Web Vocabulary #9

Network File System (NFS) – a network file system protocol originally developed by Sun Microsystems in 1984, allowing a user on a client computer to access files over a network as easily as if the network devices were attached to its local disks. NFS, like many other protocols, builds on the Open Network Computing Remote Procedure Call (ONC RPC) system. The Network File System is an open standard defined in RFCs, allowing anyone to implement the protocol.   Click here for source

POP – short for point of presence, an access point to the Internet. ISPs have typically multiple POPs. A point of presence is a physical location, either part of the facilities of a telecommunications provider that the ISP rents or a separate location from the telecommunications provider, that houses servers, routers, ATM switches and digital/analog call aggregators.  Click here for source

Socket –  in UNIX and some other operating systems, a software object that connects an application to a network protocol. In UNIX, for example, a program can send and receive TCP/IP messages by opening a socket and reading and writing data to and from the socket. This simplifies program development because the programmer need only worry about manipulating the socket and can rely on the operating system to actually transport messages across the network correctly. Note that a socket in this sense is completely soft - it's a software object, not a physical component.  Click here for source

Real Time Web – a phrase used by some people to distinguish sites which publish content on a frequent basis from those web sites that publish less frequently. News web sites and active blogs are usually classed as part of the real time web where as a regular company web site is not.

What separates and helps define the real time web from the ordinary web is the speed at which their content is indexed by search engines such as Google.

Sites which are classed as part of the real time web are indexed very frequently (e.g. hourly) where as other sites may only be indexed every two weeks.  Click here for source

Slip - short for Serial Line Internet Protocol, a protocol for connection to the Internet via a dial-up connection. Developed in the 80s when modem communications typically were limited to 2400 bps, it was designed for simple communication over serial lines. SLIP can be used on RS-232 serial ports and supports asynchronous links.

A more common protocol is PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) because it is faster and more reliable and supports functions that SLIP does not, such as error detection, dynamic assignment of IP addresses and data compression.

In general, Internet service providers offer only one protocol although some support both protocols.  Click here for source