Axis Communications user manual Axis 243SA Glossary

80AXIS 243SA - Glossary

person running. A high-quality monitor is required to get the best from progressive scan. See also Interlacing.

Protocol - A special set of rules governing how two entities will communicate. Protocols are found at many levels of communication, and there are hardware protocols and software protocols.

Proxy server - In an enterprise that uses the Internet, a proxy server acts as an intermediary between a workstation user and the Internet. This provides security, administrative control, and a caching service. Any proxy server associated with a gateway server, or part of a gateway server, effectively separates the enterprise network from the outside network and the local firewall. It is the firewall server that protects the enterprise network from outside intrusion.

PTZ (Pan Tilt Zoom) - A PTZ-enabled camera can be remotely controlled so as to change the view from the camera. Panning is the movement of the camera along its horizontal axis, tilting is the movement of the camera along its vertical axis, and zooming is the adjustment of the zoom lens to magnify the view.

P-VOP- See VOP.

Resolution - Image resolution is a measure of how much detail a digital image can hold: the greater the resolution, the greater the level of detail. Resolution can be specified as the number of pixel-columns (width) by the number of pixel-rows (height), e.g. 320x240.

Alternatively, the total number of pixels (usually in megapixels) in the image can be used. In analog systems it is also common to use other format designations, such as CIF, QCIF, 4CIF, etc.

RS-232- A long-established standard that describes the physical interface and protocol for low-speed serial data communication between devices. This is the interface that e.g. a computer uses to talk to and exchange data with a modem and other serial devices.

RS-485- An upgraded version of RS-422 that supports up to 32 devices on the same connection. RS-485 is an electrical specification of a two-wire, half-duplex, multipoint serial connection. It enables the configuration of inexpensive local networks and multidrop communications links. It offers high data transmission speeds (up to 10Mbit/s), and as it uses a differential balanced line over twisted pair (like RS-422), it can span relatively large distances (4000 feet or 1200 meters). RS-485 only specifies the electrical characteristics of the driver and the receiver. It does not specify or recommend any data protocol.

RTCP (Real-Time Control Protocol) - RTCP provides support for real-time conferencing of groups of any size within an intranet. This support includes source identification and support for gateways like audio and video bridges as well as multicast-to-unicast translators.

It offers quality-of-service feedback from receivers to the multicast group as well as support for the synchronization of different media streams.

RTP (Real-Time Transport Protocol) - An Internet protocol for the transport of real-time data, e.g. audio and video. It can be used for media-on-demand as well as interactive services such as Internet telephony.

RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) - A control protocol, and a starting point for negotiating transports such as RTP, multicast and Unicast, and for negotiating codecs. RTSP can be considered a "remote control" for controlling the media stream delivered by a media server. RTSP servers typically use RTP as the protocol for the actual transport of audio/video data.

Router - A device that determines the next network point to which a packet should be forwarded on its way to its final destination. A router creates and/or maintains a special routing table that stores information on how best to reach certain destinations. A router is sometimes included as part of a network switch. See also Switch.

Security surveillance - Network video's advanced functionality makes it highly suited to the applications involved in security surveillance. The flexibility of digital technology enhances security personnel's ability to protect people, property and assets. Such systems are therefore an especially attractive option for companies currently using CCTV.

Server - In general, a server is a computer program that provides services to other computer programs in the same or other computers. A computer running a server program is also frequently referred to as a server. In practice, the server may contain any number of server and client programs. A web server is the computer program that supplies the requested HTML pages or files to the client (web browser).

Simplex - In simplex operation, a network cable or communications channel can only send information in one direction. See also Full-duplex.

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) - Used for sending and receiving e-mail. However, as it is "simple," it is limited in its ability to queue messages at the receiving end, and is usually used with one of two other protocols, POP3 or IMAP. These other protocols allow the user to save messages in a server mailbox and download them periodically from the server.

SMTP authentication - An extension of SMTP, where the client is required to log into the mail server before or during the sending of email. It can be used to allow legitimate users to send email while denying the service to unauthorized users, such as spammers.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) - SNMP forms part of the Internet Protocol suite, as defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force. The protocol can support