| 10BaseT |
Protocol
used to support 10Mbit/s Ethernet over UTP cabling. |
| 100BaseT |
Protocol
used to support 100Mbit/s fast Ethernet over Category 5 UTP cabling. |
| 100BaseT4 |
Protocol
used to support 100Mbit/s fast Ethernet over category 3 UTP cabling
using 4 pairs. |
| 1000BaseT |
1000
Mbit/s Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet over category 5 UTP cabling using 4
pairs. |
| ACD |
Automatic
Call Distribution. This is
the term for equipment which is employed to distribute telephone calls
between a group of answering agents.
It may be an inherent part of a PABX or an add-on system.
ACD is used extensively in Call Centre environments. |
| ATM |
Asynchronous
Transfer Mode. This is a
networking protocol which can support multimedia (i.e. Voice, data,
video, text etc.) communications. It
was initially developed as a wide area protocol for use by the major
public carriers (e.g. BT Mercury etc.).
However, it is now commonly used as a local area backbone
protocol in private networks. ATM
will ultimately provide connectivity right to the desktop. |
| Backbone |
Term
used to refer to the common central elements of any communications
network. The backbone is
the part of the network which connects all the individual network
components. |
| Bridge |
A
bridge is used to provide traffic separation between two elements, or
segments, of a local area network.
Local bridges connect two adjacent networks whilst remote bridges
utilise leased lines to interconnect networks which are remote from one
another. |
| Centrex |
Product
name used to describe a PTO provided telephone service.
With such a service, all users telephone extensions are connected
directly to the PTO’s equipment.
This eliminates the need for a PABX. |
| CLI |
Calling
Line Identity. The term
used to describe the feature whereby the telephone number of a calling
party is presented to the equipment of the called party. |
| Client/Server |
A
term used to describe the relationship between computing hardware.
In a typical network, user PCs are referred to as clients which
communicate with a central server device.
The server generally provides common services to many clients. |
| CTI |
Computer
Telephony Integration. The
integration of computer and telephone systems to support intelligent
applications. At its
simplest this might be the ability to support a simple telephone from a
PC. Conversely CTI is used
extensively in Call Centres to co-ordinate the transfer of telephone
calls with associated database details applicable to the caller. |
| DASS2 |
Digital
Access Signaling System 2. A
signaling system employed to enable PABX systems to communicate with
public switches. BT’s
ISDN30 service can utilise DASS2 signaling which is a feature rich
version of Euro ISDN30. |
| DDI |
Direct
Dialing Inward. This
facility enables external callers to dial directly to PABX extensions
(without going via the switchboard) by inserting a prefix in front of
the extension number. |
| Dial-up |
A
term used to refer to applications which utilise analogue (dial-up)
modems to access remote systems. |
| DPNSS |
Digital
Private Network Signalling System.
The standards based signalling system employed in the UK to
enable two PABX’s to communicate via digital private circuits. |
| e-mail |
Electronic
mail. The generic term used for
any electronic messaging system which enables users to exchange
information via networks. EMail
may refer to either closed user group systems on private networks or
wide area systems such as the internet. |
| Ethernet |
A
local area networking protocol. Ethernet
was designed as a common bus system operating at 10Mbit/s.
However, Ethernet hubs are commonly used to support a star based
topology over UTP whilst a 100Mbit/s variant (fast Ethernet) is also now
available. |
| FDDI |
Fibre
Distributed Data Interface. FDDI
is a 100Mbit/s networking protocol which operates over optical fibre.
FDDI was initially developed as a MAN protocol but is also
commonly supported in the LAN environment. |
| Gateway |
A
term used for a device which enables two networks to communicate with
each other. The term
strictly refers to a device which undertakes a protocol conversion
between two non-like networks. However,
it is now commonly applied to any device which acts as an access point
between networks even if no protocol conversion is necessary (e.g.
internet gateway). |
| Hub |
A
device which is utilised to connect multiple other devices.
The
most common application is an Ethernet hub which is used to support star
based Ethernet topologies.
|
| http |
Hyper
Text Transfer Protocol, used for WWW documents. |
| Internet |
The
term applied to the global common access computer network.
The internet is the global equivalent of the public telephone
network. However, whilst
the telephone network provides dedicated secure communications between
users, the internet relies upon shared bandwidth. |
| Intranet |
A
closed user group internet which uses browser style interfaces to
present information. An
intranet may either exist only within a private network or may be
accessible via the internet. |
| IP |
Internet
Protocol. Now becoming the dominant protocol for WANs and LANs. |
| ISDN |
Integrated
Services Digital Network. The
ISDN is the modern, digital equivalent of the PSTN. It employs digital
technology throughout and can be used to support multimedia
communications including voice, data, video and image.
Two narrow band ISDN products are commonly available in the UK;
basic rate (2B+D, 144Kbit/s, ISDN2) and primary rate (30B+D, 2Mbit/s). Broadband services will become available in the future.
ISDN2e is BT’s European ISDN 2B+D service. |
| ISDX |
The
product name for a PABX manufactured by GPT. |
| ISP |
Internet
Service Provider. Companies
who provide access to the internet.
Access may be via dial-up modems basic rate ISDN or digital
leased lines. |
| IT |
Common
abbreviation for the generic term “information technology” used to
describe any aspect of computing and networking. |
| Key
system |
Small
telephone system where multiple exchange lines can be presented on each
telephone. Key systems usually use telephones/terminals that are
exclusively designed for a particular system. |
| LAN |
Local
Area Network. Generally
refers to the network within a single building although LAN protocols
will operate up to 2,000m over optical fibre. |
| Leased
Line |
A
circuit rented from a PTO. A
leased line provides permanent guaranteed bandwidth between two
locations. |
| MAN |
Metropolitan
Area Network. Strictly a
term used to define a network throughout a metropolitan area.
Such a network would generally be PTO provided.
However the term is now commonly used to describe an extended LAN
which serves a number of buildings in a restricted geographical area. |
| NMS |
Network
Management System. Any
system used to monitor, administer and manage networking components. Historically used for data networks but can now include voice
systems. |
| OFTEL |
Office
of Telecommunications. The Government appointed watchdog organisation in
the UK. |
| PABX |
Public
Automatic Branch Exchange. The
term used to describe an organisations privately run internal telephone
system. |
| PC |
Personal
Computer. A workstation
with integral processing power located at the desktop.
PCs can operate as standalone devices but are commonly networked. |
| Peer-to-peer |
Refers
to a network topology where devices communicate directly with each other
rather than according to a client server architecture. Resource sharing under Windows95 is an example of peer to
peer networking. |
| PTO |
Public
Telecommunications Operator. Companies
providing telecommunications services (e.g. BT, Mercury etc.). |
| RAS |
Remote
Access Server. A device
which enables external devices to access network facilities.
The RAS will generally be equipped with analogue modems and/or
ISDN terminal adapters to enable remote users to “dial-in”.
The RAS will incorporate security features including password
control, dial back, CLI recognition and hardware handshaking. |
| Router |
A
device which controls the routing of information on a network.
The term strictly refers to a layer 3 (OSI model) device which
can interpret network addressing information and route data packets
accordingly. Routers
undertake broadly the same function as bridges but can dynamically
manage bandwidth more effectively and can provide enhanced levels of
security. |
| SLA |
Service
Level Agreement. A term
commonly used within the IT industry to refer to the service standards
which a service provider agrees to deliver to a user.
Initially used in contractual arrangements with third parties but
now commonly used as an internal agreement within organisations. |
| SMTP |
Simple
Mail Transfer Protocol. The
protocol used to exchange mail between an organisations email system and
the internet. |
| SNMP |
Simple
Network Management Protocol. The
protocol used by devices to communicate with a network management
system. |
| Switch |
Generic
term for a PABX. Also a
device employed in LANs to partition networks.
A LAN switch (Ethernet or token ring) is strictly a matrix of
bridges that isolates Ethernet collision domains. |
| TCP |
Transmission
Control Protocol. Often used as a suite with IP as TCP/IP with jointly
forms the protocols used on the Internet. |
| U
Height |
Equates
to 1.75 inches and is used to measure vertical Usable space in IT
equipment cabinets. Most IT equipment is sized in U’s. |
| UTP |
Unshielded
Twisted Pair cabling. A
type of cable employed in structured cabling schemes.
Can be used to support multimedia communications (voice, data,
video etc.) at distances of up to 100m with bandwidths of up to
155Mbit/s (ATM). |
| Voicemail |
The
generic term used to describe voice messaging systems.
The systems can support a wide range of applications ranging from
personal voice mailboxes to automated attendant systems. |
| WAN |
Wide
Area Network. The term used
to describe any network which is not restricted to a limited
geographical area. |
|
WWW |
World
Wide Web The network of
information servers attached to the internet. Organisations can present
information on web sites which can be accessed by any user attached to
the internet. |
