Here is a list of technical terms which should be known :
ADSL (Asymetric Digital Subscriber Line) : ADSL is a broadband technology that permits internet access at speeds much greater than analog technologies. Nevertheless a conventional phone line is used. The asymmetry relates to the fact that the increased speed in reception is not wholly mirrored in the rate in which data packets can be transmitted.
Client/serveur :
Client/Server Architecture
The client/server model is particularly recommended for those networks that need a high level of reliability; its main features are:
- Centralised resources: given that the server is at the centre of the network, it can manage all communal resources across user work stations, such as databases, and in so doing, problems of redundancy or contradiction within any given data-set are avoided
- Better security, because the number of entry points that permit access to the data is significantly less
- Adminstration at the sever level: as the client machines are less substantial in this model, their admin load is significantly lighter, leaving the lions share of admin work neatly focussed in one place.
- An evolving network: thanks to this architec²ture, it is possible to delete or add clients without disturbing the network as a whole and without any major modifications
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) : A pocket-sized computer, with all the normal components of a computer, a processor, a hard disk, some RAM, and usually with a tactile (touch) screen.
POS (Point of Sale)
TPE (Terminal d'encaissement monétique)
VPN (Virtual Private Network) : Local business networks (LAN) are internal to an organisation, insofar as the machines linked are all machines belonging to the organisation. However, these networks are themselves, more often than not, linked to the internet by various intermediary machines. Indeed, the internet has become indispensable for most modern work. However, if an organisation needs to communicate via the internet with a subsidiary, or a client, chances are the information exchanged is not destined for the large audience that the insecure internet implies; a good compromise is to use the internet as a medium, but transmit all data in specially-encapsulated packets, which are coded. In this sense we speak of a VPN, because the network is as if it were internal to the organisation (or group of organisations), even though it is physically using the internet to propagate messages.
WIFI : An internet connection that runs on radio frequencies and is thus "Wireless".