COMPUTER BASIC DEFINITIONS

What is bandwidth?

The maximum data-carrying capability in devices/wires.

What is Uploading vs. Downloading?

Uploading is the transfer of files from your computer to another computer or server. 

Downloading, however, is exactly the opposite in that its transferring files from a server to your computer.

Speed vs Storage Units

Although when abbreviated bits and bytes may look the same, they aren't. The good rule of thumb is when “b” is used in the abbreviated form, it will represent as below.

"b" - bit

"B" - Byte

speed:	storage:
1 kilobit(kb)=1024 bits	1 kilobyte(kB)=1024 bytes
1 megabit(Mb)=1024 kb	1 megabyte(MB)=1024 kB
1 gigabit(Gb)=1024 Mb	1 gigabyte(GB)=1024 MB
1 terabit(Tb)=1024 Gb	1 terabyte(TB)=1024 GB
1 petabit(Pb)=1024 Tb	1 petabyte(PB)=1024 TB
1 exabit (Eb)=1024 Pb	1 exabyte (EB)=1024 PB

What is LAN?
A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building using network media.

What is WLAN?
A wireless local area network (WLAN) links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method (typically spread-spectrum or OFDM radio), and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider Internet.

What is WAN?
A wide area network (WAN) is a network that covers a broad area (i.e., any telecommunications network that links across metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries) using leased telecommunication lines. Business and government entities utilize WANs to relay data among employees, clients, buyers, and suppliers from various geographical locations.

What is an Intranet?
An intranet is a computer network that uses Internet Protocol technology to share information, operational systems, or computing services within an organization.

What is an Extranet?
An extranet is a computer network that allows controlled access from the outside, for specific business or educational purposes. In a business-to-business context, an extranet can be viewed as an extension of an organization's intranet that is extended to users outside the organization, usually partners, vendors and suppliers, in isolation from all other Internet users.

What is an Internet?

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to link several billion devices worldwide.

It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies.

What is cloud or utility computing?
Cloud computing is an approach to computing that leverages the efficient pooling of on-demand, self-managed virtual infrastructure consumed as a service. Sometimes known as utility computing, clouds provide a set of typically virtualized computers which can provide users with the ability to start and stop servers or use compute cycles only when needed.