Networking Concepts

Networking Concepts: protocol abbreviations, descriptions, and implementations

TCP

Transmission Control Protocol, core protocol of the Internet Protocol Suite that provides reliable, ordered, and error-checked delivery of data packets between applications running on hosts communicating over an IP network.

DHCP

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, a network management protocol used to dynamically assign IP addresses to devices on a network.

IP

Internet Protocol, a set of rules that govern the format of data sent over the Internet or local network, dictating how packets are addressed and routed.

AD DS

Active Directory Domain Services is a server role in Windows Server that allows for the management of users, computers, and other resources in a networked environment.

Forest Root Domain

The top-level domain in an Active Directory forest, serving as a container for all other domains and providing a namespace for the forest.

DNS

Domain Name System, a hierarchical system that translates human-readable domain names to IP addresses, allowing users to access websites using easy-to-remember names instead of numerical addresses.

Forest Domain

A collection of one or more Active Directory domains that share a common schema and configuration, providing a security boundary.

Subnet

A logically visible subdivision of an IP network, used to segment larger networks into smaller, manageable parts, improving performance and security.

Default Gateway

a device that acts as an access point for a local network to communicate with other networks, such as the internet

IIS

Internet Information Services, an extensible web server created by Microsoft for use with Windows operating systems. IIS supports various protocols, including HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, SMTP, and NNTP, and is used to host websites and other web-based content.

Active Directory

A directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks, used to store information about network resources and manage access to them.

NPS

Network Policy Server, a server role in Windows Server that provides centralized network access authentication, authorization, and accounting for various network access technologies, including VPN and Wi-Fi.

GPO

Group Policy Object, a collection of settings that define how computers, users, security, and applications behave within an Active Directory environment. GPOs are used to manage and configure operating systems, applications, and users' settings in an enterprise environment.

WSUS

Windows Server Update Services, a computer program developed by Microsoft that enables administrators to manage the distribution of updates and hotfixes for Microsoft products to computers in a network environment.

upstream server

WSUS server that acts as an update source

SCSI

(Small Computer System Interface): A set of standards for connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices, such as hard drives, scanners, and printers, allowing multiple devices to share the same interface.

SID(s)

Security Identifier(s): used to uniquely identify a security principal or security group. Security principals can represent any entity that the operating system can authenticate. Examples include a user account, a computer account, or a thread or process that runs in the security context of a user or computer account.

SAM

Security Accounts Manager: A Windows database that stores local user account information, including usernames and hashed passwords, used for authentication and access control on the system.

RID(s)

Relative Identifier(s): The unique portion of a Windows Security Identifier (SID) that distinguishes an individual user, group, or computer account within a domain.

KMS

(Key Management Service): A Microsoft service used to automate the activation of Windows and Office products within an organization’s network, allowing systems to activate without each contacting Microsoft directly.