ADSL
(Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) |
A technology for transmitting digital information at high bandwidths on existing telephone lines, to homes and businesses. Unlike regular dialup phone service, ADSL provides a continuously available connection. ADSL was specifically designed to exploit the one-way nature of most multimedia communication in which large amounts of information flow toward the user and only a small amount of interactive control information is returned. ADSL simultaneously accommodates analogue (voice) information on the same line, and is generally offered at downstream data rates from 512 Kbps to about 6 Mbps. |
| Analogue dial up |
Internet connectivity through a modem, using a normal telephone line, enabling downloads of up to 56 kbps and uploads of up to 33.6 kbps |
| Application software |
Software designed to help you solve problems specific to business operations or perform specific business tasks |
| Bandwidth |
The range of frequencies available on a communications medium. Bandwidth determines the capacity of the communications medium |
| Business systems planning (BSP) |
Identifies information requirements by documenting the relationships between business processes and information classes |
| ISDN dial up |
Internet connectivity through a digital connection, enabling uploads and downloads at 64 kbps |
| Centrally managed |
Systems are controlled from a single point, thereby reducing time and cost of supporting individual stations |
| Client/server network |
A network that contains one or more host computers (called ‘servers’) that provides some type of service to the other computers (called ‘clients’) in the network |
| Controlled access |
Only authorized users or workstations are allowed access to the specified services (internet or email) |
| Database administration |
The function in an organization that is responsible for the more technical and operational aspects of managing the information contained in operational databases |
| Database management system (DBMS) |
The software you use to specify the logical organization for a database and access it |
| Domain email services |
Unlimited email addresses, associated with your company.co.za |
| External database |
A database that exists outside the organisation |
| Extranet |
A special application that allows other organizations and people access to information published on an intranet |
| Firewall |
The special security software that protects an intranet against outside access |
| Groupware |
The software component that supports the collaborative efforts of a team |
| Integrated services digital network (ISDN) |
Both the plan and the international communications standard for the transition of the world’s public telephone system from analogue to digital for the purpose of transmitting all formats of information (voice, video, text, etc) simultaneously over twisted-pair telephone lines |
| Medium level user training |
Training for end users on frequently used applications and operating systems, to reduce support costs |
| International virtual private network (international VPN) |
A virtual private network that combines the capabilities of telephone service providers around the world |
| Internet virtual private network (internet VPN) |
A network that provides your organisation with a way of establishing a virtual Internet network that consists of only you, your customers, and suppliers |
| Internet |
A network of networked computers all over the world |
| Intranet |
An internal organizational Internet that is guarded against outside access by special security software |
| Internet service provider (ISP) |
An organisation that supports many people who want to access and use the Internet |
| Local area network (LAN) |
A network that covers a limited geographic distance, within close proximity |
| Network (computer network) |
A connection of two or more IT components (typically computers) that give people the ability to share software, information, peripheral devices, communicate with each other, and share processing power |
| Virus |
A program, developed with malicious intent to harm an IT system. A computer virus can cause damage when it finds its way into a set of instructions like an .EXE file or an MS-Word macro |
| Wide area network (WAN) |
A network that covers a limited distance in which all components or computers are connected without physical cables |
| World Wide Web (www) |
The Internet in a linked multimedia form |
