List of information technology initialisms
The table below lists
IT career certification exams such as CompTIA
A+.
| Abbreviation | Meaning | Primary Applicability[4] | Normative Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACK | Acknowledgement | Transport and other layers | TCP/IP, for example. RFC 793 |
ACL
|
Access control list | Security, application layer | Access control list, Cisco overview
|
| ADSL | Asymmetric digital subscriber line | Telecom | ITU-T G.992.5 Annex M, for example |
| AES | Advanced Encryption Standard | Security | U.S. FIPS PUB 197 |
ANSI
|
American National Standards Institute | Organization | ANSI |
API
|
Application Programming Interface | Software | API |
| ARP | Address Resolution Protocol | Link layer | RFC 1122 |
| ATM | Asynchronous Transfer Mode | Telecom | ATM cell description |
BGP
|
Border Gateway Protocol (routing protocol) | Application layer, Routers | RFC 4271 |
BSS
|
Basic service set (Wi-Fi) | Wireless | IEEE Std 802.11-2007 |
| CAT | Category (e.g. CAT-5 cable) | Physical layer | ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.1-2001 |
CCITT (obs.)
|
Standards organization that has been replaced by ITU-T | Organization | ITU-T |
CHAP
|
Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (PPP) | Security, telecom | RFC 1994 |
| CIDR | Classless Inter-Domain Routing | Architecture | RFC 1518 RFC 1519 |
CIR
|
Committed Information Rate (Frame Relay) | Telecom | RFC 1490 RFC 1973 RFC 2427 |
CLI
|
Command line interpreter | Hardware | Catalyst 6500 Series Command Reference, 7.6, for example |
CPE
|
Customer premises equipment | Telecom | Telecom Glossary |
CPU
|
Central processing Unit | Microprocessor | Wikipedia |
| CRC | Cyclic redundancy check | Link and other layers | 24 References here.
|
| CRC-16-CCITT | Cyclic redundancy check (X.25, HDLC) | Link layers | Reference on CRC page.
|
CRT
|
Cathode Ray Tube | Television set, Computer Monitor | Cathode ray tube
|
CSMA/CA
|
Carrier sense multiple access / collision avoidance | Wireless | IEEE Std 802.11 Downloads |
CSMA/CD
|
Carrier sense multiple access / collision detection | Physical layer | IEEE Std 802.3TM-2002 |
| CSU/DSU | Channel service unit / data service unit | Telecom | Telecom Glossary |
| CMOS | Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor | Utility | CMOS |
| DAM | Database activity monitoring | Security | Database activity monitoring |
| DAM | Digital asset management | Internet Layer | Digital asset management |
DCE
|
Data communications equipment | Telecom | Telecom Glossary |
| DEC (obs.) | Digital Equipment Corporation | Organization | Digital Equipment Corporation formally Purchased by Compaq in 1998. Merged with Hewlett-Packard 2002. |
| DES | Data Encryption Standard (obs. See AES) | Security | Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) FIPS-46-3 |
| DHCP | Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol | Application layer, Internet Layer | RFC 2131 and others |
| DIMM | Dual In-line Memory Module | Hardware | DIMM |
| DNS | Domain Name System | Application layer | Over 30 RFCs here. |
DRAM
|
Dynamic random-access memory | Hardware | Dynamic random-access memory |
| DSL | Digital subscriber line | Telecom | Telecom Glossary |
| DSLAM | Digital subscriber line access multiplexer | Telecom | Telecom Glossary (proposed) |
| DTE | Data Terminal Equipment | Telecom | Telecom Glossary |
| DMI | Desktop Management Interface | Utility | Desktop Management Interface |
EHA
|
Ethernet Hardware Address (MAC address) | Link layer | IEEE Std 802 IEEE OUI Assignments |
| EIA | Electronics Industry Alliance | Organization | EIA |
EIGRP
|
Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol | Internet Layer | Cisco Doc ID: 16406 |
| EMAC | Ethernet Media Access Control | Link Layer | |
EOF
|
End Of Frame (HDLC, etc.) | Link layer | HDLC framing |
ESS
|
Extended service set (Wi-Fi group) | Wireless | IEEE Std 802.11-2007 |
| FCC | Federal Communications Commission (US) | Organization | US FCC |
| FCS | Frame check sequence (Ethernet) | Link layer | Ethernet Frame IEEE Std 802.3 |
FDDI
|
Fiber Distributed Data Interface | Link layer | American National Standards Institute X3T9.5 (now X3T12), ISO/IEC 9314-x |
FTP
|
File Transfer Protocol | Application layer | RFC 959 and others |
GBIC
|
Gigabit interface converter | Hardware | Seagate Specification |
gbps
|
Gigabit per second | Physical layer | Gigabit per second
|
| GEPOF | Gigabit Ethernet (over) Plastic Optical Fiber | Physical layer | IEEE P802.3bv |
| GMAC | Gigabit Ethernet Media Access Control | Link Layer | |
HDLC
|
High-level Data Link Control | Link layer | ISO 13239 |
HTTP
|
HyperText Transfer Protocol | Application layer | W3C Change History for HTTP |
| HTTPS | HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure | Transport and other layers | SSL 3.0 Specification |
| IaaS | Infrastructure as a service | Cloud Services | IaaS Microsoft Docs |
| IANA | Internet Assigned Number Authority | Organization | IANA |
| ICaaS | Integration Capability as a Service | Organization | ICaaS |
| ICMP | Internet Control Message Protocol | Internet Layer | RFC 792 |
| IDF | Intermediate distribution frame | Physical layer | Structured cabling or Telecom Glossary |
IDS
|
Intrusion Detection System | Security | Wikipedia |
IEEE
|
Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers | Organization | IEEE |
IETF
|
Internet Engineering Task Force | Organization | IETF |
IMAP
|
Internet Message Access Protocol | Application layer | RFC 3501 |
| IP | Internet Protocol | Internet Layer | RFC 791 RFC 1606 |
IPS
|
Intrusion prevention system | Security | "NIST - Guide to Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS)". 2007-02. Retrieved 2010-08-24. |
| IS-IS | Intermediate System to Intermediate System (routing protocol) | Internet Layer | ISO/IEC 10589:2002 |
ISDN
|
Integrated Services Digital Network | Telecom | IEC Area 716-xx |
| ISP | Internet service provider | Telecom | Telecom Glossary |
| ITU-T | International Telecommunication Union | Organization | http://www.itu.int |
kbps
|
Kilobit per second | Physical layer | Kilobit per second
|
LACP
|
Link Aggregation Control Protocol | Data link layer | |
| LAN | Local area network | Link and other layers | Telecom Glossary |
| LAPB | Link Access Procedure, Balanced (x.25) | Telecom | ITU-T Recommendation X.222 |
| LAPF | Link-access procedure for Frame Relay | Telecom | RFC 1490 |
| LLC | Logical link control | Link layer | Telecom Glossary |
MAC
|
Media access control | Link layer | IEEE Std 802.3 and 802.11, for example |
| MAM | Media access management (related to Digital asset management) | Internet layer | Wikipedia |
| MAN | Metropolitan area network | Telecom | Telecom Glossary |
Mbps
|
Megabits per second | Physical layer | Megabit_per_second
|
| MC | Multiple choice | IT Professional Certification | About certification exams |
| MDF | Main distribution frame | Physical layer | Glossary See also Structured cabling |
| MIB | Management information base (SNMP) | Application layer | RFC 3418 |
| MII | Media-independent Interface | Link layer | |
| MoCA | Multimedia over Coax Alliance | Organization | Multimedia over Coax Alliance |
| MPLS | Multiprotocol Label Switching | network technology | |
| MTU | Maximum Transmission Unit | Multiple layers | |
| NAC | Network access control | Link and other layers | IEEE 802.1x |
| NAS | Network-attached storage | Hardware / Storage | Computer data storage |
| NAT | Network Address Translation | Internet Layer | Cisco Internet Protocol Journal: A look Inside Network Address Translators |
NBMA
|
Non-Broadcast Multiple Access (e.g. Frame Relay ATM) | Telecom | See ATM, Frame Relay and X.25, for examples. |
NIC
|
Network Interface Card | Physical layer | Telecom Glossary |
| NRZ | Non-return-to-zero | Physical layer | Federal Standard 1037C |
NRZI
|
Non-return to zero inverted | Physical layer | Federal Standard 1037C |
NVRAM
|
Non-volatile RAM | Hardware | Sample vendor data here |
OSI
|
Open System Interconnect (joint ISO and ITU standard) | Organization | ISO/IEC 9594-5:2005 Open Systems Interconnection Protocol Specifications |
OSPF
|
Open Shortest Path First (routing protocol) | Internet Layer | RFC 2238 |
OUI
|
Organization Unique Identifier | Link and other layers | IEEE OUI Assignments |
PAP
|
Password authentication protocol | Security | RFC 1334 |
PAT
|
Port address translation | Internet Layer | RFC 1918 |
| PaaS | Platform as a service | Cloud Computing/Service | Platform as a service |
| PC | Personal computer (host) | Hardware | |
| PIM | Personal information manager | Software category | |
| PCM | Pulse-code modulation | Physical layer | ITU-T G.711 |
| PDU | Protocol data unit (such as segment, packet, frame, etc.) | Multiple layers | Fed Std 1037C |
POP3
|
Post Office Protocol, version 3 | Application layer | RFC 1939 |
| POP | Point of presence | Telecom | Telecom Glossary |
| POST | Power-on self test | Hardware | Cisco Catalyst 2800 User Guide, for example |
| POTS | Plain old telephone service | Telecom | Telecom Glossary |
PPP
|
Point-to-point Protocol | Telecom | RFC 1661 |
PPTP
|
Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol | Telecom | RFC 2637 |
PTT
|
Public Telephone and Telegraph | Telecom | Telecom Glossary or Free Dictionary |
PVST
|
Per-VLAN Spanning Tree | Link layer | Cisco's introduction to Spanning Tree Protocol |
| RADIUS | Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service | Security | RFC 2865 |
| RAM | Random Access Memory | Physical layer | Telecom Glossary |
RARP
|
Reverse ARP | Link layer | RFC 903 |
| RIMM | Rambus In-line Memory Module | Hardware | Wikipedia |
| RFC | Request for Comments | Multiple layers | IETF's RFC Index |
| RIP | Routing Information Protocol | Internet Layer | RFC 2453, for RIP version 2 |
RLL
|
Run-Length Limited | Physical layer | RLL is used in a wide range of encodings.
|
| ROM | Read-Only Memory | Hardware | Telecom Glossary |
| RSTP | Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol | Link layer | IEEE 802.1w - Rapid Reconfiguration of Spanning Tree |
| RTP | Real-time Transport Protocol | Application layer | RFC 3550 |
| SaaS | Software as a service | Cloud Computing/Service | Software as a service Microsoft Docs |
| SDLC | Synchronous Data Link Control | Link layer | Cisco Technology Handbook: SDLC and Derivatives |
| SDN | Software-defined networking | Architecture | Software-defined networking |
| SFD | Start-of-frame delimiter (Ethernet, HDLC, etc.) | Link layer | IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet), or RFC 2687 (HDLC), for examples |
SFP
|
Small form-factor pluggable | Hardware | Seagate Specification |
S-HTTP
|
Secure HTTP (rarely used) | Transport and other layers | RFC 2660 See also https
|
SLARP
|
Serial Line ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) | Link and other layers | Archived Cisco Serial Line Encapsulation extension |
| SLIP | Serial Line Internet Protocol (obs.) | Telecom | RFC 1055 |
| SIMM | Single In-line Memory Module | Hardware | Wikipedia |
SMTP
|
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol | Application layer | RFC 5321 |
| SNA | Systems Network Architecture (IBM) | Multiple layers | SNA Protocol Suite |
| SNAP | SubNet Access Protocol | Link layer | IEEE 802 Overview and Architecture |
SNMP
|
Simple Network Management Protocol | Application layer | RFC 1155, RFC 3410 thru RFC 3418 and others |
| SOF | Start of frame | Link layer | IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet), or RFC 2687 (HDLC), for examples |
SRAM
|
Static random access memory | Hardware | PC Guide's Definition |
| SSH | Secure shell | Application layer | RFC 4252 |
SSID
|
Service set identifier (Wi-Fi) | Wireless | IEEE 802.11 |
STP
|
Spanning Tree Protocol | Link layer | Cisco's Introduction to Spanning Tree Protocol |
SYN (TCP)
|
Synchronization | Link and other layers | RFC 793 and many others |
TCP/IP
|
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol | Transport layer | RFC 793 and many others |
| TDM | Time-division multiplexing | Physical layer | Fed Std 1037C |
| TFTP | Trivial File Transfer Protocol | Application layer | RFC 1350 |
| TIA | Telecommunications Industry Alliance | Organization | Telecommunications Industry Association |
| TOFU | Trust On First Use | Security | Improving SSH-style Host Authentication with Multi-Path Probing |
| UDP | User Datagram Protocol | Transport layer | RFC 768 |
| URL | Uniform Resource Locator | Web address | URL spec (1994) |
| USB | Universal Serial Bus | Physical and other layers | USB 3.0 Specification |
| UTP | Unshielded twisted pair | Physical | Many versions are defined by TIA, such as: TIA-568-B |
| VC | Virtual circuit | Transport and other layers | Telecom Glossary |
| VLAN | Virtual local area network | Link layer | IEEE 802.1Q |
VLSM
|
Variable-length subnet masking | Architecture | RFC 1518 RFC 1519 |
| VM | Virtual machine | virtualization/emulation | Virtual machine |
VPN
|
Virtual private network | Application layer | Virtual Private Network Consortium |
W3C
|
World Wide Web Consortium | Organization | W3C |
| WAN | Wide-area network | Telecom | Telecom Glossary |
| WEP | Wired Equivalent Privacy | Wireless | IEEE 802.11 |
| Wi-Fi | An implementation of IEEE wireless communication standard 802.11 | Wireless | Wi-Fi Alliance |
WLC
|
Wireless LAN Controller | Wireless | Cisco |
| WPA | Wi-Fi Protected Access | Security | IEEE 802.11i |
www
|
World Wide Web | Architecture | W3C Consortium |
See also
References
- ISBN 978-1-58720-182-0.
- ISBN 978-0-470-17560-6.
- ^ CCNA Exploration 4.0 5.0 Routing Protocols and Concepts Student Lab Manual. Cisco Press.
- ISO modelis used for layer names.