Colocation Defined
Colocation Glossary Index
For definitions associated with co-location and datacentres, please browse the glossary of terms below.
Access Line
The physical telecommunications circuit connecting an end user location with the serving central office in a local network environment. Also called the local loop or "last mile."
Access Rate
The transmission speed of the physical access circuit between the end user location and the local network. This is generally measured in bits per second. Also called Access Speed.
Adapter Card
Circuit board or other hardware that provides the physical interface to a communications network; an electronics board installed in a computer which provides network communication capabilities to and from that computer; a card that connects the DTE to the network. Also called a network interface card (NIC). See also Data Termination Equipment, Network Interface Card.
Application Service Provider (ASP)
A company that offers a contractual service for deploying hosting and managing packaged software from a central facility.
Architecture
The overall design of hardware or software. If the description is open architecture, this means it is generally compatible with major applications.
Asymetric digital subscriber line (ADSL)
A method of transmitting at speeds up to 7 Mbps in one direction over a single copper line, with up to 640 kbps in the opposite direction
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
A protocol that packs digital information into 53-byte cells (5 byte header and 48 bytes of payload) that are switched throughout a network over virtual circuits. Standardized by the ITU-T in 1988 to create a Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network (B-ISDN). Its ability to accommodate multiple types of media (voice, video, data) makes it a likely player for full service networks based on ADSL and VDSL.
Asynchronous Transmission
Data transmission one character at a time to the receiving device, with intervals of varying lengths between transmittals, and with start bits at the beginning and stop bits at the end of each character, to control the transmission. In xDSL and in most dial up modem communications, asynchronous communications are often found in Internet access and remote office applications.
ATM
Asynchronous Transfer Mode, a network technology based on transferring data in cells or packets of a fixed size. The cell used with ATM is relatively small compared to units used with older technologies. The small, constant cell size allows ATM equipment to transmit video, audio, and computer data over the same network, and assure that no single type of data hogs the line.
