are created and used with a set of programming requests or "function calls" sometimes called the sockets application programming interface (API).
SSL/TSL (Secure Socket Layer/Transport Layer Security)
These two protocols (SSL is succeeded by TSL) are cryptographic protocols that provide secure communication on a network. SSL is commonly used over HTTP to form HTTPS, as used e.g. on the Internet for electronic financial transactions. SSL uses public key certificates to verify the identity of the server.
Subnet/subnet mask - A subnet 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). Having an organization's network divided into subnets allows it to be connected to the Internet with a single shared network address.
The subnet mask is the part of the IP address that tells a network router how to find the subnet that the data packet should be delivered to. Using a subnet mask saves the router having to handle the entire 32-bit IP address; it simply looks at the bits selected by the mask.
Switch - A switch is a network device that connects network segments together, and which selects a path for sending a unit of data to its next destination. In general, a switch is a simpler and faster mechanism than a router, which requires knowledge about the network and how to determine the route. Some switches include the router function. See also Router.
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) - TCP is used along with the Internet Protocol (IP) to transmit data as packets between computers over the network. While IP takes care of the actual packet delivery, TCP keeps track of the individual packets that the communication (e.g. requested a web page file) is divided into, and, when all packets have arrived at their destination, it reassembles them to re-form the complete file.
TCP is a connection-oriented protocol, which means that a connection is established between the two end-points and is maintained until the data has been successfully exchanged between the communicating applications.
Telnet - Telnet is a simple method with which to access another network device, e.g. a computer. The HTTP protocol and the FTP protocols allow you to request specific files from remote computers, but do not allow you logon as a user of that computer. With Telnet, you log on as a regular user with whatever privileges you may have been granted for specific applications and data residing on that computer.
TVL (TV Lines) - A method of defining resolutions in analog video.
UDP (User Datagram Protocol) - UDP is a communications protocol that offers limited service for exchanging data in a network that uses the Internet Protocol (IP). UDP is an
alternative to the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). The advantage of UDP is that it is not required to deliver all data and may drop network packets when there is e.g. network congestion. This is suitable for live video, as there is no point in re-transmitting old information that will not be displayed anyway.
Unicast - Communication between a single sender and a single receiver over a network. A new connection is established for each new user.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - An "address" on the network.
USB - (Universal Serial Bus) A plug-and-play interface between a computer and peripheral devices, e.g. scanners, printers, etc.
Varifocal lens - A varifocal lens provides a wide range of focal lengths, as opposed to a lens with a fixed focal length, which only provides one.
VPN (Virtual Private Network) - This creates a secure "tunnel" between the points within the VPN. Only devices with the correct "key" will be able to work within the VPN. The VPN network can be within a company LAN (Local Area Network), but different sites can also be connected over the Internet in a secure way. One common use for VPN is for connecting a remote computer to the corporate network, via e.g. a direct phone line or via the Internet.
VOP (Video Object Plane) - A VOP is an image frame in an MPEG-4 video stream. There are several types of VOP:
-An I-VOP is complete image frame.
-A P-VOP codes the differences between images, as long as it is more efficient to do so. Otherwise it codes the whole image, which may also be a completely new image.
WAN (Wide-Area-Network) - Similar to a LAN, but on a larger geographical scale.
W-LAN (Wireless LAN) - A wireless LAN is a wireless local area network that uses radio waves as its carrier: where the network connections for end-users are wireless. The main network structure usually uses cables.
Web server - A Web server is a program, which allows Web browsers to retrieve files from computers connected to the Internet. The Web server listens for requests from Web browsers and upon receiving a request for a file sends it back to the browser.
The primary function of a Web server is to serve pages to other remote computers; consequently, it needs to be installed on a computer that is permanently connected to the Internet. It also controls access to the server whilst monitoring and logging server access statistics.
WEP (Wireless Equivalent Privacy) - A wireless security protocol, specified in the IEEE 802.11 standard, which is designed to provide a wireless local area network (WLAN) with a level of security and privacy comparable to that usually expected of a wired LAN. Security is at two different
