Help - Web Hosting Glossary

• Active Channel
• ActiveX
• ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Loop)
• Aliased Nameservers
• Anonymous FTP (Anon FTP)
• Apache
• Archive
• ASP (Active Server Page)
• Authentication
• Backbone
• Backup
• Bandwidth
• Baud
• Binary Mode
• Bit (Binary DigIT)
• Bit rate
• C/C++
• Catch-all Email Account
• Certificate
• Certificate Authority
• CGI (Common Gateway Interface)
• cgi-bin
• Client
• Colocation
• Command-line interface
• Control Panel
• Cookie
• Crawler
• CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
• Data transfer
• Database
• Dedicated hosting
• Domain Alias
• Domain Control Panel
• Domain Name
• Domain Name System (DNS)
• DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)
• Encryption
• Exposure
• FileMaker Pro
• Firewall
• Front Page
• Front Page Extensions
• FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
• Gigabyte (Gb)
• Graphical User Interface (GUI)
• Hit
• Host
• HTML
• HTTP
• HTTPS/SHTTP (Secure HTTP)
• Hyperlink
• IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol)
• Impression
• Internet Service Provider (ISP)
• InterNIC
• IP (Internet Protocol)
• IP Address (Internet Protocol Address)
• IP Packet
• Java
• Java Servlets
• JavaScript
• Java Database Connectivity (JDBC)
• JSP (JavaServer Pages)
• Kbps
• Kilobyte (Kb)
• Linux
• Load Balancing
• Managed hosting
• Mbps
• Megabyte (MB)
• MHz
• MIME (Multipurpose Internet Email Extensions)
• Mirror site
• mSQL
• MySQL
• Nameserver
• NetCloak
• NetForms
• ODBC
• Open-source
• Parking
• Perl (Practical Extraction and Report Language)
• Pharming
• Phishing
• PHP (Personal Home Page Tools)
• POP (Post Office Protocol)
• PostgreSQL
• Python
• RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks)
• Referrer Log
• Reseller
• SCSI
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Second level domain name
• Shared hosting
• Shopping Cart
• Spam
• Spider
• SQL (Structured Query Language)
• SSH (Secure Shell)
• SSI (Server-Side Include)
• SSL (Secure Socket Layer)
• Statistics, or Stats
• Tcl (Tool Command Language)
• TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
• Telnet
• Terabyte (TB)
• TLD (Top Level Domain)
• Trojan
• Uniform Resource Locator
• Virtual hosting
• Virtual Private Server (VPS)
• WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)
• WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)

Active Channel An Active Channel is data that sits on a server which is continually updated. When someone visits a website they can set up an Active Channel using a Channel Definition Language (CDF) capable browser (like Internet Explorer). When users setup an Active Channel they create a link which allows a website to send them more information than appears on the site. This information can be anything the website chooses: newsletters, tutorials, information about the site, etc.

ActiveX ActiveX is a group of Microsoft technologies (specifically OLE - Object Linking and Embedding and COM - Component Object Model) that share information between various applications. A range of ActiveX applications and development applications exist including Control Panels, HTML Editor Controls, Movie Player Pro Controls, etc. For example, ASPWebMail has a licensed ActiveX mail control included. Because of potential security threats all ActiveX controls are digitally signed to show who developed them. ActiveX server components for ASP are supported by a number of hosts. Most current browsers permit ActiveX usage.

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Loop) ADSL uses line-adaptive modulation to provide high speed Internet access across a standard telephone line. It offers speeds of 384kbps to 1.5 Mbps depending on whether connection is upstream and downstream. Unlike dial up services using standard modems, subscribers to ADSL services can use their telephones while connected to the Internet.

Aliased Nameservers Aliased nameservers are used by resellers. A nameserver belongs to a hosting company, but is labeled it such a way as it appears to belong to a reseller. E.g. "ns.yourservername.com" instead of "ns.yourprovidersname.com".

Anonymous FTP (Anon FTP) Some hosts offer hosting plans with an Anonymous FTP facility. This enables website users to upload or download files without using a user name or a password. The word "anonymous" is usually used as the user name and an email address used instead of a password.

Apache Apache is open-source HTTP web server software and the most popular of its kind available. Most often run on a Unix operating systems like Linux, Apache can also be run on Windows. It offers a number of powerful features and add-ons, for example, the Apache Java Enterprise Mail Server - a.k.a. Apache James.

Archive Archives are files of important data/information that are no longer current but need to be stored. There may be a content archive on your website, or your database could be archived.

ASP (Active Server Page) ASP is an HTML page that includes one or more scripts that are processed on a Microsoft Web Server before the page is sent to the user. ASP itself is not a scripting language. It is designed to tie your web pages into data stored in databases on your own and other systems. ASP will work with any database with an available Open DataBase Connectivity (ODBC) compliant driver such as Microsoft Access.

Authentication When important information is exchanged over the Internet an Authentication process establishes the identity of the party that wants the information.

Backbone The Internet comprises a number of high-speed network connections run by the main telecommunications companies (including AT&T, Sprint, and MCI) known as backbones.

Backup Backup is the activity of copying files or databases so that they will be preserved in case of equipment failure or other catastrophe. Backup is usually a routine part of the operation of large businesses with a mainframe as well as the administrators of smaller business computers. For personal computer users, backup is also necessary but often neglected. The retrieval of files you backed up is called restoring them.

Bandwidth Bandwidth (the width of a band of electromagnetic frequencies) means
1) how fast data flows on a given transmission path, and
2) the width of the range of frequencies that an electronic signal occupies on a given transmission medium.
Any digital or analog signal has a bandwidth. Generally speaking, bandwidth is directly proportional to the amount of data transmitted or received per unit time. In a qualitative sense, bandwidth is proportional to the complexity of the data for a given level of system performance.

Baud Baud refers to the number of transitions (when bits of information are encoded for transmission over a communication link) that take place per second during data transfer.

Binary Mode When binary files (programs, multimedia files, etc.) are transferred using FTP, the FTP program used must be set to Binary Mode.

Bit (Binary DigIT) Bit refers to the smallest piece of information used in computing, comprising a unit of Binary information – either 1 or 0.

Bit Rate Bit rate indicates the speed bits of information are transmitted between computers. It is measured in Bits Per Second (or bps).

C/C++ A programming language often used to develop programs that are used on the Internet.

Catch-all Email Account A lot of hosts offer a "Catch-all" Email account. This means that when someone sends an email to anyone@yourdomain.com, it will go to you by default. This way, you can have, for example, sales@yourdomain.com, support@yourdomain.com, webmaster@yourdomain.com, and so on - with all of it going to the email account you specify in your Account (or domain) control panel. This is especially useful when a user makes a typo (or error) in the email address - as long as they get the domain name correct, you will get the email.

Certificate Sensitive information (e.g. credit card numbers, etc.) is often transferred over the Internet using safe procedures such as SSL transactions. In such a transaction Certificates are checked to identify that a website is actually owned by who claims to own it. A certificate holds digital identification information including the owner's name, who issued the certificate, the name of the website's host, and the certificate's expiration date.

Certificate Authority When sensitive information (e.g. credit card numbers, etc.) is transferred using SSL transactions, Certificates are checked to identify website owners. These certificates are issued by a Certificate Authority such as Verisign.

CGI (Common Gateway Interface) CGI, which everyone uses for short, stands for "Common Gateway Interface." It provides a common method of running an executable program, usually written in Perl or C/C++, from a web site in order to generate dynamic content.

cgi-bin Most websites have email forms, etc. which often use CGI programs. A cgi-bin is a folder on your server which contains all your CGI programs.

Client A Client is a piece of computer software that initiates a program on a server to make it perform a task (provide data, etc.) usually over the Internet.

Colocation Colocation is when someone purchases a server and leases server space and access.

Command-line interface Programs such as Internet Explorer offer a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to make the program easy to use. However, some computer programs do not offer a GUI; instead lines of computer code appear on a computer monitor. This is a “Command-line" interface – an interface where lines of text appear instead of icons, etc.

Control Panel A Control Panel is a set of services that lets you view and control all aspects of your account. Each web host company comes equipped with a differently featured web site control panel. Some allow you to set up and maintain your web site's features as well as review disk and web site usage statistics. Some can be accessed from anywhere in the world via the Internet and allows you to control your web site 24 hours a day.

Cookie A Cookie is a small program that is downloaded on a user's computer through an Internet Browser. A Cookie makes it easier for your computer to connect to certain websites and Cookies often store information (such as user names) that makes logging onto a website is easier.

Crawler Sometimes called a spider, a crawler is a program that accesses a web page and follows the hyperlinks contained in the page content. Search engines use crawlers to generate index and help establish ranking.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) Cascading Style Sheets are used to add more functionality to simple HTML pages, and contain styles and other information that can be passed on to other HTML pages in a web site. Internet Explorer 3.0 and up support a good portion of CSS, while Netscape 4.0 and up supports a small amount of CSS. Unfortunately, a fully compliant browser does not yet exist for CSSs.

Data Transfer Data Transfer refers to the amount of information transferred by a server. Usually measured on a monthly basis, web hosts charge based on the amount of data transfer a site requires. They usually create packages for people with differing purposes. For example, a predominantly text website will require less data transfer than a site with masses of images and video/audio files. The latter will therefore be more expensive.

Database Database is a generic term which refers to any information which is organized for convenient retrieval (a list of names and addresses is a database). Programs that store and manipulate databases are used on Internet sites to manage information. The most common language for databases is SQL. Most hosts offer users database options including MySQL (for Linux servers) and MS SQL (Windows NT servers).

Dedicated hosting Successful websites often have their own server administered by a hosting company. This offers a number of benefits (particularly over Shared Hosting) - site managers/administrators have full control of the server backend and can make choices such as which operating system to use and what functions are required of the server.

Domain Alias Domain Aliases allow more than one domain name to access to the same website. When a domain alias is typed into a browser the user is redirected to the site the alias is associated with.

Domain Control Panel See Control Panel

Domain Name A domain name locates an organization or other entity on the Internet. For example, the domain name "www.hostsearch.com" locates an Internet address for "hostsearch.com" at Internet point 199.0.0.2 and a particular host server named "www". The "com" part of the domain name reflects the purpose of the organization or entity (in this example, "commercial") and is called the top-level domain name. The "hostsearch" part of the domain name defines the organization or entity and together with the top-level is called the second-level domain name. The second-level domain name maps to and can be thought of as the "readable" version of the Internet address.

A third level can be defined to identify a particular host server at the Internet address. In our example, "www" is the name of the server that handles Internet requests. (A second server might be called "www2".) A third level of domain name is not required. For example, the fully-qualified domain name could have been "hostsearch.com" and the server assumed.

Subdomain levels can be used. For example, you could have "www.customer.hostsearch.com". Together, "www.hostsearch.com" constitutes a fully-qualified domain name.

On the Web, the domain name is that part of the Uniform Resource Locator(URL) that tells a domain name server using the domain name system (DNS) whether and where to forward a request for a Web page. The domain name is mapped to an IP address (which represents a physical point on the Internet).

InterNIC Definition:

"An addressing construct used for identifying and locating computers on the Internet. Domain names provide a system of easy-to-remember Internet addresses, which can be translated by the Domain Name System (DNS) into the numeric addresses (Internet Protocol (IP) numbers) used by the network. A domain name is hierarchical and often conveys information about the type of entity using the domain name. A domain name is simply a label that represents a domain, which is a subset of the total domain name space. Domain names at the same level of the hierarchy must be unique, for example there can be only one com at the top level of the hierarchy, and only one netsol.com at the next level of the hierarchy."

Domain Name System (DNS) The domain name system (DNS) is the way that Internet domain name are located and translated into Internet Protocol addresses. A domain name is a meaningful and easy-to-remember "handle" for an Internet address.

Because maintaining a central list of domain name/IP address correspondences would be impractical, the lists of domain names and IP addresses are distributed throughout the Internet in a hierarchy of authority. There is probably a DNS server within close geographic proximity to your access provider that maps the domain names in your Internet requests or forwards them to other servers in the Internet.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) DSL is a significantly faster alternative to dial up connection to the Internet but probably the most expensive option.

Encryption Encryption is used when sensitive information is exchanged over the Internet. Data is encrypted using a cryptographic cipher and then decrypted by an authorized entity before being passed to the computer that should receive it.

Exposure The term used to describe when a banner advertisement is loaded on a web page and displayed to users or surfers. This is also referred to as an "impression." An advertiser usually pays a web site per number of exposures to display their ad or banner.

FileMaker Pro FileMaker Pro allows individuals to focus on their work, not on the software's underlying technology. With built-in application templates and instant translation from Excel spreadsheets, FileMaker Pro delivers immediate, out-of-the-box value. Going forward, the product will provide even tighter integration and compatibility with Microsoft Office and other popular programs. Its design philosophy will continue to focus on streamlining common tasks, from database creation to report writing. FileMaker Pro is also positioned to help your business take advantage of the Web by having built-in web publishing of your databases.

Firewall A Firewall is a piece of software (sometimes used alongside specific hardware) that protects a computer/server from unauthorized access. A Firewall is especially useful in protecting against hackers and others intent on intruding onto a network.

Front Page Front Page is a popular HTML editor and web design program made by Microsoft. It is commonly used to create web pages for servers equipped and enabled to handle it.

Front Page Extensions Front Page Server Extensions are server side programs that are used to enable users of Front Page to use its special components, or "Web Bots." Although the extensions can be installed on a Unix server, they are generally found on Windows NT servers.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) FTP is how files are downloaded and uploaded to a server. Popular FTP programs include WS_FTP Server and BulletProof FTP Server. Some Internet browsers have built in FTP options.

Gigabyte (Gb) 1024 Megabytes.

Graphical User Interface (GUI) Pronounced 'Guey', Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) were made popular by Apple computers. Rather than using lines of code to operate a computer program, code functions are represented as a graphic, an icon, etc. making it easier to use a computer. GUIs often utilize a mouse for operation. For example, rather than approaching lines of code, a user simply clicks on an icon similar to this to make the system print a document.

Hit A hit refers to a request made by a web browser to access a website. The number of hits a site receives is often recorded on a site's Hit Counter. Hits are not to be confused with Unique Visitors where the number of actual users is recorded. When search engines like Google generate lists of websites as part of their search results, each site receives a hit, regardless of whether anyone accesses the site.

Host A Host is a computer that stores files and runs a web server to enable people to access the websites it stores over the Internet. In the web hosting business a host refers to the company that charges users to store their websites on its servers.

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) HTML is not a programming language but rather a group of specific commands that enable you to add markup to your text, such as font faces and colors, inline images, and other features for displaying a web page. Its most common use is for web pages.

HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol - the protocol used to transfer hypertext, or HTML web pages, on the World Wide Web (WWW).

HTTPS/SHTTP (Secure HTTP) HTTPS/SHTTP is a version of HTTP protocol that encrypts data to stop it being accessed by third parties when it is transmitted via the Internet. Most ecommerce applications adopt this protocol.

Hyperlink Often referred to as simply links, the following are hyperlinks: Click here to visit thewebhostbiz.com. Click here to visit webhostingmall.com.

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) IMAP is a method that allows computer email programs to access emails stored on a mail server. It also allows you to create, delete, and rename mailboxes, check for incoming messages, search for specific emails, etc.

Impression The term used to describe when a banner advertisement is loaded on a web page and displayed (or exposed) to a user. See Exposure.

Internet Service Provider (ISP) An Internet Service Provider is usually a commercial entity that allows users to connect to the Internet via the telephone network using a modem.

InterNIC The organization that manages domain name registrations. See their website

IP (Internet Protocol) A method (or protocol) that allows data to be sent from one computer server to another via the Internet.

IP Address (Internet Protocol Address) An IP Address is a unique number from 0 to 255 (e.g. 201.16.130.112) that identifies all servers (Hosts) connected to the Internet.

IP Packet An IP packet is data grouped together and compressed before being sent over the Internet. The computer that receives the data decompresses and rearranges it. Rather than there being a continuous stream of data being sent over the Internet, information is sent in IP packets.

Java A popular programming language created by Sun Microsystems. Java can be used on any platform and is used to write programs that run in a browser (applets) and servers (servlets).

Java Servlets Java Servlets can be thought of as CGI programs in some respects. Both servlets and CGI execute on the server in response to HTML input. Thus both are limited to HTML and JavaScript's capabilities. However, Java servlets are much more powerful that CGI programs for these reasons.

Serves execute as a thread within the Web server. Threaded execution avoids the overhead of creating separate processes for each CGI call. Servlets may retain data between executions. For example, a servlet could retain a network connection or access counter between executions. However, cookies or similar solutions are still needed to retain data about an individual browser that accesses the servlet. A servlet may connect to any computer on the network or write files on the server. While CGI programs may also do these things Java servlets allow a platform independent implementation. A servlet can use business objects that are part of a larger distributed system. This is difficult or impossible to accomplish with CGI.

JavaScript Developed by Sun and Netscape, JavaScript is a programming language (not the same as Java) that makes HTML pages interactive and allows them to perform tasks like data validation. Most current browsers accept JavaScript.

Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) Java Database Connectivity is a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) providing a standard mechanism to allow Java applets access to a database. It is a standard SQL database access interface, providing uniform access to a wide range of relational databases. It also provides a common base on which higher level tools and interfaces can be built. This comes with an "ODBC Bridge". The Bridge is a library which implements JDBC in terms of the ODBC standard C API.

JSP (JavaServer Pages) JSP (JavaServer Pages) technology from Sun enables Web developers and designers to rapidly develop and easily maintain information-rich, dynamic Web pages that leverage existing business systems. This technology leverages the Java architecture and enables web developers to rapidly create Web-based applications. JSP is completely platform independent. JSP provides excellent server side scripting support for creating database driven web applications. JSP enables the developers to directly insert java code into jsp file, this makes the development process very simple and its maintenance also becomes very easy. JSP pages are efficient, it loads into the web servers memory on receiving the request very first time and the subsequent calls are served within a very short period of time.

Kbps Kilobits per second. 1Kbps = 1024bps.

Kilobyte (Kb) 1024 bytes.

Linux An operating system developed by Linus Torvalds based on UNIX and distributed free of charge. Many hosting companies use UNIX as an operating system.

Load Balancing Load Balancing is used to secure performance by distributing data across a network of servers rather than using a single server.

Managed Hosting Managed Hosting utilizes a dedicated server and is supported by a range of services including technical, maintenance and monitoring support.

Megabits (Mb) per second 1Mb = 1,048,576 bits

Megabyte (MB) 1MB = 1024 KiloBytes = 1,048,576 bytes

MHz MegaHertz = 1.000.000 Hertz

MIME (Multipurpose Internet Email Extensions) MIME is a transfer protocol that facilitates audio, video and image files through email.

Mirror site A Mirror site offers website content on another server, meaning content can be accessed from either server. The purpose behind mirror sites is to improve reliability by sharing the number of visitors between servers and making the site more reliable.

mSQL Mini SQL, or mSQL, is a lightweight database engine designed to provide fast access to stored data with low memory requirements. The mSQL language offers a significant subset of the features provided by ANSI SQL. It allows a program or user to store, manipulate and retrieve data in table structures. It does not support relational capabilities such as table joins, views or nested queries. Although it does not support all the relational operations defined in the ANSI specification, it does provide the capability of "joins" between multiple tables.

MySQL MySQL is a true multi-user, multi-threaded SQL database server. SQL, Structured Query Language, is a standardized language that makes it easy to store, update and access information. For example, you can use SQL to retrieve product information and store customer information for a web site. MySQL is also fast and flexible enough to allow you to store logs and pictures in it. The main goals of MySQL are speed, robustness and ease of use. MySQL was originally developed because we needed a SQL server that could handle very large databases an order of magnitude faster than what any database vendor could offer to us on inexpensive hardware. We have now been using MySQL since 1996 in an environment with more than 40 databases containing 10,000 tables, of which more than 500 have more than 7 million rows. This is about 100 gigabytes of mission-critical data.

Nameserver A Nameserver is a server that translates domain names and IP addresses.

NetCloak NetCloak gives you dozens of HTML extension commands that make it easy to build dynamic, compelling Web pages. Add dynamic information like date and time to your pages, as well as headers, footers, counters, and more. All with no programming required.

NetForms NetForms makes it easy to create interactive websites. NetForms makes your users an active part of your Web site, but keeps you in complete control. With NetForms on your Web server, you can turn data from HTML forms into text files, e-mail messages, even new Web pages. Create mailing list maintentance pages, guestbooks, surveys and online discussion forums with no programming required.

ODBC Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a standard or open application programming interface (API) for accessing a database. By using ODBC statements in a program, you can access files in a number of different databases, including Access, dBase, DB2, Excel, and Text. In addition to the ODBC software, a separate module or driver is needed for each database to be accessed. The main proponent and supplier of ODBC programming support is Microsoft.

Open-source Whereas programming code is unavailable to an end user in many programs, Open-source code is programming code available to the end user to revise as required. Many open source applications are available on the Internet entirely free of charge and are shared with others. However, some companies develop and maintain open-source applications which they charge for.

Parking Parking is when a domain registration service temporarily places a recently sold domain name on a server until the owner has purchased a hosting service and the domain can be redirected.

Perl (Practical Extraction and Report Language) Perl is an interpreter and a script programming language that is similar in syntax to the C language and that includes a number of popular UNIX elements, such as Borne shell, csh, awk, sed, grep, tr, and C. Perl is considered as a good choice for developing Common Gateway Interface (CGI) programs because it has good text manipulation facilities. Perl, in short, is a popular scripting -programming language that is commonly used for writing CGI programs that are to be run from a web site.

Pharming Pharming is when vulnerabilities in DNS server software are exploited by hackers to redirect the traffic from one website to another website.

Phishing Phishing is when fraudsters send email claiming to represent financial institutions (such as banks) or ecommerce websites. The email usually contains the logo and format of the institution or website it claims to represent and urges unsuspecting recipients to amend their account details. When they follow instructions they are actually directed to a fake website and unknowingly disclose their account details to the fraudsters. This is sometimes referred to as 'Identity Theft'.

PHP (Personal Home Page Tools) PHP is another scripting language and interpreter, similar to JavaScript and Microsoft's VB Script. It is a cross-platform alternative to Microsoft's Active Server Page (ASP) which runs only on Microsoft's Windows NT servers. PHP is freely available and used primarily on Linux Web Servers. Like ASP, its commands are embedded within the HTML of a web page. The commands are later executed on the web server, making it browser independent. The web browser only sees the resulting HTML output of the PHP code, and does not need to do any real work itself, fortunately, since different browsers display data differently, at least for the time being.

POP (Post Office Protocol) POP is an email protocol that allows email programs (Outlook, Eudora, etc.) to access email from mail servers.

PostgreSQL PostgreSQL is a powerful relational database management system (rdbms) that is similar to Ingres. It is an enhancement of the original POSTGRES database management system, a next-generation DBMS research prototype. While PostgreSQL retains the powerful data model and rich data types of POSTGRES, it replaces the PostQuel query language with an extended subset of SQL.

Python Python is an interpreted, object-oriented programming language similar to Tcl and Perl that has gained adherents for its clear syntax and readability. It has modules, classes, exceptions, very high level dynamic data types, and dynamic typing. Python is said to be relatively easy to learn and portable, meaning its statements can be interpreted in a number of operating systems, including UNIX-based systems, Mac OS, MS-DOS, OS/2, and various versions of Microsoft Windows.

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) RAID is a way of storing the same data in different places (thus, redundantly) on multiple hard disk. By placing data on multiple disks, I/O operations can overlap in a balanced way, improving performance. Since multiple disks increase the mean time between failures (MTBF), storing data redundantly also increases fault-tolerance.

A RAID appears to the operating system to be a single logical hard disk. RAID employs the technique of striping, which involves partitioning each drive's storage space into units ranging from a sector (512 bytes) up to several megabytes. The stripes of all the disks are interleaved and addressed in order.

Referrer Log Referrer logs are used to enhance your website statistics by establishing where visitors are based, which key words they typed into a search engine to access your site, etc.

Reseller A reseller works with a hosting company and is equipped to perform all of the administrative functions the hosting company provides its customers (account payment, etc.). As a result, the reseller can offer hosting services and operate a hosting business without needing to own a server.

SCSI SCSI (pronounced SKUH-zee and sometimes colloquially known as "scuzzy"), the Small Computer System Interface, is a set of evolving ANSI standard electronic interfaces that allow personal computers to communicate with peripheral hardware such as disk drives, tape drives, CD-ROM drives, printers, and scanners faster and more flexibly than previous interfaces. Developed at Apple Computer and still used in the Macintosh, the present set of SCSIs are parallel interfaces. SCSI ports are built into most personal computers today and supported by all major operating systems.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) A lot of websites are accessed through search engines such as Google or Yahoo! The higher a website is in the list of websites a search engine generates the more chance it has of being accessed by a prospective customer. Commercial websites engage in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - manipulating HTML code and site content to ensure the name of their website is associated to a particular word (or set of) words and therefore appears high in any list generated for those words (e.g. 'Host'+ 'America').

Second Level Domain A Second-level Domain (SLD) is the portion of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL)that identifies the specific and unique administrative owner associated with an Internet Protocol address (IP address). The second-level domain name includes the top-level domain(top-level domain) name. For example, in: hostsearch.com, "hostsearch" is a second-level domain. "hostsearch.com" is a second-level domain name (and includes the top-level domain name of "com"). Second-level domains can be divided into further domain levels. These subdomains sometimes represent different computer servers within different departments.

Shared Hosting Shared hosting is where a number of websites are located on a single server. This is the most usual type of web hosting, and for most people, a cost-effective solution. The downside of shared hosting is limited storage capacity and traffic capacity.

Shopping Cart Ecommerce sites that offer products and services often utilize a Shopping Cart. A shopping cart is a program that allows visitors to a website to look at the products and services the site offers and choose a selection before making payment. The program will record what visitors have chosen, allow them to review their choices, and ultimately accept their credit card payments.

Spam Spam is a term given to unsolicited email that is usually sent to many thousands of people at the same time. Although some emails of this nature are sent from genuine companies or organizations, a lot of Spam originates from dubious sources. Spam is an increasing problem with upwards 95% of emails sent to some accounts comprising Spam.

Spider (see Crawler)

SQL (Structured Query Language) A programming language for databases which updates and performs queries. The most popular SQL databases are MySQL (for Linux servers) and MS SQL (Windows NT servers).

SSH (Secure Shell) SSH is a UNIX-based command interface and protocol for securely getting access to a remote computer. It is a program to log into another computer over a network, to execute commands in a remote machine, and to move files from one machine to another. It is widely used by network administrators to control Web and other kinds of servers remotely.

SSI ( Server-Side Include ) A server-side include is a variable value (for example, a file "Last modified" date) that a server can include in an HTMLfile before it sends it to the requestor. Then, the server will obtain the last-modified date for the file and insert it before the HTML file is sent to requestors. A Web file that contains server-side include statements (such as the "echo" statement above) is usually defined by the administrator to be a file with an ".shtml" suffix.

SSL (Secure Socket Layer) This is a term used to describe a secure server. SSL is commonly used on sites that see products, allow online ordering, and accept credit card information, keeping it secure, encrypted, and private.

Statistics, or Stats Web site statistics provided by a web host can tell you a lot about the visitors to your site. Graphical statistics will give you charts and graphs detailing your visitors' browser, where they came from, how long they spent at your site, and more, depending on the stats program the host provides.

Tcl (Tool Command Language) Tcl is an interpreted script language that has become widely accepted in the industry. It is similar to C and other procedural-based languages. Tcl is actually two things: a language and a library. First, Tcl is a simple textual language, intended primarily for issuing commands to interactive programs such as text editors, debuggers, illustrators, and shells. Second, Tcl is a library package that can be embedded in application programs. The Tcl library consists of a parser for the Tcl language, routines to implement the Tcl built-in commands, and procedures that allow each application to extend Tcl with additional commands specific to that application. The application program generates Tcl commands and passes them to the Tcl parser for execution.

Tcl is comparable to

• Netscape- - JavaScript
• Microsoft's- -Visual Basic
• The UNIX-derived- -Perl
• IBM's- - REXX

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is the basic communication language or protocol of the Internet. When you are set up with direct access to the Internet, your computer is provided with a copy of the TCP/IP program just as every other computer that you may send messages to or get information from also has a copy of TCP/IP.

TCP/IP is a two-layer program. The higher layer, Transmission Control Protocol, manages the assembling of a message or file into smaller packets (see packet) that are transmitted over the Internet and received by a TCP layer that reassembles the packets into the original message. The lower layer, Internet Protocol, handles the address part of each packet so that it gets to the right destination. Each gateway computer on the network checks this address to see where to forward the message. Even though some packets from the same message are routed differently than others, they'll be reassembled at the destination.

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is a method (protocol) used along with the Internet Protocol (Internet Protocol) to send data in the form of message units between computers over the Internet. While IP takes care of handling the actual delivery of the data, TCP takes care of keeping track of the individual units of data (called packet) that a message is divided into for efficient routing through the Internet.

Telnet Telnet is used to connect one computer to another computer. It is a program that lets you log into a remote computer directly through the Internet and use it as if you were there. Examples of telnet programs are EWAN (for Windows) and NCSA (for Macintosh). More technically, Telnet is a user command and an underlying TCP/IP protocol for accessing remote computers.

Terabyte (TB) 1024 gigabytes

TLD (Top Level Domain) Another way of referring to domain extensions which include: .com (commercial), .org (organization), .gov (government), .uk (United Kingdom) and .fr (France).

Trojan Trojans are programs that appear to be games, etc. which a user mistakenly installs onto his/her computer, or programs embedded in other programs which run on a computer without the user's knowledge. These programs are often malicious and can collect user details or damage data.

Uniform Resource Locator A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of a file (resource) accessible on the Internet. The type of resource depends on the Internet application protocol. Using the World Wide Web's protocol, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) , the resource can be an HTML page (like the one you're reading), an image file, a program such as a common gateway interfaceapplication or Java applet, or any other file supported by HTTP. The URL contains the name of the protocol required to access the resource, a domain name that identifies a specific computer on the Internet, and a hierarchical description of a file location on the computer.

Virtual Hosting Virtual Hosting is when a number of servers with different host names are maintained on one machine.

Virtual Private Server (VPS) A Virtual Private Server offers the same features as a dedicated server but is a shared by a number of customers. The service offers similar levels of performance and security.

WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) is a specification for a set of communication protocol to standardize the way that wireless devices, such as cellular telephones and radio transceivers, can be used for Internet access, including e-mail, the World Wide Web, newsgroups, and Internet Relay Chat (Internet Relay Chat). While Internet access has been possible in the past, different manufacturers have used different technologies. In the future, devices and service systems that use WAP will be able to interoperate.

WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) WYSIWYG (pronounced 'Wiziwig') allows a computer program user to see output exactly as it will appear in printed format. This could be a document or a picture, but what you see on the screen is exactly what appears in the printed version.