|
Information Security
Glossary A
This glossary contains industry standard and City specific IT terminology. The glossary
should be consulted when policy, issue papers, etc. are drafted to ensure consistent use of terms across the City.
Uninterruptible Power Supplies - UPS
URL
Usenet
Users
Utility
Uninterruptible Power Supplies - UPS
A UPS is a vital piece of hardware that should not be overlooked. Without it,
a power 'outage' or even a surge, can shut down your systems within seconds. If
this happens on a Windows® PC, the consequences are unlikely to be more than
annoying and perhaps the loss of the work you were currently working on.
However, if your server, running Windows® NT, 2000 or UNIX, suddenly has the
power cut, the consequences can be more serious, as (potentially) hundreds of
files can be left in an "open" state which, in the worst scenario, could prevent
the system from rebooting properly - or even at all.
Therefore, the purchase and installation of a suitable sized UPS is vital.
Because it contains its own battery(ies) it can not only prevent damage from
sudden power surges, but it can continue to run your systems for between 15
minutes and 1 hour (or more), thus allowing an orderly, but speedy, close down.
However, a UPS is not supposed to allow the system to be operated for any
length of time and, to provide a greater degree of protection against power
cuts, a Backup Power Generator should be considered.
URL
URL or Uniform Resource Locator is the techie term for the location of a file
or resource on the Internet. The URL will always include the type of protocol
being used e.g. http for a Web page or ftp for the address of a specific file
which is to be downloaded.
An example of an URL is: http://www.seattle.gov.
Usenet
The part of the Internet populated by Newsgroups. The term 'news' is a little
misleading since these groups are more in the nature of discussion groups.
Usenet is relatively harmless, but access to newsgroups, as opposed to E-mail,
is largely unnecessary for organization users, except possibly for some of the
groups dedicated to technical computer matters.
Users
The term 'User', whilst not being totally complimentary, (in the USA it
suggests being a user of illegal drugs), means anyone who is using a system or
computer. Users are not considered to be technically competent (otherwise they
would be in IT!) and most problems are blamed on the users! In contrast, those
who administer systems and networks would never consider themselves as users;
despite the fact that they too have to write reports and use office programs
like the rest of us!
Utility
A specialized program designed for more technical users as a tool, or set of
tools, for checking the system, housekeeping, monitoring system health/status,
repairing files, etc. Access to utility programs by non-technical users should be restricted.
|
