A

Apache

A public-domain Web server developed by a loosely-knit group of programmers. The first version of Apache, based on the NCSA httpd Web server, was developed in 1995. Because it was developed from existing NCSA code plus various patches, it was called a patchy server - hence the name Apache Server.

As a result of its sophisticated features, excellent performance, and low price (it's free), Apache has became the world's most popular Web server. By some estimates, it is used to host more than 50% of all Web sites in the world. Core development of the Apache Web server is performed by a group of about 20 volunteer programmers, called the Apache Group. However, because the source code is freely available, anyone can adapt the server for specific needs, and there is a large public library of Apache add-ons. In many respects, development of Apache is similar to development of the Linux operating system. The original version of Apache was written for UNIX, but there are now versions that run under OS/2, Windows and other platforms.

ASCII

FTP transfer mode. This mode is used when transferring ascii text files such as web pages (.htm, .html), system files (htpasswd, .htaccess) and other .txt files.

ASP

Active Server Page - A specification for a dynamically created Web page with a .ASP extension that contain either Visual Basic or Jscript code. When a browser requests an ASP page, the Web server generates a page with HTML code and sends it back to the browser. So ASP pages are similar to CGI scripts, but they enable Visual Basic programmers to work with familiar tools. These are usable on AIT's Windows 2000 Accounts.

B -

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Binary

FTP transfer mode. This mode is used when transferring binary files such as images, multi-media, programs and zip files.

C -

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CPanel

Included with your virtual server package, be it windows or linux, is a Control Panel.  This is a browser based interface you can use to manipulate your site almost entirely without having to mess with FTP or Telnet to modify any portion of your site.

CGI

Abbreviation of Common Gateway Interface, a specification for transferring information between a World Wide Web server and a CGI program. A CGI program is any program designed to accept and return data that conforms to the CGI specification. The program could be written in any programming language, including C, Perl, Java, or Visual Basic. CGI programs are the most common way for Web servers to interact dynamically with users. Many HTML pages that contain forms, for example, use a CGI program to process the form's data once it's submitted. Another increasingly common way to provide dynamic feedback for Web users is to include scripts or programs that run on the user's machine rather than the Web server. These programs can be Java applets, Java scripts, or ActiveX controls. These technologies are known collectively as client-side solutions, while the use of CGI is a server-side solution because the processing occurs on the Web server.

One problem with CGI is that each time a CGI script is executed, a new process is started. For busy Web sites, this can slow down the server noticeably. A more efficient solution, but one that it is also more difficult to implement, is to use the server's API, such as ISAPI or NSAPI. Another increasingly popular solution is to use Java servlets, however at this time, AIT does not support server side Java.
 

Co-location

This is the process of putting your own machine on our network. You manage the machine yourself, everything from the hardware and the software but you are renting space from us.

Cron

A Unix command for scheduling jobs to be executed sometime in the future. A cron is normally used to schedule a job that is executed periodically - for example, to send out a notice every morning. It is also a daemon process, meaning that it runs continuously, waiting for specific events to occur.