ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning—a business management system that integrates all facets of the business, including planning, manufacturing, sales and marketing.
Firewall: A system to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network.
Hub: A common connection point for devices in a network, usually stored in that little closet with all the tiny wires.
Intranet: An internal Web site accessible only by an organization’s members. It usually runs within an LAN.
Internet: The global network connecting millions of computers. An Intranet can be Internet based with a firewall to prevent outside access.
ISP: Internet Service Provider—provides basic access from a home or office to the Internet. ISPs today are differentiating themselves with additional services and consulting specialties.
LAN: Local Area Network—a computer network generally confined to a single building or group of buildings. A system of LANs can be created by connecting separate LANs over any distance by phone line or wireless communications.
Router: A device that connects two LANs and offers add-on functions such as filtering and forwarding of messages.
Server: A computer that manages the resources for the rest of the network, either by storing data and certain applications, or by maintaining smooth flow of traffic.
World Wide Web: A system of Internet servers that support specially formatted graphically-oriented documents, written in a language called HTML. Not all Internet servers are part of the World Wide Web.
