DCNSA Level II
Network Operating Systems glossary
Every term this guide defines, A to Z, each with the chapter that teaches it. Open it when a word in a question is unfamiliar, and test yourself on it in the last week: cover the definition and say it in one sentence.
11 terms from the free first chapter
B
- Backup and web services
Built-in support for scheduled backups of server and client data, and for hosting web-accessible resources such as an intranet site or a portal.
Taught in Network operating systems
C
- Client-server systems
Dedicated servers provide services (files, authentication, printing) to many client machines. Centralised, scalable, and the dominant model for organisations of any real size, because administration, security policy and backup are all applied in one place rather than machine by machine.
Taught in Network operating systems
D
- Directory
A structured store of information about network resources, users and devices, such as Active Directory: names, passwords, group memberships, computer accounts and the policies attached to them, held centrally rather than scattered across every machine.
Taught in Network operating systems
- Directory services
A centralised store of user, computer and resource information, the backbone of centralised administration: a password changed once in the directory takes effect everywhere that account is used.
Taught in Network operating systems
I
- Internetworking
Connecting and coordinating across multiple interconnected networks, so a NOS's services can be reached from, and can reach, more than one local network.
Taught in Network operating systems
M
- Multiprocessing
Using more than one processor (or core) to handle multiple tasks in parallel, important for a server handling many simultaneous requests from client machines rather than one user's own work.
Taught in Network operating systems
N
- Network security
Authentication, authorisation and access control enforced centrally by the NOS rather than configured separately, and inconsistently, on every individual machine.
Taught in Network operating systems
P
- Peer-to-peer network operating system
Every computer can act as both client and server, sharing its own resources directly with others, with no dedicated central server. Simpler and cheaper to set up, needing no server hardware or licence, but harder to secure (each machine manages its own accounts and shares) and harder to scale, since there is no single place to apply a policy change across every machine.
Taught in Network operating systems
R
- Resource sharing
Making files, printers and storage centrally accessible to network users, the most immediately visible benefit of a NOS to an ordinary user.
Taught in Network operating systems
S
- Server
A computer that provides resources or services (files, authentication, DNS, web content) to other computers on a network, typically running a network operating system and dedicated hardware built for continuous operation.
Taught in Network operating systems
T
- Terminal
A device or interface used to access and interact with a server or network system, historically a simple screen-and-keyboard device with no processing of its own, now more often a full client computer or a remote-desktop session acting the same role.
Taught in Network operating systems
The full glossary adds every term from the other 3 chapters, A to Z, each with the chapter that teaches it.