Dual-codec Network Camera / Video Server
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Glossary of Terms


 
ActiveX - A control (or set of rules) used by a browser. ActiveX controls are often downloaded and installed automatically as required.

ADSL - (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line). In an ADSL line, the upload speed is different from the download speed. Usually the download speed is much greater.

Applet - A small Java program that can be embedded in a HTML page. Applets differ from full-fledged Java applications in that they are not allowed to access certain resources on the local computer, such as files and serial devices (modems, printers, etc.), and are prohibited from communicating with most other computers across a network.

ARP - (Address Resolution Protocol). Protocol for mapping an Internet Protocol address (IP address) to a physical machine address that is recognized in the local network.

Bandwidth - Width of a band of electromagnetic frequencies. Is used to mean (1) how fast data flows on a given transmission path, and (2), somewhat more technically, 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.

Binary - Information consisting entirely of ones and zeros. Also, commonly used to refer to files that are not simply text files, e.g. images.

Bit - A single digit number in base-2, in other words, either a 1 or a zero. The smallest unit of a computerized data. Bandwidth is usually measured in bits-per-second.

Browser - A Client program (software) that is used to look at various kinds of Internet resources.

Byte - A set of Bits that represent a single character. Usually there are 8 Bits in a Byte, sometimes more, depending on how the measurement is being made.

CGI - (Common Gateway Interface). A set of rules that describe how a Web Server communicates with another piece of software on the same machine, and how the other piece of software talks to the web server.

Domain Name - The unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by dots. The part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right is the most general.

DDNS - (dynamic domain name system). A dynamic DNS (domain name system) service is a company that charges a small fee to allow a user connecting to the Internet with a dynamic IP address to be able to use applications that require a static IP address.

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

DHCP - (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is a communications protocol that lets network administrators manage centrally and automate the assignment of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in an organization's network.

Email - (Electronic Mail). Messages, usually text, sent from one person to another via computer. E-mail can also be sent automatically to a large number of addresses.

Ethernet - Is the most widely-installed local area network (LAN) technology. An Ethernet LAN typically uses coaxial cable or special grades of twisted pair wires. Ethernet is also used in wireless LANs. The most commonly installed Ethernet systems are called 10BASE-T and provide transmission speeds up to 10 Mbps.

Extranet - An intranet that is accessible to computers that are not physically part of a companys' own private network, but that is not accessible to the general public, for example to allow vendors and business partners to access a company web site.

Firewall - A set of related programs, located at a network gateway server, which protects the resources of a private network from users from other networks.

FTP - (File Transfer Protocol) FTP is a way to login to another Internet site for the purposes of retrieving and/or sending files.

Firmware - A program that is inserted into programmable read-only memory (programmable ROM), thus becoming a permanent part of a computing device. Firmware is created and tested like software (using microcode simulation).

Gateway - A network point that acts as an entrance to another network.

HTML - (Hyper Text Markup Language). The coding language used to create Hypertext documents for use on the

HTTP -- (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol). The protocol for moving hypertext files across the Internet. Requires a HTTP client program on one end, and an HTTP server program on the other end. HTTP is the most important protocol used in the World Wide Web (WWW).

ICMP--(Internet Control Message Protocol). A message control and error-reporting protocol between a host server and a gateway to the Internet. ICMP uses Internet Protocol (IP) datagrams, but the messages are processed by the IP software and are not directly apparent to the application user.

Intranet - A private network inside a company or organization that uses the same kinds of software that you would find on the public Internet, but that is only for internal use. Compare with extranet.

IP Number - (Internet Protocol Number). A unique number consisting of 4 parts separated by dots, e.g.
165.113.245.2
Every machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP number - if a machine does not have an IP number, it is not really on the Internet. -

ISP - (Internet Service Provider). A company that provides individuals and other companies access to the Internet and other related services such as Web site building and virtual hosting.

Java - A network-friendly programming language invented by Sun Microsystems, often used to build large, complex systems that involve several different computers interacting across networks, for example transaction processing systems.

JPEG - (Joint Photographic Experts Group). Commonly mentioned as a format for image files. JPEG format is preferred to the GIF format for photographic images as opposed to line art or simple logo art.

LAN - (Local Area Network). A group of computers and associated devices that share a common communications line and typically share the resources of a single processor or server within a small geographic area (for example, within an office building). Usually, the server has applications and data storage that are shared in common by multiple computer users.

Modem - (MOdulator, DEModulator). A device that connects a computer to a phone line. A telephone for a computer. A modem allows a computer to talk to other computers through the phone system. Basically, modems do for computers what a telephone does for humans.

MPEG-4 - A graphics and video lossy compression algorithm standard that is based on MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 and Apple QuickTime technology. Wavelet-based MPEG-4 files are smaller than JPEG or QuickTime files, so they are designed to transmit video and images over a narrower bandwidth and can mix video with text, graphics and 2-D and 3-D animation layers. Wavelet technology can compress color images at rates of 20:1 up to 300:1 and grayscale images at 20:1 to 50:1. MPEG-4 was standardized in October 1998 in the ISO/IEC document 14496.

NTP - Stands for Network Time Protocol, and it is an Internet protocol used to synchronize the clocks of computers to some time reference.

NTSC -(National Television Standards Committee). The NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) was responsible for developing, in 1953, a set of standard protocol for television (TV) broadcast transmission and reception in the United States.

PAL - (Phase Alternation Line). Analog television display standard that is used in Europe and certain other parts of the world.

Ping - To check if a server is running. From the sound that a sonar systems makes in movies, you know, when they are searching for a submarine.

PPP- (Point-to-Point Protocol). A protocol for communication between two computers using a serial interface, typically a personal computer connected by phone line to a server.

Router - A special-purpose computer (or software package) that handles the connection between 2 or more Packet-Switched networks. Routers spend all their time looking at the source and destination addresses of the packets passing through them and deciding which route to send them on.

RTSP - A client-server multimedia presentation control protocol. It is designed to leverage existing web infrastructure (for example, inheriting authentication and PICS from HTTP) and works well both for large audiences as well as single-viewer media-on-demand.
SMTP - (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). The main protocol used to send electronic mail from server to server on the Internet.

SNMP - (Simple Network Management Protocol).A set of standards for communication with devices connected to a TCP/IP network. Examples of these devices include routers, hubs, and switches.

Subnet - A subnet (short for "subnetwork") is an identifiably separate part of an organization's network. Typically, a subnet may represent all the machines at one geographic location, in one building, or on the same local area network (LAN).

Subnet mask- An IP Address consists of two components: the network address and the host address. Subnetting enables a network administrator to further divide the host part into two or more subnets. The subnet mask identifies the subnet to which an IP address belongs.

TCP/IP - (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). This is the suiteof protocols that defines the Internet. Originally designed for the UNIX operating system, TCP/IP software is now included with every major kind of computer operating system. To be truly on the Internet, your computer must have TCP/IP software.

Telnet The command and program used to login from one Internet site to another. The telnet command/program gets you to the login: prompt of another host.

UDP - (User Datagram Protocol). One of the protocols for data transfer that is part of the TCP/IP suite of protocols. UDP is a "stateless" protocol in that UDP makes no provision for acknowledgement of packets received.

URL - (Uniform Resource Locator). The term URL is basically synonymous with URI. URI has replaced URL in technical specifications.