Glossary

Domain Name System (DNS)

One of the key technologies of the Internet, DNS is responsible to converting the names of computer in to their network names. Computers identify themselves with numbers (know as IP Addresses) and use these numbers when communicating. People like to use more meaningful and memorable ways to address computers, such as www.example.com. DNS is a global database that translates between computer names and numbers (and vice versa). Control of the database is distributed using delegation, so that if you own the name example.com you can create additional names such as www.example.com and mail.example.com and then assign the appropriate IP Addresses for the servers you wish to use those names.

Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)

The computer communication protocol used to read, write and search email messages. IMAP is typically used by an email client (such as Outlook or Thunderbird) to access email messages stored on an email server. IMAP supports advanced features for authentication, searching and organising messages.

Post Office Protocol (POP)

A computer communication protocol used to transfer email messages from an email server to another computer. POP is typically used by a desktop email program (such as Outlook or Thunderbird) to copy email messages off of a persons email server and on to their desktop computer.

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)

The computer communication protocol used to send email messages between email servers. These types of servers are known as Mail Transfer Agents (MTAs) and they are concerned with moving messages to their final destination as directly and efficiently as possible.