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The following is a list of terms used in the IT Connection.
For additional questions, please contact the UTS Help Desk
at 777-1800.
802.11 network:
USC's wireless network Abend: An abnormal end to
a system or application. This can also refer to a system
crash in some cases.
ACL (Access Control List): This is a
method for limiting the use of a specific resource to
authorized users. This is the usual means by which access
to, and denial of, services is controlled. Most network
security systems operate by allowing selective use of
services.
Active Directory: This is an implementation of LDAP directory services by Microsoft for use in Windows environments. Active Directory allows administrators to assign enterprise wide policies, deploy programs to many computers, and apply critical updates to an entire organization. Active Directory stores information about its users and can act in a similar manner to a phone book.
ActiveX: Technology
used to link desktop applications to the web.
Ad-hoc network: A direct computer-to-computer
wireless connection, which does not use a wireless access
point or other network infrastructure such as switches and
routers. Never connect to a computer-to-computer network
unless you know whose computer it is!
Alerts: Messages seen
by the University community that include important
information about changes, outages and messages that happen
with University Technology Services that affect areas,
groups or people within the USC campus (includes the main
campus and regional campuses). ATM:
(Asynchronous Transfer Mode) A networking technology
which is well-suited to wide-area networks such as those
connecting USC's campuses in different areas.
(Top)
Bandwidth: The capacity the network
can handle
BCMS: The application used by University Technology
Services for telephone call monitoring.
BGP: (Border Gateway Protocol) A protocol which
establishes routes between systems on the Internet, so that
information can be transferred between them. This is
important to USC's connections with its network connectivity
providers, to ensure that the best route is used for a given
destination.
Break/Fix: An immediate change that
is required to fix a critical situation (customer is down
and cannot work); All break fixes are to be ticketed for the
help desk and will automatically trigger a root cause
analysis. (Top)
C60: Master database
table that contains information about University of South
Carolina employees and students and other requested accounts
Change Management: The practice of
administering changes through the help of tested methods and
techniques in order to avoid new errors and minimize the
impact of “changes” being introduced; This includes careful
control of activities such as planning, communicating,
testing, coordinating, scheduling and monitoring UTS
resources and services; Change Management provides a process
to protect the University from events that are potentially
disruptive; Change management does not question the
rationale of a change, but does ensure that the required
steps are followed to reduce risks.
Change Request: Any hardware or software (new or
modified) alteration that could impact any customer in the
production environment. Chassis - The
physical framework of the computer system that houses
modules, wiring, and power supplies. Client:
Software that acts as the interface for the application
system.
Content Manager: Software available for University
employees who need access to specific data and enterprise
content management. This software manages data stored within
selected University systems.
CPU: (Central Processing Unit) The main data and
processing unit for your computer
(Top)
Darsweb: DARS (Degree
Audit Reporting System) is the application used within
University admissions offices. Darsweb usually refers to the
web application used by admissions staff. Datawarehouse: The application used
for University employees to access data within the USC
system, including financial, human resources, payroll,
course, student advisement, and enrolled student data, as
well as Monthly Recurring Charges (telephone and voice
mail), Work Order and Long Distance billing data.
Department file server: This system provides access
to files for specific workstations connected to the
University network.
DHCP: (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) A network
system that assigns IP addresses to networked computers.
Directory Harvesting Attack: This is a security
incident in which someone tries to obtain e-mail and
directory information by guessing at possible e-mail
addresses and obtaining these for spamming purposes.
DNS: (Domain Name Server) This translates
domain names into
IP
addresses. This makes it possible for a user to access a
website by typing in the domain name instead of the
website's actual IP address. (See Name server)
Domain Controller: This is responsible for coordinating and maintaining activities in the domain. It is also a server on a Mircrosoft Windows network that is responsible for allowing host access to a Windows domain's resources.
Domain name: Name that identifies an Web site.
(Top)
Emergency Change: A change that was
not planned but is necessary to stabilize a system,
application, or hardware; This is used only if there is a
valid reason for not waiting for the normal weekly change
cycle; Approval for an emergency change must be approved by
the Deputy CIO, CIO or Operations Director respectively.
External (or Public) View: This is the view that any
USC student, faculty or staff will have access to; This will
NOT contain any sensitive information; Users will need their
network username and password to access the IT Connection
calendar and list view. EVM: (Enabled
Voicemail): Voicemail services that are delivered to your
e-mail inbox. A media file is inserted into the message that
is an exact replica of what is stored in your voicemail
system. To get this feature added, please contact the UTS
Help Desk at (803) 777-1800. A $15 one-time setup fee is
required.
(Top)
Firewall: A device used to protect
network systems by unauthorized users
Firmware: Software (programs or data) that has been written onto read-only memory (ROM). Firmware is a combination of software and hardware. ROMs, PROMs and EPROMs that have data or programs recorded on them are firmware.
FTP: (File Transfer Protocol) The way files are
transferred via the Internet from one computer to another.
(Top)
Generic Message: These are
pre-generated messages within the IT Connection outage
system that give messages stating a problem is known … or
technicians are continuing to work on the problem; These
will save time when sending messages.
(Top)
HTML: (Hyper-Text Markup Language) This
is the language that Web pages are written in. Web pages
must use HTML in order to be displayed correctly in a Web
browser (Top)
IMAP clients: (Internet Message
Access Protocol) Programs used to access e-mail messages on
your computer without having to download them from a server
or view them online.
Information Alert: Messages that are
not a part of change management, scheduled maintenance or
outages; This includes information about virus patches or
other non-critical announcements.
Internal (or Private) View: This is the information
available only to designated UTS and Division of IT staff
along with network managers. Network managers will have
“read-only” rights; This information can and should include
the technical and specific information about the message, if
applicable. Internet E-mail: This is
the e-mail delivered and sent outside the University e-mail
system. For example, mail coming to you from @yahoo.com or
when you send a message to @gmail.com .
IP Address: A code made up of numbers separated by three
dots that identifies a particular computer on the Internet.
(Top)
LAN: (Local Area Network) The
computer network that covers most of the USC Columbia campus
LDAP: (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) This
system is used within USC to gain access to many electronic
resources. This is also used to locate people,
organizations, and other resources in an Internet directory
or intranet directory. (Top)
Mainframe: The backbone of the University infrastructure
that allows select users to access multiple systems within
USC.
Mbps: (Megabytes per second) Measures network and
computer speeds
Millennium: System used by USC to track, manage and
store University donations; Used primarily within University
Advancement. (Note: Millennium is also used in within the
University Libraries but is a separate application from
University Advancement)
MPLS: (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) Technology
that enables customers to connect with each other and
provides more efficient, speedier communication
MTA: (Mailk Transfer Agent) A specialized server
program that delivers/transports e-mail messages between
machines on the network. MUA: (Mail User
Agent) A program which enables the user to read,
compose, reply to, dispose of, or otherwise process e-mail
messages
(Top)
Name Server: This translates domain
names into IP addresses. This makes it possible for a user
to access a website by typing in the domain name instead of
the website's actual IP address. (See DNS)
Network router: A computer networking device that
forwards data (signals or transmissions) toward their
destinations.
Novell Netware: NetWare is a network operating system developed by Novell, Inc. It is used within the University of South Carolina in many departments on campus.
(Top)
Outage: Changes that may or may not
cause an outage or disruption in service that are unplanned
and not scheduled. This includes emergency changes and
break/fix changes; This can also be the result of
maintenance that has not gone as expected; These should be
posted within 5 minutes after learning of the situation;
Generic messages can be generated.
(Top)
Ping: A signal sent to a device to
receive information Planned Change: This involves any
change that happens through the Change Management process;
It may or may not cause an outage, but is still routed
through the appropriate change management process; Once
accepted by the Help Desk manager, this is automatically
generated in the IT Connection as a planned outage.
Planned Outage: This is a planned change that has
gone through the appropriate change management procedures;
It is not an emergency or break/fix change; A planned outage
will appear on the public-view calendar and inform customers
of an upcoming change – that may or may not cause an actual
outage. POP: (Post Office Protocol) A
method of delivering e-mail messages. When a user connects
to their mail system to retrieve mail, the messages are
downloaded from mail server to the computer’s hard drive
(Top)
Reseating memory: Resetting memory to
ensure a good connection
Resolved Outage: This is when the
outage situation is completely resolved or the problem is
fixed; All related information as to what was done or the
source of problem should be included in this message.
Ruffalo Cody: Software used specifically by
University Advancement (Top)
SAN: (Storage Area Network) A large
group of hard drives that can be connected to from a server
Security patches: Data that is downloaded to fix a
potential security problem that could pose a risk to your
computer.
Sensitive Information: This includes
names of servers, IP addresses, locations of servers,
switches, etc.
Server: A system that serves information to computers
that connect to it.
SLA: (Service Level Agreement) Departments supported by
University Technology Services and receive specific support
based on the type of SLA. There are several types of SLA’s:
Bulk E-mail, Desktop & Server Support, Backup Support, SAN
(Storage Area Network)
SMTP: (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) This is the way in
which e-mail is sent over the Internet
SonicWall: Vendor-supported software that handles
firewall, virus and spam management. (Top)
Tandberg: This is a manufacturer of videoconferencing systems used by some areas on the USC campus
TCP/IP: (Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) This allows computers to
communicate over long distance networks
Thick client: Full-featured computers that are
connected to a network and are functional despite being
connected to a network
Thin client: Applications that lack hard drives and
do not have any software installed on them. These run
programs and access data from a server.
Traffic shaping: Limiting the amount of bandwidth an
interface can accommodate
TSO (Time
Sharing Option): An operation on the System/370
operating system that provides interactive processing time
for remote terminals.
(Top)
Updated Outage: This is an update to
an existing outage or notification; Updates will be posted
every 2 hours unless otherwise noted by a group
administrator. URL: (Uniform Resource
Locator) The address of a specific Web site or file on the
Internet (Top)
Vector: This
is a part of telephone call systems
VM: (Virtual Machine) Also known as ZSeries Virtual Machine Facility or Z/VM for short; This is a convenient name for three different mainframe operating systems - Control Program (CP), Conversational Monitor System (CMS), and the Remote Spooling and Communications Subsystem (RSCS). Together, these form a set of general purpose tools for the delivery of computing resources of IBM ZSeries mainframe computers to a wide variety of computer users.
VOIP: (Voice Over IP) A telephone service that uses
the Internet as a global telephone network.
(Top)
Web based e-mail: Accessing e-mail
from the Internet instead of on the desktop
Web services: Piece of software that makes itself
available over the internet and uses a standardized XML
messaging system Wiki - A wiki is a
website designed to allow multiple authors to add, remove,
and edit content. The multiple author capability of wikis
makes them effective tools for mass collaborative authoring.
WSUS: The way in which many departments receive
Windows Updates from University Technology Services. These
are automatically downloaded on a monthly basis to computers
that are connected to the University network.
XML: Allows information and services to be encoded
with meaningful structure and semantics that can be
recognized and understand by people.
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