Gateway

A computer that serves as a router, a format translator, or a security filter for an entire network.

Global Group

Group accounts maintained by the primary dom.iincrmrroller and visible to all com- puters in the domain. A global group can contain only members from within its domain. See also Local Group, group indentifier.

Graphical Device Interface (GDI)

The programming interface and graphical services provided to Win32 for programs to interact with graphical devices such as the screen and printer. See also Pro- gramming Interface, Win32.

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

A computer shell program that represents mass storage devices, directories, and files as graphical objects on a screen. A cursor driven by a pointing device such as a mouse manipulates the objects. Typically, icons that can be opened into windows that show the data contained by the object represent the objects. See also Shell, Explorer.

Group Identifiers

Security identifiers that contain the set of permissions allowed to a group. When a user account is part of a group, the group identifier is appended to that user's security identifier, thus granting the individual user all the permissions assigned to that group. See also Security Identifier, Accounts, Permissions.

Groups Security

entities to which users can be assigned membership for the purpose of applying the broad set of group permissions to the user. By managing permissions for groups and assigning users to groups, rather than assigning permissions to users, security administrators con keep coherent control of very large security environments. See also Permissions, Accounts, Security Local Group, Global Group.

Hard Disk Drives

Mass storage devices that read and write digital information magnetically on disks that spin under moving heads. Hard disk drives are precisely aligned and cannot normally be removed. Hard disk drives are an inexpensive way to store gigabytes of computer data permanently. Hard disk drives also store the installed software of a computer. See also Mass Storage Device.

Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)

A Windows NT service that provides basic input/output services such as timers, interrupts, and multiprocessor management for computer hardware. The HAL is a device driver for the motherboard circuitry that allows the Windows NT operating system to treat dif- ferent families of computers the same way. See also Driver, Service, Interrupt Request.

Computer Name

 A 1- to 15-character NetBIOS name used to uniquely identify a computer on the network. See also Network Basic Input/Output System.

Exchange

Microsoft's messaging application. Exchange implements Microsoft's mail application programming interface (MAPI) as well as other messaging protocols such as POP, SNMP, and faxing to provide a flexible message composition and reception service. See also Electronic Mail, Fax Modem.

Icon

A graphical representation of a resource in a graphical user interface that usually takes the form of a small (32 x 32) bitmap. See also Graphical User Interface.

Host An Internet Server

Hosts are constantly connected to the Internet. See also Internet.

Hyperlink

A link in text or graphics files that have a Web address embedded within them. By clicking the link, you jump to another Web address. You can identify a hyperlink because it is a different color than the rest of the Web page. See also World Wide Web.

Industry Standard Architecture (ISA)

The design standard for 16-bit Intel compatible motherboards and peripheral buses. The 32/64-bit PCI bus standard is replacing the ISA standard. Adapters and interface cards must conform to the bus standard(s) used by rhe motherboard in order to be used with a computer.

Computer

A device capable of performing automatic calculations based upon lists of instructions called programs. The computer feeds the results of these calculations (output) to peripheral devices that can represent them in useful ways, such as graphics on a screen or ink on paper. See also Microprocessor.

IDE

A simple mass storage device interconnection bus that operates at 5Mbps and can handle no more than two attached devices. IDE devices are similar to but less expensive than SCSI devices. See also Small Computer Systems Interface, Mass Storage Device.

Driver

A program that provides a software interface to a hardware device. Drivers arc written for the specific device they control, but they present a common software interface to the computer's operating system, allowing all devices (of a similar type) to be controlled as if they were the same. See also Data Link Layer, Operating System.

Files

A set of data stored on a mass storage device identified by a directory entry containing a name, file attributes, and the physical location of the file in the volume. See also Volume, Mass Storage Device, Directory, File Attributes.

Firmware

Software stored permanently in nonvolatile memory and built into a computer to provide its BIOS and a bootstrap routine. Simple computers may have their entire operating system built into firmware. See also BIOS, Boot, Software.

Format

The process of preparing a mass storage device for use with a file system. Low-level format- ting writes a structure of sectors and tracks to the disk with bits used by the mass storage controller hardware. The controller hardware requires this format, and it is independent of the file system. High- level formatting creates file system structures such as an allocation table and a root directory in a parti- tion, thus creating a volume. See also Mass Storage Device, Volume.

Hyperlink

A link in text or graphics files that have a Web address embedded within them. By clicking the link, you jump to another Web address. You can identify a hyperlink because it is a different color than the rest of the Web page. See also World Wide Web.

Compact Disk-Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM)

A media for storing extremely large software packages on optical read-only discs. CD-ROM is an adaptation of the CD medium used for distrib- uting digitized music. CD-ROM discs can hold up to 650MB of information and cost very little to produce in mass quantity. See also Hard Disk Drive.

Control Panel

A software utility that controls the function of specific operating system services by allowing users to change default settings for the service to match their preferences. The Registry contains the Control Panel settings on a system and/or per user basis.

Cooperative Multitasking

A multitasking scheme in which each process must volantarily return time to a central scheduling route. If any single process fails to return to the central scheduler, the computer will lock up. Both Windows and the Macintosh operating systems use this scheme. Sec also Pre- emptive Multitasking, Windows for Workgroups

Administrative Tools

 Program group on Windows NT servers that contain utilities such as User Manager for Domains, Server Manager, Disk Administrator, Performance Monitor, and Network Mon- itor. See also I'ser Manager for Domains, Server Manager, Disk Administrator, Performance Monitor, Network Monitor.

Binding

The process of linking network services to network service providers-. The binding facility allows users to define exactly how network services operate in order to optimize the performance of the system. By default, Windows enables all possible bindings. You can use the Network control panel to change bindings.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

A simple Internet protocol that transfers complete files from an FTP server to a client running the FTP client. FTP provides a simple method of transferring files between computers, but cannot perform browsing functions. You must know the URL. of the FTP server to which you wish to attach. See also Internet, Uniform Resource Locator.

Gateway Services for NetWare (GSNW)

An NT Server service that connects NT Servers and NT clients to NetWare resources via the gateway software. See also Gateway, NetWare, Client Services for NetWare.

COM Port Communications port.

A serial hardware interface conforming to the RS-232 standard for low-speed serial communications. See also Modem, Serial.

Access Tokens

Objects containing the security identifier of a running process. A process started by another process inherits the starting process's access token. The access token is checked against each object's ACL to determine whether or not appropriate permissions are granted to perform any requested service. See also Access Control List, Access Control Entries, Permissions. Object, Security Identifier, Process.

Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)

 An Internet protocol for resolving an IP address into a physical layer address (such as an Ethernet media access control address). See also Physical Layer, Internet Protocol.

Database

A related set of data organized by type and purpose. The term also can include the application software that manipulates the data. The Windows NT Registry (a database itself) contains a number of utility databases such as user account and security information.

File Attributes

File Attributes
Bits that show the status of a file (e.g.. archived, hidden, read-only) are stored atone with the name and location of a file in a directory entry. Different operating systems use different tile attributes to implement such services as sharing, compression, ami security.

Domain Controllers

Domain Controllers
Servers that authenticate workstation network logon requests by comparing a username and password against account information stored in the user accounts database. A user cannot access a domain without authentication from a domain controller. See also Primary Domain Controller, Backup Domain Controller, Domain.

Browser

Browser
A computer on a Microsoft network that maintains a list of computers and services available on the network.

Account Lockout

Account Lockout
Used to specify how many invalid logon attempts should be tolerated before a user account is locked out. Account lockout is set through User Manager for Domains.

Write-Back Caching

 A caching optimization wherein data written to the slow store is cached until the cache is full or until a subsequent write operation overwrites the cached data. Write-back caching can significantly reduce the write operations to a slow store because many write operations are subsequently obviated by new information. Data in the write-back cache is also available for subsequent reads. If something happens to prevent the cache from writing data to the slow store, the cache data will be lost.

Windows Internet Name Service (WINS)

 A network service for Microsoft networks that provides Windows computers with Internet numbers for specified NetBIOS names, facilitating browsing and intercommunication over TCP/IP networks.

Ethernet

The most popular data link layer standard for local area networking. Ethernet implements the carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) method of arbitrating multiple computer access to the same network. This standard supports the use of Ethernet over any type of media including wireless broadcast. Standard Ethernet operates as 10 megabits per second. Fast Ethernet operates at 100 megabits per second

Swap File

The virtual memory file on a hard disk containing the memory pages that have been moved out to disk to increase available RAM

Universal Naming Convention.(UNC)

 A multivendor, multiplatform convention for identifying shared resources on a network.

Access Control Entries

Access Control Entries
ACLs for objects contain access control entries, each of which describes a specific permission for a specific service for a user or a group

Access Control Lists

Access Control Lists

Each object has an ACL attribute that describes which user or group accounts have access to the object and what type of access they have. If a user does not have an entry in the ACL allowing access to a service of an
object, Windows NT will