GLOSSARY anonymous FTP site: a server which allows people to log on and download files without having an account or a user ID on that server. ANSI: American National Standards Institute: the body that certifies organizations that develop standards for the information industry in the U.S. Archie: a database listing programs and data files available at anonymous FTP sites on the Internet. (From archive.) ARPANet: Advanced Research Projects Agency Network: a pioneering long- distance network funded by DARPA, q.v. It served as a test ground for network research, and was the initial backbone for the Internet. ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange. In a network context, describes a file that contains only printable characters (letters, numbers, and punctuation marks), not printer codes or control characters. backbone: the main communication channel in a network wiring scheme; so called because other communications lines connect to it like the ribs connect to the human backbone. BITNET: a network of computers at academic institutions. From "Because It's Time Network". CREN: Corporation for Research and Educational Networking. BITNET and CSNET have recently merged to form CREN. CSNET: Computer + Science Network: a large data communications network for institutions doing research in computer science. CSNET sites include universities, research laboratories, and commercial companies. See also CREN. CWIS: Campus-Wide Information System: a server which acts as a central distribution point for information of interest to the campus community. DARPA: U.S. Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: The government agency that funded ARPAnet and thus started the Internet. DDN: Defense Department Network: the branch of the Internet including MILNET, ARPANet, and other military networks. domain: a set of nodes on the Internet whose names share the same last two or three parts, for instance 'msu.edu'. The shared parts are the domain name. download: to copy a file, e-mail message, or other information from a larger computer to your PC. See also upload. EARN: European Academic Research Network: the European component of BITNet. Ethernet: a method of connecting computers to form a network; it specifies the types of wires connecting the computers, and the format in which information is packaged to travel over the wire. FDDI: Fiber Distributed Data Interface: a high-speed (100 megabit per second) network connection designed to be run on fiber optic cable, cf. Ethernet, which runs on various types of copper wire. finger: two programs which comprise a database of electronic mail addresses. The "finger server" stores the addresses and processes inquiries; the "finger client" makes the inquiries. Freenet: one of a group of free servers offering information, electronic mail, and Internet access to a community over telephone lines. FTP: (1): File Transfer Protocol, a standard technique for transferring files among dissimilar computer systems on a network. (2): A program that transfers files using this technique. FTP site: see anonymous FTP site. Gopher: a program which provides access to many Internet resources, without the user having to know where the resources are. host: a computer that users of other computers can connect to and use. hypertext: a system for linking documents and parts of documents in a non-linear fashion. Words in the displayed document may be linked to other documents, or other text in the same document. The reader can follow these links through the text, rather than reading serially. internet, an: a network made up of one or more smaller networks. Internet Port address: a numerical identifier for a node on the Internet. It consists of four numbers separated by periods, for example '35.8.220.4'. Internet, the: a nationwide network of networks, connecting regional networks like MichNet, q.v. It grew from ARPANet, the Defense Department's computer network started in the mid-1960's. IP Address: see Internet Port address. LAN: Local Area Network: links computers that are relatively close together; for instance, in adjoining offices. MichNet: a statewide network of computers at colleges and universities; a regional network of NSFNet. Formerly known as the MERIT network. MILNET: MILitary NETwork: Part of the DDN and the Internet, provides support for unclassified military applications. MSUNet: the network which connects computers in most buildings on campus to communications devices in the Computer Laboratory. These devices provide access to MichNet, q.v. NETNORTH: Canadian component of BITNet. network: two or more computers of any kind, connected by a communications link. NIC: Network Information Center: an organization that provides users with information about a network. NOC: Network Operations Center: the central organization responsible for maintaining a network. node name: the name of an individual node on the network. It is usually expressed in four or five parts with periods between them; for example, 'whw1.lib.msu.edu'. A node can also be identified by its Internet Port address (IP address), q.v. node: any single computer on a network. NSFNet: the National Science Foundation Network, a high-speed network of networks linking computers at educational and research institutions. It is made up of several regional networks, linked by high-speed backbone links. regional network: a member network of NSFNet which links computers in one region of the U.S. MichNet is a regional network. (Sometimes called NSFNet mid-level networks.) server: a host (q.v.) that stores information and/or programs, and makes them available to users of other computers. telnet: a program that, when run on one computer, establishes a connection to another computer on a network. upload: to copy a file, e-mail message, or other information from your PC to a larger computer on the network. WAIS: Wide-Area Information Server: a system that allows simultaneous searches of several databases mounted on different computers. X.500: an ANSI standard for directory information about an individual, including e-mail addressing.