Documentation - Technical Glossary
The following entries constitute the NSIT Support Line's technical glossary. It is not in anyway intended to be comprehensive; generally, items are defined only on an "as needed basis." For an extensive technical dictionary, we recommend trying the Free Online Dictionary of Computing. Please note that the descriptions in this glossary are specifically directed to University of Chicago community members and may not necessary contain all of the information that we'd provide to the general Internet community.
NSIT Accounts and Passwords
CNetID - Your username for all NSIT services.
CNet Password - Formerly known as the "Directory," "Unix," or "Ph" password, the CNet password authenticates you for all common NSIT services.
Networking
IP - Internet Protocol (IP) is the protocol used on the Internet (and many other networks) to route information from one computer to another.
IP Address - IP addresses are numerical identifiers similar to postal addresses. They contain a network identifier and a host identifier; for example, 128.135.12.53 denotes a computer on the 128.135 network which is identified by a host number of 12.53. The host portion of the address may be further subdivided into subnets.
Subnet - A logical and often physical separation of a larger network. For example, although the University's network is identified as 128.135, it is also divided logically into subnets. Accordingly, the IP address 128.135.12.53 actually denotes a network, 128.135, with a subnet, 12, and a computer on that subnet, 53.
DHCP - Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) is a method for automating the assignment of IP addresses and other networking information. It is used on campus in residence halls and libraries, as well as over the wireless network.
Static IP Addressing - In contrast to DHCP, static IP addressing involves manually configuring a unique IP address for each computer. Static IP addressing is used in most University offices.
Wireless Networking - The University has implemented wireless networking in many campus buildings. Connectivity Package software works seamlessly over these connections; however, the installer will not create a wireless configuration.
Router - a router is a machine that routes network traffic to the correct network. Routers receive traffic from and deliver it to a combination of networks, subnets, and host computers (often via hubs or switches) that it is physically connected to.
DNS
DNS - the general name of the system for converting easy to remember names (such as www.uchicago.edu) into IP addresses (for example, 128.135.12.53).
Hostname - The hostname is the name assigned to a computer in DNS. For example, harper is the hostname of the computer that resides at 128.135.12.7.
FQDN - a Fully-Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) is the full name of a computer in DNS. Starting with its hostname, a FQDN includes information about the domains of which it is a member. For example, harper is a part of the uchicago domain, which is in turn part of the edu domain, meaning its FQDN is harper.uchicago.edu.
World Wide Web
World Wide Web - The Internet's most commonly used resource, the web is a collection of files residing on computers called web servers, rendered in programs called web browsers, and transported via http over the Internet. The term "web" derives from the files' ability to be easily interlinked together through the use of URLs.Email Protocols
IMAP - Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is a protocol that allows mail to be accessed from multiple locations by leaving all messages on the mail server. IMAP is the recommended method for checking your NSIT email account.
POP - Post Office Protocol (POP) is an older email protocol that, by default, downloads mail to a single computer and removes it from the server.
SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is a protocol for mail delivery. SMTP is used to send messages, in contrast to IMAP and POP, which are used to download them.
General Internet
Internet - Often confused with the World Wide Web, the term Internet actually refers to the combined collection of academic, commercial, and government networks connected over international telecommunication backbones and routed using IP addressing.
URL - A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is an address that points to a specific resource on the Internet. It consists of three basic parts: a transport protocol, a fully-qualified domain name, and a file location. For example, the URL:
tells a network client (such as a web browser) to use the HyperText Transport Protocol (http) to contact the computer named support on the uchicago.edu network and request a file called "index.html" that resides in a directory named "docs."
Last updated: 7/15/08