plotter -> Any device used to draw charts, diagrams, and other line-based
graphics.
plotter font -> A font created by a series of dots connected by lines.
Plotter fonts can be scaled to any size and are most often printed on
plotters. Some dot-matrix printers also support plotter fonts. See also: font
Plug and Play -> A set of specifications developed by Intel that allows a
computer to automatically detect and configure a device and install the
appropriate device drivers. See also: universal serial bus (USB); non-
Plug and Play
point of termination station (POTS) -> Basic dial telephone connections
to the public switched network, without any added features or functions.
Plain old telephone service and point of termination station is also called
POTS.
Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) -> An industry standard suite of protocols
for the use of point-to-point links to transport multiprotocol datagrams. PPP
is documented in RFC 1661. See also: Compression Control Protocol
(CCP); remote access; Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP); voluntary tunnel
Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) -> A specification for
connecting users on an Ethernet network to the Internet through a
broadband connection, such as a single DSL line, wireless device, or cable
modem. Using PPPoE and a broadband modem, LAN users can gain
individual authenticated access to high-speed data networks. By
combining Ethernet and Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), PPPoE provides an
efficient way to create a separate connection for each user to a remote
server.
Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) -> Networking technology that
supports multiprotocol virtual private networks (VPNs), enabling remote
users to access corporate networks securely across the Internet or other
networks by dialing into an Internet service provider (ISP) or by connecting
directly to the Internet. The Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)
tunnels, or encapsulates, IP, IPX, or NetBEUI traffic inside of IP packets.
This means that users can remotely run applications that are dependent
upon particular network protocols. See also: Internet Protocol (IP);
Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX); NetBIOS Extended User
Interface (NetBEUI); packet; tunnel; virtual private network (VPN)
pointer (PTR) resource record -> A resource record used in a reverse
lookup zone created within the in-addr.arpa domain to designate a reverse
mapping of a host IP address to a host DNS domain name. See also: in-
addr.arpa domain; reverse lookup; resource record (RR)
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
policy -> The mechanism by which desktop settings are configured
automatically, as defined by the administrator. Depending on context, this
can refer to Group Policy, Windows NT 4.0 System Policy, or a specific
setting in a Group Policy object. See also: Group Policy; Group Policy
object; System Policy
polling intervals -> The frequency the Resource Monitor checks that the
resource is available and operating. There are two levels of polling: Looks
Alive and Is Alive. The server cluster requests a more thorough check of
the resource's state at each Is Alive interval than it does at each Looks
Alive interval; therefore, the Is Alive polling interval is typically longer than
the Looks Alive polling interval. You can specify the two polling intervals
and a time-out value for resources. See also: resource
POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3) -> A popular protocol used for receiving e-
mail messages. This protocol is often used by ISPs. POP3 servers allow
access to a single Inbox in contrast to IMAP servers, which provide access
to multiple server-side folders.
port -> A connection point on your computer where you can connect
devices that pass data into and out of a computer. For example, a printer is
typically connected to a parallel port (also called an LPT port), and a
modem is typically connected to a serial port (also called a COM port). See
also: serial port; universal serial bus (USB)
port rule -> For Network Load Balancing, a set of configuration
parameters that determine the filtering mode to be applied to a range of
ports. See also: filtering mode; port
Portable Operating System Interface for UNIX (POSIX) -> An Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard that defines a set of
operating-system services. Programs that adhere to the POSIX standard
can be easily ported from one system to another. POSIX was based on
UNIX system services, but it was created in a way that allows it to be
implemented by other operating systems. See also: service
possible owners -> A list that specifies which nodes in the cluster are
capable of running that resource. By default, both nodes appear as
possible owners, so the resource can run on either node. In most cases, it
is appropriate to use this default setting. If you want the resource to be
able to fail over, both nodes must be designated as possible owners. See
also: failover; resource
PostScript -> A page-description language (PDL), developed by Adobe
Systems for printing on laser printers. PostScript offers flexible font
capability and high-quality graphics. It is the standard for desktop
publishing because it is supported by imagesetters, the high-resolution
printers used by printing services for commercial typesetting. See also:
Printer Control Language (PCL); page-description language (PDL);
Printer Job Language (PJL); PostScript fonts; PostScript printer;
service; Type 1 fonts
PostScript fonts -> Fonts that are defined in terms of the PostScript
page-description language (PDL) rules and are intended to be printed on a
PostScript-compatible printer. When a document displayed in a screen font
is sent to a PostScript printer, the printer uses the PostScript version if the
font exists. If the font doesn't exist but a version is installed on the
computer, that font is downloaded to the printer. If there is no PostScript
font installed in either the printer or the computer, the bit-mapped (raster)
font is translated into PostScript and the printer produces text using the bit-
mapped font. PostScript fonts are distinguished from bit-mapped fonts by
their smoothness, detail, and faithfulness to standards of quality
established in the typographic industry.
See also: downloadable fonts; font; page-description language (PDL);
PostScript; raster fonts
PostScript printer -> A printer that uses the PostScript page-description
language (PDL) to create text and graphics on the output medium, such as
paper or overhead transparency. Examples of PostScript printers include
the Apple LaserWriter, the NEC LC-890, and the QMS PS-810. See also:
page-description language (PDL); PostScript; virtual printer memory
power conditioning -> A feature of an uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
that removes spikes, surges, sags, and noise from the power supply. See
also: uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
power scheme -> A group of preset power-management options. For
example, you can set elapsed times for putting your computer on standby
and for turning off your monitor and hard disk. You save these settings as
a named power scheme.
PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) See definition for: Point-to-Point
Protocol (PPP)
11 January 2011

predefined key -> A key that represents one of the main divisions of the
registry. Each predefined key is displayed in a separate Registry Editor
window, with the key's name appearing in the window's title bar. For
example, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT is a predefined key. See also:
registry; hive; key
preferred owner -> The node on which you prefer each group to run. For
example, the static load balancing model performs best when groups are
appropriately balanced between two nodes. When a node fails, the
remaining node takes over the groups from the failed node, but
performance is diminished. By setting those groups to fail back to their
preferred server (the failed node), you automatically restore maximum
performance when failback occurs. A group does not fail back if a preferred
owner is not selected.
You will not always choose a preferred owner because it may
not matter where the group resides; all that matters is that the group is still
running on one of the two nodes. Or, the nodes may be equally capable of
handling the load required to use some or all of the resources. See also:
group; resource; failback
preferred server -> The NetWare server that you connect to by default
when you log on to your computer. The preferred server validates your
user credentials and is queried when you request information about
resources available on the NetWare network.
preset-to callback -> A form of security in which a remote access server
verifies users by calling them back at numbers supplied by the network
administrator at the time user privileges are granted. Only a network
administrator can change a preset callback number. This ensures that no
one can borrow a user's password and connect to the server from a
location other than the user's normal one. See also: callback number;
remote access server; connected, user authenticated
Primary disk -> The hard disk drive that contains the system and boot
partitions used to start Windows. See also: boot partition; system
partition
primary domain controller (PDC) -> In a Windows NT Server 4.0 or
earlier domain, the computer running Windows NT Server that
authenticates domain logons and maintains the directory database for a
domain. The PDC tracks changes made to accounts of all computers on a
domain. It is the only computer to receive these changes directly. A domain
has only one PDC. In this version of Windows, one of the domain
controllers in each domain is identified as the PDC for compatibility with
Windows NT 4.0 and earlier versions of Windows NT. See also: backup
domain controller (BDC)
primary master -> An authoritative DNS server for a zone that can be
used as a point of update for the zone. Only primary masters have the
ability to be updated directly to process zone updates, which include
adding, removing, or modifying resource records that are stored as zone
data. Primary masters are also used as the first sources for replicating the
zone to other DNS servers. See also: DNS Server; replication; resource
record (RR); secondary master; zone
primary mouse button -> The button you use most often for clicking and
double-clicking. The primary mouse button is the left button on most mice
and trackball devices, and the lower button on some trackball devices, but
you can switch the function of the buttons by using the Mouse Properties
dialog box in Control Panel.
primary partition -> A type of partition that you can create on basic disks.
A primary partition is a portion of a physical disk that functions as though it
were a physically separate disk. On basic master boot record (MBR) disks,
you can create up to four primary partitions on a basic disk, or three
primary partitions and an extended partition with multiple logical drives. On
basic GPT disks, you can create up to 128 primary partitions. Primary
partitions are also known as volumes. See also: basic disk; extended
partition; GUID partition table (GPT); logical drive; master boot
record (MBR); partition; volume
print job -> The source code that contains both the data to be printed and
the commands for print. Print jobs are classified into data types based on
what modifications, if any, the spooler must make to the job for it to print
correctly. See also: print spooler; Printer window; printing pool
print processor -> The component that, working in conjunction with the
printer driver, receives and alters print jobs, as necessary, according to
their data type to ensure that the jobs print correctly. See also: print job;
printer driver
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
print queue -> A print queue is a list of documents waiting to be printed on
the printer. In the print queue, you can see information such as the size of
the document, who sent the document, and status information for printing.
print server -> A computer that is dedicated to managing the printers on a
network. The print server can be any computer on the network.
print spooler -> Software that accepts a document sent to a printer and
then stores it on disk or in memory until the printer is ready for it. This
collection of dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) receives, processes, schedules,
and distributes documents for printing. The term spooler is an acronym
created from simultaneous print operations on line. See also: dynamic-
link library (DLL); printer; spooling
Print Spooler resource -> Printer queues providing access to a network
printer connected to the network by an IP address rather than by an
individual name. Print spoolers are supported as cluster resources by a
Resource DLL. See also: print spooler; Resource DLL; IP address
printer -> A device that puts text or images on paper or other print media.
Examples are laser printers or dot-matrix printers.
See also: logical printer; print spooler; printing pool
Printer Control Language (PCL) -> The page-description language (PDL)
developed by Hewlett Packard for their laser and inkjet printers. Because
of the widespread use of laser printers, this command language has
become a standard in many printers. See also: Printer Job Language
(PJL); PostScript; page-description language (PDL)
printer driver -> A program designed to allow other programs to work with
a particular printer without concerning themselves with the specifics of the
printer's hardware and internal language. By using printer drivers that
handle the subtleties of each printer, programs can communicate properly
with a variety of printers. See also: device driver
printer fonts -> Fonts residing in or intended for a printer. A printer font,
usually located in the printer's read-only memory (ROM), can be internal,
downloaded, or on a font cartridge. See also: device fonts;
downloadable fonts; font; font cartridge
Printer Job Language (PJL) -> The printer command language
developed by Hewlett Packard that provides printer control at the print-job
level. Using PJL commands, you can change default printer settings such
as number of copies to print. PJL commands also permit switching printer
languages between print jobs without action by the user. If bi-directional
communication is supported, a PJL-compatible printer can send
information such as printer model and job status to the print server. See
also: Printer Control Language (PCL); page-description language
(PDL); PostScript
printer permissions -> Permissions that specify the type of access that a
user or group has to a printer. The printer permissions are Print, Manage
Printers, and Manage Documents. See also: permission
Printer window -> Also called the queue view, the Printer window shows
information about any pending print jobs for the printer. For each printer
you have installed or to which you are connected, you can such
information as see how many documents are waiting to be printed, who
owns them, and how large they are. See also: print job
Printers and Faxes -> The folder in Control Panel that contains the Add
Printer Wizard and icons for all the printers installed on your computer.
See also: printer
printing pool -> Two or more identical printers that are connected to one
print server and act as a single printer. In this case, when you print a
document, the print job will be sent to the first available printer in the pool.
See also: print job; printer
priority -> For Process Control, the relative ranking of a process or
process group with respect to the use of CPU and system resources. You
can configure this in the Process Control snap-in.
private branch exchange (PBX) -> An automatic telephone switching
system that enables users within an organization to place calls to each
other without going through the public telephone network. Users can also
place calls to outside numbers.
private key -> The secret half of a cryptographic key pair that is used with
a public key algorithm. Private keys are typically used to decrypt a
symmetric session key, digitally sign data, or decrypt data that has been
encrypted with the corresponding public key. See also: public key; public
key encryption
11 January 2011
private network -> A cluster network that supports only node-to-node provided the keys are long enough, it is computationally infeasible to
communication. See also: cluster determine one from the other. Public key encryption is also called
asymmetric encryption. See also: encryption; private key; public key;
private queue -> For Message Queuing, a queue that is not published in
symmetric encryption
Active Directory and can be accessed only by applications that have
access to the full format name of the queue. See also: Active Directory; public key infrastructure (PKI) -> The term generally used to describe
Message Queuing; public queue; system queue the laws, policies, standards, and software that regulate or manipulate
certificates and public and private keys. In practice, it is a system of digital
privilege -> A user's right to perform a specific task, usually one that
certificates, certification authorities, and other registration authorities that
affects an entire computer system rather than a particular object.
verify and authenticate the validity of each party involved in an electronic
Privileges are assigned by administrators to individual users or groups of
transaction. Standards for PKI are still evolving, even though they are
users as part of the security settings for the computer.
being widely implemented as a necessary element of electronic
Pro -> Windows XP Professional commerce. See also: certificate; certification authority (CA); public
key
process -> The virtual address space and the control information
necessary for the execution of a program. See also: socket public network -> A cluster network that supports client-to-cluster
communication (either with or without supporting node-to-node
process identifier (PID) -> A numerical identifier that uniquely
communication). See also: cluster
distinguishes a process while it runs. Use Task Manager to view PIDs. See
also: Task Manager; process public queue -> For Message Queuing, a queue that is published in
Active Directory and replicated throughout a Windows enterprise. Public
program -> A complete, self-contained set of computer instructions that
queues can, therefore, be located by any computer running Message
you use to perform a specific task, such as word processing, accounting,
Queuing within the enterprise. See also: Active Directory; Message
or data management. Program is also called application.
Queuing; private queue; queue
program information file (PIF) -> A file that provides information to
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) -> Standard analog
Windows about how best to run MS-DOS-based programs. When you start
telephone lines, available worldwide.
an MS-DOS-based program, Windows looks for a PIF to use with it. PIFs
contain such items as the name of the file, a start-up directory, and puff and sip device -> An assistive computer technology for people with
multitasking options. See also: MS-DOS-based program mobility impairments. A puff and sip device is a head-mounted alternative
to using the mouse. The device allows a user to move the mouse pointer
property -> A characteristic or parameter of a class of objects or devices.
without using his or her hands by puffing air into a tube.
For example, properties of Microsoft Word files include Size, Created, and
Characters. See also: property cache; property value; tag pulse dialing -> A form of dialing that enters a phone number by means of
pulse frequencies. The user typically hears a series of clicking sounds
property cache -> For Indexing Service, a file that stores values for
when dialing. Old-fashioned rotary dial phones use pulse dialing. See
document properties. See also: document; property
also: touch-tone dialing
property value -> A specific characteristic or parameter that defines a
Q
property. For example, property values of a specific Microsoft Word
query -> For Indexing Service, a structured statement that specifies the
document could include Size = 10,000 bytes, Created = Jan 2, 1999, and
documents you want to find. The simplest query is a single word. See
Characters = 5,250. See also: property
also: tag; vector; wildcard character
Protective MBR -> The first sector of a GUID partition table (GPT) disk
queue -> A list of programs or tasks waiting for execution. In Windows
that is structured like the first sector of a master boot record (MBR) disk to
printing terminology, a queue refers to a group of documents waiting to be
prevent x86-based disk utilities from destroying GPT partitions. The
printed. In NetWare and OS/2 environments, queues are the primary
Protective MBR contains one partition that reserves the entire space used
software interface between the application and print device; users submit
on the disk by GPT partitions. See also: Extensible Firmware Interface
documents to a queue. With Windows, however, the printer is that
(EFI); GUID partition table (GPT); master boot record (MBR); x86
interface; the document is sent to a printer, not a queue. See also:
protocol -> A set of rules and conventions for sending information over a transactional message; printer
network. These rules govern the content, format, timing, sequencing, and
queue quota -> For Message Queuing, the storage size limit for
error control of messages exchanged among network devices. See also:
messages in public queues. When a queue quota is reached, Message
static routes; Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
Queuing can no longer send messages to that queue until one or more
(TCP/IP)
messages are removed from the queue. Message Queuing enforces the
public key -> The nonsecret half of a cryptographic key pair that is used computer quota before it enforces the queue quota on a computer. See
with a public key algorithm. Public keys are typically used when encrypting also: computer quota; Message Queuing; queue
a session key, verifying a digital signature, or encrypting data that can be
queue type -> For Message Queuing, a globally unique identifier (GUID)
decrypted with the corresponding private key. See also: Public Key
specified by the application that created the queue. See also: Message
Cryptography Standards (PKCS); private key; public key encryption;
Queuing; queue
recovery agent; key
Quick Launch -> A customizable toolbar that lets you display the
public key cryptography -> A method of cryptography in which two
Windows desktop or start a program (for example, Internet Explorer) with a
different keys are used: a public key for encrypting data and a private key
single click. You can add buttons to start your favorite programs from the
for decrypting data. Public key cryptography is also called asymmetric
Quick Launch location on the taskbar.
cryptography. See also: cryptography; Public Key Cryptography
Standards (PKCS); private key; public key quiet answer -> A telephone-answering protocol in which incoming calls
are answered with silence instead of a tone signal. Some telephone-
Public Key Cryptography Standards (PKCS) -> A family of standards for
switching systems use quiet answering. These switching systems expect
public key cryptography that includes RSA encryption, Diffie-Hellman key
the caller to provide another phone number, code, or extension after the
agreement, password-based encryption, extended-syntax, cryptographic
quiet answer.
message syntax, private key information syntax, and certificate request
syntax, as well as selected attributes. Developed, owned, and maintained quorum disk -> The cluster disk on which configuration data is maintained
by RSA Data Security, Inc. See also: certificate; public key in the quorum log, cluster database checkpoint, and resource checkpoints.
cryptography The quorum disk is managed by the Quorum resource, which is usually a
special kind of Physical Disk resource.
public key encryption -> A method of encryption that uses two encryption
keys that are mathematically related. One key is called the private key and quorum log -> The log where the quorum resource stores data. This data
is kept confidential. The other is called the public key and is freely given is maintained by the clustering software. Also known as the recovery log or
out to all potential correspondents. In a typical scenario, a sender uses the change log. See also: quorum resource; server cluster
receiver's public key to encrypt a message. Only the receiver has the
quorum resource -> The quorum-capable resource selected to maintain
related private key to decrypt the message. The complexity of the
the configuration data necessary for recovery of the cluster. This data
relationship between the public key and the private key means that,
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center 11 January 2011
contains details of all of the changes that have been applied to the cluster
database. The quorum resource is generally accessible to other cluster
resources so that any cluster node has access to the most recent
database changes. By default there is only one quorum resource per
cluster. See also: server cluster
quota limit -> The amount of disk space available to a user. See also:
warning level
R
RAID-5 volume
A fault-tolerant volume with data and parity striped intermittently across
three or more physical disks. Parity is a calculated value that is used to
reconstruct data after a failure. If a portion of a physical disk fails, Windows
recreates the data that was on the failed portion from the remaining data
and parity. You can create RAID-5 volumes only on dynamic disks, and
you cannot mirror or extend RAID-5 volumes. See also: dynamic disk;
dynamic volume; fault tolerance; parity; volume
RAM See definition for: random access memory (RAM)
random access memory (RAM) -> Memory that can be read from or
written to by a computer or other devices. Information stored in RAM is lost
when the computer is turned off. See also: virtual memory
raster fonts -> Fonts that are stored as bitmaps. Raster fonts are
designed with a specific size and resolution for a specific printer and
cannot be scaled or rotated. If a printer does not support raster fonts, it will
not print them. The five raster fonts are Courier, MS Sans Serif, MS Serif,
Small, and Symbol. Raster fonts are also called bit-mapped fonts. See
also: font; printer
raw socket -> A socket that provides direct access to lower-level network
protocols. See also: socket
read-only memory (ROM) -> A semiconductor circuit that contains
information that cannot be modified.
realm -> A set of security principles, in a non-Windows networked
environment, that are subject to Kerberos authentication. See also:
Kerberos�V5 authentication protocol
realm name -> An identifying prefix or suffix appended to a user name to
enable appropriate routing and authentication during a remote logon
process. See also: authentication; routing; user name
rebinding state -> A state used by DHCP clients to extend and renew
their address lease when the current lease is close to expiring. In this
state, the client broadcasts to the network to locate any DHCP server that
can either renew or replace its currently leased configuration. The
rebinding state begins when 87.5 percent of the client's lease time has
elapsed. See also: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP);
lease
recoverable message -> For Message Queuing, a message that can be
recovered no matter which computer fails, but that uses more resources
and is slower than an express message. See also: express message;
Message Queuing
recovery agent -> A person who is issued a public key certificate for the
purpose of recovering user data that is encrypted with Encrypting File
System (EFS). See also: certificate; Encrypting File System (EFS);
public key
Recovery Console -> A command-line interface that provides a limited set
of administrative commands that are useful for repairing a computer. See
also: NTFS file system
recovery policy -> A type of public key Group Policy object used by
Encrypting File System (EFS) that provides for one or more user accounts
to be designated as recovery agents. See also: Encrypting File System
(EFS); Group Policy object; public key; recovery agent; user account
Recycle Bin -> The place in which Windows stores deleted files. You can
retrieve files you deleted in error, or you can empty the Recycle Bin to
create more disk space.
Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) -> A method used to
standardize and categorize fault-tolerant disk systems. RAID levels
provide various mixes of performance, reliability, and cost. Some servers
provide three of the RAID levels: Level 0 (striping), Level 1 (mirroring), and
Level 5 (RAID-5). See also: RAID-5 volume; fault tolerance; mirrored
volume
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
refresh -> To update displayed information with current data. See also:
refresh rate
refresh interval -> An interval of time used by secondary masters of a
zone to determine how often to check if their zone data needs to be
refreshed. When the refresh interval expires, the secondary master checks
with its source for the zone to see if its zone data is still current or if it
needs to be updated using a zone transfer. This interval is set in the SOA
(start-of-authority) resource record for each zone. See also: secondary
master; start-of-authority (SOA) resource record; zone; zone transfer
refresh rate -> The frequency with which the video screen is retraced to
prevent the image from flickering. The entire image area of most monitors
is refreshed approximately 60 times per second. See also: refresh
region -> Contiguous chunks of storage on a disk.
registered file type -> File types that are tracked by the system registry
and are recognized by the programs you have installed on your computer.
See also: file type
registry -> A database repository for information about a computer's
configuration. The registry contains information that Windows continually
references during operation, such as:
 Profiles for each user.
 The programs installed on the computer and the types of documents
each can create.
 Property settings for folders and program icons.
 What hardware exists on the system.
 Which ports are being used.
The registry is organized hierarchically as a tree and is made up
of keys and their subkeys, hives, and value entries See also: hive; key;
registry size limit (RSL); subtree; value entry
registry boot -> The default boot option used by most Windows DNS
servers. When registry boot is used, DNS is started and initialized using
DNS parameters and their values as they are stored in the Windows
registry. You can use a Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND) boot file as
an alternative to this method of boot configuration for DNS. See also:
BIND boot file; DNS Server; Domain Name System (DNS)
registry size limit (RSL) -> A universal maximum for registry space that
prevents an application from filling the paged pool with registry data. The
total amount of space that can be consumed by registry data (hives) is
restricted by the registry size limit. See also: paged pool; registry; hive
relative distinguished name -> The part of an object's distinguished
name that is an attribute of the object itself. For most objects this is the
Common Name attribute. For security principals, the default common
name is the security principal name, also referred to as the SAM account
name.
For the distinguished name
CN=MyName,CN=Users,DC=Microsoft,DC=Com
the relative distinguished name of the MyName user object is
CN=MyName. The relative distinguished name of the parent object is
CN=Users. See also: object; distinguished name
relative ID (RID) -> The part of a security ID (SID) that uniquely identifies
an account or group within a domain. See also: domain; forest; group;
security ID (SID)
relative ID master -> The domain controller assigned to allocate
sequences of relative IDs to each domain controller in its domain.
Whenever a domain controller creates a security principal (user, group, or
computer object), the domain controller assigns the object a unique
security ID. The security ID consists of a domain security ID that is the
same for all security IDs created in a particular domain, and a relative ID
that is unique for each security ID created in the domain. At any time, there
can be only one relative ID master in a particular domain. See also:
domain controller; relative ID (RID); security ID (SID); security
principal
relative name -> The partial DNS domain name configured in individual
resource records to locate and qualify the record within a zone. The
relative name is joined to the front of the parent domain (domain of origin)
for each resource record to form a fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
within the zone. In DNS Manager, the relative name will correspond to
fields that use record-specific name properties, such as the Host computer
name field used in an address (A) resource record. See also: A (address)
resource record; Domain Name System (DNS); fully qualified domain
name (FQDN); resource record (RR); zone
11 January 2011
remote access -> Part of the integrated Routing and Remote Access
service that provides remote networking for telecommuters, mobile
workers, and system administrators who monitor and manage servers at
multiple branch offices. Users with a computer running Windows and
Network Connections can dial in to remotely access their networks for
services such as file and printer sharing, electronic mail, scheduling, and
SQL database access. See also: remote access server; response;
Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP); service
remote access server -> A Windows-based computer running the Routing
and Remote Access service and configured to provide remote access. See
also: set-by-caller callback; remote access
remote administration -> The management of one computer by an
administrator working at another computer connected to the first computer
across a network.
Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) -> A security
authentication protocol based on clients and servers and widely used by
Internet service providers (ISPs) on remote servers in non-Windows-brand
operating systems. RADIUS is the most popular means of authenticating
and authorizing dial-up and tunneled network users today. See also:
authentication; tunnel
remote computer -> A computer that you can access only by using a
communications line or a communications device, such as a network card
or a modem.
Remote Installation Services -> Software services that allow an
administrator to set up new client computers remotely, without having to
visit each client. The target clients must support remote booting. See also:
Single Instance Store (SIS)
remote procedure call (RPC) -> A message-passing facility that allows a
distributed application to call services that are available on various
computers on a network. Used during remote administration of computers.
See also: service
Remote Storage -> A data management service used to migrate
infrequently accessed files from local storage to remote storage. Migrated
files are recalled automatically and transparently upon user request when
the file is opened.
Removable Storage -> A service used for managing removable media
(such as tapes and discs) and storage devices (libraries). Removable
Storage allows applications to access and share the same media
resources. See also: library; service
rendering intent -> In color management, the approach used to map the
colors specified in an image file to the color gamut of your monitor or
printer. The color gamut is the range of color that a device can produce.
See also: color gamut
replica -> A folder within a replica set. See also: replica set; replication
topology
replica set -> One or more shared folders that participates in replication.
See also: replication
replication -> The process of copying data from a data store or file system
to multiple computers to synchronize the data. Active Directory provides
multimaster replication of the directory between domain controllers within a
given domain. The replicas of the directory on each domain controller are
writable. This allows updates to be applied to any replica of a given
domain. The replication service automatically copies the changes from a
given replica to all other replicas. See also: Active Directory; replica;
replication policy; topology
replication policy -> Rules that define how and when replication is
performed. See also: replication
replication topology -> A description of the physical connections between
replicas and sites. In contrast, DFS topologies describe the logical
connections. See also: replica
report message -> For Message Queuing, a message that contains status
information and is sent to report queues on the source computer.
Examples include test messages and route tracking messages. See also:
Message Queuing; report queue
report queue -> For Message Queuing, a queue on the source computer
that contains report messages. Report queues can be used when sending
test messages and tracking message routes. See also: Message
Queuing; report message
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
Request for Comments (RFC) -> An official document of the Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF) that specifies the details for protocols
included in the TCP/IP family. See also: Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF); protocol; Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP)
Reservation -> A specific IP address within a scope permanently reserved
for leased use to a specific DHCP client. Client reservations are made in
the DHCP database using DHCP Manager and based on a unique client
device identifier for each reserved entry.
In Admission Control Service, an allocation of network
resources, contained in a Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP)
reservation request administered by the Admission Control Service. See
also: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP); lease; Resource
Reservation Protocol (RSVP); scope; IP address
resolver -> DNS client programs used to look up DNS name information.
Resolvers can be either a small stub (a limited set of programming
routines that provide basic query functionality) or larger programs that
provide additional lookup DNS client functions, such as caching. See also:
caching; caching resolver; Domain Name System (DNS)
resource -> Generally, any part of a computer system or network, such as
a disk drive, printer, or memory, that can be allotted to a running program
or a process.
For Device Manager, any of four system components that
control how the devices on a computer work. These four system resources
are interrupt request (IRQ) lines, direct memory access (DMA) channels,
input/output (I/O) ports, and memory addresses.
For server clusters, a physical or logical entity that is capable of
being managed by a cluster, brought online and taken offline, and moved
between nodes. A resource can be owned only by a single node at any
point in time. See also: direct memory access (DMA); input/output (I/O)
port; interrupt request (IRQ) lines; memory address; offline; online;
resource; server cluster
resource allocation -> The process of distributing a computer system's
facilities to different components of a job in order to perform the job.
Resource DLL -> A dynamic-link library (DLL) containing an
implementation of the Resource application programming interface (API)
for a specific type of resource. The Resource DLL is loaded into the
address space of its Resource Monitor. See also: application
programming interface (API); dynamic-link library (DLL)
resource domain -> A Windows NT 4.0 domain that is used for hosting
file, print, and other application services. See also: domain; service
Resource Monitor -> A cluster software component that facilitates
communication between a node's server cluster and one or more of its
resources. See also: resource; server cluster
resource record (RR) -> Standard DNS database structure containing
information used to process DNS queries. For example, an address (A)
type resource record contains IP address corresponding to a host name.
Most of the basic resource record types are defined in RFC 1035, but
additional RR types have been defined in other RFCs and approved for
use with DNS. See also: Domain Name System (DNS); Request for
Comments (RFC); retry interval; zone
resource record set (RRset) -> A collection of more than one resource
record returned in a query response by a DNS server. Resource record
sets (RRsets) are used in responses where more than one record is part of
the answer. See also: DNS Server; resource record (RR)
Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) -> A signaling protocol that
allows the sender and receiver in a communication to set up a reserved
highway for data transmission with a specified quality of service. See also:
protocol
response -> In Windows remote access, strings expected from the device,
which can contain macros. See also: string; remote access
response message -> For Message Queuing, a message sent by a
receiving application to the response queue specified by a sending
application. Any available queue can be specified as a response queue.
See also: Message Queuing; response queue; queue
response queue -> For Message Queuing, a queue that is created by the
sending application and used by the receiving application to reply to
messages. For example, an application might send a response message
to a response queue every time the application receives a message. See
also: Message Queuing; response message; queue
11 January 2011
Restore Point -> A representation of a stored state of your computer.
Restore point is created by System Restore at specific intervals and when
System Restore detects the beginning of a change to your computer. Also,
restore point can be created by you manually at any time.
retry interval -> The time, in seconds after the refresh interval expires,
used by secondary masters of a zone to determine how often to try and
retry contacting its source for zone data to see if its replicated zone data
needs to be refreshed. This interval is set in the SOA (start-of-authority)
resource record for each zone. See also: refresh interval; replication;
secondary master; start-of-authority (SOA) resource record; zone
reverse lookup -> In DNS, a query process by which the IP address of a
host computer is searched to find its friendly DNS domain name. In DNS
Manager, reverse lookup zones are based on the in-addr.arpa domain
name and typically hold pointer (PTR) resource records. See also:
Domain Name System (DNS); in-addr.arpa domain; pointer (PTR)
resource record; zone
RGB color space -> Multidimensional color space consisting of the red,
green, and blue intensities that make up a given color. This system is
typically used in scanners, digital cameras, computer monitors, and
computer printers. See also: color management; color space
right-click -> To position the mouse over an object, and then press and
release the secondary (right) mouse button. Right-clicking opens a
shortcut menu that contains useful commands, which change depending
on where you click.
roaming user profile -> A server-based user profile that is downloaded to
the local computer when a user logs on and that is updated both locally
and on the server when the user logs off. A roaming user profile is
available from the server when logging on to a workstation or server
computer. When logging on, the user can use the local user profile if it is
more current than the copy on the server. See also: local user profile;
mandatory user profile; user profile
rolling upgrade -> In a cluster, the process of upgrading cluster nodes by
turns while the other nodes continue to provide service. See also: cluster
ROM -> An acronym for Read-Only Memory, a semiconductor circuit into
which code or data is permanently installed by the manufacturing process.
ROM contains instructions or data that can be read but not modified.
root -> The highest or uppermost level in a hierarchically organized set of
information. The root is the point from which further subsets are branched
in a logical sequence that moves from a broad or general focus to
narrower perspectives.
root authority -> The certification authority (CA) at the top of a
certification hierarchy. The root CA has a self-signed certificate. Also called
the root certification authority. See also: certification authority (CA);
certification hierarchy; root
root certificate -> A self-signed certification authority certificate. It is called
a root certificate because it is the certificate for the root authority. The root
authority must sign its own certificate because by definition there is no
higher certifying authority in the certification hierarchy. See also:
certificate; certification authority (CA); certification hierarchy; root
authority
root domain -> The beginning of the Domain Name System (DNS)
namespace. In Active Directory, the initial domain in an Active Directory
tree. Also the initial domain of a forest.
root hints -> Local information stored on a DNS server that provides
helping resource records to direct the server to its root servers. For DNS,
the root hints are stored in the file Cache.dns, located in the
Systemroot\System32\Dns folder. Root hints are also called cache hints.
See also: authoritative; DNS Server; Domain Name System (DNS);
namespace; root servers; systemroot
root servers -> DNS servers that are authoritative for the root of the
namespace. See also: authoritative; DNS Server; namespace; root
round robin -> A simple mechanism used by DNS servers to share and
distribute loads for network resources. Round robin is used to rotate the
order of resource records (RRs) returned in a response to a query when
multiple RRs of the same type exist for a queried DNS domain name. See
also: DNS Server; resource record (RR)
router -> In a Windows environment, hardware that helps LANs and
WANs achieve interoperability and connectivity, and can link LANs that
have different network topologies (such as Ethernet and Token Ring).
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
Routers match packet headers to a LAN segment and choose the best
path for the packet, optimizing network performance.
In the Macintosh environment, routers are necessary for
computers on different physical networks to communicate with each other.
Routers maintain a map of the physical networks on a Macintosh internet
(network) and forward data received from one physical network to other
physical networks. Computers running the Server version of Windows with
AppleTalk network integration can act as routers, and you can also use
other routing hardware on a network with AppleTalk network integration.
See also: local area network (LAN); packet header; Routing
Information Protocol over IPX (RIPX); routing; static routes; wide
area network (WAN)
routing -> The process of forwarding a packet through an internetwork
from a source host to a destination host. See also: host; packet
Routing Information Protocol over IPX (RIPX) -> A protocol used by
routers to exchange information between routers on an IPX network and
by hosts to determine the best router to use when forwarding IPX traffic to
a remote IPX network. See also: protocol; router; Internetwork Packet
Exchange (IPX); NWLink
routing link -> For Message Queuing, a communications link established
between Windows sites for routing messages. Specially configured
Message Queuing servers with routing services enabled are used to
create a routing link between sites. See also: Message Queuing;
routing-link cost; routing services
routing services -> For Message Queuing, a service on a Message
Queuing server that provides message routing services. If so configured,
this feature can be used on a Message Queuing server to:
 Enable computers that use different network protocols to
communicate.
 Reduce the number of sessions by acting as a gateway for all
incoming or outgoing messages for independent clients.
 Route messages between sites over a routing link.
See also: session concentration; service; independent client;
Message Queuing; Message Queuing server; routing link
routing-link cost -> For Message Queuing, a number used to determine
the route messages can take between two sites. This number represents
the relative monetary cost of communication over a link. A routing link has
a default routing-link cost of 1 and should not be changed unless you have
multiple routing links between two sites and you want to enforce message
routing over a specific routing link. See also: Message Queuing; routing
link
RS-232-C standard -> An accepted industry standard for serial
communication connections. Adopted by the Electric Industries
Association, this Recommended Standard (RS) defines the specific lines
and signal characteristics used by serial communications controllers to
standardize the transmission of serial data between devices. The letter C
signifies the third in a series.
RSA -> A widely used public/private key algorithm. It is the default
cryptographic service provider (CSP) for Microsoft Windows. It was
patented by RSA Data Security, Inc. in 1977. See also: cryptographic
service provider (CSP)
S
saturation -> In color management, the purity of a color's hue, moving
from gray to the pure color. See also: hue
scalability -> A measure of how well a computer, service, or application
can grow to meet increasing performance demands. For server clusters,
the ability to incrementally add one or more systems to an existing cluster
when the overall load of the cluster exceeds its capabilities. See also:
server cluster
scan interval -> For Process Control, the time between successive
checks for new processes started on the server. You can configure this in
the Process Control snap-in.
schema -> A description of the object classes and attributes stored in
Active Directory. For each object class, the schema defines the attributes
an object class must have, the additional attributes it may have, and the
object class that can be its parent.
The Active Directory schema can be updated dynamically. For
example, an application can extend the schema with new attributes and
classes and use the extensions immediately. Schema updates are
accomplished by creating or modifying the schema objects stored in Active
11 January 2011
Directory. Like every object in Active Directory, schema objects have an
access control list, so only authorized users may alter the schema. See
also: Active Directory; attribute; object; parent object
schema master -> The domain controller assigned to control all updates
to the schema within a forest. At any time, there can be only one schema
master in the forest. See also: domain controller; forest; schema
scope -> A range of IP addresses that are available to be leased or
assigned to DHCP clients by the DHCP service. See also: Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol (DHCP); lease; IP address
scope of influence -> In a domain environment, a site, domain, or
organizational unit; in a workgroup environment, the local disk. See also:
domain; organizational unit
scrap -> A file that is created when you drag part of a document to the
desktop.
screen fonts -> A typeface designed for display on a computer monitor
screen. Screen fonts often have accompanying PostScript fonts for printing
to PostScript-compatible printers. See also: font; PostScript
screen resolution -> The setting that determines the amount of
information that appears on your screen, measured in pixels. Low
resolution, such as 640 x 480, makes items on the screen appear large,
although the screen area is small. High resolution, such as 1024 x 768,
makes the overall screen area large, although individual items appear
small. See also: pixel
screen saver -> A moving picture or pattern that appears on your screen
when you have not used the mouse or keyboard for a specified period of
time.
script -> A type of program consisting of a set of instructions to an
application or tool program. A script usually expresses instructions by
using the application's or tool's rules and syntax, combined with simple
control structures such as loops and if/then expressions. "Batch program"
is often used interchangeably with "script" in the Windows environment.
second-level domains -> Domain names that are rooted hierarchically at
the second tier of the domain namespace directly beneath the top-level
domain names such as .com and .org. When DNS is used on the Internet,
second-level domains are names such as microsoft.com that are
registered and delegated to individual organizations and businesses
according to their top-level classification. The organization then assumes
further responsibility for parenting management and growth of its name
into additional subdomains. See also: domain name; Domain Name
System (DNS); namespace; parent domain; top-level domains
secondary master -> An authoritative DNS server for a zone that is used
as a source for replication of the zone to other servers. Secondary masters
update their zone data only by transferring zone data from other DNS
servers. They do not have the ability to perform zone updates. See also:
authoritative; DNS Server; master server; primary master; zone; zone
transfer
secondary mouse button -> The button that you use to display shortcut
menus or other program-specific features. The secondary mouse button is
the right button on most mice and trackball devices, and the upper button
on other trackball devices, but you can switch the function of the buttons in
the Mouse Control Panel.
Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA-1) -> A message digest hash algorithm that
generates a 160-bit hash value. SHA-1 is used with the Digital Signature
Algorithm (DSA) in the Digital Signature Standard (DSS), among other
places. See also: Digital Signature Standard (DSS); hash algorithm;
message digest
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) -> A proposed open standard for
establishing a secure communications channel to prevent the interception
of critical information, such as credit card numbers. Primarily, it enables
secure electronic financial transactions on the World Wide Web, although it
is designed to work on other Internet services as well.
Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) -> A protocol
for secure electronic mail over the Internet. See also: protocol
security -> On a network, protection of a computer system and its data
from harm or loss, implemented especially so that only authorized users
can gain access to shared files.
security descriptor -> A data structure that contains security information
associated with a protected object. Security descriptors include information
about who owns the object, who can access it and in what way, and what
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
types of access will be audited. See also: permission; discretionary
access control list (DACL); group; object; system access control list
(SACL)
security group -> A group that can be listed in discretionary access
control lists (DACLs) used to define permissions on resources and objects.
A security group can also be used as an e-mail entity. Sending an e-mail
message to the group sends the message to all the members of the group.
See also: discretionary access control list (DACL)
security host -> An authentication device, supplemental to standard
Windows and remote access server security, that verifies whether a caller
from a remote client is authorized to connect to the remote access server.
See also: authentication; remote access server; remote access
security ID (SID) -> A data structure of variable length that identifies user,
group, and computer accounts. Every account on a network is issued a
unique SID when the account is first created. Internal processes in
Windows refer to an account's SID rather than the account's user or group
name. See also: group account; group name; user account; user
name
security log -> An event log containing information on security events that
are specified in the audit policy.
security principal -> An account holder that is automatically assigned a
security identifier for access to resources. A security principal can be a
user, group, service, or computer. See also: group; security principal
name; service
security principal name -> A name that uniquely identifies a user, group,
or computer within a single domain. This name is not guaranteed to be
unique across domains. See also: domain; group; security principal
select -> To specify a block of data or text on screen by highlighting it or
otherwise marking it, with the intent of performing some operation on it.
Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) -> An older industry standard that is
part of Windows remote access client to ensure interoperability with other
remote access software. See also: remote access
serial port -> An interface on the computer that allows asynchronous
transmission of data characters one bit at a time. Also called a
communication or COM port. See also: communication port; port
SerialKey device -> Enables you to attach an alternate input device (also
called an augmentative communication device) to your computer's serial
port. This feature is designed for people who are unable to use the
computer's standard keyboard and mouse.
server -> In general, a computer that provides shared resources to
network users. See also: client; shared resource
server cluster -> A group of independent computer systems, known as
nodes, working together as a single system to ensure that mission-critical
applications and resources remain available to clients. A server cluster is
the type of cluster that Cluster service implements. See also: cluster
Server Message Block (SMB) -> A file-sharing protocol designed to allow
networked computers to transparently access files that reside on remote
systems over a variety of networks. The SMB protocol defines a series of
commands that pass information between computers. SMB uses four
message types: session control, file, printer, and message.
server zone -> The AppleTalk zone on which a server appears. On a
Phase 2 network, a server appears in the default zone of the server's
default network. See also: server; zone
service -> A program, routine, or process that performs a specific system
function to support other programs, particularly at a low (close to the
hardware) level. When services are provided over a network, they can be
published in Active Directory, facilitating service-centric administration and
usage. Some examples of services are the Security Accounts Manager
service, File Replication service, and Routing and Remote Access service.
See also: Active Directory; Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP); Service Profile Identifier (SPID)
service (SRV) resource record -> A resource record used in a zone to
register and locate well-known TCP/IP services. The SRV resource record
is specified in RFC 2782, and it is used to locate domain controllers for
Active Directory. See also: Active Directory; resource record (RR);
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
Service Profile Identifier (SPID) -> An 8-digit to 14-digit number that
identifies the services that you ordered for each B-channel. For example,
11 January 2011
when you order Primary Rate ISDN, you obtain two phone numbers and
two SPIDs from your ISDN provider. Typical ISDN adapters cannot operate
without configuring SPIDs. See also: Integrated Services Digital
Network (ISDN); service; B-channel
Service Provider Interface -> Calling conventions that back-end services
use to make themselves accessible to front-end applications. See also:
service
service ticket -> A ticket issued by the Kerberos V5 ticket-granting service
(TGS) that allows a user to authenticate to a specific service in the
domain. See also: Kerberos�V5 authentication protocol; ticket;
ticket-granting service (TGS)
session -> A logical connection created between two hosts to exchange
data. Typically, sessions use sequencing and acknowledgments to send
data reliably.
In the context of load balancing TCP/IP traffic, a set of client
requests directed to a server. These requests can be invoked with multiple,
possibly concurrent, TCP connections. The server program sometimes
maintains state information between requests. To preserve access to the
server state, Network Load Balancing needs to direct all requests within a
session to the same cluster host when load balancing. See also: client
request; load balancing; server; Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
session concentration -> For Message Queuing, a feature that typically
reduces network bandwidth within a site and the number of sessions
between sites. Specially configured Message Queuing servers with routing
services provide session concentration. See also: bandwidth; Message
Queuing; Message Queuing server; routing services; session; site
Session Description Protocol (SDP) -> A protocol that TAPI uses to
advertise IP multicast conferences. This protocol describes multimedia
sessions for the purposes of session announcement, session invitation,
and other forms of session initiation.
SDP descriptorsare stored in Active Directory. SDP is described in
RFC 2327 of the IETF. See also: Telephony API (TAPI); multicast;
Active Directory; Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF); protocol
Set -> Applies any changes you have made without closing the dialog box.
set-by-caller callback -> In Network Connections, a form of callback in
which the user supplies the telephone number that the remote access
server uses for callback. This setting spares the user any long-distance
telephone charges. See also: remote access server; connected, user
authenticated
share -> To make resources, such as folders and printers, available to
others. See also: resource
share name -> A name that refers to a shared resource on a server. Each
shared folder on a server has a share name used by personal computer
users to refer to the folder. Users of Macintosh computers use the name of
the Macintosh-accessible volume that corresponds to a folder, which may
be the same as the share name.
shared folder -> A folder on another computer that has been made
available for other people to use on the network.
shared folder permissions -> Permissions that restrict a shared
resource's availability over the network to only certain users. See also:
permission
shared printer -> A printer that receives input from more than one
computer. For example, a printer attached to another computer on the
network can be shared so that it is available for you to use. Shared printer
is also called a network printer. See also: printer
shared resource -> Any device, data, or program that is used by more
than one other device or program. For Windows, shared resources refer to
any resource that is made available to network users, such as folders,
files, printers, and named pipes. A shared resource can also refer to a
resource on a server that is available to network users. See also: device;
resource; server
shortcut -> A link to any item accessible on your computer or on a
network, such as a program, file, folder, disk drive, Web page, printer, or
another computer. You can put shortcuts in various areas, such as on the
desktop, on the Start menu, or in specific folders. See also: desktop
ShowSounds -> A feature that instructs programs that usually convey
information only by sound to also provide all information visually, such as
by displaying text captions or informative icons.
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) -> A member of the TCP/IP suite
of protocols that governs the exchange of electronic mail between
message transfer agents. See also: protocol; Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) -> A network protocol
used to manage TCP/IP networks. In Windows, the SNMP service is used
to provide status information about a host on a TCP/IP network. See also:
agent; protocol; service; Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP)
Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) -> A protocol used to synchronize
clocks over the Internet. SNTP enables client computers to synchronize
their clocks with a time server over the Internet.
Simple TCP/IP Services -> Four TCP/IP services: Character Generator,
Daytime Discard, Echo, and Quote of the Day. See also: service;
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
simple volume -> A dynamic volume made up of disk space from a single
dynamic disk. A simple volume can consist of a single region on a disk or
multiple regions of the same disk that are linked together. You can extend
a simple volume within the same disk or onto additional disks. If you
extend a simple volume across multiple disks, it becomes a spanned
volume. You can create simple volumes only on dynamic disks. Simple
volumes are not fault tolerant, but you can mirror them to create mirrored
volumes. See also: dynamic disk; dynamic volume; fault tolerance;
mirrored volume; spanned volume; volume
Single Instance Store (SIS) -> A component that saves disk space on the
server by maintaining a single physical copy of all identical files found. If
SIS finds a duplicate file on the server, it copies the original file into the SIS
store and leaves a link where the original resided. This technology is used
only with Remote Installation Services. See also: Remote Installation
Services
single sign-on -> A process that allows a user with a domain account to
log on to a network once, using a password or smart card, and to gain
access to any computer in the domain. See also: domain; smart card
single switch device -> An assistive computer technology for people with
mobility impairments. A single switch device allows users to interact with a
computer by using slight body movements.
site -> One or more well connected (highly reliable and fast) TCP/IP
subnets. A site allows administrators to configure Active Directory access
and replication topology quickly and easily to take advantage of the
physical network. When users log on, Active Directory clients locate Active
Directory servers in the same site as the user. See also: subnet; Active
Directory; replication topology; Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) See definition for: Serial Line
Internet Protocol (SLIP)
small computer system interface (SCSI) -> A standard high-speed
parallel interface defined by the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI). A SCSI interface is used for connecting microcomputers to
peripheral devices such as hard disks and printers, and to other computers
and local area networks (LANs). See also: device; local area network
(LAN)
smart card -> A credit card-sized device that is used with an access code
to enable certificate-based authentication and single sign-on to the
enterprise. Smart cards securely store certificates, public and private keys,
passwords, and other types of personal information. A smart card reader
attached to the computer reads the smart card. See also: authentication;
single sign-on; smart card reader
smart card reader -> A device that is installed in computers to enable the
use of smart cards for enhanced security features. See also: smart card
snap-in -> A type of tool you can add to a console supported by Microsoft
Management Console (MMC). A stand-alone snap-in can be added by
itself; an extension snap-in can only be added to extend the function of
another snap-in. See also: Microsoft Management Console (MMC)
socket -> An identifier for a particular service on a particular node on a
network. The socket consists of a node address and a port number, which
identifies the service. For example, port 80 on an Internet node indicates a
Web server. There are two kinds of sockets: streams (bidirectional) and
datagrams. See also: datagram; process; raw socket; port
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software decoder -> A type of digital video disc (DVD) decoder that
allows a DVD drive to display movies on your computer screen. A software
decoder uses only software to display movies. See also: DVD decoder;
DVD drive; hardware decoder
Sound card -> Accessory expansion board for personal computers that
permits recording and playing back sound.
sound file -> A sound file contains information that Windows uses to play
sounds on your computer. Sound files have the file name extension .wav.
SoundSentry -> A Windows feature that produces a visual cue, such as a
screen flash or a blinking title bar, whenever the computer plays a system
sound.
source document -> The document where a linked or embedded object
was originally created. See also: embedded object; linked object
source journaling -> For Message Queuing, the process of storing a copy
of an outgoing message. Source journaling is configured on a message
basis and is set by the sending application. When source journaling is
enabled, a copy of the message is put in the source journal queue of the
source computer when the message arrives at the destination (target)
queue. See also: journal queue; Message Queuing; target journaling
spanned volume -> A dynamic volume consisting of disk space on more
than one physical disk. You can increase the size of a spanned volume by
extending it onto additional dynamic disks. You can create spanned
volumes only on dynamic disks. Spanned volumes are not fault tolerant
and cannot be mirrored. See also: dynamic disk; dynamic volume; fault
tolerance; mirrored volume; simple volume; volume
special access permissions -> On NTFS volumes, a custom set of
permissions. You can customize permissions on files and directories by
selecting the individual components of the standard sets of permissions.
See also: volume; permission; NTFS file system
speech recognition -> The ability to interpret spoken words and convert
them into computer-readable text. Speech recognition programs allow you
to enter text by speaking into a microphone, rather than using a keyboard.
splitting -> A Briefcase command that separates the copy of the file inside
Briefcase from the copy outside Briefcase.
spooling -> A process on a server in which print documents are stored on
a disk until a printer is ready to process them. A spooler accepts each
document from each client, stores it, then sends it to a printer when the
printer is ready. See also: print spooler
standby -> A state in which your computer consumes less power when it
is idle, but remains available for immediate use. While your computer is on
standby, information in computer memory is not saved on your hard disk. If
there is an interruption in power, the information in memory is lost.
Start Application Enable -> When checked, the server DDE application
automatically starts when a client DDE application attempts to initiate a
DDE conversation. When cleared, attempts to open a DDE conversation
succeed only if the server DDE application is already running.
start-of-authority (SOA) resource record -> A record that indicates the
starting point or original point of authority for information stored in a zone.
The SOA resource record (RR) is the first RR created when adding a new
zone. It also contains several parameters used by other computers that
use DNS to determine how long they will use information for the zone and
how often updates are required. See also: zone; authoritative; Domain
Name System (DNS); resource record (RR)
startup environment -> In dual-boot or multiple-boot systems, the
configuration settings that specify which system to start and how each
system should be started. See also: dual boot; multiple boot
static dialog box -> A scripted dialog box between the client computer
and an intermediary device. This kind of dialog box requires no response
from the user. See also: client
static routes -> Routes in the routing table that are permanent. Static
routes are manually configured by a network administrator. They change
only if the network administrator changes them. If the routing protocol is
configured to support auto-static routes (automatically added static routes),
then the router can issue a request to a protocol to get an update of
routing information on a specific interface. The results of such an update
are then converted and kept as static routes. See also: routing; protocol;
router
status area See definition for: notification area
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
status bar -> A line of information related to the current program. The
status bar is usually located at the bottom of a window. Not all windows
have a status bar.
StickyKeys -> A keyboard feature that enables you to press a modifier key
(CTRL, ALT, or SHIFT), or the Windows logo key, and have it remain active
until a non-modifier key is pressed. This is useful for people who have
difficulty pressing two keys simultaneously. See also: ToggleKeys;
FilterKeys; MouseKeys
Stop error -> A serious error that affects the operating system and that
could place data at risk. The operating system generates an obvious
message, a screen with the Stop error, rather than continuing on and
possibly corrupting data. Stop error is also called a fatal system error.
strict RFC checking -> For DNS, a form of domain name checking that
examines characters used in DNS names for compliance with DNS
naming requirements and valid character usage as specified in RFC 1123,
Requirements for Internet Hosts - Applications and Support. For strict RFC
compliance, DNS domain names will use name labels made up only of
valid uppercase and lowercase letters, number characters, and hyphens (A
through Z, a through z, 0 through 9, -), separated by periods. See also:
domain name; Domain Name System (DNS); label; loose name
checking; Request for Comments (RFC)
string -> A group of characters or character bytes handled as a single
entity. Computer programs use strings to store and transmit data and
commands. Most programming languages consider strings (such as
2674:gstmn) as distinct from numeric values (such as 470924). See also:
transmitting station ID (TSID) string
subkey -> A key within a key. In the registry structure, subkeys are
subordinate to subtrees and keys. Keys and subkeys are similar to the
section header in .ini files; however, subkeys can carry out functions. See
also: registry; descendent key; key; subkey
subnet -> A subdivision of an IP network. Each subnet has its own unique
subnetted network ID.
subnet bandwidth management (SBM) -> An IETF standard that
enables administrative control at the subnet level.
subnet mask -> A 32-bit value that enables the recipient of IP packets to
distinguish the network ID and host ID portions of the IP address. Typically,
subnet masks use the format 255.x.x.x.
subtree -> Any node within a tree, along with any selection of connected
descendant nodes. In the registry structure, subtrees are the primary
nodes that contain keys, subkeys, and value entries. See also: registry;
key; subkey; value entry
switch type -> The type of interface to which your ISDN device is being
attached. Switch type is also called switch. See also: B-channel; D-
channel; Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
switching hub -> A central network device (multiport hub) that forwards
packets to specific ports rather than, as in conventional hubs, broadcasting
every packet to every port. In this way, the connections between ports
deliver the full bandwidth available. See also: hub; packet
symmetric encryption -> An encryption algorithm that requires the same
secret key to be used for both encryption and decryption. Because of its
speed, symmetric encryption is typically used when a message sender
needs to encrypt large amounts of data. Symmetric encryption is also
called secret key encryption. See also: public key encryption
synchronize -> To reconcile the differences between files stored on one
computer and versions of the same files on another computer. Once the
differences are determined, both sets of files are updated.
system access control list (SACL) -> The part of an object's security
descriptor that specifies which events are to be audited per user or group.
Examples of auditing events are file access, logon attempts, and system
shutdowns. See also: discretionary access control list (DACL); event;
object; security descriptor
system area network -> A network configuration, usually on a separate
Internet Protocol (IP) subnet, that gives data a direct path to system
hardware. See also: subnet
system disk -> A disk that contains the MS-DOS system files necessary
to start MS-DOS. See also: MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating
System)
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system files -> Files used by Windows to load, configure, and run the
operating system. Generally, system files must never be deleted or moved.
System menu -> A menu that contains commands you can use to
manipulate a window or close a program. You click the program icon at the
left of the title bar to open the System menu.
system partition -> The partition that contains the hardware-specific files
needed to load Windows (for example, Ntldr, Osloader, Boot.ini,
Ntdetect.com). The system partition can be, but does not have to be, the
same as the boot partition. See also: boot partition; partition
System Policy -> A Windows NT 4.0-style policy based on registry
settings made using Poledit.exe, the System Policy Editor. See also:
policy; registry
system queue -> For Message Queuing, a queue that stores various
types of administrative messages. Message Queuing uses up to five
system queues, all of which are private queues. System queues cannot be
deleted. See also: Message Queuing; queue; private queue; system
queue
System Restore -> A tool that tracks changes to your computer and
creates a restore point when it detects the beginning of a change. You can
use the System Restore Wizard to select a restore point to restore your
computer to an earlier state when your computer was functioning the way
you like.
system volume -> The volume that contains the hardware-specific files
that are needed to load Windows on x86-based computers with a BIOS.
The system volume can be, but does not have to be, the same volume as
the boot volume. See also: basic input/output system (BIOS); boot
volume; volume; x86
systemroot -> The path and folder name where the Windows system files
are located. Typically, this is C:\Windows, although you can designate a
different drive or folder when you install Windows. You can use the value
%systemroot% to replace the actual location of the folder that contains the
Window system files. To identify your systemroot folder, click Start, click
Run, type %systemroot%, and then click OK.
SYSVOL -> A shared directory that stores the server copy of the domain's
public files, which are replicated among all domain controllers in the
domain. See also: domain; domain controller
T
tag -> For Indexing Service, one or more terms that identify an element in
a query, such as weight, phrase, property, or regular expression. For
example, the tag {prop name=created} specifies the Created property in a
query. See also: property; query
target -> The mapping destination of a DFS root or link, which
corresponds to a physical folder that has been shared on the network.
target journaling -> For Message Queuing, the process of storing a copy
of incoming messages. Target journaling is configured on a queue basis.
When target journaling is enabled, a copy of each incoming message is
placed in the target journal queue when the message is retrieved (read)
from the destination queue. See also: journal queue; Message Queuing;
source journaling
Task Manager -> A utility that provides information about programs and
processes running on the computer. Using Task Manager, you can end or
run programs and end processes, and display a dynamic overview of your
computer's performance.
taskbar -> The bar that contains the Start button and appears by default at
the bottom of the desktop. You can click the taskbar buttons to switch
between programs. You can also hide the taskbar, move it to the sides or
top of the desktop, and customize it in other ways. See also: desktop;
taskbar button; notification area
taskbar button -> A button that appears on the taskbar and corresponds
to a running application. See also: taskbar
TCP -> Transmission Control Protocol.
TCP/IP See definition for: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP)
Telephony API (TAPI) -> An application programming interface (API) used
by communications programs to work with telephony and network
services. Communications programs like HyperTerminal and Phone Dialer
use TAPI to dial, answer, and route telephone calls on conventional
telephony devices, including PBXs, modems, and fax machines. TAPI 3.0
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
also provides Internet Protocol (IP) telephony support, which Phone Dialer
and other programs use to transmit, route, and control real-time audio and
video signals over IP-based networks such as the Internet. See also:
service; Internet Protocol (IP); modem (modulator/demodulator);
application programming interface (API)
Telnet -> A terminal-emulation protocol that is widely used on the Internet
to log on to network computers. Telnet also refers to the application that
uses the Telnet protocol for users who log on from remote locations. See
also: protocol
terminal -> A device consisting of a display screen and a keyboard that is
used to communicate with a computer.
terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) program -> A program running under
MS-DOS that remains loaded in memory even when it is not running, so
that it can be quickly invoked for a specific task performed while any other
application is operating. See also: MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating
System)
test queue -> For Message Queuing, a queue that stores sent test
messages. See also: Message Queuing; queue
text box -> In a dialog box, a box in which you type information needed to
carry out a command. The text box may be blank or may contain text when
the dialog box opens.
text service -> A program that enables a user to enter or edit text. Text
services include keyboard layouts, handwriting and speech recognition
programs, and Input Method Editors (IMEs). IMEs are used to enter East
Asian language characters with a keyboard.
theme -> A set of visual elements that provide a unified look for your
computer desktop. A theme determines the look of the various graphic
elements of your desktop, such as the windows, icons, fonts, colors, and
the background and screen saver pictures. It can also define sounds
associated with events such as opening or closing a program.
Thread Count -> In Task Manager, the number of threads running in a
process. See also: Task Manager
thumbnail -> A miniature version of an image that is often used for quick
browsing through multiple images.
ticket -> A set of identification data for a security principle, issued by a
domain controller for purposes of user authentication. Two forms of tickets
in Windows are ticket-granting tickets (TGTs) and service tickets. See
also: authentication; domain controller; service ticket; ticket-granting
ticket (TGT)
ticket-granting service (TGS) -> A Kerberos V5 service provided by the
Kerberos V5 Key Distribution Center (KDC) service that issues service
tickets that allow users to authenticate to services in a domain. See also:
Kerberos�V5 authentication protocol; Key Distribution Center
(KDC); service ticket; ticket-granting ticket (TGT)
ticket-granting ticket (TGT) -> A credential issued to a user by the
Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) when the user logs on. The user
must present the TGT to the KDC when requesting session tickets for
services. Because a TGT is normally valid for the life of the user's logon
session, it is sometimes called a user ticket. See also: Kerberos�V5
authentication protocol; Key Distribution Center (KDC); ticket-
granting service (TGS)
time server -> A computer that periodically synchronizes the time on all
computers within a network. This ensures that the time used by network
services and local functions remains accurate.
time slice -> A brief period of time during which a particular task is given
control of the microprocessor in a time-sharing multitasking environment. A
computer's processor is allocated to an application, usually measured in
milliseconds. Time slice is also called quantum.
time stamp -> A certification by a trusted third party specifying that a
particular message existed at a specific time and date. In a digital context,
trusted third parties generate a trusted time stamp for a given message by
having a time stamping service append a time value to a message and
then digitally signing the result. See also: digital signature; service
Time to Live (TTL) -> A timer value included in packets sent over TCP/IP-
based networks that tells the recipients how long to hold or use the packet
or any of its included data before expiring and discarding the packet or
data. For DNS, TTL values are used in resource records within a zone to
determine how long requesting clients should cache and use this
information when it appears in a query response answered by a DNS
11 January 2011
server for the zone. See also: DNS Server; Domain Name System
(DNS); packet; resource record (RR); Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP); zone
time-out error -> A condition where an expected character is not received
in time. When this condition occurs, the software assumes that the data
has been lost and requests that it be resent.
time-out interval -> For Process Control, the time the server waits, when
a command cannot be successfully completed, before canceling the
command. You can configure this in the Process Control snap-in.
title bar -> The horizontal bar at the top of a window that contains the
name of the window. On many windows, the title bar also contains the
program icon, the Maximize, Minimize, and Close buttons, and the optional
? button for context-sensitive Help. To display a menu with commands
such as Restore and Move, right-click the title bar. See also: maximize;
minimize
ToggleKeys -> A feature that sets your keyboard to beep when one of the
locking keys (CAPS LOCK, NUM LOCK, or SCROLL LOCK) is turned on
or off. See also: FilterKeys; MouseKeys; StickyKeys; ToggleKeys
token -> Any nonreducible textual element in data that is being parsed.
For example, the use in a program of a variable name, a reserved word, or
an operator. Storing tokens as short codes shortens program files and
speeds execution.
For networking, a unique structured data object or message that
circulates continuously among the nodes of a token ring and describes the
current state of the network. Before any node can send a message on the
network, it must first wait to control the token. See also token ring.
toolbar -> In a program in a graphical user interface, a row, column, or
block of on-screen buttons or icons. When clicked, these buttons or icons
activate certain functions, or tasks, of the program. For example, the
toolbar in Microsoft Word contains buttons for, among other actions,
changing text to italic or boldface, and for saving or opening a document.
Users can often customize toolbars and move them around on the screen.
top-level domains -> Domain names that are rooted hierarchically at the
first tier of the domain namespace directly beneath the root (.) of the DNS
namespace. On the Internet, top-level domain names such as .com and
.org are used to classify and assign second-level domain names (such as
microsoft.com) to individual organizations and businesses according to
their organizational purpose. See also: domain; domain name; domain
namespace; Domain Name System (DNS); root; second-level
domains
topology -> In Windows, the relationships among a set of network
components. In the context of Active Directory replication, topology refers
to the set of connections that domain controllers use to replicate
information among themselves. See also: Active Directory; domain
controller; replication
touch-tone dialing -> A form of dialing that uses multiple-tone signaling.
The user hears a series of tones (beeps) when dialing. Push-button
telephones usually use touch-tone dialing. See also: pulse dialing
trace log -> A type of log generated when the user selects a trace data
provider using Performance. Trace logs differ sdff from counter-data logs in
that they measure data continuously rather than take periodic samples.
training -> The process of teaching the speech recognition engine to
recognize your voice and manner of speaking. The speech engine looks
for patterns in the way you speak, enabling it to provide better accuracy
when you dictate text. You train the engine by reading text in the training
wizard, and continue to train the engine as you dictate text while working.
transaction -> For Message Queuing, the pairing of two or more actions
that are performed together as a single action; the action succeeds or fails
as a whole. Using Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC)
ensures that either both actions succeed or neither is executed. See also:
Message Queuing; Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator
(MS DTC); transaction dead-letter queue; transactional message
transaction dead-letter queue -> For Message Queuing, a queue that
stores transactional messages that cannot reach their destination queue.
Transaction dead-letter queues store failed messages on the computer on
which the message expired. Messages in these queues are written to disk
and are therefore recoverable.
See also: dead-letter queue; Message Queuing; transaction; queue
transactional message -> For Message Queuing, a message that can be
sent and received only from within a transaction. This type of message
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
returns to its prior state when a transaction is terminated abruptly. A
transactional message is removed from a queue only when the transaction
is committed; otherwise, it remains in the queue and can be subsequently
read during another transaction. See also: Message Queuing;
transaction; queue
transceiver -> A device that can both transmit and receive signals. On
local area networks (LANs), a transceiver is the device that connects a
computer to the network and that converts signals to and from parallel and
serial form.
transitive trust -> The standard type of trust relationship between
Windows domains in a domain tree or forest. When a domain joins an
existing forest or domain tree, a transitive trust is automatically
established. Transitive trusts are always two-way relationships. This series
of trusts, between parent and child domains in a domain tree and between
root domains of domain trees in a forest, allows all domains in a forest to
trust each other for the purposes of authentication. For example, if domain
A trusts domain B and domain B trusts domain C, then domain A trusts
domain C. See also: domain tree; forest; one-way trust; two-way trust
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) -> A set of
networking protocols widely used on the Internet that provides
communications across interconnected networks of computers with
diverse hardware architectures and various operating systems. TCP/IP
includes standards for how computers communicate and conventions for
connecting networks and routing traffic. See also: protocol; Internet
Protocol (IP)
transmitting station ID (TSID) string -> A string that specifies the
transmitter subscriber ID sent by the fax machine when sending a fax to a
receiving machine. This string is usually a combination of the fax or
telephone number and the name of the business. It is often the same as
the called subscriber ID. See also: called subscriber ID (CSID) string;
string
Transport Driver Interface (TDI) -> A common set of routines for network
layer components that communicate with the session layer of the Open
Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. These routines allow software
components above and below the transport layer to be mixed and matched
without reprogramming. See also: Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)
reference model
Transport Layer Security (TLS) -> A standard protocol that is used to
provide secure Web communications on the Internet or intranets. It
enables clients to authenticate servers or, optionally, servers to
authenticate clients. It also provides a secure channel by encrypting
communications. TLS is the latest and a more secure version of the SSL
protocol. See also: Secure Sockets Layer (SSL); authentication;
protocol
transport provider -> The driver and support files that provide transport
services in a networking environment.
trap -> In Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), a message sent
by an agent to a management system indicating that an event has
occurred on the host running the agent. See also: agent; event; host;
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
tree view -> A hierarchical representation of the folders, files, disk drives,
and other resources connected to a computer or network. For example,
Windows Explorer uses a tree view to display the resources that are
attached to a computer or a network. See also: resource
Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) -> A protocol used to download the
initial files needed to begin the installation process. See also: protocol
Trojan horse-> A program that masquerades as another common
program in an attempt to receive information. An example of a Trojan
horse is a program that behaves like a system logon to retrieve user
names and password information that the writers of the Trojan horse can
later use to break into the system.
TrueType fonts -> Fonts that are scalable and sometimes generated as
bitmaps or soft fonts, depending on the capabilities of your printer.
TrueType fonts are device-independent fonts that are stored as outlines.
They can be sized to any height, and they can be printed exactly as they
appear on the screen. See also: font
trust relationship -> A logical relationship established between domains
to allow pass-through authentication, in which a trusting domain honors the
logon authentications of a trusted domain. User accounts and global
groups defined in a trusted domain can be given rights and permissions in
11 January 2011
a trusting domain, even though the user accounts or groups don't exist in
the trusting domain's directory. See also: group; user account;
permission; authentication; domain; global group
tunnel -> A logical connection over which data is encapsulated. Typically,
both encapsulation and encryption are performed and the tunnel is a
private, secure link between a remote user or host and a private network.
See also: encryption; host; tunnel server; voluntary tunnel
tunnel server -> A server or router that terminates tunnels and forwards
traffic to the hosts on the target network. See also: host; router; server;
tunnel
two-way trust -> A type of trust relationship in which both of the domains
in the relationship trust each other. In a two-way trust relationship, each
domain has established a one-way trust with the other domain. For
example, domain A trusts domain B and domain B trusts domain A. Two-
way trusts can be transitive or nontransitive. All two-way trusts between
Windows domains in the same domain tree or forest are transitive. See
also: domain tree; forest; one-way trust; transitive trust
Type 1 fonts -> Scalable fonts designed to work with PostScript devices.
See also: font; PostScript
U
UDP socket -> A socket that transmits datagrams over the User Datagram
Protocol (UDP). See also: datagram; socket; User Datagram Protocol
(UDP)
unallocated space -> Available disk space that is not allocated to any
volume. The type of volume that you can create on unallocated space
depends on the disk type. On basic disks, you can use unallocated space
to create primary or extended partitions. On dynamic disks, you can use
unallocated space to create dynamic volumes. See also: basic disk;
dynamic disk; extended partition; logical drive; object; partition;
primary partition; volume
UNC (Universal Naming Convention) name -> The full name of a
resource on a network. It conforms to the \\servername\sharename syntax,
where servername is the name of the server and sharename is the name
of the shared resource. UNC names of directories or files can also include
the directory path under the share name, with the following syntax:
\\servername\sharename\directory\filename See also: share name;
resource
undock -> To detach a laptop or other portable computer from a docking
station. See also: dock; docking station; hot docking
Unicast -> In data communications networks, to transmit data from one
terminal to another, such as from client to server, or from server to server.
Unicode -> A character encoding standard developed by the Unicode
Consortium that represents almost all of the written languages of the
world. The Unicode character repertoire has multiple representation forms,
including UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32. Most Windows interfaces use the
UTF-16 form. See also: American Standard Code for Information
Interchange (ASCII); Unicode Character System (UCS); Unicode
Transmission Format 8 (UTF-8)
Unicode Character System (UCS) -> An international standard character
set reference that is part of the Unicode standard. The most widely held
existing version of the UCS standard is UCS-2, which specifies 16-bit
character values currently accepted and recognized for use to encode
most of the world's languages. See also: Unicode Transmission Format
8 (UTF-8); American Standard Code for Information Interchange
(ASCII); Unicode
Unicode Transmission Format 8 (UTF-8) -> A character set for protocols
evolving beyond the use of ASCII. The UTF-8 protocol provides for support
of extended ASCII characters and translation of UCS-2, an international
16-bit Unicode character set. UTF-8 enables a far greater range of names
than can be achieved using ASCII or extended ASCII encoding for
character data. See also: American Standard Code for Information
Interchange (ASCII); Unicode Character System (UCS); Unicode
Uniform Resource Locator (URL) -> An address that uniquely identifies a
location on the Internet. A URL for a World Wide Web site is preceded with
http://, as in the fictitious URL http://www.example.microsoft.com/. A URL
can contain more detail, such as the name of a page of hypertext, usually
identified by the file name extension .html or .htm.
uninstall -> When referring to software, the act of removing program files
and folders from your hard disk and removing related data from your
registry so the software is no longer available.
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
When referring to a device, the act of removing the
corresponding device drivers from your hard disk and physically removing
the device from your computer. See also: device driver; install
uninterruptible power supply (UPS) -> A device connected between a
computer and a power source to ensure that electrical flow is not
interrupted. UPS devices use batteries to keep the computer running for a
period of time after a power failure. UPS devices usually provide protection
against power surges and brownouts as well.
universal group -> A security or distribution group that can be used
anywhere in the domain tree or forest. A universal group can have
members from any Windows domain in the domain tree or forest. It can
also include other universal groups, global groups, and accounts from any
domain in the domain tree or forest. Rights and permissions must be
assigned on a per-domain basis, but can be assigned at any domain in the
domain tree or forest.
Universal groups can be members of domain local groups and
other universal groups, but they cannot be members of global groups.
Universal groups appear in the global catalog and should contain primarily
global groups. See also: distribution group; domain; domain tree;
domain local group; forest; global group; global catalog; security
group
Universal Naming Convention (UNC) -> A convention for naming files
and other resources beginning with two backslashes (\), indicating that the
resource exists on a network computer. UNC names conform to the
\\SERVERNAME\SHARENAME syntax, where SERVERNAME is the
server's name and SHARENAME is the name of the shared resource. The
UNC name of a directory or file can also include the directory path after the
share name, with the following syntax:
\\SERVERNAME\SHARENAME\DIRECTORY\FILENAME.
universal serial bus (USB) -> An external bus that supports Plug and
Play installation. Using USB, you can connect and disconnect devices
without shutting down or restarting your computer. You can use a single
USB port to connect up to 127 peripheral devices, including speakers,
telephones, CD-ROM drives, joysticks, tape drives, keyboards, scanners,
and cameras. A USB port is usually located on the back of your computer
near the serial port or parallel port. See also: port; bus; Plug and Play
UNIX -> A powerful, multiuser, multitasking operating system initially
developed at AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1969 for use on minicomputers.
UNIX is considered more portable, that is, less computer-specific, than
other operating systems because it is written in C language. Newer
versions of UNIX have been developed at the University of California at
Berkeley and by AT&T.
UPS service -> A service that manages an uninterruptible power supply
(UPS) connected to a computer. See also: service
URL See definition for: Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
USB port -> An interface on the computer that enables you to connect a
Universal Serial Bus (USB) device. USB is an external bus standard that
enables data transfer rates of 12 Mbps (12 million bits per second). USB
ports support a plug that is approximately 7 mm x 1 mm. See also:
universal serial bus (USB)
user -> A person who uses a computer. If the computer is connected to a
network, a user can access the programs and files on the computer, as
well as programs and files located on the network (depending on account
restrictions determined by the network administrator).
user account -> A record that consists of all the information that defines a
user to Windows. This includes the user name and password required for
the user to log on, the groups in which the user account has membership,
and the rights and permissions the user has for using the computer and
network, and accessing their resources. For Windows XP Professional and
member servers, user accounts are managed with Local Users and
Groups. For Windows Server domain controllers, user accounts are
managed with Microsoft Active Directory Users and Computers. See also:
permission; Active Directory Users and Computers; group;
password; resource; user name
User Datagram Protocol (UDP) -> A TCP complement that offers a
connectionless datagram service that guarantees neither delivery nor
correct sequencing of delivered packets (much like IP). See also:
datagram; Internet Protocol (IP); packet; service
user name -> A unique name identifying a user account to Windows. An
account's user name must be unique among the other group names and
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user names within its own domain or workgroup. See also: domain;
group name; user account; workgroup
USER object -> An object from Window Manager, which includes
windows, menus, cursors, icons, hooks, accelerators, monitors, keyboard
layouts, and other internal objects. In Task Manager, the number of USER
objects currently being used by a process. See also: Task Manager
user password -> The password stored in each user's account. Each user
generally has a unique user password and must type that password when
logging on or accessing a server. See also: password; user account
user principal name-> A user account name (sometimes referred to as
the user logon name) and a domain name identifying the domain in which
the user account is located. This is the standard usage for logging on to a
Windows domain. The format is: user@domain.com (as for an e-mail
address). See also: domain; domain name; user principal name suffix;
user account
user principal name suffix -> The UPN suffix is the part of the user
principal name to the right of the @ character. The default UPN suffix for a
user account is the DNS domain name of the domain that contains the
user account. Alternative UPN suffixes may be added to simplify
administration and user logon processes by providing a single UPN suffix
for all users. The UPN suffix is only used within the Active Directory forest
and is not required to be a valid DNS domain name. See also: Active
Directory; user account; domain; domain name; Domain Name
System (DNS); user principal name
user profile -> A file that contains configuration information for a specific
user, such as desktop settings, persistent network connections, and
application settings. Each user's preferences are saved to a user profile
that Windows uses to configure the desktop each time a user logs on.
user rights -> Tasks that a user is permitted to perform on a computer
system or domain. There are two types of user rights: privileges and logon
rights. An example of a privilege is the right to shut down the system. An
example of a logon right is the right to log on to a computer locally. Both
types are assigned by administrators to individual users or groups as part
of the security settings for the computer. See also: administrator;
domain; group; privilege
users -> A special group that contains all users who have user
permissions on the server. When a Macintosh user assigns permissions to
everyone, those permissions are given to the group's users and guests.
See also: permission; group
V
V.34 -> Data transmission standard that provides for up to 33,600 bits per
second (bps) communications over telephone lines. It defines a full-duplex
(two-way) modulation technique and includes error-correcting and
negotiation. See also: bits per second (bps); full-duplex; modulation
standards; V.90
V.90 -> Data transmission standard that provides for up to 56,000 bits per
second (bps) communications over telephone lines. The transmission
speed from the client-side modem is 33,600 bps, the same as V.34. The
transmission speed from the host-side modem, such as an Internet service
provider (ISP) or corporate network, is up to 56,000 bps, with an average
speed of 40,000 to 50,000 bps. When the host-side modem does not
support this standard, the alternative is V.34. See also: bits per second
(bps); client; host; Internet service provider (ISP); modem
(modulator/demodulator); modulation standards; V.34
value entry -> The string of data that appears in the right pane of a
registry window and that defines the value of the currently selected key. A
value entry has three parts: name, data type, and the value itself. See
also: registry; key
variable -> In programming, a named storage location capable of
containing a certain type of data that can be modified during program
execution.
System environment variables are defined by Windows 2000
Server and are the same no matter who is logged on to the computer.
Administrator group members can add new variables or change the
values, however.
User environment variables can be different for each user of a
particular computer. They include any environment variables you want to
define or variables defined by your applications, such as the path where
application files are located. See also: environment variable
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
vector -> For Indexing Service, an ordered series of words or numbers
used in a query. For example, a single document can have (Scott Cooper;
Don Hall; Amy Egert) as a vector of coauthors. See also: query
vector font -> A font rendered from a mathematical model, in which each
character is defined as a set of lines drawn between points. Vector fonts
can be cleanly scaled to any size or aspect ratio. See also: font; plotter
font
video adapter -> An expansion board that plugs into a personal computer
to give it display capabilities. A computer's display capabilities depend on
both the logical circuitry (provided in the video adapter) and the monitor.
Each adapter offers several different video modes. The two basic
categories of video modes are text and graphics. Within the text and
graphics modes, some monitors also offer a choice of resolutions. At lower
resolutions a monitor can display more colors.
Modern adapters contain memory, so that the computer's RAM
is not used for storing displays. In addition, most adapters have their own
graphics coprocessor for performing graphics calculations. These adapters
are often called graphics accelerators.
virtual address -> In a virtual memory system, the address the application
uses to reference memory. The kernel and the memory management unit
(MMU) translate this address into a physical address before the memory is
actually read or written. See also: virtual memory
virtual container -> A container that allows any LDAP-compliant directory
to be accessed through Active Directory. See also: Active Directory;
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)
virtual IP address -> An IP address that is shared among the hosts of a
Network Load Balancing cluster. A Network Load Balancing cluster might
also use multiple virtual IP addresses, for example, in a cluster of
multihomed Web servers. See also: host; multihomed computer; IP
address
virtual local area network (VLAN) -> A logical grouping of hosts on one
or more LANs that allows communication to occur between hosts as if they
were on the same physical LAN. See also: host; local area network
(LAN)
virtual memory -> Temporary storage used by a computer to run
programs that need more memory than it has. For example, programs
could have access to 4 gigabytes of virtual memory on a computer's hard
drive, even if the computer has only 32 megabytes of RAM. The program
data that does not currently fit in the computer's memory is saved into
paging files. See also: virtual printer memory; paging file; Virtual
Memory Size
Virtual Memory Size -> In Task Manager, the amount of virtual memory, or
address space, committed to a process. See also: Task Manager; virtual
memory
virtual printer memory -> In a PostScript printer, a part of memory that
stores font information. The memory in PostScript printers is divided into
two areas: banded memory and virtual memory. The banded memory
contains graphics and page-layout information needed to print your
documents. The virtual memory contains any font information that is sent
to your printer either when you print a document or when you download
fonts. See also: PostScript printer; virtual memory
virtual private network (VPN) -> The extension of a private network that
encompasses encapsulated, encrypted, and authenticated links across
shared or public networks. VPN connections can provide remote access
and routed connections to private networks over the Internet. See also:
authentication; encryption; remote access; routing; tunnel
virus -> A program that attempts to spread from computer to computer
and either cause damage (by erasing or corrupting data) or annoy users
(by printing messages or altering what is displayed on the screen).
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) -> A method for sending voice over a
LAN, a WAN, or the Internet using TCP/IP packets. See also: local area
network (LAN); Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP); wide area network (WAN)
volume -> An area of storage on a hard disk. A volume is formatted by
using a file system, such as FAT or NTFS, and has a drive letter assigned
to it. You can view the contents of a volume by clicking its icon in Windows
Explorer or in My Computer. A single hard disk can have multiple volumes,
and volumes can also span multiple disks. See also: disk; drive letter;
file allocation table (FAT); NTFS file system; simple volume; spanned
volume
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volume set -> A partition consisting of disk space on one or more physical
disks that was created with Windows NT 4.0 or earlier. You can delete
volume sets only with Windows 2000 or Windows XP. To create new
volumes that span multiple disks, use spanned volumes on dynamic disks.
See also: basic disk; dynamic disk; partition; spanned volume;
volume
volume shadow copy -> A volume that represents a duplicate of the
original volume taken at the time the copy began. See also: crash
consistency; differential data; volume
voluntary tunnel -> A tunnel that is initiated by the client. It tunnels PPP
over IP from the client to the tunnel server, then the data is forwarded to
the target host by the tunnel server. See also: client; host; Internet
Protocol (IP); Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP); tunnel; tunnel server
W
Waiting for Call -> A telephony signal that Network Connections has put
the modem in Listen mode and is waiting for incoming calls. See also:
Network Connections; modem (modulator/demodulator)
warning level -> The point at which users are nearing their quota limit.
See also: quota limit
Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) -> An application
protocol related to HTTP 1.1 that allows clients to transparently publish
and manage resources on the World Wide Web.
Web server -> A computer that is maintained by a system administrator or
Internet service provider (ISP) and that responds to requests from a user's
browser. See also: Internet service provider (ISP)
WebDAV See definition for: Web Distributed Authoring
Versioning (WebDAV)
well-connected -> Sufficient connectivity to make your network and Active
Directory useful to clients on your network. The precise meaning of well-
connected is determined by your particular needs. See also: Active
Directory
wide area network (WAN) -> A communications network connecting
geographically separated computers, printers, and other devices. A WAN
allows any connected device to interact with any other on the network. See
also: device; local area network (LAN)
wildcard character -> A keyboard character that can be used to represent
one or many characters when conducting a query. The question mark (?)
represents a single character, and the asterisk (*) represents one or more
characters.
wildcarding -> In DNS, the supported use of wildcard characters such as
the asterisk (*) in domain names for DNS queries that resolve to multiple
names. When wildcarding is used, DNS servers must support resolving
name queries that use wildcard characters, and resolvers must be able to
parse multiple records from any resource record sets (RRsets) issued in
wildcard query responses. See also: DNS Server; domain name;
Domain Name System (DNS); resource record set (RRset); wildcard
character
window -> A portion of the screen where programs and processes can be
run. You can open several windows at the same time. For example, you
can open your e-mail in one window, work on a budget in a spreadsheet in
another, download pictures from your digital camera in another window,
and order your weekly groceries on the Web in another window. Windows
can be closed, resized, moved, minimized to a button on the taskbar, or
maximized to take up the whole screen.
Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) -> A software service that
dynamically maps IP addresses to computer names (NetBIOS names).
This allows users to access resources by name instead of requiring them
to use IP addresses that are difficult to recognize and remember. WINS
servers support clients running Windows NT 4.0 and earlier versions of
Microsoft operating systems. See also: Domain Name System (DNS);
network basic input/output system (NetBIOS); WINS proxy; resource;
service; WINS resource; IP address
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) -> A management
infrastructure in Windows that supports monitoring and controlling system
resources through a common set of interfaces and provides a logically
organized, consistent model of Windows operation, configuration, and
status. See also: resource
Prepared by: Mr. Jeffrey A. Diaz Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 – Help and Support Center
Windows Open Services Architecture (WOSA) -> A common set of
interfaces that connect front-end applications with back-end services. See
also: service
WINS proxy -> A computer that listens to name query broadcasts and
responds for those names not on the local subnet. The proxy
communicates with a WINS server to resolve names and then caches
them for a specific time period. See also: subnet; Windows Internet
Name Service (WINS)
WINS resource -> A resource type that provides Windows Internet Name
Service (WINS) from a cluster. See also: cluster; resource types;
Windows Internet Name Service (WINS)
Winsock -> Windows Sockets. An application programming interface (API)
standard for software that provides a TCP/IP interface under Windows.
See also: application programming interface (API); Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
wireless communication -> Communication between a computer and
another computer or device without wires. The form of wireless
communication provided as part of the Windows operating system uses
infrared light to transmit files. Radio frequencies, as used by cellular and
cordless telephones, are another form of wireless communication. See
also: infrared (IR); infrared device; infrared port
workgroup -> A simple grouping of computers, intended only to help users
find such things as printers and shared folders within that group.
Workgroups in Windows do not offer the centralized user accounts and
authentication offered by domains. See also: authentication; domain;
user account
and
working set -> For a process, the amount of physical memory assigned to
a process by the operating system.
World Wide Web -> A system for exploring the Internet by using
hyperlinks. When you use a Web browser, the Web appears as a collection
of text, pictures, sounds, and digital movies. See also: internet
writable CD -> Recordable compact disc (CD-R) or rewritable compact
disc (CD-RW). Data can be copied to the CD on more than one occasion.
Rewritable compact discs can also be erased.
X
X.509v3 certificate -> Version 3 of the ITU-T recommendation X.509 for
certificate syntax and format. This is the standard certificate format used
by Windows XP certificate-based processes.
An X.509 certificate includes the public key and information
about the person or entity to whom the certificate is issued, information
about the certificate, plus optional information about the certification
authority (CA) issuing the certificate. See also: International
Telecommunication Union - Telecommunication [Standardization
Sector] (ITU-T); certificate; certification authority (CA); public key
x86 -> Refers to microprocessors that have or emulate the 32-bit Intel
processor architecture.
XML (Extensible Markup Language) See definition for: Extensible
Markup Language (XML)
Y
There are no glossary terms that begin with this letter.
Z
zone -> In the Macintosh environment, a logical grouping that simplifies
browsing the network for resources, such as servers and printers.
In a DNS database, a manageable unit of the DNS database
that is administered by a DNS server. A zone stores the domain names
and data of the domain with a corresponding name, except for domain
names stored in delegated subdomains. See also: Domain Name
System (DNS); partition; resource; DNS Server; domain
zone list -> In the Macintosh environment, a list that includes all of the
zones associated with a particular network. Zone list is not to be confused
with Windows DNS zones. See also: Domain Name System (DNS); zone
zone transfer -> The synchronization of authoritative DNS data between
DNS servers. A DNS server configured with a secondary zone periodically
queries the master DNS servers to synchronize its zone data. See also:
authoritative; DNS Server; secondary master; zone
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