Terminology is something that is unique in every industry. No matter what line of work you are in, there are always different words and terms that are not used in everyday life. The IT industry is one of the places that you will find an abundance of terms that most people are unfamiliar with. Let’s go through some of these terms and break them down into common language so that you will be able to better understand them and maybe even be able to “talk shop” with a professional computer consultant or technician.
One of the most common computer terms that is used is “USB”. This term is very common and many people may be familiar with it already. But what does it actually mean? USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. The term itself is used to refer to connectors of many different sizes and types that are used to connect two devices together. In most cases USB is used to connect a portable device such as a flash drive or external hard drive to a computer.
Another closely related term “SATA”, or Serial Advanced Technology Attachment, is a term that is used to refer to internal hard drive and optical drive connectors. When ordering parts online it is easy for someone who does not know proper terminology to confuse a USB, or external hard drive, with a SATA, or internal hard drive. There are also other different types of connectors that internal hard drives use including PATA (Parallel ATA), SCSI (Small Computer System Interface), and SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) that are easily confused with each other.
When it comes to networking, some terms that are frequently encountered are LAN, WAN and DNS. LAN or Local Area Network is the network that a computer is directly connected to. For example, all the computers in an office workplace are connected on a LAN and can communicate directly with each other. A WAN, or Wide Area Network, is a network that connects multiple networks together over a large area using publicnetwork connections. The internet is a good example of a WAN. Domain Name System (DNS) is the system that is used to identify different computers and networks that are connected to the internet. DNS works by matching a domain name to a specific IP (Internet Protocol) address. This way, computers all over the world are able to identify each other and send information to the correct location without getting lost along the way.
Many people also wonder what a VPN is. A VPN or Virtual Private Network is a private network such as a LAN that is directly connected to another network via a public network like the internet. While using a VPN, users will be able to access network resources such as printers and shared documents in the same way they would if they were in the office. The advantage to this is users can be anywhere in the world and still function as if they are sitting at their desk. Not only is this convenient it also offers flexibility and greater efficiency to users who may need to frequently be out of the office. Have other questions about your network? Learn how to better manage it with professional network setup and design in San Diego.
Hopefully this helped shed some light on some common tech terms that you may have been wondering about. Being well informed about tech terms can help you to better understand processes and help save time, money and frustration.
For more information or to schedule a consultation or network audit for your business, reach out to Syndeo Communications toady. At Syndeo, we specialize in San Diego IT support, assisting businesses with their technology needs on-site, over the phone and on an on-going basis. Call us at 760-650-3300 for more information.