Chapter 6: Telecommunications and Networking

Affinity portal

A website that offers a single point of entry to an entire community of affiliated interests

Backbone networks

High-speed central networks to which multiple smaller networks (e.g., LANs and smaller WANs) connect

Bandwidth

The transmission capacity of a network, stated in bits per second

Broadband

The transmission capacity of a communications medium that is faster than 25Mbps

Broadcast media

Wireless media

Communications channels that use electromagnetic media (the "airwaves") to transmit data

Browsers

Software applications through which users primarily access the Web

Cable media

Wireless media

Communications channels that use physical wires or cables to transmit data and information

Client/server computing

Form of distributed processing in which some machines (servers) perform computing functions for end-user PCs (clients)

Clients

Computers, such as users' personal computers, that use any of the services provided by servers

Coaxial cable

insulated copper wire; used to carry high-speed data traffic and television signals

Collaboration

mutual efforts by two or more individuals who perform activities in order to accomplish certain tasks

Commercial/public portal

A Web site that offers fairly routine content for diverse audiences; offers customization only at the user interface.

Communications channel

pathway for communicating data from one location to another

Computer network

a system that connects computers and other devices via communications media so that data and information can be transmitted among them

Corporate portal

a website that provides a single point of access to critical business information located inside and outside of an organization

Crowdsourcing

a process in which an organization outsources a task to an undefined, generally large group of people in the form of an open call

Distance learning

learning situations in which teachers and students do not meet face-to-face

Distributed processing

network architecture that divides processing work between two or more computers, linked together in a network

Domain name system

The system administered by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names that assigns names to each site on the Internet

Domain name

The name assigned to an Internet site, which consists of multiple parts, separated by dots, that are translated from right to left

E-learning

Learning supported by the Web; can be done inside traditional classrooms or in virtual classrooms.

Enterprise network

an organization's network composed of interconnected multiple LANs and WANs

Ethernet

a common local area network protocol

Extranet

a network that connects parts of the intranets of different organizations

Fibre optic cable

A communications medium consisting of thousands of very thin filaments of glass fibres, surrounded by cladding, that transmit information via light pulses generated by lasers.

File server

a computer that contains various software and data files for a local area network and contains the network operating system

Hyperlink

A connection from a hypertext file or document to another location or file, typically activated by clicking on a highlighted word or image on the screen, or by touching the screen.

Hypertext

text displayed on a computer display with references, called hyperlinks, to other text that the reader can immediately access

Hypertext Transport Protocol

The communications standard used to transfer pages across the WWW portion of the Internet; defines how messages are formulated and transmitted.

Industrywide portal

A Web-based gateway to information and knowledge for an entire industry.

Internet

A massive global WAN that connects approximately 1 million organizational computer networks in more than 200 countries on all continents

Internet backbone

The primary network connections and telecommunications lines that link the computers and organizational nodes of the Internet.

Internet Protocol

A set of rules responsible for disassembling, delivering, and reassembling packets over the Internet.

Internet Protocol address

an assigned address that uniquely identifies a computer on the internet

Internet service provider

A company that provides access to the Internet for a fee.

Internet telephony

The use of the Internet as the transmission medium for telephone calls

Internet2

A new, faster telecommunications network that deploys advanced network applications such as remote medical diagnosis, digital libraries, distance education, online simulation, and virtual laboratories.

Intranet

a private network that uses internet software and TCP/IP protocols

Local area network

a network that connects computers and devices in a limited geographical region, such as a building, so that every user device on the network can communicate with every other device

Metasearch engine

a computer program that searches several engines at once and integrates the findings of the various search engines to answer queries posted by users

Network access points

Computers that act as exchange points for Internet traffic and determine how traffic is routed.

Packet switching

the transmission technology that divides blocks of text into packets

Peer to peer processing

A type of client/server distributed processing that allows two or more computers to pool their resources, making each computer both a client and a server.

Portal

A Web-based personalized gateway to information and knowledge that provides information from disparate information systems and the Internet, using advanced search and indexing techniques.

Protocol

The set of rules and procedures that govern transmission across a network

Router

A communications processor that routes messages from a LAN to the Internet, across several connected LANs, or across a wide area network such as the Internet.

Search engine

a computer program that searches databases and internet sites for the documents containing keywords specified by a user

Servers

Computers that provide access to various network services, such as printing, data, and communications.

Telecommuting

A work arrangement whereby employees work at home, at the customer's premises, in special workplaces, or while traveling, usually using a computer linked to their place of employment.

Teleconferencing

the use of electronic communication that allows two or more people at different locations to have a simultaneous conference

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol

A file transfer protocol that can send large files of information across sometimes unreliable networks with assurance that the data will arrive uncorrupted.

Twisted pair wire

a communications medium consisting of strands of copper wire twisted together in pairs

Unified communications

Common hardware and software platform that simplifies and integrates all forms of communications—voice, e-mail, instant messaging, location, and videoconferencing—across an organization.

Uniform resource locator

The set of letters that identifies the address of a specific resource on the Web.

Videoconference

a virtual meeting in which participants in one location can see and hear participants at other locations and can share data and graphics by electronic means

Virtual collaboration

The use of digital technologies that enable organizations or individuals to collaboratively plan, design, develop, manage, and research products, services, and innovative information systems and electronic commerce applications.

Virtual group

a workgroup whose members are in different locations and who meet electronically

Virtual universities

Online universities in which students take classes via the Internet at home or an off-site location.

Website

collectively, all of the web pages of a particular company or individual

Wide area network

A network, generally provided by common carriers, that covers a wide geographical area.

Workgroup

two or more individuals who act together to perform some task, on either a permanent or temporary basis

Workflow

The movement of information as it flows through the sequence of steps that make up an organization's work procedures

World Wide Web

A system of universally accepted standards for storing, retrieving, formatting, and displaying information through a client/server architecture; it used the transport functions of the Internet