Jargon Buster N-S

The field of communications and IT is littered by an ever growing number of technical terms and confusing jargon. At Connexis we try and talk to our customers in a practical way that helps you understand the benefits of implementing new technologies. We hope that our Jargon Buster helps if you have trouble with the terms or acronyms that you may come across.

We will do our best to update this area on a regular basis, but if there is anything you still don't understand or need help with, please do not hesitate to call us on 01952 528000 or contact us by email at jargon@connexis.co.uk.

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N N N

Network - the equipment and transmission facilities for communication between computer systems.

Network Topology - Network topology is the study of the arrangement or mapping of the elements (links, nodes, etc.) of a network, especially the physical (real) and logical (virtual) interconnections between nodes.

Night Service - most telephone systems have at least two operating modes, Day Service and Night Service. These are typically used to route incoming calls to a different destination and to apply call barring to prevent unauthorised use of the phones by security or cleaning staff.

Node - the term node as used in the field of telecommunications refers to an originating or terminating point of information or signal flow in a telecommunications network. In Network topology the term may also refer to a terminal of any branch of a network or an interconnection common to two or more branches of a network. In this context the term "terminal" means a device that is able of sending, receiving, or sending and receiving information over a communications channel in what ever format voice or data being examples of information transmitted. Also, the term "network" as used in this context refers to an interconnection of three or more communicating entities.

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O O O

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P P P

Packet Switching - a method used to move data and voice around a network. In packet switching, all the data is broken up into packets - each packet has the address of where it came from and where it is going. This enables packets of data from many different sources to use the same lines and be sorted and directed along different routes.

Parallel Port - port in a PC used for the connection of external equipment such as a printer, scanner etc.

Patch panel - cabling connection point. This is typically the part of a structured network cabling system (cat 5) that enables switching of services either voice or data to RJ45 sockets.

PBX/PABX (Private Branch Exchange/Private Automated Branch Exchange) - allows central control of incoming call via a single operator.

PMS (Property Management System) - for example, Hotel / Motel "Front of House" software package.

POT (Plain Ordinary Telephone) - used to distinguish an ordinary analogue telephone from a keyphone.

PRI (Primary Rate Interface) - an ISDN circuit providing (in Europe) up to 30 x 64 kbit/sec bearer channels for use by data or speech and two 16 kbit/sec control channels. Up to 30 independent calls can be carried at the same time on one PRI.

PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) - everyone connected to standard communications platform.

Pulse Dialling - also known as LD (loop-disconnect) dialling where the telephone is alternately disconnected and connected to signal to the exchange. For example if a digit 5 is dialled this could be signalled by sending 5 disconnection pulses. The frequency and length of the pulses and the number of pulses for each digit can vary from country to country. This dialling method is now mostly superseded by tone dialling.

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Q Q Q

Q931- an ISDN connection control protocol, roughly comparable to TCP in the Internet protocol stack.

QSIG [Q (point of the ISDN model) Signalling] - a common channel signalling protocol based on ISDN Q.931 standards and used by many digital PBXs. QSIG is used for the establishment and release of calls and for the control of a large number of features.

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R R R

Router - a device that forwards data packets along networks. A router is connected to at least two networks, commonly two LANs or WANs or a LAN and its ISP’s network. Routers are located at gateways, the places where two or more networks connect.

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S S S

Satellite – a broadband technology that uses a satellite located in geostationary orbit. Satellite broadband is available in two forms. One way satellite, where dial-up is required to upload data (from the end user) and satellite is used to download data (to the end user). Two way satellite, where satellite is used to both upload and download data (to and from the end user).

SDSL (Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) - an xDSL broadband technology that works by using all of the bandwidth available over the twisted copper pair (local loop), to support the transmission of data at equal upload and download rates. SDSL does not reserve a part of the bandwidth for voice traffic and, as a result, does not support an analogue telephone line.

Second generation broadband - a term used to describe asymmetrical services with download rates of between 2Mbps and 10Mbps and upload rates of between 512kbps and 1Mbps, as well as symmetrical services with download and upload rates of 2Mbps or above.

Screen Popping - the initialising and presentation of database information selected using the CLI. Reduces the time spent searching for customer service history etc.

SIP (Session Initiated Protocol) - a signalling protocol for Internet Telephony. SIP can establish sessions for features such as audio/videoconferencing, interactive gaming, and call forwarding to be deployed over IP networks, thus enabling service providers to integrate basic IP telephony services with Web, e-mail, and chat services. In addition to user authentication, redirect and registration services, SIP Server supports traditional telephony features such as personal mobility, time-of-day routing and call forwarding based on the geographical location of the person being called.

Soft PBX - a software application that provides server based telephony. Performing similar functions to a hardware PBX, they offer a range of PBX functions, voicemail and integration with other server based applications such as Unified Messaging and contact management systems.

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