IT Terminology

IT TERMINOLOGY
by Kurt Rodenhizer, MS, MBA, June, 2007

Management – Discuss the duties and relationships between CIO, CTO, CKO and the CEO

Chief Information Officer (CIO) is responsible for information technology within a company. Some CIO’s are also responsible for knowledge management as well. The CIO will report to the chief executive officer or chief financial officer.
Chief Technical Officer or Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is responsible for technical issues within company and is usually the company’s most senior technical person. The CTO reports to the CEO.

Chief Knowledge Officer is responsible for managing the organization’s “knowledge”. The CKO often reports to the CEO.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the highest-ranking officer of a company and is responsible for all aspects of the company. For publicly held companies, he CEO reports to the Board of Directors.
Enterprise Applications – Provide a brief explanation of each of the following

ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERPs) enables companies to integrate their information systems with the business practices involving manufacturing of products or services. This includes product planning, parts purchasing, inventories, supplier & customer services, and the tracking of orders.
APS - Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS) is a process by which raw materials and production capacity are optimally allocated to meet demand.
HRMS - Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS, EHRMS), merges human resource management systems and information technology systems for use by human resource professionals.
SCM - Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the management of the entire value-added process, from the supplier to manufacturer, retailer, and to the customer.
MRP - Material Requirements Planning (MRP) is a methodology and system used to plan and manage manufacturing operations.
CRM (sometimes considered part of BI) – Customer Relationship Management (CRM) entails all aspects of customer interaction for a company. It includes methodologies, software, and Internet capabilities that help a company manage customer relationships in an organized manner.

Business Intelligence (BI) – Provide a brief explanation of each of the following:

EIS - An Executive Information System (EIS) is a reporting application targeted for use by executives and is often used synonymously with decision support system.
OLAP – OLAP is an acronym for On Line Analytical Processing. OLAP is an application that looks for business trends and patterns in corporate data.
DSS - Decision Support Systems is a software application that helps to analyze data contained within a customer database.
GIS - A Geographic Information System is an organized collection of computer hardware, software and geographic data designed to efficiently capture, store, update, manipulate, integrate, analyze, and display all forms of geographically referenced information.
KM - Knowledge Management is the name of a concept in which a company or organization consciously and comprehensively gathers, organizes, shares, and analyzes its knowledge in terms of resources, documents, and people skills.
Distributed Applications — Compare and contrast the various distributed application paradigms:
Client / Server – Is a way to distribute information on a network in which the software is split between client and server tasks. For example, a program at one site, (client) will send a request to another program, (server) and wait for a response. This type of distributed application is considered to be quite common.
Thin Client vs Fat Client – A thin client is a form of client server architecture in which the computer has no hard drive so no data is stored and very little processing is done. Because of this it relies on the functionality of the server for processing. A thin client server network tends to be less expensive because the hardware requires less memory and storage capabilities. A fat client, by contrast, is where the majority of the processing is done by the client, and the data is stored on the network.
Three-tier / Multi-tier – Three-tier or multi-tier architecture has a server or agent that has been introduced in between the client and the server. This middle or third tier enables the distribution of functionality across three independent layers. It can accommodate hundreds of users by providing various functions. It allows for greater flexibility and performance.
Client/SOA and AJAX – Asynchronous Java Script and XML is a web application model that introduces an intermediate (AJAX engine) that goes between the user and the server. This engine allows the user to interact with the application independently of communicating with the server. As a result it increases the speed of web pages. AJAX applications are managed primarily on the server. By contrast, Client/Service Oriented Architecture is managed primarily in the client. Client/SOA is an architecture in which applications are deployed via a web browser.
Peer to Peer – Peer to peer architecture (P2P) is a type of network in which each workstation has equal capability and responsibility. It differs from client/server where some computers are dedicated to serve other ones.
Grid Computing – Grid computing is when you apply the resources from many computers in a network at the same time to solve a particular problem. It allows a company to use a large number of computing resources on demand no matter where they are located. It uses software to divide the pieces of a program to thousands of computers. It has been utilized for large scale computational problems by universities and corporations alike. Grid computing is also an emerging technology to improve download time.
ASP – Application Service Providers manage and distribute software services to customers across a network from a central data center.
Web Services – Web services are web based applications that use an open system to exchange data. It is used for linking web based applications that are running on different hardware, software, or network platforms.
SOA – Service Oriented Architecture is a software architectural style where the software is loosely coupled. It can be thought of as a collection of services that communicate with each other. It may consist of simply sending data or it could involve multiple services coordinating an activity.

Data Storage – Define each of the following

DLT – Digital Linear Tape is a type of magnetic tape and drive system that is used for computer data storage and archiving. It is a technology that has been developed to increase the rates of data transfer and storage capabilities of computer tape drives.
SAN – Storage Area Network is a network of storage devices for storing data. The storage devices are accessible from any server in the network. The advantage of this type of architecture is that the data does not reside on the network’s server, so it is free for other applications.
NAS – Network Attached Storage is a server that is dedicated to file sharing. It can be accessed over a network and it allows more storage space to be added to a network.
RAID – Redundant Array of Independent Disks is a way of storing the same data in different places on multiple hard disks.

Network Routing – Define each of the following terms:

LAN - Local area network refers to the connectivity of computer devices in a small area like an office.
Extranet - An extranet is a private network used by companies to take advantage of Web-based services and often-times proprietary applications along with carefully controlled user access system
Intranet – An intranet is a private network that uses Web-based protocols and services to share company specific information and applications among its employees.
Internet - The Internet is the publicly accessible worldwide system of interconnected computer networks that transmit data using a standardized Internet Protocol (IP). It carries various information and services, such as electronic mail, online chat, and the interlinked Web pages and other documents of the World Wide Web.
VPN - A Virtual Private Network is a private communications network usually used within a company, or by several different companies or organizations, to communicate over a public network.
ISP - An Internet service provider is a business or organization that offers users access to the Internet and related services.
Switch - A network switch is a computer networking device that connects network segments using a logic of a Network bridges.
Router - A router is a computer networking device that forwards data packets across an internetwork toward their destinations, through a process known as routing.
Firewall - A firewall is a piece of hardware and/or software which functions in a networked environment to prevent some communications forbidden by the security policy.
Wireless Access Point – A wireless access point is a device that connects wireless communication devices together to form a wireless network.
VLAN - A virtual LAN is a logically-independent network. A VLAN consists of a network of computers that behave as if connected to the same wire – even though they may actually physically connect to different segments of a LAN.
URI - A Uniform Resource Identifier is an Internet protocol element comprised of a name or address that can be used to refer to a resource.
MAC Address – a Media Access Control address is a unique identifier attached to most forms of networking equipment.

Networking Layers – Almost all networking discussions are classified by their layer in the OSI model. Provide a brief definition of the OSI Model. Also, you should be familiar with some commonly seen terms related to this model.

The Open Systems Interconnection Reference Model (OSI Model or OSI Reference Model for short) is a description for communications using network protocols in a series of layers. The protocols are presented via what is called the OSI seven layer model, listed as follows:

1. Application layer
2. Presentation layer
3. Session layer
4. Transport layer
5. Network layer
6. Data link layer
7. Physical layer

Please provide a brief definition of each term below:

OSI – Application Layer

HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol is the coding language read by browsers that allows for the transfer of information on the World Wide Web.
DNS - The Domain Name System is a system that stores information associated with domain names used on the Internet.
TLS/SSL - Secure Sockets Layer and Transport Layer Security are cryptographic protocols which provide secure communications on the Internet.
FTP - File Transfer Protocol is a commonly used protocol by software that allows for the exchange of files from one’s computer to server hosted folders and allows for the information to be read on the Internet
IMAP - The Internet Message Access Protocol is an application layer Internet protocol that allows a local client to access e-mail and instant messaging services using a remote server.
IRC - Internet Relay Chat is a form of instant communication over the Internet. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication.
POP3 - Local e-mail clients use the Post Office Protocol version 3 as to retrieve e-mail from a remote server over a TCP/IP connection.
SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is the standard for e-mail transmission across the Internet.
DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol server provides configuration parameters specific to the DHCP client host that provides access to their specific IP network.

OSI – Transport Layer TCP – The Transmission Control Protocol layer is the protocol for the internet to exchange data from other network devices. This is a reliable protocol and supports the Internet’s most popular application protocols like email and the World Wide Web.

OSI – Networking Layer

IP (IPv4, IPv6) – The Internet Protocol is a network layer protocol. IPv4 is version 4 of the IP and it is the first version of the Internet Protocol and dominant network layer protocol. IPv6 is primarily used by electronic devices to exchange data across and provides more addresses then IPv4.

OSI – Link Layer

Ethernet - Ethernet is a computer networking technology for local area networks (LANs) that has become the most widespread LAN technology.
FDDI - Fiber-Distributed Data Interface provides a standard for data transmission in a local area network that can extend in range up to 124 miles. FDDI is costly.

Malicious Software – Define the following terms:

Virus – A computer virus is a self-reproducing-automation program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents. Most computers come with anti-virus software.
Zombie Computer – A zombie computer is a computer on the Internet that has been infected security cracker, virus, or a trojan horse. Zombie computers are now the major delivery method of spam.
Cryptoviral Attack – A cryptoviral attack is a form of computer virus that encrypts the victim’s files and forces the user to pay to receive the needed session key.
Phishing - Phishing is a form of criminal activity characterized by attempts to fraudulently acquire sensitive information. Most phishing forms try to trick user to provide passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business. Most phishing attacks are done through email or an instant message.
Pharming - Pharming is the exploitation of a vulnerability in the DNS server software allowing a cracker redirect website’s traffic to another web site.
DOS or DDOS – A denial-of-service attack (DOS) is an attack on a computer system or network that causes a loss of service to users by overloading the system.
WORM - A computer worm is a self-replicating computer program that is self-contained and does not need to be part of another program to propagate itself.
Trojan Horse - A Trojan horse is a program that is disguised as legitimate software but is actually harmful when executed.
Honeypot - A honeypot is a computer or a network site that appears to be part of a network but which is actually isolated and used to gather information to help find attackers. Honeypot’s are widely used to identify spam email.
White Hat / Black Hat Hacking – A white hat hacker is a person who is ethically opposed to the abuse of computer systems. A black hat is a malicious or criminal hacker.

Miscellaneous Terms – Define the following terms:

RFID - Radio Frequency Identification is an automatic identification method that uses a RFID tag that can be attached to or incorporated into a product. The tag enables products to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver.
VOIP - Voice over Internet Protocol is the routing of voice conversations over the Internet.
BLOG - A blog is a website in which messages are posted and displayed and allows comments.