The Beginners Guide to Internet Terms

Server - A computer, or a software package, that provides a specific kind of service to client software running on other computers. The term can refer to a particular piece of software, such as a WWW server, or to the machine on which the software is running. A single server machine could have several different server software packages running on it, thus providing many different servers to clients on the network.

Client - A software program that is used to contact and obtain data from a Server software program on another computer, often across a great distance. Each Client program is designed to work with one or more specific kinds of Server programs, and each Server requires a specific kind of Client. A Web Browser is a specific kind of Client.

FTP -File Transfer Protocol - A very common method of moving files between two Internet sites. FTP is a special way to login to another Internet site for the purposes of retrieving and/or sending files. There are many Internet sites that have established publicly accessible repositories of material that can be obtained using FTP, by logging in using the account name anonymous, thus these sites are called anonymous ftp servers.

Host - Any computer on a network that is a repository for services available to other computers on the network. It is quite common to have one host machine provide several services, such as WWW, MAIL and FTP.

URL - Uniform Resource Locator - Describes the location and access method of a resource on the Internet, for example, the URL http://www.aahnfp.org/self-help.html describes the type of access method being used (http) and the server location which hosts the Web site (www.aahnfp.org) and the requested page (self-help.html). All Web pages have URLs. One could say a URL is what a telephone number is to a telephone or a street address is to a house.

Domain Name - The unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by dots. A given machine may have more than one Domain Name but a given Domain Name points to only one machine. For example, the domain names: aahnfp.org tqgnet.com mail.tqgnet.com (mail is really a subdomain of tqgnet.com) all refer to the same machine, but each domain name can refer to no more than one machine. It is also possible for a Domain Name to exist but not be connected to an actual machine. This is often done so that a group or business can have an Internet e-mail address without having to establish a real Internet site. In these cases, some real Internet machine must handle the mail on behalf of the listed Domain Name. All Domain Names are registered with an organization called InterNIC. This organization keeps people from registering the same name.

InterNIC - Internet Network Information Center - A repository of information about the Internet. It is divided into two parts: 1) directory services, run by AT&T in New Jersey, and 2) registration services, run by Network Solutions in Virginia. It is funded partially by the National Science Foundation andpartially by fees that are charged to register Internet domains.

IP number - Internet Protocol Address (Number) - A numeric address that is given to servers and users connected to the Internet. For servers it is translated into a domain name by a Domain Name Server aka the DNS. When you get "online" you are assigned an IP address by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Static IP - An IP address which does not change on a regular basis. A Static IP number is dedicated to a specific resource or location within a machine. For Instance, a Static IP number is used to bind a Domain name to specific location or URL within a machine.

DNS - Domain Name System - A database system that translates IP addresses into domain names. Basically, it maintains this database for figuring out or finding and resolving host names and IP addresses. This allows us humans to specify remote computers (or web sites for that matter) by host names rather than numerical IP addresses. If you where to type '206.54.180.251' on the Address or Location field in you browser you will end up at the same place as if you had typed in 'www.aahnfp.org'. Try it.

ISP - Internet Service Provider - A company that provides access to the Internet. Before you can connect to the Internet you must first establish an account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The best thing to do when choosing an ISP is to be sure they have a local access number so you won't have to dial long distance to connect, also try to get an account that offers unlimited access.

ICP - Internet Content Provider - A Company that provides content to the Internet. AN ISP with no Dial-up Capability. You can get to an ICP throuh the internet but you can not access the internet form an ICP. The Q Group is an Internet Content Provider.