A glossary of Email Hosting and Hosting terms

• Blackberry

A Blackberry is a wireless handheld device which supports email, text messaging, web browsing and other wireless information services.

• CGI (Common Gateway Interface)

CGI is a program that translates data from a web server and then displays that data on a web page or in an email.

• Co-Location

Colocation involves housing your own server or device in a data centre facility.

• DNS (Domain Name System)

DNS is an abbreviation for an internet system which translates names into IP addresses. When a computer is referred to by name or web address, a domain name server links that name with the numeric IP address assigned to that computer.

• Dedicated Server

A Dedicated Server is a server you rent from a hosting provider, which is dedicated to your solution and is not shared with anyone else.

• Domain Name

A Domain Name is a unique address that identifies one or more IP addresses. Domain names are used in URL’s to identify web pages. Domain names come in top-level, generic top-level (.com, .net, .org, etc.), and country code top level categories (co.uk, .me etc.).

• Email Forwarding

Email Forwarding is when email settings are configured to forward any email received at one particular address to another email address.

• Email Server

An Email Server is a server dedicated only to the management of emails. Email servers receive and distribute incoming email from users and outside senders and forward outgoing e-mail for delivery.

• Entourage

Entourage is an email client and personal information manager developed by Microsoft for Mac OS.

• Exchange

Exchange is the name for the Microsoft Exchange email server. The current version is Microsoft Exchange 2007.

• Hosted Exchange

Hosted Exchange is the term used to describe the service Microsoft Exchange, which is hosted via Exchange Servers by an email hosting Email Hosting  provider. The provider hosts the client’s email, tasks, calendars, contacts and files, which can then be accessed by the client using Microsoft Outlook from a user’s computer / laptop, Outlook Web Access via a web browser or on mobile phones with web access such as a BlackBerry or iPhone.

• Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

HTTP is an internet protocol for retrieving inter-linked resources, called hypertext documents.

• IP Address

An IP address is a unique number used to specify hosts and networks. Internet Protocol (IP) numbers are used for identifying machines that are connected to the Internet.

• iPhone

An iPhone is a wireless handheld device from Apple which supports email, text messaging, web browsing and other wireless information services.

• Microsoft Exchange

Microsoft Exchange is the official mail server from Microsoft. The leading server for email, calendaring and messaging, the current version is Microsoft Exchange 2007. Exchange Server 2010 will become available in the second half of 2009.

• Mobile Email

Mobile Email is email accessed via a mobile wireless device such as Blackberry and iPhone.

• Outlook

Outlook is an email client from Microsoft for Windows. It comes in desktop and webmail versions.

• Post Office Protocol (POP)

POP is the name for a common internet email protocol. POP is used by email clients to retrieve emails from a server over a TCP/IP protocol.

• Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)

SMTP is the main protocol used to send emails. Most emails are sent and received using SMTP.

• Transmission Control Protocol (TCP/IP TCP)

TCP / IP is a set of communications protocols which connect hosts on the Internet.

• Thunderbird

Thunderbird is a free open source email client from Mozilla.

• Virtual Server (VPS)

Virtual Server is the standard name for a hosting setup where the server is partitioned into multiple servers. VPS is on its own operating system and each server can be independently rebooted. VPS is considered the next step from a dedicated server.

• Web Mail

Web mail is email accessed via a web browser and internet access is needed, as opposed to with desktop email, which can be accessed without the internet if already downloaded.

• Web Server

A Web Server is a computer connected to the Internet that hosts web sites and ‘delivers’ (serves) pages when requested by web browsers.