Glossary terms provided by TechTerms.com.
| Word | Description |
| V.32 | A standard naming convention used in determining modem communications, all starting with “V.” This one is for specifying the Hayes standard of bidirectional 9600 baud transmission. |
| V.32bis | The standard that came after V.32 which increased the speed from 9600 baud to 14.4 Kbits per second. |
| V.34 | This was a dramatic improvement for modem communications. It doubled the top speed of the V.32bis standard to 28.8Kbps. |
| V.34+ | This standard was made by US Robotics to indicate that its modems are superior to a standard V.34 modem in that they run at 33.6 KB baud instead of the slower 28.8 KB baud. |
| V.42 | The name given to the standard for transmitting at 2400 baud. |
| V.42Bis | This is not a speed standard like V.32 and V.34, but an error correction and compression method that is hardware-based. Its major improvement comes from knowing when compression will be beneficial and when it will not be. |
| V.90 | The ITU’s first standard for 56K modem communications. It superceded X2 and 56kflex to become the ultimate 56K standard. Most X2 and 56kflex modems were able to upgrade to V.90 for free. |
| V.92 | An extension to the V.90 modem transmission standard that adds three new features: quick connect, which speeds up the connection handshake; Modem-on-Hold, for receiving incoming calls without breaking your connection; and PCM Upstream, for speeding up upstream data rates to up to 48Kbps. Previously with V.90, upstream rates were limited to 33.6Kbps. |
| V.Fast | This standard was made between the time of V.32bis and V.34. It is also a 28.8 KB baud speed, but was not as reliable as the approved V.34 standard. |
| V2P (Virtual to Physical) migration | The operation of migrating an operating system and every application installed on it from a virtual machine or a partition to one or multiple physical computers, without reinstalling anything. The opposite of P2V (Physical to Virtual). |
| V2V (Virtual to Virtual) migration | The operation of migrating an operating system and every application installed on it from a virtual machine or partition hosted in a virtual infrastructure to another virtual machine or partition hosted in a different virtual infrastructure, without reinstalling anything. Mainly used when working with different virtualization technologies in the same environment. |
| VA | Volt Amps. Used to measure an the maximum load that can be placed on a UPS. VA = Maximum UPS load = Watts/0.7 = Amps x Voltage. |
| VB | (Microsoft) Visual Basic. cf VB6 and VB.Net. |
| VB.Net | (Microsoft) Visual Basic .NET. Touted by Microsoft as the next version of VB after VB6, but regarded by some as a new language in its own right because of the magnitude of the changes between VB6 and VB.Net. Very infrequently referred to as VB7. |
| VBA | (Microsoft) Visual Basic for Applications. VBA is the common (macro) programming language available for Office tools. It is a dialect of VB. |
| VBScript | VBScript Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) is a programming language developed by Microsoft for creating scripts (miniprograms) that can be embedded in HTML Web pages for viewing with Internet Explorer. These scripts can make Web pages more interactive. VBScript also works with Microsoft ActiveX Controls, allowing Web site developers to create forms, interactive multimedia, games, and other Web-based programs. VBScript is similar in functionality to JavaScript and is a subset of the widely used Microsoft Visual Basic programming language. See also: ActiveX, JavaScript, Visual Basic |
| Vector | Mathematically, a vector is a quantity, defined by both magnitude and direction. For example, a vector could be illustrated by an 1 inch arrow pointing at a 30 degree angle. Another vector may be 2.5 inches and point at a 160 degree angle. In the computer world, vectors are used to define paths in certain types of images, such as EPS files and Adobe Illustrator documents. These images are often called vector graphics since they are comprised of vectors, or paths, instead of dots. Vector graphics can be scaled larger or smaller without losing quality. In computer science, a vector may refer to a type of one dimensional array. For example, a vector called "fibonacci" that stores the first six values of the Fibonacci sequence would be defined as follows: fibonacci[0] = 0, fibonacci[1] = 1, fibonacci[2] = 1, fibonacci[3] = 2, fibonacci[4] = 3, fibonacci[5] = 5 Vectors are similar to arrays, but unlike arrays, vectors use their own memory management mechanisms. Arrays are restricted to the memory structure supplied by the programming language they are created in, typically called a stack. Vectors have a more dynamic structure, often referred to as a heap, which gives them greater flexibility in how they use memory. While an array uses a static amount of memory, the memory used by the vector can be increased or decreased as elements are added or removed from the vector. |
| Vector Graphic | Unlike JPEGs, GIFs, and BMP images, vector graphics are not made up of a grid of pixels. Instead, vector graphics are comprised of paths, which are defined by a start and end point, along with other points, curves, and angles along the way. A path can be a line, a square, a triangle, or a curvy shape. These paths can be used to create simple drawings or complex diagrams. Paths are even used to define the characters of specific typefaces. Because vector-based images are not made up of a specific number of dots, they can be scaled to a larger size and not lose any image quality. If you blow up a raster graphic, it will look blocky, or "pixelated." When you blow up a vector graphic, the edges of each object within the graphic stay smooth and clean. This makes vector graphics ideal for logos, which can be small enough to appear on a business card, but can also be scaled to fill a billboard. Common types of vector graphics include Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, and EPS files. Many Flash animations also use vector graphics, since they scale better and typically take up less space than bitmap images. File extensions: .AI, .EPS, .SVG, .DRW |
| Veronica | The name actually stands for "Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Netwide Index to Computerized Archives." Pretty weird, I know. The "rodent" part of the acronym refers to how the Veronica utility allows you to search all of the world's gopher servers using keywords. (That's about 10 million items from over 6,000 gopher servers.) After searching for the terms, Veronica displays a list of gopher menus and articles containing the key words you searched for. The more recent versions of Veronica can also search certain Web pages, newsgroups, and FTP sites. Unlike most search engines, Veronica searches for keywords only in gopher server menu titles, and doesn't look throught the entire text of documents. When searching with Veronica, you can use the logical operators AND, NOT, and OR to help narrow your search. Also, typing an asterisk (*) at the end of a word will match anything starting with that word. Sound familar to any Unix users? |
| VFAT | Stands for "Virtual File Allocation Table." Older Windows operating systems (Windows ME and earlier) used a file system called "FAT" or "FAT32." The file system is what the operating system uses to organize and access files on the hard drive. VFAT, introduced with Windows 95, was an improvement to the basic FAT file system, allowing more information to be stored for each file. While the FAT file system can only store 8 characters for each file name, VFAT allows for file names up to 255 characters in length |
| VGA | Video Graphics Array. An analogue graphics standard which supports a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. cf video mode. |
| vi | vi is a family of screen-oriented text editors which share certain characteristics, such as methods of invocation from the operating system command interpreter, and characteristic user interface features. The portable subset of the behavior of vi programs, and the ex editor language supported within these programs, is described by (and thus standardized by) the Single Unix Specification[1] and POSIX. |
| Video Card | Most of the processing done on a computer is done via the computer's central processing unit, or CPU. So in order to give the CPU a break and help it run more efficiently, a video card can be used to process the graphics portion of the processing load. Because most of today's programs are graphically oriented, the video card can help almost any program run more efficiently. However, the difference in performance is especially noticeable in image editing applications and 3D games. Video cards, also called graphics accelerators, can speed up both 2D and 3D graphics rendering. Programs such as photo editors and Web browsers may benefit from 2D acceleration, while CAD design programs and video games will most likely benefit from the card's 3D acceleration. Some programs rely so heavily on the video card, that they will not run if a supported video card is not installed. Most video cards support the OpenGL and DirectX libraries. These libraries include commands for manipulating graphics that programmers can include in their code. Some of these commands may include moving or rotating an object, morphing polygons, or casting light and creating shadows. By using standard OpenGL or DirectX functions, it makes it easier for developers to create graphically-oriented programs. Of course, it also makes it necessary for the computer to include a supported video card in order for the program to run. Video cards are typically installed in either the PCI or AGP slots in the back of a computer. Most computers come with a video card installed in one of these slots, which means it can be upgraded at a later time. |
| Video Mode | 1. The current setting of a video adapter. Different video modes support different resolutions (i.e. number of pixels horizontally and vertically) and colour depth (i.e. the number of colours). The following table lists common video graphics adapter abbreviations and the maximum supported resolutions for each: Abbreviation Max resolution Aspect VGA 640 x 480 standard SVGA 800 x 600 standard XGA 1024 x 768 standard SXGA 1280 x 1024 standard SXGA+ 1400 x 1050 widescreen WXGA 1366 x 768 or 1280 x 768 widescreen WSXGA 1440 x 900 widescreen WSXGA+ 1680 x 1050 widescreen UXGA 1600 x 1200 standard WUXGA 1920 x 1200 widescreen QXGA 2048 x 1600 standard WQXGA 2560 x 1600 widescreen These abbreviations are unfortunately not standardized. There may therefore be some variability between two graphics adapters both claiming to support say SXGA. 2. The ability or setting for a digital photo camera to record short video clips. |
| Vim | a text editor, acronym for Vi improved after Vim added several features over the vi editor. Vim however had started out as an imitation of Vi and was expanded as Vi imitation. |
| Virtual | With regard to memory, virtual refers to temporarily storing information on the hard drive. Virtual memory is controlled automatically by the operating system. |
| virtual classroom | An online environment where students can have access to learning tools any time. Interaction between the instructor and the class participants can be via e-mail, chat, discussion group, etc. |
| Virtual disk | A virtual disk is a file on the host file system that appears as a physical disk drive to a guest operating system. This file can be on the host machine as well as on a remote file system. When you configure a virtual machine with a virtual disk, you can install a new operating system onto the disk file without the need to repartition a physical disk or reboot the host. VMware virtual disk devices can also be mapped to partitions on the host machine. See also Raw disk. |
| Virtual Machine | A virtual machine was originally defined by Popek and Goldberg as "an efficient, isolated duplicate of a real machine". Current use includes virtual machines which have no direct correspondence to any real hardware.[1] Virtual machines are separated into two major categories, based on their use and degree of correspondence to any real machine. A system virtual machine provides a complete system platform which supports the execution of a complete operating system (OS). In contrast, a process virtual machine is designed to run a single program, which means that it supports a single process. An essential characteristic of a virtual machine is that the software running inside is limited to the resources and abstractions provided by the virtual machine—it cannot break out of its virtual world. Example: A program written in Java receives services from the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) software by issuing commands to, and receiving the expected results from, the Java software. By providing these services to the program, the Java software is acting as a "virtual machine", taking the place of the operating system or hardware for which the program would ordinarily be tailored. [edit]System virtual machines See also: Platform virtualization and Comparison of platform virtual machines System virtual machines (sometimes called hardware virtual machines) allow the sharing of the underlying physical machine resources between different virtual machines, each running its own operating system. The software layer providing the virtualization is called a virtual machine monitor or hypervisor. A hypervisor can run on bare hardware (Type 1 or native VM) or on top of an operating system (Type 2 or hosted VM). The main advantages of system VMs are: multiple OS environments can co-exist on the same computer, in strong isolation from each other the virtual machine can provide an instruction set architecture (ISA) that is somewhat different from that of the real machine application provisioning, maintenance, high availability and disaster recovery[2] The main disadvantage of system VMs is: a virtual machine is less efficient than a real machine when it accesses the hardware indirectly Multiple VMs each running their own operating system (called guest operating system) are frequently used in server consolidation, where different services that used to run on individual machines in order to avoid interference are instead run in separate VMs on the same physical machine. This use is frequently called quality-of-service isolation (QoS isolation). The desire to run multiple operating systems was the original motivation for virtual machines, as it allowed time-sharing a single computer between several single-tasking OSes. This technique requires a process to share the CPU resources between guest operating systems and memory virtualization to share the memory on the host. The guest OSes do not have to be all the same, making it possible to run different OSes on the same computer (e.g., Microsoft Windows and Linux, or older versions of an OS in order to support software that has not yet been ported to the latest version). The use of virtual machines to support different guest OSes is becoming popular in embedded systems; a typical use is to support a real-time operating system at the same time as a high-level OS such as Linux or Windows. Another use is to sandbox an OS that is not trusted, possibly because it is a system under development. Virtual machines have other advantages for OS development, including better debugging access and faster reboots.[3] Alternate techniques such as Solaris Zones provides a level of isolation within a single operating system. This does not have isolation as complete as a VM. |
| Virtual machine configuration | The specification of what virtual devices (disks, memory size, etc.) are present in a virtual machine, and how they are mapped to host files and devices. |
| Virtual machine configuration file | A file containing a virtual machine configuration. It is created by the Configuration Wizard or the Configuration Editor. It is used by VMware to identify and run a specific virtual machine. |
| Virtual Memory | Memory is hardware that your computer uses to load the operating system and run programs. It consists of one or more RAM chips that each have several memory modules. The amount of real memory in a computer is limited to the amount of RAM installed. Common memory sizes are 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB. Because your computer has a finite amount of RAM, it is possible to run out of memory when too many programs are running at one time. This is where virtual memory comes in. Virtual memory increases the available memory your computer has by enlarging the "address space," or places in memory where data can be stored. It does this by using hard disk space for additional memory allocation. However, since the hard drive is much slower than the RAM, data stored in virtual memory must be mapped back to real memory in order to be used. The process of mapping data back and forth between the hard drive and the RAM takes longer than accessing it directly from the memory. This means that the more virtual memory is used, the more it will slow your computer down. While virtual memory enables your computer to run more programs than it could otherwise, it is best to have as much physical memory as possible. This allows your computer to run most programs directly from the RAM, avoiding the need t |
| Virtual Private Network (VPN) | A restricted-use, logical (i.e., artificial or simulated) computer network that is constructed from the system resources of a relatively public, physical (i.e., real) network (such as the Internet), often by using encryption (located at hosts or gateways), and often by tunneling links of the virtual network across the real network. For example, if a corporation has LANs at several different sites, each connected to the Internet by a firewall, the corporation could create a VPN by (a) using encrypted tunnels to connect from firewall to firewall across the Internet and (b) not allowing any other traffic through the firewalls. A VPN is generally less expensive to build and operate than a dedicated real network, because the virtual network shares the cost of system resources with other users of the real network. |
| Virtual Reality | While the word "virtual" is typically overused in the computer world, it is aptly placed in the phrase "virtual reality." According to the American Heritage Dictionary, virtual means "existing or resulting in essence or effect though not in actual fact, form, or name." It can also mean "created, simulated, or carried on by means of a computer or computer network." Therefore, virtual reality is best described as an illusion of reality created by a computer system. A person may enter a world of virtual reality by putting on special glasses and headphones attached to a computer system running the virtual reality program. These devices immerse the user with the sights and sounds of the virtual world. Some virtual reality systems allow the user to also wear gloves with electronic sensors that can be used to touch or move virtual objects. As the user moves his head or hands, the computer moves the virtual world accordingly in real-time. Virtual reality has been widely used for entertainment purposes, but the technology has found its way into the military and medical fields as well. While virtual reality systems have advanced significantly over the past decade, for the most part they are still more "virtual" than reality. |
| Virtualization | irtualization allows a single computer to run multiple operating systems. For example, using virtualization software, a Mac OS X computer can run Windows and a Windows computer can run Linux. Virtualization software allows multiple operating systems to run at the same time and even interact with each other. When an additional operating system (OS) is running on top of the main OS through virtualization, it is called a virtual machine. Example: "Virtualization allows a Macintosh computer to run Mac OS X and Windows at the same time." |
| Virus | A chunk of computer programming code that makes copies of itself without any concious human intervention. Some viruses do more than simply replicate themselves, they might display messages, install other software or files, delete software of files, etc. A virus requires the presence of some other program to replicate itself. Typically viruses spread by attaching themselves to programs and in some cases files, for example the file formats for Microsoft word processor and spreadsheet programs allow the inclusion of programs called "macros" which can in some cases be a breeding ground for viruses. See also: Trojan Horse, Worm |
| Visitor | When a user arrives on a website, he or she is considered one visitor regardless of how many pages at which he or she looks. If a visitor returns to that website later in the day, he or she may be counted as another visitor by logging programs unless you are looking for “unique” visitors and the visitor is identified by cookies or IP addresses. |
| Vista | Windows Vista. Refers to the Windows Vista operating system from Microsoft. Vista is available in four different editions: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate. |
| VLAN | Virtual Local Area Network (LAN). System for allowing a set of computers to behave and interact as though they were on the same LAN, even though they may be on physically separate and distinct networks. |
| VLAN (Virtual LAN) | This is created when a bunch of physically connected ports are grouped together by network hardware that supports VLANs. These VLANs are each treated as completely separate entities, and can only be joined together by a router. This scheme is useful for grouping departments together for security and minimizing network traffic. |
| VLK | Volume License Key. A single license key which can be used on a number of computers to install a given product. A volume license key is typically issued to an individual company after purchasing a site license for a product. |
| VMM (Virtual Machine Monitor) | The virtualization software layer managing hardware requests from a guest OS, simulating answers from a real hardware. Used as Hypervisor synonymous. |
| VMware ESX | VMware ESX is an enterprise-level virtualization product offered by VMware, Inc. ESX is a component of VMware's larger offering, VMware Infrastructure, which adds management and reliability services to the core server product. The basic server requires some form of persistent storage—typically, an array of hard disk drives—for storing the virtualization kernel and support files. A variant of this design, VMware ESXi, does away with the first requirement by moving the server kernels into a dedicated hardware device. Both variants support the services offered by VMware Infrastructure.[2] |
| VMware ESXi | VMware ESX is an enterprise-level virtualization product offered by VMware, Inc. ESX is a component of VMware's larger offering, VMware Infrastructure, which adds management and reliability services to the core server product. The basic server requires some form of persistent storage—typically, an array of hard disk drives—for storing the virtualization kernel and support files. A variant of this design, VMware ESXi, does away with the first requirement by moving the server kernels into a dedicated hardware device. Both variants support the services offered by VMware Infrastructure.[2] |
| VMware vSphere | VMware vSphere, (formerly developed as VMware Infrastructure 4) is VMware's first cloud operating system, able to manage large pools of virtualized computing infrastructure, including software and hardware. VMware vSphere 4 was originally developed as VMware Infrastructure (VI) 4 then became its own product called vSphere.[1] |
| Voice Firewall | A physical discontinuity in a voice network that monitors, alerts and controls inbound and outbound voice network activity based on user-defined call admission control (CAC) policies, voice application layer security threats or unauthorized service use violations. |
| Voice Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) | Voice IPS is a security management system for voice networks which monitors voice traffic for multiple calling patterns or attack/abuse signatures to proactively detect and prevent toll fraud, Denial of Service, telecom attacks, service abuse, and other anomalous activity. |
| VoIP | Voice over IP. Sending voice data (i.e. human conversations) using IP packets across a network (such as the internet) instead of across a (traditional) telephone network. A number of companies offer VoIP services. Typically these provide free telephone calls between people using the same software, but do not support calls between people using different software. Some provide additional facilities such as VoIP to landline numbers (call-out) or landline numbers to VoIP (call-in), and video. |
| Volt | The standard unit of electric potential. It is defined as the amount of electrical potential between two points on a conductor carrying a current of one ampere while one watt of power is dissipated between the two points. |
| Voltage | A measure of an amount of volts. |
| Volume | The word "volume" has several different meanings. The most common definition is the magnitude or intensity of a certain sound. Volume may also refer to how much space a three-dimensional object takes up. However, in the always ambiguous realm of computers, the word volume can also refer to a specific data storage device. Some examples of volumes include hard disks, DVD drives, and flash memory drives, such as USB keychain drives. Your computer recognizes all these data storage devices as volumes. The only requirement is that each volume has a file system that the computer can recognize. The file system tells the computer how the folders and files are organized on the volume. On a Macintosh, all volumes connected to the computer (either directly or by a network connection) will show up on the desktop. For example, a hard drive will have a hard drive icon and a CD will have a CD icon. In Windows, you will find a list of all available volumes when you open "My Computer." If a volume is connected, but is not showing up on the screen, you can often use a disk utility program to "mount" the volume so that the computer can communicate with it. |
| VPK | Volume Product Key. A volume product key is a single product key issued to a company in respect of a specific product for a specific number of licenses. VPKs are used by Microsoft as a means of electronically selling volume licneses. |
| VPN | Usually refers to a network in which some of the parts are connected using the public Internet, but the data sent across the Internet is encrypted, so the entire network is "virtually" private. |
| VPS | Virtual Private Server. A web server that is administered by a customer as though it were a single dedicated server, but which is one of many virtual servers running on the same physical server. This allows a hosting company to host multiple VPS on the same server. A VPS is therefore much cheaper than a dedicated server, and has many of the advantages of a dedicated server. |
| VRAM | Stands for "Video Random Access Memory" and is pronounced "V-RAM." System RAM is great for loading and running programs, but when you need graphics power, VRAM is where it's at. This is the memory used to store image data that the computer displays; it acts as a buffer between the CPU and the video card. When a picture is to be displayed on the screen, the image is first read by the processor and then written to the VRAM. The data is then converted by a RAM digital-to-analog converter (RAMDAC) into analog signals that are sent to the display. Of course, the whole process happens so quickly, you don't notice it. Unlike most system RAM, VRAM chips are dual-ported, which means that while the display is reading from VRAM to refresh the currently displayed image, the processor is writing a new image to the VRAM. This prevents the display from flickering between the redrawing of images. There are many different types of VRAM. One popular kind is called Synchronous Graphics RAM (SGRAM). It is an inexpensive type of RAM that is clock-synchronized. This means data can be modified in a single operation rather than as a sequence of read, write, and update operations. This allows background, foreground, and image fills to be handled more efficiently. Another type of VRAM is Rambus Dynamic RAM (RDRAM). It is designed by Rambus and includes a proprietary Rambus bus that speeds up the transfer of data through it. Video editing pros like this chip since it is optimized for video streaming. A third type of VRAM is Window RAM (WRAM). This high-performance VRAM is dual-ported, has about 25% more bandwidth than standard VRAM, and typically costs less. Finally, there is Multibank Dynamic RAM (MDRAM). This is also high-performance VRAM, developed by MoSys, which divides the memory into divisions of 32 KB that can be accessed individually. This makes memory transfers more efficient and increases overall performance. Another advantage of MDRAM is that it can be manufactured with just the right amount of memory for a given resolution, so it is cheaper to manufacture than most other types of VRAM. |
| VRML | Stands for "Virtual Reality Modeling Language." If you think this has something to do with HTML, you're right. While HTML is the format for Web page production, VRML is a 3D navigation specification, which enables the creation of interactive 3D Web sites. With VRML, visitors can take virtual tours through buildings and view three-dimensional models of cars directly from their Web browsers. Though the technology was created by Silicon Graphics and Intervista Software a number of years ago, it still is not widely used. |
| VSAN | Virtual Storage Area Network (Virtual SAN). A storage area technology originally developed by Cisco, which allows a SAN to be logically sectioned allowing each section to be viewed and manipulated as though it were a separate SAN. A SAN is composed of a number of "SAN islands" (or fabrics), each of which is physically isolated by a switch or group of switches. This allows SANs to be expanded and changed with minimal disruption to the existing storage infrastructure. VSANs are a logical way of managing the collection of SAN islands, providing too future scalability. |
| VSMP (Virtual Symmetric Multiprocessing) | The feature of mapping two or more virtual processors inside a single virtual machine or partition. |
| vSphere | VMware vSphere, (formerly developed as VMware Infrastructure 4) is VMware's first cloud operating system, able to manage large pools of virtualized computing infrastructure, including software and hardware. VMware vSphere 4 was originally developed as VMware Infrastructure (VI) 4 then became its own product called vSphere.[1] |
| VT100 | A type of terminal emulation required when you open an interactive network connection (telnet) to a UNIX system from your desktop computer. |
| VxD (Virtual device Driver) | A device driver that runs under the Windows operating system. It runs as part of the OS kernel and has access to kernel memory, running processes and hardware. Starting with Windows 95, these files have the file extension .vxd, and before that with Windows 3.x, they had the extension .386. |
