Revision as of 13:57, 22 August 2012

Glossary of Terms

This section of the wiki is dedicated to terminology and (extremely) basic explanations of core concepts.

To Users: Please help make this section more complete.

Terms Beginning with Numbers

Content Pending...

A through G

ATA: Analog Telephone Adapter - An ATA is a device which provides an interface between a traditional "Plain Old Telephone Service" (POTS) telephone line and a computer system, potentially including Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) bridging capabilities. Commonly found on ATAs are at least one standard telephone jack and one Ethernet jack. Examples of ATAs include the Linksys/Sipura SPA-3102 and the Obi110, among others.

ATSC: Advanced Television Systems Committee - ATSC is used to denote the North American digital television broadcast standards. ATSC standards replace the older, analog NTSC standards used before US Federal mandate required all broadcasters to switch to digital broadcast for Over The Air (OTA) television transmissions. The European equivalent is called DVB. Supported resolutions include 480i, 480p, 720i, 720p, 1080i and 1080p, among others.

DCE: Data Communications Equipment - Refers to the DCE Router protocol that forms an essential part of the backbone of a LinuxMCE system. DCE Router allows the system to control seemingly disjointed applications and devices in a coherent manner.

DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol - A networking protocol used to "automatically" assign IP addressees to network devices. In LinuxMCE, the Core should be the only DHCP server at the internal network layer of a LinuxMCE home network.

DVB: (includes DVB-T & DVBT2) Digital Video Broadcasting - DVB is used to denote the European and other regional digital television broadcast standards. DVB-T (and to a lessor extent DVB-T2, an extension of DVB-T) standards replace the older, analog PAL & SECAM standards used before regulatory mandates began requiring broadcasters to switch to digital broadcast for Over The Air (OTA) television transmissions. PAL is supposed to be completely supplanted by DVB by late 2012 through 2013 in most regions that use/used PAL.

Eth0/Eth1: Ethernet port 0 or 1 - Eth0 is the primary or first listed Ethernet port (default installations of LinuxMCE make this; External network), while Eth1 is the secondary or second listed Ethernet port (default installations of LinuxMCE make this; Internal network).

H through N

Hub (networking): A device that forwards all packets to all connected devices, each device then reads the packet to see if it contains information intended for it.

NAS: Networked Attached Storage - A device usually consisting of a hard drive (or drives), and electronics necessary to announce the presence of the storage media using standard network mass storage protocols, such as SMB (SAMBA compatible).

Content Pending...

O through U

Router (networking): A device that reads incoming packets and sends them to only the addressed client (typically enabled as DHCP controller for the network).

Switch (networking): A device that forwards packets of information along a network, addressing is allowed but the device does not give new devices IP addresses. Typical appearance of a switch is a small, router-like box with Ethernet ports and a port for an external power source.

TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol - Transmission protocol used on both intranets and the Internet. Each connection is assign an "IP Address," used to identify it across the network.

USB: (includes; USB-A, USB-B, etc.) Universal Serial Bus - An USB-A terminal is a typical flat rectangular usb plug/jack. An USB-B is a typical square usb plug/jack used often for printer and some modem connections. Other types include; USB-Mini and USB-Micro, etc.

Content Pending...

V through Z

VGA = Video Graphics Array (standard 15 pin, blue rectangular monitor plug)

Not sorted and formatted

DVI = Digital Visual Interface (rectangular connector for digital video transmission, types are DVI-D, DVI-A and DVI-I) Serial Connector/Port = a 9 pin connector on some computers and devices that addresses attached devices in serial D-Sub 9 = see Serial Connector/Port AP (networking, wireless) = Access Point - where wireless clients clients attach to a wired network, can be configured to extend wireless coverage in repeater mode IP = Internet Protocol (typical usage is IP address or a location where computers can be addressed at) MAC = Media Access Control address - the unique identifier of a hardware device, not to be confused with Mac' which is abbreviated for Macintosh Computers and OS OS = Operating System BIOS = Basic Input Output System - a set of commands that a computer uses to understand itself and its internal components CMOS = Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor - the battery savable settings made to BIOS that allow for options to be stored and recalled after power loss CPU = Central Processing Unit - also referred to as proc, processor or in multiple core processors, a single core RAM = Random Access Memory - also referred to as memory but not to be confused with storage memory IDE = Integrated Drive Electronics - typically referring to physical drives (hard drive, dvd drive, cd drive) connected along a 44 pin IDE controller port on the motherboard MotherBoard = the main component of your computer that contains the cpu, ram and ports for other devices to connect to MoBo/Mainboard/SystemBoard - see Motherboard SATA = Serial Advanced Technology Attachment or Serial ATA - a type of connect that allows connection to serial addressed devices such as hard drive, dvd-drives etc PATA = Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment or Parallel ATA - an uncommon used term for IDE connections, sometimes used by linux programs such as Disk Utility HDD = Hard Drive Disk - as BIOS understands detected devices the disks are labeled as disk then partition in numbers starting with 0, example hdd0,0 and hdd0,1 are the same device but shown as to separate partitions. Linux displays SCSI, SATA and USB drives differently with alphabetical designations for devices and numeric extensions for partitions. BIOS recognizes 2 SATA hard drives with 2 partitions each as 'hdd0,0 hdd0,1 hdd1, 0 & hdd1,1' where linux recognizes 'sda1, sda2, sdb1 & sdb2' HDMI = High-Definition Multimedia Interface - a common connector that combines a digital video signal with a digital audio signal on a single cable and connector. VOIP = Voice Over Internet Protocol -SIP = Session Initiation Protocol (see VOIP) - this is a signaling and transmission method that VOIP can be addressed via

Linux Terms: sudo = Super User DO -root = terminal = tty = ls - lsusb, lspci, etc

LinuxMCE common terms Core = The primary computer in the lmce network, the device containing lmce files and directories DCE/dcerouter = The function of the lmce core that directs commands to various plugins and devices GSD = Generic Serial Device MD = Media Director, the term used to describe diskless nodes which store their image on the core and are capable of displaying media Orbiter = a device used to control a media director, with small exceptions these function as controllers only and can not display media Template = A developed set of instructions to instruct lmce how to communicate to attached devices and programs. Created as generic for similar items or specific to one item as necessary Dev = Developers - Programmers who develop, implement, bug-fix and often support Users and Testers, also referred to as devel(s) User = A user of LinuxMCE, the development intention of lmce is to allow users functional home automation, media, phone, climate and communications integration without knowledge of the above listed items. The end user of lmce Tester = Users who assist developers by communicating device and setting issues to the developers, this information is used to make the User's experience automated and problem free Community = Users, Testers & Developers that together make up the LinuxMCE project Project = A term used to describe LinuxMCE in terms of an ongoing and ever improving software solution