Bandwidth
The amount of data that can be passed along a communications channel in a given period of time. For analog devices, such as standard telephones, bandwidth is the range of frequencies that can be transmitted and is expressed in hertz (cycles per second). For digital devices, bandwidth is measured in bits per second. The wider the bandwidth, the faster data can be sent.
Colocation
A cage or suite in a secure data center designed to house critical IT gear and provide disaster recovery solutions.
DID
Direct Inward Dialing. A DID is a telephone number assigned to a dedicated local circuit.
DNIS
Dialed Number Identification Service. A feature of toll free (800, 855, 866, 877, 888) lines. DNIS numbers are used to automatically identify to the customer phone system a specific employee station to which a call should route.
DSL
Digital Subscriber Line is a family of technologies that provide internet access by transmitting digital data over the wires of a local telephone network. DSL service is delivered simultaneously with wired telephone service on the same telephone line.
DS3
North American equivalent of 28 T1 circuits, providing 45 Mpbs of bandwidth.
Dynamic Allocation
The ability to instantly divide large, high capacity bandwidth resources among multiple applications. Each application is provided with only that share of the bandwidth required at that moment, allowing other applications to use remaining bandwidth.
Ethernet over Copper
Ethernet services provided to the customer location over a copper pairs connection. This mechanism uses spare copper cabling previously reserved for landlines, and is dependent on the customer’s building location.
Ethernet over Fiber
Ethernet services provided to the customer location over a Fiber Optic connection. This mechanism is dependent on the customer’s building location.
Ethernet Service
Ethernet services provided to the customer location over a Serial, or T1, connection. This mechanism is dependent on the customer’s building location.
Hub
Location on a network where many circuits are brought together and aggregated into a single connection, often at a higher speed.
Hub-And-Spoke VPN
Private Networking configuration in which each spoke/remote location can send and receive data through a VPN tunnel.
IP Internet Address
The addressing method by which users connect to the Internet.
Managed IT Services
The ongoing management, monitoring, and maintenance of networks, software, hardware, and related IT services by an external organization.
Mesh VPN
Private Networking configuration in which each spoke/remote location can send and receive data through a VPN tunnel directly to remote/spoke sites. This is achieved without communicating through the Hub location, thereby offering any-to-any connectivity.
MPLS
Multi Protocol Label Switching. A family of telecommunications engineering standards in which networks make data packet forwarding decisions based on a pre-defined, custom label and path.
POTS
Plain Old Telephone Service is a traditional single phone line typically brought into a home or small business via a copper pair of wires.
Primary and Secondary Hub-And-Spoke VPN
Private Networking configuration in which each spoke/remote location can send and receive data through a VPN tunnel with a backup (Secondary) Hub chosen for redundancy.
Private Line
A secure dedicated connection between two locations that can support voice, video and data.
QoS
Quality of Service is the process of prioritizing packets of data. Packets with the highest priority will be handled first by a router receiving multiple transmissions.
Redundancy
Backup or duplication of critical network elements in order to provide complete system and network reliability.
SIP
Session Initiation Protocol. The industry leading telecommunications engineering protocol for initiating and managing Voice over IP (VoIP) calls.
SIP Trunking
SIP trunking is a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and streaming media service based on the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) by which Internet telephony service providers (ITSPs) deliver telephone services and unified communications to customers equipped with SIP-based private branch exchange (IP-PBX) and Unified Communications facilities. Most Unified Communications software applications provide voice, video and other streaming media applications such as desktop sharing, web conferencing, and shared whiteboard.
Spoke
Remote location on a Virtual Private Network connected to the main/Hub location.
T1
A North American digital circuit with a bandwidth speed of 1.544 Mbps.
Voice Compression
An initial step in setting up an IP call in which unwanted signals are suppressed and ambient noise and packets not containing speech are discarded. This mechanism is used to optimize circuit bandwidth.
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol technology allows for the transmission of voice communications over IP networks such as the Internet.
VPN
A Virtual Private Network securely transmits phone calls and corporate data across multiple sites throughout a company/enterprise.