Glossary

Comprehensive terms and definitions used in SOLVEFORCE documentation and the telecommunications industry.

A

API (Application Programming Interface) - A set of protocols, routines, and tools for building software applications. APIs specify how software components should interact and are used when programming graphical user interface (GUI) components.

ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) - A telephony system that automatically routes incoming calls to the most appropriate agent or department based on predetermined criteria.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) - The simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think, learn, and make decisions like humans.

AWS (Amazon Web Services) - A comprehensive cloud computing platform that provides infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and packaged software as a service (SaaS) offerings.

Azure - Microsoft's cloud computing service for building, testing, deploying, and managing applications and services through Microsoft-managed data centers.

B

Bandwidth - The maximum rate of data transfer across a given path, typically measured in bits per second (bps), kilobits per second (Kbps), or megabits per second (Mbps).

BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) - A standardized exterior gateway protocol designed to exchange routing and reachability information among autonomous systems on the Internet.

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) - A policy that allows employees to bring personally owned devices to their workplace and use them to access privileged company information and applications.

C

CDN (Content Delivery Network) - A geographically distributed group of servers that work together to provide fast delivery of Internet content by serving content from locations closest to users.

CNAM (Caller Name) - A feature of Caller ID that displays the name associated with the calling telephone number to the party being called.

CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) - Telecommunications equipment that is located on the customer's premises and connected to a telecommunications service provider's network.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) - A technology for managing all your company's relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers.

CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) - Technology that allows interactions on a telephone and a computer to be integrated or coordinated.

D

DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) - A malicious attempt to disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted server, service, or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of Internet traffic.

DID (Direct Inward Dialing) - A telecommunications service that allows a phone number to ring through directly to a specific phone at a business instead of going to a menu or a queue and needing to dial an extension.

DNS (Domain Name System) - A hierarchical and decentralized naming system for computers, services, or other resources connected to the Internet or a private network.

DTMF (Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency) - The signal to the phone company that you generate when you press an ordinary telephone's touch keys, informing the system which key was pressed.

E

E911 (Enhanced 911) - A system that automatically associates a location with the calling party's telephone number and routes the call to the most appropriate emergency services answering point.

Encryption - The process of converting information or data into a code to prevent unauthorized access.

Ethernet - A family of computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs), and wide area networks (WANs).

F

Failover - A backup operational mode in which the functions of a system component are assumed by secondary system components when the primary component becomes unavailable.

FedRAMP (Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program) - A government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services.

Firewall - A network security device that monitors and filters incoming and outgoing network traffic based on an organization's previously established security policies.

FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) - The complete domain name for a specific computer or host on the Internet, consisting of the hostname and the domain name.

G

GCP (Google Cloud Platform) - A suite of cloud computing services that runs on the same infrastructure that Google uses internally for its end-user products.

GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) - A standard developed to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices.

H

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) - A US law designed to provide privacy standards to protect patients' medical records and other health information.

HTTP/HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol/Secure) - The foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web, with HTTPS being the secure version using encryption.

I

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) - A form of cloud computing that provides virtualized computing resources over the Internet.

IPPBX (Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange) - A business telephone system that provides voice connectivity through an Internet Protocol (IP) data network.

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) - An international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations.

IVR (Interactive Voice Response) - A technology that allows humans to interact with a computer-operated phone system through the use of voice and DTMF tones input via a keypad.

J

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) - A lightweight data-interchange format that is easy for humans to read and write and easy for machines to parse and generate.

JWT (JSON Web Token) - An open standard that defines a compact and self-contained way for securely transmitting information between parties as a JSON object.

K

KPI (Key Performance Indicator) - A measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives.

L

LAN (Local Area Network) - A computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, school, laboratory, university campus, or office building.

Load Balancing - The process of distributing network or application traffic across multiple servers to ensure no single server bears too much demand.

LTE (Long-Term Evolution) - A standard for wireless broadband communication for mobile devices and data terminals.

M

MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) - An authentication method that requires the user to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource.

MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) - A routing technique in telecommunications networks that directs data from one node to the next based on short path labels rather than long network addresses.

mTLS (Mutual Transport Layer Security) - A method for mutual authentication where both parties authenticate each other through the use of a TLS certificate.

N

NAT (Network Address Translation) - A method of remapping one IP address space into another by modifying network address information in the IP header of packets.

NFV (Network Function Virtualization) - A network architecture concept that uses IT virtualization technologies to virtualize entire classes of network node functions.

O

OAuth (Open Authorization) - An open standard for access delegation, commonly used as a way for Internet users to grant websites or applications access to their information on other websites.

OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) - A company that produces parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer.

P

PaaS (Platform as a Service) - A category of cloud computing services that provides a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage applications.

PBX (Private Branch Exchange) - A private telephone network used within a company or organization that allows users to communicate internally and externally.

PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) - An information security standard for organizations that handle branded credit cards from the major card schemes.

POE (Power over Ethernet) - A technology that passes electric power along with data on twisted pair Ethernet cabling.

PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) - The aggregate of the world's circuit-switched telephone networks that are operated by national, regional, or local telephony operators.

Q

QoS (Quality of Service) - The description or measurement of the overall performance of a service, particularly the performance seen by the users of the network.

R

RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) - A method of restricting network access based on the roles of individual users within an enterprise.

REST (Representational State Transfer) - An architectural style for providing standards between computer systems on the web, making it easier for systems to communicate with each other.

RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) - A network protocol for delivering audio and video over IP networks, commonly used in streaming media systems.

S

SaaS (Software as a Service) - A software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted.

SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) - An open standard for exchanging authentication and authorization data between parties.

SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) - A wide area network that uses software-defined networking technology to determine the most efficient way to route traffic to remote locations.

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) - A communications protocol for initiating, maintaining, and terminating real-time sessions that include voice, video, and messaging applications.

SLA (Service Level Agreement) - A commitment between a service provider and a client that documents what services the provider will furnish and defines the service standards.

SMS (Short Message Service) - A text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet, and mobile device systems.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) - An Internet Standard protocol for collecting and organizing information about managed devices on IP networks.

SOC (Security Operations Center) - A centralized unit that deals with security issues on an organizational and technical level.

SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security) - Cryptographic protocols designed to provide communications security over a computer network.

T

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) - The basic communication language or protocol of the Internet and private networks.

TDM (Time-Division Multiplexing) - A method of transmitting and receiving independent signals over a common signal path by means of synchronized switches.

Toll-Free Numbers - Telephone numbers with distinct three-digit codes that can be dialed from landlines with no charge to the person placing the call.

U

UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) - A cloud delivery model that offers a variety of communication and collaboration applications and services.

UDP (User Datagram Protocol) - A communications protocol that is primarily used for establishing low-latency and loss-tolerating connections between applications on the Internet.

UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) - An electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source or mains power fails.

V

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) - A technology that allows you to make voice calls using a broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line.

VPN (Virtual Private Network) - A network technology that creates a secure network connection over a public network such as the Internet or a private network owned by a service provider.

VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) - A logical grouping of devices on one or more LANs that are configured to communicate as if they were attached to the same wire.

W

WAN (Wide Area Network) - A telecommunications network that extends over a large geographical area for the primary purpose of computer networking.

WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) - A free, open-source project that provides web browsers and mobile applications with real-time communication via simple APIs.

WiFi - A family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, commonly used for local area networking of devices.

X

XML (eXtensible Markup Language) - A markup language that defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable.

Z

Zero Trust - A security concept centered on the belief that organizations should not automatically trust anything inside or outside their perimeters and must verify everything before granting access.