Microsoft Internet & Networking Dictionary

Microsoft Internet & Networking Dictionary

the Altair 8800, was extremely popular with early computer enthusiasts because it permitted installation of a wide range of expansion boards.

IEEE 802.x

n. A series of networking specifications developed by the IEEE. The x following 802 is a placeholder for individual specifications. The IEEE 802.x specifications correspond to the physical and data-link layers of the ISO/OSI reference model, but they divide the data-link layer into two sublayers. The logical link control (LLC) sublayer applies to all IEEE 802.x specifications and covers station-to-station connections, generation of message frames, and error control. The media access control (MAC) sublayer, dealing with network access and collision detection, differs from one IEEE 802 standard to another. IEEE 802.3 is used for bus networks that use CSMA/CD, both broadband and baseband, and the baseband version is based on the Ethernet standard. IEEE 802.4 is used for bus networks that use token passing, and IEEE 802.5 is used for ring networks that use token passing (token ring networks). IEEE 802.6 is an emerging standard for metropolitan area networks, which transmit data, voice, and video over distances of more than 5 kilometers. IEEE 802.14 is designed for bidirectional transmission to and from cable television networks over optical fiber and coaxial cable through transmission of fixed-length ATM cells to support television, data, voice, and Internet access. See also bus network, ISO/OSI reference model, ring network, token passing, token ring network.

IEEE 802.11

n. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ (IEEE) specifications for wireless networking. These specifications, which include 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g, allow computers, printers, and other devices to communicate over a wireless local area network (LAN).

IEPG

n. Acronym for Internet Engineering and Planning Group. A collaborative group of Internet service providers whose goal is to promote the Internet and coordinate technical efforts on it.

IESG

n. See Internet Engineering Steering Group.

IETF

n. Acronym for Internet Engineering Task Force. A worldwide organization of individuals interested in networking and the Internet. Managed by the IESG (Internet Engineering Steering Group), the IETF is charged with studying technical problems facing the Internet and proposing solutions to the Internet Architecture Board (IAB). The work of the IETF is carried out by various Working Groups that concentrate on specific topics, such as routing and security. The IETF is the publisher of the specifications that led to the TCP/IP protocol standard. See also Internet Engineering Steering Group.

IFIP

n. Acronym for International Federation of Information Processing. An organization of societies, representing over 40 member nations, that serves information-processing professionals. The United States is represented by the Federation on Computing in the United States (FOCUS). See also AFIPS, FOCUS.

IGMP

n. See Internet Group Membership Protocol.

IGP

n. See Interior Gateway Protocol.

IGRP

n. Acronym for Interior Gateway Routing Protocol. A protocol developed by Cisco Systems that allows coordination between the routing of a number of gateways. Goals of IGRP include stable

Microsoft Internet & Networking Dictionary

routing in large networks, fast response to changes in network topology, and low overhead. See also communications protocol, gateway, topology.

IIOP

n. Acronym for Internet Inter-ORB Protocol. A networking protocol that enables distributed programs written in different programming languages to communicate over the Internet. IIOP, a specialized mapping in the General Inter-ORB Protocol (GIOP) based on a client/server model, is a critical part of the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA). Compare DCOM.

IIS

n. See Internet Information Server.

ILEC

n. Acronym for Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier. A telephone company that provides local service to its customers. Compare CLEC.

IM

n. See instant messaging.

image map

n. An image that contains more than one hyperlink on a Web page. Clicking different parts of the image links the user to other resources on another part of the Web page or a different Web page or in a file. Often an image map, which can be a photograph, drawing, or a composite of several different drawings or photographs, is used as a map to the resources found on a particular Web site. Older Web browsers support only server-side image maps, which are executed on a Web server through CGI script. However, most newer Web browsers (Netscape Navigator 2.0 and higher and Internet Explorer 3.0 and higher) support client-side image maps, which are executed in a user’s Web browser. Also called: clickable maps. See also CGI script, hyperlink, Web page.

IMAP4

n. Acronym for Internet Message Access Protocol 4. The latest version of IMAP, a method for an e-mail program to gain access to e-mail and bulletin board messages stored on a mail server. Unlike POP3, a similar protocol, IMAP allows a user to retrieve messages efficiently from more than one computer. Compare POP3.

IMC

n. See Internet Mail Consortium.

IMHO

n. Acronym for in my humble opinion. IMHO, used in e-mail and in online forums, flags a statement that the writer wants to present as a personal opinion rather than as a statement of fact. See also IMO.

IMO

n. Acronym for in my opinion. A shorthand phrase used often in e-mail and Internet news and discussion groups to indicate an author’s admission that a statement he or she has just made is a matter of judgment rather than fact. See also IMHO.

IMT-2000

n. See International Mobile Telecommunications for the Year 2000.

Inbox

n. In many e-mail applications, the default mailbox where the program stores incoming messages. See also e-mail, mailbox. Compare Outbox.

incumbent local exchange carrier

Microsoft Internet & Networking Dictionary

n. See ILEC.

independent content provider

n. A business or organization that supplies information to an online information service, such as America Online, for resale to the information service’s customers. See also online information service.

INET

n. 1. Short for Internet. 2. An annual conference held by the Internet Society.

infection

n. The presence of a virus or Trojan horse in a computer system. See also Trojan horse, virus, worm.

.info

n. One of seven new top-level domain names approved in 2001 by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Unlike the other new domain names, which focus on specific types of Web sites, .info is meant for unrestricted use.

infobahn

n. The Internet. Infobahn is a mixture of the terms information and Autobahn, a German highway known for the high speeds at which drivers can legally travel. Also called: Information Highway, Information Superhighway, the Net.

infomediary

n. A term created from the phrase information intermediary. A service provider that positions itself between buyers and sellers, collecting, organizing, and distributing focused information that improves the interaction of consumer and online business.

information appliance

n. A specialized computer designed to perform a limited number of functions and, especially, to provide access to the Internet. Although devices such as electronic address books or appointment calendars might be considered information appliances, the term is more typically used for devices that are less expensive and less capable than a fully functional personal computer. Set-top boxes are a current example; other devices, envisioned for the future, would include network-aware microwaves, refrigerators, watches, and the like. Also called: appliance.

information center

n. 1. A large computer center and its associated offices; the hub of an information management and dispersal facility in an organization. 2. A specialized type of computer system dedicated to information retrieval and decision-support functions. The information in such a system is usually read-only and consists of data extracted or downloaded from other production systems.

information engineering n. See IE.

Information Highway or information highway n. See Information Superhighway.

Information Industry Association n. See SIIA.

information packet

n. See packet (definition 1).

information resource management

Microsoft Internet & Networking Dictionary

n. The process of managing the resources for the collection, storage, and manipulation of data within an organization or system.

Information Services

n. The formal name for a company’s data processing department. Acronym: IS. Also called: Data Processing, Information Processing, Information Systems, Information Technology, Management Information Services, Management Information Systems.

Information Superhighway

n. The existing Internet and its general infrastructure, including private networks, online services, and so on. See also National Information Infrastructure.

Information Technology Industry Council

n. Trade organization of the information technology industry. The council promotes the interests of the information technology industry and compiles information on computers, software, telecommunications, business equipment, and other topics related to information technology. Acronym: ITIC.

information theory

n. A mathematical discipline founded in 1948 that deals with the characteristics and the transmission of information. Information theory was originally applied to communications engineering but has proved relevant to other fields, including computing. It focuses on such aspects of communication as amount of data, transmission rate, channel capacity, and accuracy of transmission, whether over cables or within society.

information warehouse

n. The total of an organization’s data resources on all computers.

information warfare

n. Attacks on the computer operations on which an enemy country’s economic life or safety depends. Possible examples of information warfare include crashing air traffic control systems or massively corrupting stock exchange records.

Infoseek

n. A Web search site that provides full-text results for user searches plus categorized lists of related sites. InfoSeek is powered by the Ultraseek search engine and searches Web pages, Usenet newsgroups, and FTP and Gopher sites.

Infrared

adj. Having a frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum in the range just below that of red light. Objects radiate infrared in proportion to their temperature. Infrared radiation is traditionally divided into four somewhat arbitrary categories based on its wavelength. See the table. Acronym: IR.

Table I.1: Infrared Radiation Categories.

Microsoft Internet & Networking Dictionary

Infrared Data Association

n. See IrDA.

infrared device

n. A computer, or a computer peripheral such as a printer, that can communicate by using infrared light. See also infrared.

infrared file transfer

n. Wireless file transfer between a computer and another computer or device using infrared light. See also infrared.

infrared network connection

n. A direct or incoming network connection to a remote access server using an infrared port. See also infrared port.

infrared port

n. An optical port on a computer for interfacing with an infrared-capable device. Communication is achieved without physical connection through cables. Infrared ports can be found on some laptops, notebooks, and printers. See also infrared, port.

Inline

adj. 1. In programming, referring to a function call replaced with an instance of the function’s body. Actual arguments are substituted for formal parameters. An inline function is usually done as a compile-time transformation to increase the efficiency of the program. Also called: unfold, unroll. 2. In HTML code, referring to graphics displayed along with HTML-formatted text. Inline images placed in the line of HTML text use the tag <IMG>. Text within an inline image can be aligned to the top, bottom, or middle of a specific image.

inline discussion

n. Discussion comments that are associated with a document as a whole or with a particular paragraph, image, or table of a document. In Web browsers, inline discussions are displayed in the body of the document; in word-processing programs, they are usually displayed in a separate discussion or comments pane.

inline graphics

Microsoft Internet & Networking Dictionary

n. Graphics files that are embedded in an HTML document or Web page and viewable by a Web browser or other program that recognizes HTML. By avoiding the need for separate file opening operations, inline graphics can speed the access and loading of an HTML document. Also called: inline image.

inline image

n. An image that is embedded within the text of a document. Inline images are common on Web pages. See also inline graphics.

inline stylesheet

n. A stylesheet included within an HTML document. Because an inline stylesheet is directly associated with an individual document, any changes made to that document’s appearance will not affect the appearance of other Web site documents. Compare linked stylesheet.

Inmarsat

n. Acronym for International Maritime Satellite. Organization based in London, England, that operates satellites for international mobile telecommunications services in more than 80 nations. Inmarsat provides services for maritime, aviation, and land use.

inoculate

vb. To protect a program against virus infection by recording characteristic information about it. For example, a calculated value used to test data for the presence of errors (a checksum) on the code can be recomputed and compared with the stored original checksums each time the program is run; if any have changed, the program file is corrupt and may be infected. See also virus.

INS

n. See WINS.

insider attack

n. An attack on a network or system carried out by an individual associated with the hacked system. Insider attacks are typically the work of current or former employees of a company or organization who have knowledge of passwords and network vulnerabilities. Compare intruder attack.

instant messaging

Microsoft Internet & Networking Dictionary

n. A service that alerts users when friends or colleagues are on line and allows them to communicate with each other in real time through private online chat areas. With instant messaging, a user creates a list of other users with whom he or she wishes to communicate; when a user from his or her list is on line, the service alerts the user and enables immediate contact with the other user. While instant messaging has primarily been a proprietary service offered by Internet service providers such as AOL and MSN, businesses are starting to employ instant messaging to increase employee efficiency and make expertise more readily available to employees.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

n. See IEEE.

integral modem

n. A modem that is built into a computer, as opposed to an internal modem, which is a modem on an expansion card that can be removed. See also external modem, internal modem, modem.

Integrated Services Digital Network

n. See ISDN.

Integrated Services LAN

n. See isochronous network.

integration

n. In computing, the combining of different activities, programs, or hardware components into a functional unit. See also integral modem, ISDN.

intellectual property

n. Content of the human intellect deemed to be unique and original and to have marketplace valueóand thus to warrant protection under the law. Intellectual property includes but is not limited to ideas; inventions; literary works; chemical, business, or computer processes; and company or product names and logos. Intellectual property protections fall into four categories: copyright (for literary works, art, and music), trademarks (for company and product names and logos), patents (for inventions and processes), and trade secrets (for recipes, code, and processes). Concern over defining and protecting intellectual property in cyberspace has brought this area of the law under intense scrutiny.

intelligence

Microsoft Internet & Networking Dictionary

n. 1. The ability of hardware to process information. A device without intelligence is said to be dumb; for example, a dumb terminal connected to a computer can receive input and display output but cannot process information independently. 2. The ability of a program to monitor its environment and initiate appropriate actions to achieve a desired state. For example, a program waiting for data to be read from disk might switch to another task in the meantime. 3. The ability of a program to simulate human thought. 4. The ability of a machine such as a robot to respond appropriately to changing stimuli (input).

intelligent agent

n. See agent (definition 2).

intelligent cable

n. A cable that incorporates circuitry to do more than simply pass signals from one end of the cable to the other, such as to determine the characteristics of the connector into which it is plugged. Also called: smart cable.

Intelligent Concept Extraction

n. A technology owned by Excite, Inc., for searching indexed databases to retrieve documents from the World Wide Web. Intelligent Concept Extraction is like other search technologies in being able to locate indexed Web documents related to one or more key words entered by the user. Based on proprietary search technology, however, it also matches documents conceptually by finding relevant information even if the document found does not contain the key word or words specified by the user. Thus, the list of documents found by Intelligent Concept Extraction can include both documents containing the specified search term and those containing alternative words related to the search term. Acronym: ICE.

intelligent database

n. A database that manipulates stored information in a way that people find logical, natural, and easy to use. An intelligent database conducts searches relying not only on traditional data-finding routines but also on predetermined rules governing associations, relationships, and even inferences regarding the data. See also database.

Intelligent hub

n. A type of hub that, in addition to transmitting signals, has built-in capability for other network chores, such as monitoring or reporting on network status. Intelligent hubs are used in different types of networks, including ARCnet and 10Base-T Ethernet. See also hub.

interactive services

n. See BISDN.

Microsoft Internet & Networking Dictionary

interactive television

n. A video technology in which a viewer interacts with the television programming. Typical uses of interactive television include Internet access, video on demand, and video conferencing. See also video conferencing.

interactive TV

n. See iTV.

interactive video

n. The use of computer-controlled video, in the form of a CD-ROM or videodisc, for interactive education or entertainment. See also interactive television.

interapplication communication

n. The process of one program sending messages to another program. For example, some e-mail programs allow users to click on a URL within the message. After the user clicks on the URL, browser software will automatically launch and access the URL.

interconnect

n. 1. See system area network. 2. An electrical or mechanical connection. Interconnect is the physical connection and communication between two components in a computer system.

Interior Gateway Protocol

n. A protocol used for distributing routing information among routers (gateways) in an autonomous networkóthat is, a network under the control of one administrative body. The two most often used interior gateway protocols are RIP (Routing Information Protocol) and OSPF (Open Shortest Path First). Acronym: IGP. See also autonomous system, OSPF, RIP. Compare exterior gateway protocol.

Interior Gateway Routing Protocol

n. See IGRP.

Interix

n. A software application from Microsoft that allows businesses to run existing UNIX-based legacy applications while adding applications based on the Microsoft Windows operating system. Interix

Microsoft Internet & Networking Dictionary

serves as a single enterprise platform from which to run UNIX-based, Internet-based, and Windows-based applications.

internal modem

n. A modem constructed on an expansion card to be installed in one of the expansion slots inside a computer. Compare external modem, integral modem.

International Computer Security Association

n. See ICSA.

International Federation of Information Processing

n. See IFIP.

International Maritime Satellite

n. See Inmarsat.

International Mobile Telecommunications for the Year 2000

n. Specifications set forth by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to establish thirdgeneration wireless telecommunication network architecture. The specifications include faster data transmission speeds and improved voice quality. Acronym: IMT-2000.

International Organization for Standardization

n. See ISO.

International Telecommunication Union

n. See ITU.

International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector

n. See ITU-T.

International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee