Information Systems Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover key concepts related to networking and virtualization as detailed in the lecture notes.

Unmanaged Switch

A switch that provides plug-and-play functionality with minimal configuration and has no IP address assigned.

Managed Switch

A switch that can be configured via a command-line interface or a web-based GUI.

Layer 2 Switch

A switch that operates at the data link layer of the OSI model.

Layer 3 Switch

A switch that can interpret layer 3 data and operates similarly to a router.

Layer 4 Switch

A switch capable of interpreting layer 4 data.

Redundancy

The provision of multiple paths for data frames, enhancing network reliability.

Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)

A protocol used to prevent traffic loops within a network.

East-West Traffic

Data flow between peers within a network segment.

North-South Traffic

Traffic that leaves the local segment to reach its destination.

Three-Tier Architecture

A hierarchical design for switches consisting of access, distribution, and core layers.

Spine-Leaf Architecture

A network design that optimizes east-west traffic by collapsing core and distribution into one layer.

Software-Defined Networking (SDN)

A centralized approach to networking that integrates both virtual and physical devices.

Virtualization

Creating a virtual version of something, such as a server or storage, rather than the physical version.

Hypervisor

A software layer that creates and manages virtual machines.

Storage Area Network (SAN)

A network of storage devices that provide block-level data access to servers.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

The process of managing cloud resources through text-based commands in a configuration file.

High Availability (HA)

A system's ability to function reliably and consistently over time.

Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)

The average time expected between failures of a system.

Fault Tolerance

The capability of a system to continue operation despite hardware or software malfunctions.

Link Aggregation

The method of combining multiple network interfaces to function as a single logical interface.

Load Balancer

A device that distributes network traffic across multiple servers.

Virtual NIC (vNIC)

A virtual network interface card that connects a virtual machine to a network.

Bridged Mode

A networking mode where a VM obtains its IP address from the physical LAN's DHCP server.

NAT Mode

A networking mode where a VM relies on the host machine to act as a NAT device.

Host-Only Mode

A configuration where VMs can exchange data with each other but not with the external network.