| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| 2G | Second generation: describes the speed of data delivery to a mobile device. 2G has been increasingly replaced by 3G devices, which allow transmission speeds of up to 500% faster. |
| 3G | Third generation: describes the speed of data transmission to a mobile device. 3G is between 50 and 500% faster than 2G. |
| AAA | Authentication, authorization, and accounting. The network security services that provide the primary framework through which you set up access control on your router or access server. |
| Access Gateway | A gateway that supports both bearer traffic and signalling traffic. For example, a gateway that terminates ISDN is an access gateway. |
| Access list | A list kept by routers to control access to or from the router for a number of services (for example, to prevent packets with a certain IP address from leaving a particular interface on the router). |
| Address Resolution | Generally, a method for resolving differences between computer addressing schemes. Address resolution usually specifies a method for mapping network layer (Layer 3) addresses to data link layer (Layer 2) addresses. |
| Agent | An object or application that can be a server, a client, or both. |
| ANI | Automatic Number Identification. SS7 (signalling system 7) feature in which a series of digits are included in the call, identifying the telephone number of the calling device. |
| ARPU | Average revenue per user. |
| ARQ | Admission Request (H.323) |
| ASCII | American Standard Code for Information Interchange. 8-bit code for character representation (7 bits plus parity). |
| BAMS | Billing and Measurement Server. An OEM product (from AceComm) integrated with the VSC/SC2200 element management components. |
| CAS | Channel-Associated Signalling. The transmission of signalling information within the voice channel. CAS signalling often is referred to as robbed-bit signalling because user bandwidth is being robbed by the network for other purposes. |
| CCS | Common Channel Signalling. Signalling system used in telephone networks that separates signalling information from user data. |
| CDMA 2000 | A faster, more sophisticated protocol based on code division multiple access (CDMA) |
| CDMA ONE | Code division multiple access |
| CDR | Call Record Detail. A term used to describe log records for calling services. This includes such information as where the call originated, what the start time was, who the call was made to, what time the call ended, etc. |
| CLEC | Competitive Local Exchange Carrier. A company that builds and operates communication networks in metropolitan areas and provides its customers with an alternative to the local telephone company. |
| CLI | Command Line Interpreter. The basic Cisco IOS configuration and management interface. |
| CMNM | Cisco Media Gateway Controller (MGC) Node Manager. The management system providing fault, performance, and security management for the VSC3000 (MGC) node. |
| CNS | Cisco Networking Services. |
| CO | Central office. A local switching system that connects lines to lines and lines to trunks. Sometimes referred to as Class 5 office, end office, or Local Dial Office. |
| Codec | Coder-decoder. Transforms analog voice into digital bit stream and vice-versa. |
| COT | Continuity Test. Requirement of the SS7 protocol specifications. It tests the bearer channels' status using either loopback or tone detection and generation. |
| CSR | Carrier Sensitive Router Server. |
| CW | Call Waiting. |
| DAL | Dedicated access line. An analog special-access line that runs from a caller's own equipment directly to a long distance company's switch or POP. |
| DAS | Data Acquisition Server. This was an earlier name of the Cisco CNS Performance Engine application. |
| DGK | Directory Gatekeeper. A gatekeeper that is configured to accept LRQ forwarding. |
| DHCP | Dynamic Host Control Protocol. A protocol that is used to dynamically allocate and assign IP addresses. DHCP allows you to move network devices from one subnet to another without administrative attention. RFC 2131 and RFC 2132 |
| Dial peer | An addressable call endpoint. In Voice over IP (VoIP), there are two types of dial peers: POTS and VoIP. |
| Dial plan | A description of the dialing arrangements for customer use on a network. |
| DNIS | Dialled Number Identification Service. A feature of 800 and 900 lines that provides the number the caller dialled. DNIS allows one trunk group to service multiple applications, thus requiring fewer phone lines. |
| DNS | Domain Name System. System used in the Internet for translating names of network nodes into addresses. |
| DS0 | A 64kbps digital TDM channel used for carrying a single POTS call. |
| DSL | Digital Subscriber Line. Public network technology that delivers high bandwidth over conventional copper wiring at limited distances. There are four types of DSL: ADSL, HDSL, SDSL, and VDSL. |
| DSP | Digital Signal Processor. Typical DSP functions include Data Modems, Voice CODECS, Fax Modems and CODECS, and low-level signalling (such as CAS/R2). |
| DTMF | Dual-tone multifrequency: The paired, high- and low-frequency tones that make up touch-tone dialing. |
| E.164 | ITU-T recommendation for international telecommunication numbering, especially in ISDN, BISDN, and SMDS. An evolution of standard telephone numbers. |
| E1 | Wide-area digital transmission scheme. E1 is the European equivalent of a T1 line. The E1's higher clock rate (2.048 MHz) allows for 32 64 Kbps channels, which include one channel for framing and one channel for D-channel information. |
| EMS | Element Management System. |
| Endpoint | SIP or H.323 terminal or gateway. An endpoint can call and be called. It generates and terminates the information stream. |
| FCAPS | Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, Security. |
| FOA | First Office Application. |
| G.729 | An ITU-T algorithm for voice encoding that produces an 80-bit voice sample every 10 msec (bit rate of 8 kbps). The codec works in blocks of 10 msec and so it is possible to generate frames of multiple 10 msec duration. |
| Gateway | The server that connects the VoIP network with PBXs and PSTN devices. |
| GK | Gatekeeper. H.323 entity on a LAN that provides address translation and control access to the LAN for H.323 terminals and gateways. |
| GKTMP | Gatekeeper Transaction Message Protocol. A Cisco-proprietary protocol which allows third-party applications to influence the operation of the IOS GK. |
| GPRS | General packet radio service. Enables cellular networks to deploy unused capacity for data transmission but allows access to wi-fi. It is not as fast as 3G or third generation networks but faster than 2G. |
| GSM | Global system for mobile communications. This standard is the most widely used of its kind in the world, with over a billion subscribers, in 85 countries. |
| GTD | Generic Transparency Descriptor. Parameters on a Q.931/RLM Signalling Path. |
| GUI | Graphical User Interface. A user environment that uses pictorial as well as textual representations of the input and the output. Microsoft Windows and the Apple Macintosh are prominent examples of platforms using a GUI. |
| GW | Gateway. Refers to a special-purpose device that performs an application-layer conversion of information from one protocol stack to another. |
| H.323 | H.323 allows dissimilar communication devices to communicate with each other by using a standardized communication protocol. |
| HDML | Handheld device markup language: a web design language that can only be used on Openwave browsers. |
| HSDPA | High-speed downlink packet access. Although often considered a 3G process, it is faster than 3G networks, with transmission speeds of 10MBps compared with 2MBps. |
| HSRP | Hot Standby Routing Protocol. Provides high network availability and transparent network topology changes. HSRP creates a Hot Standby router group with a lead router that services all packets sent to the Hot Standby address. |
| HTML | Hypertext Markup Language. Simple hypertext document formatting language that uses tags to indicate how a given part of a document should be interpreted by a viewing application, such as a Web browser. |
| HTML Browsing | Enables a mobile device to access HTML coded sites. |
| HTTP | Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The protocol used by Web browsers and Web servers to transfer files, such as text and graphic files. |
| HTTP digest | A password-based authentication method supported by LDAP servers. |
| ICMP | Internet Control Message Protocol. A network-layer Internet protocol that reports errors and provides other information relevant to IP packet processing. RFC792 |
| IDL | Interface Definition Language. |
| IE | Information element. |
| IE2100 | Cisco Intelligence Engine 2100 Series appliance. |
| IETF | Internet Engineering Task Force. Task force consisting of over 80 working groups responsible for developing Internet standards. The IETF operates under the auspices of ISOC. |
| ILEC | Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier. Traditional telephone company, e.g. British Telecommunications |
| IMAP | Internet Message Access Protocol. A UNIX server protocol allowing users to scan message headers, download selected messages, and administer e-mail folders. |
| IMGW | Intelligent Modular Gateway. |
| IMT | Inter-machine Trunk. |
| IP | Internet Protocol. A network-layer protocol in the TCP/IP stack that offers a connectionless internetwork service. |
| IP Address | 32-bit address assigned to hosts using TCP/IP. An IP address belongs to one of five classes (A, B, C, D, or E) and is written as 4 octets. |
| IPSec | IP Security. An IETF standard that is used to provide security for transmission of sensitive information over unprotected networks such as the Internet. |
| ISDN | Integrated Services Digital Network. Communication protocol offered by telephone companies that permits telephone networks to carry data, voice, and other source traffic. |
| ISP | Internet Service Provider. Company that provides Internet access to other companies and individuals. |
| ITU | International Telecommunications Union. Established by the United Nations, with membership from virtually every world government. |
| IVR | Interactive Voice Response. Term used to describe systems that provide information in the form of recorded messages over telephone lines in response to user input in the form of spoken words or, more commonly, DTMF signalling. |
| IXC | Inter-Exchange Carrier. A regulated US class 4 carrier that is often a wholesale customer. |
| JNDI | Java Naming and Directory Interface. |
| JVM | Java Virtual Machine. |
| KBPS | Kilobytes per second: the previous measurement for data transmission speeds, rarely used these days. |
| LAPD | Link Access Procedure, D-Channel. ISDN data link layer protocol for the D channel. LAPD was derived from the LAPB protocol and is designed primarily to satisfy the signalling requirements of ISDN basic access. |
| LATA | Local Access Transport Area. Geographic telephone dialling area serviced by a single local telephone company. Calls within LATAs are called local calls. |
| LDAP | Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. LDAP is a "lightweight" (smaller amount of code) version of DAP (Directory Access Protocol), which is part of X.500, a standard for directory services in a network. |
| LEC | Local Exchange Carrier. A telephone company that provides customer access to the world-wide public switched network through one of its central offices. |
| LNP | Local Number Portability. |
| Location server | A device that processes requests (typically from a redirect or proxy server) to provide information about the possible location of a target end user. |
| MBPS | Megabytes per second: the standard measurement for data transmission speeds |
| MG | Media Gateway. Transfers calls between a TDM network or TDM network devices and a packet data network. |
| MGC | Media gateway controller. A device that provides control of media and signalling gateways. |
| MGCP | Media Gateway Control Protocol. Protocol that helps bridge the gap between circuit-switched and IP networks. A combination of Internet Protocol Device Control (IPDC) and Simple Gateway Control Protocol (SGCP |
| MGX | MGX 8xxx Series Voice Gateways (includes 8850, 8230, 8250). |
| MIB | Management Information Base - A directory of logical names of information resources residing in a network and pertaining to the network's management. |
| MIME | Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension. A set of extensions to the SMTP message syntax allowing various file types to be attached to text mail. |
| MML | Man Machine Language (CLI interface used in the SC2200). Industry standard command line language used to manage telecommunications network elements. |
| MMS | Multimedia message service: goes beyond plain SMS to deliver media, such as animations, video etc. |
| MTP | Message Transfer Part. Layers 1 (physical), 2 (data), and 3 (network) of the SS7 signalling protocol. |
| Mu-law | The PCM voice-coding and companding standard used in Japan and North America. A PCM algorithm yielding a raw 64-kbps transmission rate. |
| Name mapping | Generally, the process of associating a name with a network location. |
| NANP | North American Numbering Plan. |
| NAS | Network Access Server. A Cisco platform or collection of platforms, such as, an AccessPath system which interfaces between the packet world (for example, the Internet) and the circuit world (for example, the PSTN). |
| NE | Network Element. In general, an NE is a combination hardware and software system that is designed primarily to perform a telecommunications service function. |
| NFAS | Non-Facility Associated Signalling. A classification of signalling protocols that provide the signalling channel in a separate physical line from the bearer channels. |
| NMS | Network Management System. System responsible for managing at least part of a network which keeps track of network statistics and resources. |
| NN | National Number. Part of a numbering plan. |
| NOC | Network Operations Center. Organization responsible for maintaining a network. |
| NPA | Numbering Plan Area. The area code of a North American Dialling Plan number. |
| NTP | Network Time Protocol. Protocol built on top of TCP that ensures accurate local time-keeping with reference to radio and atomic clocks located on the Internet. |
| OPT | Open Packet Telephony. |
| OSP | Open Settlements Protocol. A Cisco Gateway feature used for inter-carrier call authorization and settlement. |
| OSS | Operation Support System. Network management system supporting a specific management function, such as alarm surveillance and provisioning, in a carrier network. |
| PBX | Private branch exchange. Privately-owned central switching office. |
| PCM | Pulse-Code Modulation. Modulation in which the information signals are sampled at regular intervals. For T1 a method of converting successive 125 us samples to successive 8-bit codes |
| POP | Point of Presence. A location where two services providers (for example, an ISP and a LEC) co-locate and interconnect equipment. |
| POTS | Plain Old Telephone Service. Basic telephone service supplying standard single line telephones, telephone lines, and access to the Public Switched Telephone Network. |
| PRA | Primary Rate Access. A Canadian term synonymous with ISDN PRI. |
| PRI | Primary Rate Interface. PRI is an ISDN interface to primary rate access. Primary rate access consists of a single 64 Kbps D channel plus 23 T1 or 30 E1 B channels for voice or data. |
| proxy server | An intermediate device that receives SIP requests from a client and then initiates requests on the client's behalf. |
| PSTN | Public Switched Telephone Network. General term referring to the variety of telephone networks and services in place worldwide. Sometimes called POTS. |
| PTT | Post, Telephone, Telegraph. A government-mandated and/or operated national telephony carrier. |
| Q.931 | Call-signalling protocol for setup and termination of calls. |
| Q.SIG | Q Signalling. An inter-PBX signalling protocol for networking PBX supplementary services in a multi- or uni-vendor environment. |
| QAM&P | Operation, Administration, Management, & Provisioning. Provides the facilities and the personnel required to manage a network. |
| QOS | Quality of Service. |
| R1 | A type of Channel-Associated Signalling (CAS) used widely in places other than North America. |
| R2 | A type of CAS used widely in places other than North America. |
| RADIUS | Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service. IETF based protocol for AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) services. Database for authenticating modem and ISDN connections and for tracking connection time. |
| RAI | Resource Availability Indication—reported by the H.323 Gateway to the Gatekeepers. Critical for selecting a terminating Gateway with resources available, used for load balancing. |
| RAS | H.225 Registration, Admission, and Status protocol. Protocol that is used between endpoints and the gatekeeper to perform management functions. |
| RBAC | Role Based Access Control. Form of identity-based access control where the system entities that are identified and controlled are functional positions in an organization or process. |
| RBOC | Regional Bell operating company. Seven regional telephone companies formed by the breakup of AT&T. RBOCs differ from RBHCs in that RBOCs do not cross state boundaries. |
| Redirect server | A device that receives SIP requests, strips out the address in the request, checks its address tables for any other addresses that may be mapped to the one in the request, and then returns the results of the address mapping to the client. |
| Registrar server | A device that processes requests from UACs for registration of their current location. Registrar servers are often co-located with a redirect or proxy server. |
| RFC | Request For Comments. Document series used as the primary means for communicating information about the Internet. Some RFCs are designated by the IAB as Internet standards. |
| RLM | Redundant Link Manager—used to transport the Q.931 messages from the SC2200 to the Gateway in an SS7 POP. |
| RPC | Remote Procedure Call. An external form of communication that allows objects to communicate with each other over the network. |
| RSVP | IETF specification that allows applications to request dedicated bandwidth. |
| RTP | Real-Time Transport Protocol. Commonly used with IP networks. RTP is designed to provide end-to-end network transport functions for applications transmitting real-time data. |
| RTSP | Real-Time Streaming Protocol. Enables the controlled delivery of real-time data. Sources of data can include live audio and video, and stored content, such as pre-recorded events. |
| RUDP | Reliable User Data Protocol. |
| SAP | Session Announcement Protocol. A protocol used to assist in the advertisement of multicast multimedia conferences and other multicast sessions, and to communicate the relevant session setup information to prospective participants. |
| SC | Signalling Controller. |
| SC2200 | Signalling Controller that converts SS7 messages to a backhauled NI-2 protocol messages and backhauls them to Media Gateways. |
| SDK | Software Development Kit. |
| SDP | Session Description Protocol. A protocol used to describe the characteristics of multimedia sessions for the purposes of session announcement, session invitation, and other forms of multimedia session initiation. RCS 2327 |
| Servlet | A single Java class that implements javax.servlet.Servlet. The Web server equivalent is a file. |
| Servlet repository | A collection of servlets. It may be a directory, or a class archive (zip or jar files). The Web server equivalent is a directory. |
| Servlet zone | A collection of repositories. The Web server equivalent is a virtual host. |
| SG | Signalling Gateway. Gateway that supports only signalling traffic (no bearer traffic.) For example, a gateway that terminates SS7 A-links is a signalling gateway. |
| signalling | Process of sending a transmission signal over a physical medium for purposes of communication. |
| SIP | Session Initialization Protocol. Offers many of the same architectural features as H.323, but relies on IP-specific technologies such as DNS. |
| SLT | Signalling Link Termination. Done with a "Nomad" 2600 box capable of terminating SS7 at the MTP2 layer and backhauling MTP3 and up to the SC2200 or VSC. |
| SMS | Short message service: also known as texting. Used for text-only messages such as weather, horoscopes etc. |
| SNMP | Simple Network Management Protocol. Network management protocol used almost exclusively in TCP/IP networks. SNMP provides a means to monitor and control network devices. |
| SS7 | Signalling System 7. Standard CCS system used with BISDN and ISDN. Developed by Bellcore. The protocol used to communicate between components of the AIN. |
| SSP | Service Switching Point. An element of an SS7-based Intelligent Network that performs call origination, termination, or tandem switching. |
| STP | Signal Transfer Point. An element of an SS7-based Intelligent Network that performs routing of the SS7 signalling. |
| T1 | Digital WAN carrier facility. T1 transmits DS-1 formatted data at 1.544 Mbps through the telephone-switching network, using AMI or B8ZS coding. T1 is the North American equivalent of an E1 line. |
| T1 CAS | Channel Associated Signalling in T1. Also known as Robbed Bit Signalling. |
| TACACS+ | Terminal Access Controller Access Control System. |
| TCA | Threshold Crossing Alert. A trap message sent from the CNS-Performance Engine to the Cisco Info Center indicating a condition is a network element that exceeds a preconfigured level. |
| TCL | Application scripting language implemented in the IOS gateways. Used in this product to create calling card applications; provide special call control programmability to the service provider. |
| TCP/IP | Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. Common name for the suite of protocols developed by the U.S. DoD in the 1970s to support the construction of worldwide internetworks. |
| TDM | Time Division Multiplexing. Transmission scheme employed by all types of digital circuits in the PSTN. |
| TDMA | Time Division Multiple Access: similar to GPRS in that it allows data to travel cellular network according to allocated time slots. |
| Telnet | Standard terminal emulation protocol in the TCP/IP protocol stack. Telnet is used for remote terminal connection, enabling users to log in to remote systems and use resources as if they were connected to a local system. |
| TFTP | Trivial file transfer protocol. Simplified version of FTP that allows files to be transferred from one computer to another over a network, usually without the use of client authentication (for example, username and password). |
| TGW | Trunking gateway. A gateway that supports only bearer traffic termination without PSTN signalling involved. |
| TMN | Telecommunication Management Network. ITU-T generic model for transporting and processing OAM&P information for a telecommunications network. |
| UA | User agent. See UAC and UAS. |
| UAC | User-agent client. In SIP, a client application that initiates the SIP request. |
| UAS | User-agent server. In SIP, a server application that contacts the user when a SIP request is received, then returns a response on behalf of the user. The response accepts, rejects or redirects the request. |
| UCS | Unified call services. |
| UDP | A connectionless transport layer protocol in the TCP/IP protocol stack. UDP is a simple protocol that exchanges datagrams without acknowledgments or guaranteed delivery |
| UMTS | Universal mobile telecommunication service: 3G broadband packet-based transmission of data to cellular receivers. Based on the European global system for mobile communications (GSM). |
| URL | Uniform resource locator. An identifier used to locate content that is transported via the HTTP protocol. |
| VCG | Voice CORBA Gateway. |
| VFC | Voice feature card. |
| VNM | Voice network module. |
| VoATM | Voice over ATM. The ability to carry normal telephony-style voice over an ATM-based network with POTs link functionality, reliability, and voice quality. |
| VoIP | Voice over IP. Voice over an IP-based internet with POTS-like functionality, reliability, and voice quality. In VoIP, the DSP segments the voice signal into frames, which then are coupled in groups of two and stored in voice packets. |
| VOX | Voice over IP, Frame, ATM, IP over ATM, or some other voice/data convergent technology separate and distinct from traditional TDM. |
| VPN | Virtual Private Network for Voice. Calling between enterprises that have less than a full routable E.164 number and may have overlapping dialling plans. |
| VSA | Vendor-Specific Attribute. A non-standard attribute tag used by RADIUS. Cisco has defined many useful VSAs to enhance the gateway CDR format. |
| VSC | Virtual Switch Controller. Handles SS7 signalling conversion and is capable of controlling gateways through an MGCP. |
| VSPT | Voice Services Provisioning Tool. Part of the system used for provisioning the VSC or SC2200. |
| WAP | Wireless application protocol: similar to web protocols, but is designed for devices with smaller memory and screens than PCs or interactive TV, such as mobile phones and hand-held devices. |
| WML | Wireless markup language: a web design language used by the majority of mobile phone browsers worldwide |
| WV | Wholesale Voice. |
| WWW | World Wide Web. Large network of Internet servers providing hypertext and other services to terminals running client applications, such as a browser. |
| X Terminal | Terminal that allows a user simultaneous access to several different applications and resources in a multivendor environment through implementation of X Windows. |
| XML | eXtensible Markup Language. A standard maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Text markup language designed to enable the use of SGML on the World Wide Web. XML allows definition of customized markup language. |
| Zone | Collection of all terminals, gateways, and multipoint control units (MCUs) managed by a single gatekeeper. A zone includes at least one terminal, and can include gateways or MCUs. |
| Zone prefix | A prefix that identifies the addresses to be serviced by a given gatekeeper. Zone prefixes are typically area codes and serve the same purpose as the domain names in the H.323-ID address space. |
