I-Series recommendations ITU-TS
(formerly the CCITT) recommendations on B-ISDN, ISDN and aspects
of ATM.
IAB (Internet Activities Board) The
technical body that sets policy and standards for TCP/IP and the
connected Internet suite of protocols. Its task forces are the
IETF and IRTF.
IBMCS (IBM Cabling System) Cabling
system introduced by IBM in 1984 based around Shielded Twisted
Pair (STP) cabling.
ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) Protocol
allowing status messages to be generated by an internetworking
gateway, indicating a variety of error or unusual conditions.
ICR (Intelligent Character Recognition) Software
similar to OCR, but it learns to recognize different fonts and
character styles, so is more efficient. Useful to make paper documents
accessible via groupware.
IDA (Integrated Digital Access) The
means of providing digital access for subscribers to the BT ISDN
service. Two versions: single line IDA and multi-line IDA are
available.
IDAPI (Integrated Database Application Programming
Interface) A standard from Borland and
others providing a standard interface to a wide range of databases.
It is supposed to be a superset of ODBC.
IEEE Institute of
Electrical and Electronic Engineers: a US publishing and standards
organization responsible for many LAN standards such as the 802
series.
IEEE 802.2 The Data
Link standard for use with IEEE 802.3, 802.4 and 802.5 standards.
It specifies how the basic data connection should be set up over
the cable.
IEEE 802.3 The IEEE
standardization of Ethernet. A Physical Layer definition that
includes specification for physical cabling plus the method of
transmitting data and controlling access to the cable. It uses
the CSMA/CD access method on a bus topology LAN.
IEEE 802.4 The IEEE
standardization of Token Bus. A Physical Layer standard that uses
the Token Ring passing access method on a bus topology LAN. Used
by LANs implementing the Manufacturing Automation Protocol. The
older Arcnet operates in a similar way but does not follow 802.4,
but Arcnet supporters have been trying to get the technology ratified
by IEEE without success.
IEEE 802.5 The IEEE
standardization of IBM Token Ring. A LAN Physical layer standard
that uses the Token Ring passing access method on a ring topology
LAN.
IEEE 802.6 The standard
that defines Mans, an SMDS-based, short packet ATM transmission.
IGP (Interior Gateway Protocol) Term
applied to any protocol used to propagate network reachability
and routing information within an autonomous system. There is
no single standard IGP, but RIP is one of the most common.
IN (Intelligent Network) A
sophisticated network capable of recognizing the profile (authorization,
chosen services) of its users or subscribers. Carriers offering
advanced services will increasingly offer IN services, particularly
as the boundary between fixed and mobile networks becomes blurred.
In-band signaling A
communications technique in which the part of a signal bearing
the data control information is contained within the bandwidth
of the signal it is controlling.
Installable file system A
file system that can be installed in place of the usual file allocation
table file system, such as the high-performance file system.
Intelsat (International Telecommunications
Satellite Organization) Founded in 1964
to develop a global satellite communications system, Intelsat
has some 120 members, including- BT. The Earlybird (Intelsat 1)
satellite was launched in 1965 as the first in a series. Intelsat
VII is planned to replace the dozen aging Intelsat V-types which
carry two-thirds of the world's telephone calls.
Interface The place
or piece of equipment where interaction occurs between two regions
or systems or processes. A common example is the RS232-C port
or the AUI on LANs between the computer and transceiver.
Internet (1) A group
of networks that are interconnected so that they appear to be
one continuous network, and can be addressed seamlessly at the
Network Layer Three of the OSI model. Typical internets are built
using routers, either to form a backbone network comprised of
routers, or to link together LANs at the Network Layer.
Internet (2) A collection
of networks and gateways, including the Milnet and NSFNET, all
using the TCP/IP protocol suite. It functions as a single, cooperative
virtual network. The Internet provides universal connectivity
and three levels of network services: connectionless packet delivery;
full duplex stream delivery and application level services including
electronic mail and EDI.
Internet address An
IP address assigned in blocks of numbers to user organizations
accessing the Internet by the US DoD's Network Information Center.
Duplicate addresses can cause major headaches on the network,
but the NIC trusts organizations to use individual addresses responsibly.
Each address is an eight- bit number (0 to 255). There are three
classes: A, B and C, depending on how many computers on the site
are likely to be connected. The NIC is running out of Class B
addresses, so work is in progress to extend the address format
to allow expansion into the next century.
Inter-Process Communications (IPC) Communications
between several programs based on one computer or across a number
of machines. Alternatively, communication across a network between
different processes of the same program between different computers
running parts of a single program, or between two programs working
together. The most common approaches to IPC in networking circles
are probably Application Programming Interfaces such as APPC and
NetBios.
IGP (Interior Gateway Protocol) The
term applied to any protocol used to propagate network reachability
and routing information within an autonomous system. There is
no single standard IGP, but RIP is one of the most common.
ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) An
integral part of the Internet Protocol (IP) that handles error
and control messages. ICMP also includes an echo request/reply
used to test whether a destination is reachable and responding.
IESG (Internet Engineering Steering Group)
A US committee consisting of the IETF
chairperson and the six area managers. The IESG coordinates activities
among the IETF working groups.
IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) A
US committee concerned with short-term and medium-term problems
with TCP/IP and the connected Internet. The IETF is divided into
six areas which are further divided into working groups and its
chairperson is a member of the TAB.
Interoperability The
ability to exchange information between two systems so that the
information can be processed meaningfully.
IP (Internet Protocol) The
TCP/IP standard protocol that defines the IP datagram as the unit
of information passed across an Internet and provides the basis
for connectionless packet delivery service. IP includes the ICMP
control and error message protocol as an integral part. It provides
the functional equivalent of ISO OSI Network Services.
IP address The 32-bit
address assigned to hosts that want to participate in a TCP/IP
Internet. IP datagram - The basic unit of information passed across
a TCP/IP Internet.
IRTF (Internet Research Task Force) A
technical group working or problems related to TCP/IP and the
connected Internet, The IRTF is divided into a set of research
groups. The IRTF chairperson is a member of the IAB.
ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) The
8/16-bit bus architecture originally developed by IBM and now
standard in almost all PCs that use Intel's 8086 and 80X86 chips.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) An approach
to switched digital networking that can handle a range of digital
voice, data and digital image transmission. It is intended to
provide end-to-end, simultaneous handling of digitized voice and
data traffic on the same digital links via integrated switches.
There are different access channels, according to geographic location.
These include Basic Rate Access (2 x 64Kbit/s 161 + 16Kbit/s)
and Primary Rate Access (1.544 (US) and 2.048 Mbit/s (Europe).
ISDN standards are defined in the ITU-TS's I-Series Recommendations.
