| Sun ONE Instant Messaging 6.1 Installation Guide |
Glossary
alert Notifications that user contacts instantly receive as a pop-up message. The sender is notified when the message is read if the “Show message status” option is selected.
authentication The process of validating user credentials. In private and public computer networks (including the Internet), authentication is commonly done through the use of login ids and passwords. Knowledge of the password is assumed to guarantee that the user is authenticated.
certificate An electronic document used to identify the Instant Messaging server, and the public key associated with it. Sun ONE Instant Messaging supports the exchange of certificates between Instant Messaging servers. The certificate that is exchanged is transparent to individual users.
CA Certificate Authority. An authority in a network that issues and manages security credentials and public keys for message encryption and decryption. As part of a public key infrastructure (PKI), a CA checks with a registration authority (RA) to verify information provided by the requestor of a digital certificate. If the RA verifies the requestor’s information, the CA issues a certificate.
chat Instant Messaging server’s version of instant messaging, chat is a real-time conversation capability that enables users to complete projects, answer customer questions, and complete other time-critical work assignments. Chat sessions are held either in chat rooms created when required or in pre-established conference rooms.
cn LDAP alias for common name.
conference room A pre-established chat room, configured by the administrator or another user with sysRoomsAdd privilege, who also determines which users can view and access conference rooms.
contact Contacts are LDAP users or groups with which users send and receive instant messages. Also known as “buddy” in other instant messaging environments.
contact group A list of contacts that a user maintains. The actual list is stored on the Instant Messaging server.
contact list List of all contact groups for a user in Instant Messenger.
cooperating server A server that wants to communicate with your server, and one with which your server wants to communicate. Also known as a coserver. Each cooperating server is given a symbolic name, which is a string consisting of letters and digits. For example, coservern, where n is a number.
coserver See cooperating server.
directory service A logically centralized repository of information. Instant Messaging server depends on a directory service for user authentication. See also LDAP.
distinguished name The comma-separated sequence of attributes and values that specify the unique location of an entry within the directory information tree. Often abbreviated as DN.
dn LDAP alias for distinguished name.
DNS Domain Name System. A distributed name resolution software that enables computers to locate other computers on a UNIX network or the Internet by domain name. DNS servers provide a distributed, replicated, data query service for translating hostnames into Internet addresses.
firewall A dedicated gateway machine with special security precautions used to service outside network, especially Internet, connections and dial-in lines. Protects a group of more loosely administered machines hidden behind the firewall from unwanted access from outside the firewall.
HTTP Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. A standard protocol that allows the transfer of hypertext documents over the web. Instant Messaging server uses HTTP to support data flow between itself and Instant Messenger clients.
Instant Messaging multiplexor Improves Instant Messaging server scalability by allowing a large number of concurrent client connections to require only a few connections to the backend Instant Messaging server. Instant Messenger clients connect to the multiplexor rather than the Instant Messaging server itself. When installed on the public side of a firewall, the multiplexor protects the user database from intruders, leaving the Instant Messaging server behind the firewall.
Instant Messaging server The backend server process within the product that handles incoming commands from Instant Messenger client through the Instant Messaging multiplexor. The Instant Messaging server also communicates with the LDAP server to authenticate Instant Messaging users. See also Instant Messaging multiplexor.
Instant Messenger The Instant Messaging client that enables users to send and receive instant messages and alerts.
Sun ONE Portal Server A software product that enables remote users to securely access their organization’s network and its services over the Internet. Additionally, it creates a secure Internet portal, providing access to content, applications, and data to a targeted audience, such as employees, business partners, or the general public.
Java applet A small application program, written in Java, that can be sent along with a web page to a user’s browser. Java applets can perform tasks without having to send a user request back to the server. Instant Messenger client is a Java applet.
Java Web Start A web application launcher. With Java Web Start, applications are launched by clicking on a hypertext link. If the application is not present on your computer, Java Web Start automatically downloads it and caches it on your computer. Once an application is downloaded, it can be launched from a desktop icon, or from a link. No matter which method is used to launch the application, the most current version of the application is always presented.
LDAP Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. LDAP is a protocol used for the storage, retrieval, and distribution of directory information.
LDAP server A software server that maintains an LDAP directory and services queries to the directory. The Sun Directory Services and the Netscape Directory Services are implementations of a LDAP Server.
news channel News channels are forums for posting and sharing information. Users subscribe to news channels of interest in order to see updates. The information in a news channel is usually published automatically through a URL, or by a user with the proper privileges. Administrators can control news channel access by assigning users to the channels they need, and by determining who can see or publish information to news channels.
news channel list A window that shows all the news channels you are currently subscribed to. Each news channel is indicated by a separate tab.
plug-in Code extensions to the browser that display or execute content inside a web page. Plug-ins enable the browser to display page content elements that the browser would otherwise not be able to display.
poll The polling function in Instant Messenger enables you to query users for their response to a question. You send a question and possible answers to selected users and they respond by selecting an answer.
server process A self-contained, fully functional execution environment set up by an operating system. Each instance of an application typically runs in a separate process.
service A Windows NT program that runs under the Windows NT service manager. As such, it can be started automatically during start up. A default Windows installation has several services configured. One example is the DHCP client. The Instant Messaging server installation tool configures two Windows services: the Sun ONE Connection Multiplexor, and the Sun ONE Instant Messaging server.
SSL Secure Sockets Layer is an open, non-proprietary security protocol for authenticated and encrypted communication between clients and servers. Instant Messaging supports server-to-server SSL.
status event Status of a user including whether or not the user is online.
user ID User identification. A unique string identifying a user to a system. Also referred to as a userid.
