Your service glossary
Useful Cloud, domain and email terms.
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Before you begin
- No technical prerequisites.
Cloud and servers#
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| VPS | A virtual machine with compute, memory and storage resources. |
| vCPU / RAM | Compute capacity / working memory; these are not live usage measurements. |
| Snapshot | A disk image at a specific point in time; it does not replace a complete backup strategy. |
| Volume | An additional disk separate from the system disk. |
| SSH key | A public/private pair for connecting to an operating system; only the public part is supplied when ordering. |
Domains#
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Registrar / registry | Organisations responsible for registering the name and its extension. |
| DNS zone | The set of records associating names with services. |
| NS delegation | The choice of authoritative nameservers at registry level. |
| TTL | How long a DNS answer may remain cached. |
| 301 / 302 | Permanent / temporary web redirect. |
| Glue | A nameserver address registered at parent level to resolve a name dependency. |
Email#
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| MX | The server receiving incoming email for a domain. |
| IMAP / SMTP | Protocols for synchronised message access / sending. |
| SPF | A list of authorised senders for a domain. |
| DKIM | A message signature verifiable using a DNS public key. |
| DMARC | A policy based on authentication and alignment with the sender domain. |
| Quota | Maximum mailbox capacity, including its folders. |
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