- ANCHOR NET
- A.N.C. Highway On Ramp Network. The state’s wide area network that allows state
government’s large computer systems and groups of personal computers to
communicate with other computers locally, nationally, or internationally.
- ATM
- Asynchronous Transfer Mode. A switching architecture that provides high-bandwidth
capacity using cell relay technology. The CCITT has selected ATM as the basis for
the future broadband networks. ATM provides a universal transport method for both
LANs and WANs. ATM accommodates high bandwidth applications, such as those
used in multimedia, image and videoconferencing.
- BANDWIDTH
- The speed or capacity of a network connection. The more bandwidth a particular
medium has, the faster data can be transmitted across it.
- BROADBAND
- A service or system for transmitting large amounts of data, voice and video (i.e.
greater than 1.5 Mb/s) rapidly over long distances.
- CCITT
- Consultative Committee for International Telegraph and Telephone. CCITT is a
subagency of the United Nations. The 90 members of the CCITT are national post,
telephone, and telegraph administrations. CCITT’s three primary areas of
investigation are data communications, telemetric services, and integrated services.
- CPE
- Customer Premise Equipment (hardware purchased by customer and housed at
customer’s location.
- CODEC
- Coder/Decoder (device that converts analog signals to digital signals and converts
incoming digital signals to analog signals).
- DATA COMMUNICATIONS
- The electronic transfer of information from one location to another, referring to digital
transmissions.
- DIAL-UP MODEM
- Dial-up is the process of establishing a temporary connection via switched network. A
modem is a device that adapts a terminal or computer to a telephone line, converting
the computers digital pulses into audio frequencies and converting them back into
pulses at the receiving side.
- DIGITAL
- Representing data as discrete bits.
- DISTANCE LEARNING
- Using video technology to allow students in one location to participate in a class being
broadcast from another location.
- EDI
- Electronic Data Interchange. An automated way to exchange structured business
data, editable documents, or electronic transactions, such as invoices or purchase
orders.
- E-MAIL
- Electronic mail-messages transmitted electronically between computers.
- FILE SERVER
- A key part of a LAN, typically a combination of computer, data management software
and hard disk storage that directs all movements of files on the LAN and gives each
network user entry to those stored files.
- GIGACELL
- Unit of measure used by ATM network to gauge level of usage (1 billion ATM cells; 1
GigaCell = 2.4 hours of video)
- GIS
- Geographic Information System. A computer system that records, stores, and
analyzes information about the features that make up the earth’s surface. A GIS is
designed to accept geographic data from a variety of services, including managers,
satellite photographs, and printed text and statistics.
- GUI
- Graphical User Interface. A graphics-based user interface that incorporates icons,
pull-down menus and a mouse, such as found in Macintosh, Windows, OS/2
Presentations Manager and GEM environments. Contrast with user interfaces that are
character - or text-based such as DOS, which displays data in the standard 25 line, 80
column text mode.
- INTELLIGENT WORKSTATIONS
- Workstations capable of following instructions.
- INTERACTIVE
- Referring to programs or applications that respond directly to the user, taking
instructions and giving feedback.
- INTERNET
- Interconnection of thousands of networks linked by a common set of technical
protocols which make it possible for network users to communicate with or use
services located on any of the other networks which are linked worldwide via real-
time, interactive services. Networks in the Internet use the same telecommunications
protocol (TCP/IP) and provide electronic mail, remote login and file transfer services.
- INTEROPERABILITY
- The ability to have applications and computers from different vendors work together
on a network.
- IRMC
- Information Resource Management Commission. A technology oversight body
established by the General Assembly to set policy and direction for state government’s
information technology initiatives.
- ISDN
- Integrated Services Digital Network. A worldwide digital transmission network and
format that can carry both data and voice over a single cable at speeds of 56 kbps and
higher.
- IXC
- Inter-exchange Carrier (the local long distance company which interconnects the local
phone company LATAs, currently AT&T)
- Kbps
- Kilobits per second, the number of bits transmitted every second as measured in
multiples of about one thousand (1024) bits per second.
- LAN
- Local Area Network, a group of computers and related equipment connected locally,
usually within a single building, by a communications channel capable of sharing
information among several users.
- LATA
- Local Access Transport (defines the boundary within which LECs can provide end
user service)
- LECs
- Local Exchange Carriers (e.g., Southern Bell, GTE, and Carolina Spring); local
telephone company
- MAN
- MANs can support distances up to 50 kilometers and operates at speeds up to 200
Mbps. MANs provides an integrated set of services for data, voice and image
transmission.
- Mbps
- Megabits per second, the number of bits transmitted every second as measured in
multiples of about one million (1,048, 576) bits per second.
- MCNC
- An advanced research facility, partially funded by the General Assembly, that is
designed to attract high tech industries to North Carolina. The major components of
MCNC are microchip design, supercomputer operations, and advanced
communications research.
- MODEM
- A device used in telecommunications that converts between analog and digital signals.
- MPEG II
- Moving Picture Experts Group Compression Standard #2 (video standard which
compresses video signals and reduces the bandwidth necessary to carry them)
- MULTIMEDIA
- Communication that combines text with graphics, sound, animation, full-motion video,
etc. - usually in a highly interactive way.
- NARROWBAND
- A voice-grade transmission channel capable of transmitting a maximum of 34,000 bits
per second. See bandwidth.
- NCIH
- North Carolina Information Highway. The state’s fiber optic, high speed network
using ATM switching technology and SONET transport protocol to support high
bandwidth applications.
- NCIIN
- North Carolina Integrated Information Network. A web of interoperable narrow and
broadband networks operated by the state that enables user needs to be matched to the
appropriate communication service.
- NETWORK
- An interconnected group of computer systems and/or associated devices, each remote
for the others, exchanging data as necessary to perform a required task.
- NETWORK MANAGEMENT
- The monitoring of an active network in order to diagnose problems and gather
statistics for network administration and fine tuning.
- ON-LINE
- Describes any application or information directly accessible on a computer network,
such as an "on-line database."
- OSI
- Open Systems Interconnection. An internationally accepted framework of standards
for communication between two systems made by different vendors. An open system
is one that conforms to OSI standards. It is a seven-layer model. The goal of OSI is
to equip differing computer systems with the ability to inter-work, and provide the
end-user with a variety of communications-based services.
- PIXEL
- Short for picture element; sometimes called a pel. One spot in a rectilinear grid of
thousands of such spots that are individually "painted" to form an image produced on
the screen by a computer or on paper by a printer.
- PORTABILITY
- The ability to use, or migrate, application software, systems software data and/or
people across different computing platforms from multiple vendors.
- SAA
- Special Assembly Agreement (agreement to provide a specific service not covered by a
general tariff for an individual customer that must be approved by the North Carolina
Utilities Commission)
- SCALABILITY
- The ability to use the same applications and systems software on all classes of
computers from desktop workstations to super computers.
- SERVER
- A node on a network (usually a LAN) that provides service to terminals on the
network through managing an expensive shared resource (file server, printer server,
communication server).
- SMDS
- Switched Multi-Megabit Data Service (defines a high speed, public network based, cell
data service)
- SMTP
- Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. An electronic-mail protocol commonly used in
TCP/IP networks. A widely used protocol that provides a specification for the
exchange of e-mail messages by applications. SMTP was developed by the
Department of Defense. SMTP is a simple mail protocol used with Internet and other
TCP/IP or UNIX-based network environments.
- SNMP
- Simple Network Management Protocol. Network management protocol used on
TCP/IP networks. A widely used protocol that provides a specification and formats
for collecting network-management data. SNMP is an alternative to Common
Management Information Protocol (CMIP). Several proposals for SNMP and CMIP
coexistence have been posted to the Internet-drafts File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
servers. However, the solution may come from the proposed enhancement to SNMP,
called the Simple Management Protocol (SMP).
- SONET
- Synchronous Optical Network transmission systems (provides an international
standard family of transmission channels at optical rates); utilizes fiber optic
technology.
- SWITCH
- A device that opens or closes circuits, or selects paths or circuits.
- SWITCHED DIGITAL
- Switched digital services provide full-duplex data transmission via four dial-up
offerings.
- T1, DS-1
- A long distance, point-to-point communications channel that transmits 1.5 megabits
per second and can carry both voice and data.
- T3, DS-3
- A long distance, point-to-point communications circuit that transmits 44.7 megabits
per second and can provide up to 28 T-1 channels. It usually runs over fiber-optic
cable.
- TCP/IP
- TCP/IP is a combined set of protocols that performs the transfer of data between two
computers. TCP monitors and ensures correct transfer of data. IP receives the data
from TCP, breaks it up into packets and ships it off to a network within the Internet.
TCP/IP is also used as a name for protocol suite that incorporates these functions and
others. It makes possible the interconnection of a variety of hardware platforms.
- TELECONFERENCING
- Interactive method of communication that uses video and audio to provide complete
communication to all participants
- TELEMEDICINE
- Medical applications of telecommunications technology to enhance quality of medical
care in remote locations
- TERMINAL
- An input/output device for a computer that usually has a keyboard for input and a
video screen or printer for output.
- THROUGHPUT
- Measure of work performed by a device over a given period of time
- VIDEOCONFERENCING
- Also called video teleconferencing. It is a video conference among several users that
is provided by video cameras and monitors set up on the customer’s premises or in a
public conferencing center.
- WAN
- Wide area Network, a long distance computer network that enables users to share
information across large geographical distances (e.g., state to state). A WAN may
interconnect a number of LANs at different sites.
- WIDEBAND
- A transmission channel capable of transmitting more information (as measured by bits
per second) than narrowband, but less than broadband.
- VIRTUAL PROXIMITY
- Eliminates the barriers of geography by participating in an electronic ‘community’
regardless of geographic location.
- X.25
- The CCITT protocol standard for connecting to packet-switched networks. Typically
used to connect wide-area networks, packet switching breaks network data into
smaller packets and sends the packets from point to point through interconnected
switches.
