Web Hosting Glossary
APOP (Authenticated Post Office Protocol): APOP is a POP3 setting that uses a encrypted (MD5-based) login command when connecting to an email server so that passwords are not sent in plain text over the internet.
Anonymous FTP (Anonymous File Transfer Protocol): An Anonymous FTP server provides a method of making files and software freely available for the public to download. On a typical FTP site, a visitor must enter an assigned user name and password before they are able to access its contents. With an Anonymous FTP site, visitors are able to enter a common login, which is typically the word anonymous as the user name and their email address as the password. Visitors are unable to upload files and are restricted from accessing any non-public sections. A web site would only require this ability if they were planning to provide freely downloadable files or software to the public.
ASP (Microsoft Active Server Pages): ASP is a server-side scripting language that is used to create dynamic content on web pages. ASP web pages are HTML pages that include server-side scripts. These scripts are used to update information on a page such as date and time, or form data such as information added to a guest book.
Autoresponders: Autoresponders fall into two categories, server-side and outsourced.
Autoresponders Server-side: A server-side Autoresponder is installable on the users own server. This type of Autoresponder requires technical skill to administer and may be limited in its ability depending on the ISP used by the server.
Autoresponders Outsourced: An outsourced Autoresponder is one that operates on the infrastructure of an Autoresponder provider. One of the best known Autoresponder providers is AWeber.
Backbone (Hosting Backbone): A series of high-speed lines or connections on both the internal network and externally to one or more high-level Internet trunks. An example of a major backbone provider would be US West.
Backbone (Internet Backbone): A group or main ‘trunk’ of many high-level networks that are interlinked to provide redundant connections (routes) to all major metropolitan areas.
Bandwidth (Data Transfer Rate): On computer networks, bandwidth is another name for the data transfer rate which is the amount of data that can be sent from one point to another in a given period of time. The amount of data is measured in bits while time is usually measured in seconds. Hence the term bps or bits per second. If the measurement is expressed in bytes instead of bits, you will see it written as Bps.
The amount of Bandwidth (Data Transfer Rate) is an important consideration when choosing a web hosting service provider. Every time one of your web pages is viewed, the data that the page is composed of is transferred to the viewer’s web browser. A web site with a lot of visitors and page views will have a high bandwidth demand rate.
CGI (Common Gateway Interface): CGI is part of the web’s Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). When data is passed back and forth between a server and an application, a CGI or Common Gateway Interface is used. It provides a standard method by which a Web server is able to receive a request from a user (such as a request for a web page), transfer the request to the appropriate application, receive back the results from the application and finally forward those results to the requesting user. CGI scripting can add numerous interactive elements to a Web site.
CGI-BIN: CGI-BIN is a special directory on a server where CGI programs are found. CGI programs can be written in many programming languages that a system is able to execute. Because CGI programs must be compiled, many prefer to write CGI scripts to add interactive elements to web sites, as they are easier to modify, maintain and debug.
CGI Library: A CGI Library is a collection of pre-made CGI scripts that can be used to add numerous interactive elements to your Web site.
Client: A computer system or application that places requests for information from a server. An example of a client application would be a web browser.
Co-location: When a datacenter provides a physical location, bandwidth and power for a customer owned and managed server. The customer supplies and manages the equipment. The datacenter allows the server to reside at its facility where it is able to make use of security, bandwidth and power redundancy which would otherwise be cost prohibitive for the server owner.
Custom Error Messages: When a web page is unavailable the server it is requested from replies with a 404 or page not found error message. Some hosting accounts include the ability to customize the 404 and other error messages which are sent.
Control Panel: A control panel provides hosting customers with the ability to perform everyday tasks on their hosted server account without the necessity of having to have it done by a technician. Some functions that may be provided are the ability to create and edit web pages, administer domains, addon domains and sub-domains, and install applications such as WordPress blogs.
Data: Data is composed of images, text, audio files, video files and everything else that a server transfers to a user’s web browser.
Database: A structured collection of records or data that is stored in a manner which facilitates easy access, management and updating.
Datacenter: A datacenter is common site where computer systems and their associated components are housed. The use of a Datacenter allows for a large scale of systems to be protected, monitored and supported at a lower cost than is possible when systems are spread over numerous locations.
Data Transfer Rate (Bandwidth): On computer networks, data transfer rate is another name for the bandwidth which is the amount of data that can be sent from one point to another in a given period of time. The amount of data is measured in bits while time is usually measured in seconds. Hence the term bps or bits per second. If the measurement is expressed in bytes instead of bits, you will see it written as Bps.
The amount of the Data Transfer Rate (Bandwidth) is an important consideration when choosing a web hosting service provider. Every time one of your web pages is viewed, the data that the page is composed of is transferred to the viewer’s web browser. A web site with a lot of visitors and page views will have a high bandwidth demand rate.
Disk Space (Storage Space): The total amount of available hard disk space for the storage of files and data
Bit: A unit for measuring information size
Byte: Equal to eight bits
Kilobyte: 1,024 bytes
Megabyte: 1,024 kilobytes or 1,048,576 bytes
Gigabyte: 1,024 megabytes
Terabyte: 1,024 gigabytes
Dedicated Servers (Dedicated Server Hosting): A hosted server that is rented by and entirely dedicated to the use of one client.
Domain Name: A unique, human-readable name which identifies a computer or location (such as a web site) on the internet. Registering a domain name gives you the exclusive right for the use of that domain name for the length of the registration time period. If a registration is allowed to lapse, the name then becomes available for registration by another party.
Domain Name Registrar: A retail company which has received accreditation by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), or by a national ccTLD authority, to register Internet Domain Names. While not required, most registrars also include DNS services as part of their service. GoDaddy is an example of a Domain Name Registrar.
Domain Name Registration: The act of registering a name with a domain name registrar such as www.ImperfectYou.com. Registration ensures that the name is unique and reserved for the exclusive use of the registering party.
Domain Name Registry (Network Information Center or NIC): Part of the domain name system which provides the conversion of human-readable registered domain names to the IP addresses that computers understand and are able to use to locate the requested domain.
DNS (Domain Name System): The Domain Name System is a hierarchical system for naming resources (computers) that are located on the Internet. DNS translates a human-readable domain name such as worldsbestwebhostingreviews.com to a numerical (binary) identifiers that can be read and used by networking equipment to locate resources available on the Internet. A Domain Name System is similar to a telephone book, which allow people to be located by name and then supplies the ‘number’ by which they can be reached.
Domain Name Server: A domain uses domain name servers to handle the translation of their domain name to an IP address. While there is no actual limit on the number of DNS servers that can be used, typically a Primary and a Secondary DNS server is required as a minimum.
The Primary handles the majority of the DNS requests received, while the Secondary handles overflow. Organizations that are concerned with maintaining an internet presence at all times may seek DNS services from additional DNS providers or a hosting company which has built in redundancy for their DNS system. If DNS is not available for a domain name, the domain name in essence is unreachable.
DS-3 Signal: A signal standard used in connection with a T-1 line which is capable of handling a data rate of 44.736 Mbps. E-Commerce (Electronic Commerce): The buying or selling (trade) of goods and services using an electronic means such as the Internet or other computer networks.
Email Forwarding: The ability to have email received at a particular email address and then sent on to another email address with the option of leaving a copy with the original email account. This is a useful method of managing multiple email accounts as they can be forwarded to a single account where you are able to check all emails in one place.
FrontPage (Microsoft FrontPage): Is a popular graphical HTML editor used to design web pages.
FrontPage Extensions (FrontPage Server Extensions): Are a set of server side scripts which give web pages designed with FrontPage additional functionality such as the ability to use hit counters and do database processing. The web server used must be able to support these extensions.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol): As the name implies, FTP is a fast, popular protocol that is used to transfer files over the internet.
FTP Server: An FTP server authenticates client connections to an FTP site and provides access to (serves) files that are requested. An Anonymous FTP server does not require a user name and password to allow access to the files it serves.
Home Page: The home page is the first page presented on a web site and usually is named index.html or index.php.
Hosting Provider: A hosting provider is generally a company that rents space on a server for a web site to reside so that it can be made available publicly. Using a hosting provider gives the web site owner the added benefit of using equipment and technologies that would be cost prohibitive for the web site owner to personally provide.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol): A protocol that provides a standardized methodology by which web browsers and servers communicate.
HTML (Hyper-Text Markup Language): HTML is a computer language used to create web sites that can be viewed by anyone connected to the internet.
HyperText: HyperText is the means used to move around on the Internet. HyperText uses hyperlinks to move from one place to another.
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol): A protocol which allows an email program to access remote messages stored on a mail server.
Infrastructure: The basic underlying physical systems, which provide a foundation for an organization or system.
IP Address (Internet Protocol Address): A unique number identifying all devices connected to the Internet. The IP address allows a computer to be located on the Internet, much the same way your telephone number or street address allows people to contact you. An example of a IP Number would be 199.181.132.250 which is the Internet address of Disney.com.
IP Number (Internet Protocol Number): A unique number consisting of 4 parts separated by dots. Example of a IP Number would be 199.181.132.250 which is the IP Number assigned to Disney.com.
IPP(Internet Presence Provider): Another name for a hosting provider.
ISP (Internet Service Provider): An ISP is the service provider from whom you purchase the ability for your computer or business to access the Internet.
Linux: A UNIX-like operating system used as an operating system for servers and which is gaining popularity for use on desktop systems in place of the better know Mac and Microsoft Windows operating systems.
Majordomo: A popular, Unix-based freeware mailing list processor.
Managed (Dedicated Server) Hosting: A dedicated server is a server that is dedicated entirely to a specific use or organization. A dedicated server may be rented from a hosting service provider. The server is reserved exclusively for the use of the client and is not shared with other clients of the hosting service provider. A managed dedicated server is one where the hosting service is also providing management services for the server. What is included in the supplied management services differs between hosting providers.
Merchant Account: A financial service that provides a merchant with the ability to accept a credit card to process a transaction.
Microsoft Access: A low-end relational database system provided by Microsoft.
MS SQL (Microsoft SQL Server): A higher-end relational database management system by Microsoft, which is often included with Windows hosting.
MySQL: A popular open-source relational database management system often included with UNIX/Linux hosting plans.
NOC (Network Operation Center): Is a secure, managed location where high-level control, monitoring, problem identification and troubleshooting is performed on networks. Networks may be composed of telecommunications, broadcast or computer systems.
OC-3: An OC-3 is the network line used by the largest Internet backbone provider networks. OC-3 is capable of transmitting 155.52 Mbps, which provides up to three times the bandwidth capability of a T-3 network line.
Payment Gateway: A payment gateway is an e-commerce application service provider that provides a secure, encrypted connection between a merchant and their merchant account.
Perl (Practical Extraction and Report Language): Perl is a scripting language whose syntax is similar to C/C++ and is commonly used to write scripts for web servers. Perl is often used for reading and searching through text files.
PHP (PHP Hypertext Preprocessor): PHP programs usually work in conjunction with Linux servers and MySQL databases to provide functionality similar to that of the Active Sever Pages technology. PHP programs are often embedded in HTML web pages to provide dynamically generated content.
POP/POP3 (Email): Post Office Protocol. A protocol used by email client applications such as Outlook, to securely retrieve e-mail from a mail server. A POP email account would include an assigned username and password, which allows the client software to securely login to a POP email server.
SCP (Secure Copy): SCP is based on the SSH protocol and allows for the secure, encrypted transfer of files to a Unix-based host.
Server: A server is a computer which accepts requests for information from a client system, processes the request and ‘serves’ the results back to the client. Setup Fee: An initial fee charged by a hosting service provider to create your hosting account.
Shared Server Hosting: Shared server hosting provides the hosting service provider with the ability to house multiple web sites and files on a single server. Clients who do not require the resources of a dedicated server are able to ‘share’ the resources of one server with other clients. This provides clients who need the security and stability of hosting for their web site to do so at a lower overall cost.
SFTP (Secure File Transport Protocol): Allows for the FTP transfer of files using the SSH protocol to secure the FTP session.
Shopping Cart Software: A piece of software that facilitates the cataloging of an online store’s wares and the ordering process for those wares. Shopping cart software allows customers to browse, choose and pay for merchandise provided by the online merchant. Some web hosting service providers supply shopping cart software with their hosting accounts either for free or for a fee. There is a variety of shopping cart softwares available with a significant range of features and functionality, so it is important to investigate several to find one that will provide the usability your require.
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol): A protocol used to send email.
SQL (Structured Query Language): A database query and programming language used for accessing, updating, and managing data in a relational database system.
SSI (Server Side Incudes): SSI, used almost exclusively for the web, is a simple server-side scripting language. SSI is used to automate tasks and is primarily used to paste data from one or more files into another. This allows for the inclusion of dynamic data in an html page. SSI enabled pages usually use the .shtml, stm or shtm extensions so that a web server using the default configuration will recognize that it is SSI-enabled and prompt it to carry out the included instructions.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer): SSL secures data transmitted by a web site by encrypting the transmitted data. SSL is used when protected data transmission is needed. A web site using SSL will use the https prefix as opposed to the standard http prefix in the web site address for identification. SSL is commonly used to encrypt payment data entered by a customer. Sensitive data such as credit card information should never be entered into a standard html web page.
Shell Account: A Shell Account is an account that gives a user access to a Unix shell on a remote server using the SSH protocol (or more historically – telnet).
The Unix shell resembles a DOS command window. Commands used are particular to the underlying Unix/Linux operating system. A shell account allows the user to configure, update and maintain the server depending on the level of access granted. Programs such as apache web server, IRC, and email services are set to run in the background so that the user does not need to remain logged in for the server to function.
Static (Dedicated) IP Address: A unique and unchanging IP address. Static IP addresses are often assigned in blocks of addresses to businesses. A web hosting service provider may allow its clients to rent a static IP address out of the block of IP addresses that have been assigned for its use. Because the IP address belongs to the provider, it can not be taken with you if you change providers.
Storage Space (Disk Space): The total amount of available hard disk space for the storage of files and data. Web sites require storage space for web pages and associated files. Larger web sites will have an increased need for storage space.
Bit: A unit for measuring information
Byte: Equal to eight bits
Kilobyte: 1,024 bytes
Megabyte: 1,024 kilobytes or 1,048,576 bytes
Gigabyte: 1,024 megabytes
Terabyte: 1,024 gigabytes.
SSH (Secure Shell): Secure Shell or Secure Socket Shell is a Unix-based security protocol used to access remote servers. It provides an encrypted session by which files can be worked on and transferred.
Sub-domain: A sub-domain is a lower component of a larger domain. For example, worldsbestwebhostingreviews.com is a sub-domain of the larger .com domain. Companies use sub-domain to uniquely name subdivisions of services, function or location for their organization. An example of this would be something like blog.companyname.com where the blogging section of the domain is given a unique sub-domain name which makes it easier to find.
T-1: T-1 lines, often referred to as DSL lines and are generally used by businesses and ISPs to connect to the Internet Backbone. A T-1 is a phone line that is subdivided into 24 channels, which are capable of transporting voice or data traffic at a rate of 64 bps. The 24 channels combine to provide a total T-1 line capability of 1.544 Mbps.
T-3: A T-3 line is almost 30 times faster than a T-1 line and is capable of moving data at up to 44.73 Mbps.
Telnet (Terminal Emulation Protocol): A historical method of accessing a remote Unix-based host. Telnet has been largely replaced by SSH which provides safer, encrypted host access.
Uptime: The percentage of time that a host or web site is available. The typical standard for the web site hosting industry is a 99.9% availability.
UNIX: An operating system used on business-class servers, which serve databases, websites, or other corporate applications. UNIX has numerous variants including Solaris (Sun), IRIX (SGI), and many derivatives including Linux, Apple OSX, and others. Linux operating systems are gaining popularity in the desktop-computing field, as they are generally available free as compared to the better known Window’s operating systems. Recent developments in the usability of Linux as a desktop operating system have added to its increased popularity.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator): The standardized method of addressing for web resources on the Internet, usually consisting of an access protocol (http) and the domain name being requested that is part of the World Wide Web (WWW). Example URL: http://www.worldsbestwebhostingreviews.com
Virtual Private Servers: A Virtual Private Servers is a midline choice between a shared hosting server and dedicated server. While still in the shared hosting server category, a Virtual Private Server is assigned its own allotment of dedicated server space and resources.
Virtual Hosted Web Server: A Virtually Hosted Web Server is one that is capable of hosting numerous domain names and web sites. Virtual Web Hosting is typically provided by web hosting service providers using high-speed, redundant data centers. The client benefits from hosting that is comparable to a dedicated server at a fraction of the cost that it would be to maintain their own.
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol): An application environment and set of communication protocols and that provide a standardized way for wireless devices to access the Internet.
Web-based Email: The ability to access email using a web browser.
Web Hosting Service: Web hosting service providers are companies, which lease space on their servers to their clients to enable their clients to install their web sites in a manner that will make those web sites accessible on the Internet. The servers used by the Web hosting service providers are typically located in Datacenters, which are able to provide security, maintenance and high-speed Internet connections.
Web Server: A computer which runs a client/server model program that allows it to deliver web pages and other files to applications using the HTTP protocol. The term may be applied to either the specific program being used such as Apache or to the machine on which the software is running.
Web Site: The term Web Site may be applied to either a collection of web pages made available at a specific web address or to server space allotted to a client of a web site hosting service in a shared hosting environment. An example of a web site would be WorldsBestWebHostingReviews.com.
Web Site Traffic Reporting: A Software or Service that monitors traffic on a web site and provides information on the number of hits, page views and amount of data transferred by the web site. Popular reporting tools include Webalizer, WebTrends, and Analog.
Web Statistics: Reports provided by Web Site Traffic Reporting enabling the web site owner to know the number of visitors to a Web site. Statistics range from basic reporting such as how many visitors a web site has received, to more advanced reporting such as the search phrase used to find the web site or if visitors were referred by a specific URL.
Windows Hosting: Hosting provided on a server that uses Microsoft Windows server software as its operating platform.
