Network administration

Terms related to managing computer networks, including definitions about LANS or WANS and words and phrases about network design, troubleshooting, security and backups.

What is a VPN? - A virtual private network (VPN) is a service that creates a safe, encrypted online connection.
What is an SSID (service set identifier)? - An SSID (service set identifier) is a sequence of characters that uniquely names a Wi-Fi network.
What is authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA)? - Authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) is a security framework for controlling and tracking user access within a computer network.
What is cloud networking? - Cloud networking is a type of IT infrastructure in which the cloud hosts some or all of an organization's networking resources.
What is configuration management? A comprehensive guide - Configuration management, or CM, is a governance and systems engineering process used to track and control IT resources, services and applications across an enterprise.
What is desktop management and how does it work? - Desktop management is a comprehensive approach to managing all the computers within an organization.
What is employee monitoring? - Employee monitoring is when businesses monitor employees to improve productivity and protect corporate resources.
What is Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)? - An enterprise service bus (ESB) is a software platform used to distribute work among connected components of an application.
What is high availability (HA)? Definition and guide - High availability (HA) is the ability of a system to operate continuously for a designated period of time even if components within the system fail.
What is ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol)? - ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) is a network layer error-reporting protocol that's used to communicate data transmission problems.
What is IT/OT convergence? Everything you need to know - IT/OT convergence is the integration of information technology (IT) systems with operational technology (OT) systems.
What is LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)? - LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is a software protocol used for locating data about organizations, individuals and other resources, such as files and devices, on public and corporate networks.
What is NetOps? Everything you need to know - NetOps, also referred to as NetOps 2.
What is network scanning? How to, types and best practices - Network scanning is a procedure for identifying active devices on a network by employing a feature or features in the network protocol to signal to devices and await a response.
What is network virtualization? Everything you need to know - Network virtualization is a method of combining the available resources in a network to consolidate multiple physical networks, divide a network into segments or create software networks between VMs.
What is network-attached storage (NAS)? A complete guide - Network-attached storage (NAS) is dedicated file storage that enables multiple users and heterogeneous client devices to retrieve data from centralized disk capacity.
What is PaaS? Platform as a service definition and guide - Platform as a service (PaaS) is a cloud computing model where a third-party provider delivers hardware and software tools to users over the internet.
What is remote desktop protocol (RDP)? - Remote desktop protocol (RDP) is a secure network communications protocol developed by Microsoft.
What is SD-WAN (software-defined WAN)? Ultimate guide - Software-defined WAN is a technology that uses software-defined networking concepts to distribute network traffic across a wide area network, or WAN.
What is server sprawl and how to prevent it? - Server sprawl is when multiple underutilized servers take up more space and consume more resources than can be justified by their workload.
What is SIP trunking (Session Initiation Protocol trunking)? - Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking is a service a communications service provider offers that uses the protocol to provision voice over IP (VoIP) and multimedia connectivity between an on-premises phone system and the public switched telephone network (PSTN).
What is Software as a Service (SaaS)? - Software as a service (SaaS) is a software distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the Internet.
What is SSH (Secure Shell) and How Does It Work? - SSH (Secure Shell or Secure Socket Shell) is a network protocol that gives users -- particularly systems administrators -- a secure way to access a computer over an unsecured network.
What is TCP/IP? - TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol and is a suite of communication protocols used to interconnect network devices on the internet.
What is Wi-Fi Piggybacking? - Piggybacking, in the context of Wi-Fi, is the use of a wireless connection to gain access to the internet without proper authority.
wildcard certificate - A wildcard certificate is a digital certificate that is applied to a domain and all its subdomains.
Windows Server 2012 (WS 2012) - Windows Server 2012, formerly codenamed Windows Server 8, is the latest version of Windows Server.
Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) - Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) is a Windows server role that can plan, manage and deploy updates, service packs, patches and hotfixes for Windows servers, client operating systems (OSes) and other Microsoft software.
wireless ad hoc network (WANET) - A wireless ad hoc network (WANET) is a type of local area network (LAN) that is built spontaneously to enable two or more wireless devices to be connected to each other without requiring typical network infrastructure equipment, such as a wireless router or access point.
wireless distribution system (WDS) - A wireless distribution system (WDS) is a method of interconnecting access points (AP) in a wireless local area network (WLAN) without requiring that they connect through a wired backbone.
wireless mesh network (WMN) - A wireless mesh network (WMN) is a mesh network created through the connection of wireless access point (WAP) nodes installed at each network user's locale.
wireline communication - Wireline communication (also known as wired communication) is the transmission of information over a physical filament.
Wireshark - Wireshark is a widely used network protocol analyzer that lets users capture and view the details of network traffic in real time.
Yellowdog Updater, Modified (YUM) - Yellowdog Update, Modified (YUM) is a program that manages installation, updates and removal for Red Hat package manager (RPM) systems.
Zabbix - Zabbix is an open source monitoring software tool for diverse IT components, including networks, servers, virtual machines (VMs) and cloud services.
zero client - Zero client, also known as ultrathin client, is a server-based computing model in which the end user's computing device has no local storage.
zero-touch provisioning (ZTP) - Zero-touch provisioning (ZTP) is a method of setting up devices that automatically configures the device using a switch feature.