| # Glossary Of Terms Used In This Course A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

# A #### ACL Access Control List. Netscape's mechanism for controlling access to your directory. ACLs are made up of ACIs. #### ACI Access Control Instruction. A line in an ACL that specifies who can do what to a particular directory entry. #### access domain This security measure limits access to certain mail server operations from within a specified domain. For example, an access domain can be used to limit where mail for an account can be collected. #### access rule Defines the rights a user or user group has to a particular discussion group. #### administrator The person responsible for managing and maintaining a Netscape Server. #### Administration (or Admin) Server An HTTP interface used to configure and manage Netscape servers, including the 4.0 Directory Server. The Admin Server works closely with the Netscape Console to provide distributed administration. API Application Programming Interface. A semi-formal description of inputs and outputs supported by a particular application or protocol. The whole idea behind APIs is to allow other programs or protocols to interact with each other. #### application Any program designed for use by people, usually to produce something. Examples include word processors, email programs, and web browsers. #### attribute A name/value pair. #### authentication The process of verifying your identity. For example, to establish a connection with a secure server, you may need to authenticate yourself (or prove your identity) by sending the server your certificate. # B #### browser Client software used to locate and view pages on the World Wide Web. The best known example is Netscape's Navigator. There's also a company in Redmond WA that make a browser. # C C C is a very powerful programming language often used by professional programmers. The "C" in C doesn't really stand for anything; however, it evolved from another programming language called "B". CDE Common Desktop Environment. One of two windowing environments offered on Sun's Solaris systems (the other is OpenWindows). CDE represents an attempt to standardize the user interface across several Unix platforms, including those produced by Hewlett-Packard. #### CERN The European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) invented the World Wide Web to share information among research groups. This is where the CERN proxy prototype was produced. #### certificate A digital document issued by a trusted third party (a certificate authority) to vouch for the claim that a public key belongs to a specific individual. #### Certification Authority Company or organization that sells and issues authentication certificates. You may purchase an authentication certificate from a Certification Authority that you trust. Also known as a CA. Also a central authority that issues certificates. When you use the Netscape Certificate Server to issue certificates, you are acting as a CA. #### CGI Common Gateway Interface. #### client A network-based application that requests services from a server. Examples include web browsers and email programs. # D #### daemon Unix programs that run in the background and perform a function whenever necessary. Daemons usually run with root privileges and perform very specialized functions. Common examples of daemon programs are mail handlers, license servers, and print daemons. #### Directory Server The Netscape server that manages information about people, discussion groups, and access control. The Directory Server can be thought of as a database engine that's been optimized for fast reads at the expense of slow writes. #### Directory Server Gateway (DSGW) An HTTP to LDAP client associated with an HTTPD server. The DSGW allows a web browser to perform LDAP client functions, such as querying and accessing the Directory Server. #### directory service A database application designed to manage descriptive, attribute-based information, such as a person's location or email address. #### directory A specialized database, also called a data repository, containing an ordered list of name/value pairs. An example would be "LastName = Brown". Directories are often used to store information such as employee names which is needed by several other applications. #### distinguished name 1) String representation of an entry's name and location in an LDAP directory. 2) A method for naming and identifying people, systems, and organizations. For example, each person has a different distinguished name. Distinguished names are part of the X.500 standard for directories. DSGW Directory Server Gateway. An LDAP client application that allows web browsers to connect to the Directory Server for administrative purposes. #### DMZ Demilitarized Zone. Taken from the military term for a safety zone between battle lines, this refers to an area within the firewall. Often this is a single machine with access to the internal site and the outside network. The computer in the DMZ is directly interacting with the Internet, so strict security measures are required. See also firewall. #### DNS Domain Name System. The system used by machines on a network to associate standard IP addresses (such as 198.93.93.10) with host names (such as www.netscape.com). Machines normally get this translated information from a DNS server, or look it up in tables maintained on their systems. #### document root A directory on the server machine that contains the files, images, and data you want to present to users accessing the server. # E #### extranet The part of a company or organization's internal computer network which is available to outside users, for example, information services for customers. # F #### file extension The last section of a file name that typically defines the type of file (for example, .GIF and .HTML). For example, in the filename index.html the file extension is html. #### file type The format of a given file. For example, a graphics file doesn't have the same file type as a text file. File types are usually identified by the file extension (.GIF or .HTML). #### firewall A network configuration, usually both hardware and software, that forms a fortress between networked computers within an organization and those outside the organization. It is commonly used to protect information such as a network's email and data files within a physical building or organization site. See also DMZ. #### FTP File Transfer Protocol: a method of transferring files to and from remote computers. Originally found only on UNIX systems but now available on other platforms. # G #### GIF Graphics Interchange Format: a commonly-used image format originally created by CompuServe. GIF images are readily viewable on Unix, Windows, and Macintosh systems. #### GUI Graphical User Interface. Refers to applications that use user interface mechanisms like a mouse, pull-down menus, etc. In other words, anything that looks and feels like a Macintosh. The opposite of GUI is CLI: command-line interface. # H #### hostname A name for a machine of the form machine.domain.com, which is translated into an IP address. For example, www.netscape.com is the machine www in the subdomain netscape and com domain. #### HTML Hypertext Markup Language is a formatting language used for documents on the World Wide Web. HTML files are plain text files with formatting codes that tell browsers such as the Netscape Navigator how to display text, position graphics and form items, and display links to other pages. #### HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol is the method for exchanging information between HTTP servers and clients. #### HTTPD An abbreviation for the HTTP daemon, a program that serves information using the HTTP protocol. The Netscape Communications Server is often called an httpd. | # I IETF Internet Engineering Task Force. A subsidiary of the Internet Architechure Board (IAB) which develope and oversee standards for the Internet. #### IMAP (Internet Mail Access Protocol) Internet Message Access Protocol Version 4 (IMAP4) allows users to be disconnected from the main messaging system and still be able to process their mail. The IMAP specification allows for administrative control for these disconnected users and for the resynchronization of the users' message store once they reconnect to the messaging system. #### intranet Any network which provides similar services within an organization to those provided by the Internet outside it but which is not necessarily connected to the Internet. The most common example is the use by a company of one or more World-Wide Web servers on an internal TCP/IP network for distribution of information within the company. #### IP address Internet Protocol address--a set of 4 numbers between 0 and 255, separated by dots, that specifies the network address of a machine on the Internet. Example: 200.128.13.109 # L #### LDAP Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. Directory service protocol designed to run over TCP/IP and across multiple platforms. The Netscape Directory Server uses the LDAP protocol. #### LDAP client Software used to request and view LDAP entries from an LDAP Directory Server. See also browser. #### LDIF LDAP Data Interchange Format. Format used to represent Directory Server entries in text form. # M #### MIME Multimedia Mail Extensions. This is a standard for multimedia e-mail and messaging. The mime.type file tells the proxy server how to convert files with certain extensions (such as .GIF) into a MIME type (such as image/.gif). Without MIME, browsers couldn't tell the difference between an HTML page and a graphics file. # N #### NCSA National Center for Supercomputing Applications. A research organization at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Netscape Console An administrative frontend used by all Netscape 4.x servers. Netscape Consoole has taken on many of the functions that used be handled by the Admin Server. #### NIS Network Information Service. NIS is Sun's network-based directory service which provides hostnames, usernames, passwords, etc. to NIS client systems (mostly Solaris boxes). NT Microsoft's operating system that incorporates network technology ("NT") with their popular Windows interface. nshome nshome is a variable representing the Directory Server's installation location. The default on NT systems is `c:\netscape\server4`; on Solaris systems it's `/usr/netscape/server4`. nshome can be set to any available folder or subdirectory during instllation. #### ns-slapd Netscape's LDAP Directory Server service that is responsible for all actions of the Directory Server. See also slapd. # O #### object class The type of data that an entry is defined to contain. OS Commonly-used abbreviation for operating system. OpenWindows One of the two main windowing environments used on Solaris systems (the other one is CDE). OpenWindows is Sun's implementation of the X11 windowing system. OSI Open Systems Interconnect. # P perl Practical Extraction & Reporting Language. A popular scripting language often used to add additional functionality to web pages through the CGI mechanism. Perl combines most of the simplicity of Basic with most of the power of C. #### pid Process Identifier. A unique number assigned by the Unix operating system to each seperate process running on that system. #### protocol A formal specification for electronic communication between two digital systems. Protocols become extremely important in any sort of network-based communication, since all systems on the network must be able to agree on a large number of parameters before they can interact with each other. #### public-key encryption An encryption scheme, introduced by Diffie and Hellman in 1976, where each person gets a pair of keys, called the public key and the private key. Each person's public key is published while the private key is kept secret. Messages are encrypted using the intended recipient's public key and can only be decrypted using his private key. The need for sender and receiver to share secret information (keys) via some secure channel is eliminated: all communications involve only public keys, and no private key is ever transmitted or shared. PKI Public-key Infrastructure. Refers to the integration of directory services with certificate services, together with a suitable administrative layer, which together form the cornerstone of an organization's information security system. # R #### replication Act of copying directory trees or subtrees from supplier servers to consumer servers. Multiple LDAP servers can contain identical directory entries using a mechanism called replication. If you configure your LDAP servers to use replication, one and only one LDAP server is responsible for modifications to the directory. This server is known as the supplier server. Other LDAP servers that receive replicated directory data are known as consumer servers. All consumer servers refer modification requests back to the supplier server. #### RFC Request For Comment. Semi-formal documents submitted to the IETF as proposals for some new network-based technology (often a protocol). The idea is to let other people send comments on the proposed technology before it becomes an accepted standard. #### root CA The CA at the top of the hierarchy of CAs. The root CA has a self-signed certificate and signs certificates for subordinate CAs. #### root The most privileged user available on UNIX machines. The root user has complete access privileges to all files on the machine. # S sandbox environment A test system functioning in a non-critical role. #### schema Definitions describing what types of information can be stored as entries in the LDAP directory. When information that does not match the schema is stored in the directory, clients attempting to access the directory may be unable to display the proper results. #### schema checking Ensures that entries added or modified in the directory conform to the defined schema. Schema checking is on by default and users will receive an error if they try to save an entry that does not conform to the schema. #### SSL Secure Sockets Layer. A software library establishing secure connection between two parties (client and server) used to implement HTTPS, the secure version of HTTP. #### slapd Program responsible for most functions of the Directory Server except replication. On Solaris systems, slapd is a deamon; on NT systems, slapd is a service. See also ns-slapd. slapd.conf The main configuration file for the Directory Server. It's an ASCII file read by the slapd process upon startup. Solaris This term refers to the operating system and windowing environment used on almost all computers produced by Sun Microsystems. Solaris has become the most popular flavor of Unix. SQL Structured Query Language. A standardized method of accessing and manipulating information in a conventional database. # T #### target system A system (computer) that will have new software or services added to it. The "destination" system. #### TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. A set of rules that establish the method with which data is transmitted over the Internet between two computers. # U #### uid A unique number associated with each user on a UNIX system (computer). UIDs are stored in the `/etc/password` file. The UID for root is always 0. #### URL Uniform Resource Locator, the address to a source of information. The URL contains four distinct parts, the protocol type, the machine name, the directory path and the file name. Example: http://learning.netscape.com/courses/prodlist.htm #### Unix A powerful multi-user operating system originally developed at Bell Labs. UNIX became very popular at universities because AT&T gave it away for free. More recently Sun Microsystems and other companies have turned Unix into a versatile enterprise OS. # X #### X.500 The set of ISO/IEC documents outlining the standard object classes, attributes, and LDAP protocols to be used in directory server creation and management. #### X.509 The International Telecommunications Union-T (ITU-T) specifications for an authentication service. The standard also defines a syntax for certificates. X.509 certificates are certificates that comply with this syntax.

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