Web Hosting Glossary

We currently have 150+ terms sorted in alphabetic order

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IIS (Internet Information Services)
IIS is Microsoft’s proprietary web server software, and is included with their Windows NT-based operating systems. It is free, and is required for the use of ASP code in a website. It also provides FTP functionality, and an easy-to-use management console for administrators.

IMAP (currently Internet Message Access Protocol)
This is a remote mail box protocol, which is much more advanced than the much more common POP method of retrieving email. It provides advanced capabilities and a wealth of functions not supported by POP, but has not caught on yet with most internet users.

IP Address
This is a numeric address which identifies a particular resource on an IP network such as the internet. The format of an IP address is xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx, with each xxx representing a number between 1 and 254, the decimal representations of the underlying 8-bit “octets.” For a resource to be accessible on the internet, it must have an IP address assigned to it, and no 2 devices can have the same publicly accessible IP address.

ISP (Internet Service Provider)
ISPs are entities who provide points of access to the internet. These may be universities, corporations, or any other entity. The means of connecting to an ISP include dial-up through a modem, broadband access via cable or DSL, or corporate networks with internet connectivity. Web hosting companies are entirely different from ISPs.