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M
Mail Spooling
Using a back-up mail server to store your mail while your mail server is unavailable.
MCSE™ - Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.
One of the top certifications provided by Microsoft.
Monthly Recurring Cost (MRC)
This refers to the amount that you will pay per month.
Multi-homed
Running two different connections to different ISPs for redundancy purposes, using the BGP4 protocol.
Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS)
A data-carrying mechanism, operating at a layer below protocols such as IP. It was designed to provide a unified data-carrying service for both circuit-based clients and packet-switching clients which provide a datagram service model. It can be used to carry many different kinds of traffic, including both voice telephone traffic and IP packets.
Multi Router Traffic Grapher (MRTG)
A tool used to monitor the traffic load on network links. MRTG generates HTML pages containing graphics which provide a LIVE visual representation of this traffic.
Mail Exchange Record (MX Record)
A record in a domain name database that identifies the mail server responsible for handling emails for that domain.
N
Network Operations Center (NOC)
A centralized location and its staff that is responsible for the operational aspects of running a production network. These tasks include monitoring and control, troubleshooting, and user assistance.
Node
A point of connection into a network.
O
Optical Carrier-12 (OC12)
A SONET line rate of 622.08 Mb/s. 12 x OC1.
Optical Carrier-3 (OC3)
A SONET line rate of 155.520 Mb/s. 3 x OC1. Equivalent to SDH STM-1.
Optical Carrier-48 (OC48)
A SONET line rate of 2,488.32 Mb/s. 48 x OC1.
P
Packet
Bundle of data that is transmitted across a network. A packet contains the source address (where the packets come from), the destination address (where it's going), a packet identifier (so that the receiving computer can tell what sort of packet it is), and text.
Packet Switching
Sending data through a network in packets, to some remote location.
Packet Switching Network
A network designed to carry data in the form of packets.
Peer
An equal, a neighbor. The Internet is primarily a network of computers that are peers to each other, rather than a centralized system where certain devices are required for the network to function. This was because the Internet was designed to solve an important problem - to survive a nuclear war where centralized command and control is at its weakest. So long as some of the computers survived and remained connected, the surviving portion of the network would continue to operate.
Peering
Peering is the set of agreements among the companies that provide the main connections on the Internet for routing traffic among themselves. Since no one company or government is "in charge" or "owns" the Internet, the ability of any one computer on the Internet to talk to any other computer is dependent on the peering arrangements in place. These arrangements determine the path that the information will take between these two computers. These paths change continually based on the performance of the networks and the routing decisions that each carrier announces using the BGP.
Ping
A program that uses the IMCP protocol to send a message to a host's network interface to see if it exists. Useful for network troubleshooting.
Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3)
The Internet protocol used to pick up email from your mailbox at the ISP.
POTS
Plain Old Telephone System
Private Line Services
NextLevel Internet dedicates a portion of its network for the exclusive use of a single customer, ensuring enough bandwidth is always available to serve the customer's needs. Private Line features a non-switched 'always on' service, carrying voice, data, or video across NextLevel Internet's managed and fully-upgradeable local, national, and international networks.
Also referred to as Clear Channel.
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
A generic term for the collection of networks which provide public telephone switching service.
R
Redundancy
The duplication of critical components of a system with the intention of increasing reliability of the system.
Router
A device that connects networks together and controls the exchange of packets.
Routing
Routing provides the means of discovering paths along which information can be sent.
S
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) forms part of the Internet protocol suite as defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force. The protocol can support monitoring of network-attached devices for any conditions that warrant administrative attention.
Server
A computer connected to a communications network (such as the Internet) which offers a service to computers (called clients).
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
A formal written agreement made between two parties: the service provider and the service recipient. The SLA itself defines the basis of understanding between the two parties for delivery of the service itself.
Spam
Uninvited or “junk” email that advertises get rich quick schemes, websites, pornography, medications, and other generally unwanted information.
Synchronous Optical NETwork (SONET)
Synchronous Optical NETwork (SONET) ring architecture. In the event of a fiber cut, data in transmission is automatically rerouted to reach its destination via another path.
T
T1
A standard digital circuit. A T1 circuit can carry 24 channels - each channel is 64 kb/sec, for a total of 1.53 Mb/s. Each channel can handle a voice call or data. Groups of channels can be combined to create a single faster digital connection.
Also referred to as DS1 or Clear Channel 1.5 Mb/s.
T3
A very high capacity digital circuit. A T3 is roughly 28 times faster than a T1 - it carries 673 channels and contains 44 Mb/sec of capacity.
Also referred to as a DS3.
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
A connection-oriented, reliable delivery byte-stream transport layer communication protocol. The intermediate layer between the Internet Protocol below it, and an application above it.
Telephone Company (or Telco)
Provides telecommunications services such as telephony and data communications.
Traceroute
A tool used to determine the specific path taken between two specific computers on the Internet. Traceroute is useful for trying to identify performance problems on the Internet.
Transfer/Month
This refers to the total amount of data transferred to and from your site each month, including web, FTP, email, and all other traffic.
Example: Every time one of your web pages is viewed by someone on the Internet, the size of that page goes towards your bandwidth usage. Below is an example of how many times a page would have to be viewed to reach 20GB of transfer.
Page size 30kb = 349,525 views
Page size 40kb = 262,144 views
Page size 50kb = 209,715 views
Page size 60kb = 174,762 views
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP)
The "low level" standard that makes the Internet possible - the set of rules for how different computers made by different companies can all talk to each other reliably.
Time To Live (TTL)
In general packet switching, a field that should be defined in the packet header used for switching (usually Layer 3, but possibly Layer 2), such that any unassured (or unreliable) network switching service is protected against the consequences of a route loop. Specifically in the Internet Protocol, a field processed by each IP router to prevent route loops.
U
U
A "U" is a Unit of Measurement for Co-Location.
1U = 1.75" of Vertical Rack Space
2U = 3.5" of Vertical Rack Space
3U = 5.25" of Vertical Rack Space
4U = 7.00" of Vertical Rack Space
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
A device that maintains a continuous supply of electric power to certain essential equipment that must not be shut down unexpectedly.
V
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
VPN software allows an Internet user to safely connect to a remote network, typically the internal network of their employer, using the public Internet. This is done by establishing a secure connection that encrypts the data being sent and received.
W
Wide Area Network (WAN)
A single network composed of multiple physical locations, interconnected by high speed data connections.
