If there are any terms used on the Pacific Internet site that you don't understand, look for the definition below. This glossary includes many commonly used Internet-related terms.

ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line is a technology for transmitting digital information on existing phone lines to homes and businesses. Unlike a traditional dial-up Internet service, ADSL provides an "always on" connection. It is ‘asymmetric’ which means the upload speed is different to the download speed (e.g 256/64). Click to view Pacific Internet's range of ADSL broadband services.

Backbone - On the Internet or other wide area network, a backbone is a set of paths that local or regional networks connect to for long-distance interconnection. The connection points are known as network nodes or telecommunication data switching exchanges (DSEs).

Bandwidth - The data carrying capacity of a connection. Usually measured in bits per second.

Bit - Binary Digit. The smallest unit of data measurement. In terms of data being transmitted over the Internet (speed) it moves in bits per second or thousands of bits per second (kbps). Eight bits make one byte.

Bps - Bits per second. A measurement of how fast data is moved from one place to another. For instance a 28.8K modem moves approximately 28,800 bps. It is much more common for data speed to be referred to in kilobits per second (thousands of bits per second) or megabits per second, for instance a 8mbps broadband plan.

Browser - A software program which acts as a gateway to the World Wide Web and all the resources of the Internet. Popular browsers include Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator and Mozilla Firefox.

Byte - A unit of data measurement. A byte consists of 8 bits. Computer storage (or downloading of data) is usually represented in byte multiples. For example, an 820 MB hard drive holds a nominal 820 million bytes - or megabytes - of data. Downloading data from the Internet is done in bytes. A megabyte is a million bytes and a gigabyte is roughly a billion bytes.

CGI - The Common Gateway Interface is a standard way for a Web server to pass a Web user's request to an application program and to receive data back to forward on to the user. For example, when the user requests a Web page by clicking on a highlighted word or entering a Web site address, the server sends back the requested page. This method for passing data back and forth between the server and the application is called the Common Gateway Interface (CGI). It is part of the Web's Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

CGI-bin - The most common name of a directory on a web server in which CGI programs are stored.

Client - A client is the requesting program or user in a client/server relationship. For example, the user of a Web browser is effectively making client requests for pages from servers all over the Web. The browser itself is a client in its relationship with the computer that is getting and returning the requested HTML file. The computer handling the request and sending back the HTML file is a server.

Colocation - Housing a server or servers on the premises of a hosting company, such as Pacific Internet. Click to read more about Pacific Internet's Colocation services.

Cookie - A cookie is information that a Web site puts on your hard disk so that it can remember something about you at a later time. (More technically, it is information for future use that is stored by the server on the client side of a client/server communication.) Typically, a cookie records your preferences when using a particular site.

DNS - Domain name system (or service or server), an Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses. For example, the domain name www.example.com might translate to 198.105.232.4. Click for more information on Pacific Internet's domain services.

Domain name - A domain name locates an organisation or other entity on the Internet. For example, the domain name www.totalcakes.com.au locates an Internet address for "totalcakes.com" at Internet point 199.0.0.2 and a particular host server named "www". The "com" part of the domain name reflects the purpose of the organisation or entity (in this example, "commercial") and is called the top-level domain name. The "totalcakes" part of the domain name defines the organisation or entity and together with the top-level is called the second-level domain name. The second-level domain name maps to and can be thought of as the "readable" version of the Internet address. Click to use our domain name availability check or register your domain with Pacific Internet.

DSL - (Digital Subscriber Line) is a technology for bringing broadband information to homes and small businesses over ordinary copper telephone lines. xDSL refers to different variations of DSL, such as ADSL, HDSL, SHDSL and SDSL. With DSL technology you can use your Internet connection and your telephone at the same time. Click to view Pacific Internet's range of ADSL broadband services.

Ethernet - A common method of networking computers in a LAN (Local Area Network). Ethernet will handle about 10,000,000 bits per second and can be used with almost any type of computer.

Firewall - A firewall is a set of related programs, located at a network gateway server that protects the resources of a private network from users from other networks. The term also implies the security policy that is used with the programs. A business with an intranet that allows its workers access to the wider Internet installs a firewall to prevent outsiders from accessing its own private data resources and for controlling what outside resources its own users have access to. Click to read more about Pacific Internet's range of residential and business-grade firewall solutions.

FTP - File Transfer Protocol. A common method of moving files between two Internet sites. FTP is a special way to log in to another Internet site for the purposes of retrieving and/or sending files.

Gigabyte - 1000 or 1024 megabytes.

HTML - Hyper Text Mark-up Language. The coding language used to create documents for viewing on the Web.

HTTP - The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the set of rules for exchanging files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide Web. Relative to the TCP/IP suite of protocols (which are the basis for information exchange on the Internet), HTTP is an application protocol.

Internet - The Internet, sometimes called simply "the Net," is a worldwide system of computer networks - a network of networks in which users at any one computer can, if they have permission, get information from any other computer and sometimes talk directly to users at other computers. It was conceived by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the US government in 1969 and was first known as the ARPANET.

IP number/IP address - Internet protocol (IP) , specifies the format of packets, also called datagrams, and the addressing scheme. An IP address is a 32-bit number that identifies each sender or receiver of information that is sent in packets across the Internet.

IRC - Internet Relay Chat is a system for online chatting that involves a set of rules and conventions and client/server software.

ISDN - Integrated Digital Systems Network. A way to move more data over existing telephone lines. ISDN is designed to carry digital, rather than analogue, signals.

ISP - Internet Service Provider. An enterprise that provides access to the Internet. Pacific Internet is a leading Australian business IP Communications Provider (IP-CSP) committed to delivering high quality Internet Solutions to customers. Click to read more about Pacific Internet.

Kbps - Kbps stands for kilobits per second (thousands of bits per second) and is a measure of the amount of data that can flow in a given time from one place to another. Higher bandwidths are more conveniently expressed in megabits per second (mbps, or millions of bits per second) and in gigabits per second (gbps, or billions of bits per second). Pacific Internet's broadband services reach speeds up to 12000mbps.

Kilobyte - A unit of data measurement. Either 1000 or 1024 bytes.

LAN - Local Area Network. A computer network limited to the immediate area, usually the same building or floor of a building.

Leased line - A leased line is a telephone line that has been leased for private use. In some contexts, it's called a dedicated line. A leased line is usually contrasted with a switched line or dial-up line. Typically, large companies rent leased lines to securely and reliably interconnect different geographic locations in their company. The alternative is to buy and maintain their own private lines or to use the public switched lines with secure message protocols. Pacific Internet offers a range of leased line solutions for Australian businesses.

Megabytes - A unit of data measurement. When used to describe disk storage capacity and transmission rates, a megabyte is 1,000,000 bytes.

Modem - The device that connects your computer to your phone line which enables access to the Internet. A modem decodes outgoing digital signals from a computer, or other digital device, to analogue signals for a conventional copper twisted pair telephone line.

Network - Two or more computers that are connected so they can share resources.

Plug-in - A piece of software that adds features to a larger piece of software, for instance, an audio plug-in lets you hear sound for movie clips. Most plug-ins can be downloaded from the Internet.

POP - Point of Presence. An access point to the Internet. A POP has a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. Your Internet service provider (ISP) or online service provider will have at least one point-of-presence on the Internet.

Router - On the Internet, a router is a device or, in some cases, software in a computer, that determines the next network point to which a packet (of data) should be forwarded toward its destination. A router is located at any gateway (where one network meets another), including each Internet point-of-presence.

Server - In general, a server is a computer program that provides services to other computer programs in the same or other computers.

SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is a protocol used to send and receive email.

Spam - Spam is unsolicited email on the Internet. From the sender's point-of-view, it's a form of bulk mail, often to a list culled from subscribers to a discussion group or obtained by companies that specialise in creating email distribution lists. To the receiver, it usually seems like junk email. In general, it's not considered good netiquette to send spam. Pacific Internet provides free spam filters with all connectivity services. Read more about how Pacific Internet is helping to fight spam.

SSH: Secure shell is a program to log into another computer over a network, to execute commands in a remote machine, and to move files from one machine to another.

SSL - The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a commonly-used protocol for managing the security of a message transmission over the Internet.

TELNET - A terminal emulation program for Internet. The Telnet program runs on your computer and connects your PC to a server on the network.

URL - Uniform Resource Locator. The address of a file or resource accessible on the Internet.

username - the name given to you by Pacific Internet that you use to login to our system and identify yourself. Use in conjunction with your secret password, it also forms your email address (username@pacific.net.au).

VPN (L2TP/PPTP/IPSEC/MPPE) - Virtual private network, a network that is constructed by using public wires to connect nodes.