ICT Key Terminology

ICT Key Terminology

1. Networks

   • Peer-to-peer
     • A network arrangement where each computer has equal status
   • Client Server
     • A network where several computers are connected to one or more servers
   • Wi-Fi
     • A wireless connection to the internet through radio waves
   • Topology
     • A topology shows how the computers in a network are connected and communicate with one another
   • Auditing
     • Auditing keeps a record of who has done what on the network, e.g. usernames, times and files accessed
   • Remote management
     • Network managers are able to see what others are doing, check emails and check software

2. The Internet

   • FTP
     • File Trasfer Protocol is a simple way of transferring files between computers using the internet
   • E-Commerce
     • E-Commerce is the interactive online shopping service
   • Search Engine
     • Software that can be used to search for information on the internet
   • Internet
     • The internet is a group of networks joined together, consisting of lots of networks
   • Web Crawler
     • A web crawler browses all webpages in order to produce in index to be used by search engines
   • URL
     • Uniform Resource Locator is the web address used to locate a webpage or site
   • Distributed Computing
     • Series of computers are networked together and each work on solving one problem, sharing data, bandwidth, porcessing and storage
   • Bandwidth
     • The speed at which data can be transferred along a cable or wireless channel.
   • Broadband
     • A fast connection to the internet which does not use a modem
   • Censorship
     • The control of what people can and cannot view on the internet

3. HCI

   • User Expertise
   • Signposting
   • Navigational Structure

4. Working with ICT

   • Telecommuting
   • Teleworking
   • Codes of Conduct
   • Disinformation
   • Moral Issues
   • Penalties

5. Security Policies

   • Hacking
     • The process of trying to break into a secure computer system
   • UPS
     • Uninterruptible Power Supply, a backup generator and battery which keeps the power running should the mains fail
   • Firewall
     • A piece of software hardware or both that is able to protect a network from hackers
   • Backup
     • Copies of software and data kept so that the data can be recovered should there be a system loss
   • Encryption
     • The process of coding files before they are sent over the network to protect them from hackers
   • Risk Analysis
     • Assessing the likely hood of certain events happening and estimating the cost of the damages and what could be done to eliminate and minimise the risks
   • Disaster Recovery
     • A plan that restores ICT facilities in as short a time as possible in order to minimise loss
   • RAID
     • Redundant Array of Inexpensive Discs is using magnetic discs to backup data
   • Clustering
     • A technique where file servers and storage devices are networked to eliminate dependance

6. Database Systems

   • Flat Files
     • Flat files contain one table of data, only use able for data storage and retreival
   • Data Redundancy
     • Data that has been duplicated becomes redundant, which is reduced by relational databases
   • Relational Database
     • A large collection of data stored in linked tables so that data can be accessed in many ways through many programs
   • Data Independance
     • The data and the programs used to access it are seperate
   • Data Integrity
     • The correctness of the data
   • Normalisation
     • Normalisation is the technique for analysing data that improves the database design at each stage
   • Data Warehouse
     • A huge database specifically structured for information access and reporting
   • Data Mining
     • Data mining is the retrieval of data from the data warehouse to discover patterns, trends and associations
   • DBMS
     • Database Management System are packages based around the need to hold a collection of central data for manipulation
   • Data Dictionary
     • A central store of information about data such as tables, fields, validation used etc
   • Distributed Database
     • A single database under the control of the DMBS where storage devices arent attached to one processor, instead stored in multiple computers across a network

7. Management of Change

   • Organisational Structure
   • Resistance
   • Internal procedures

8. MIS

   • MIS
     • An organised collection of people, procedures and resources designed to support managers decisions
   • Relevancy
   • Information Flow

9. System Development

   • Fact Finding