Glossary
ABA
An identification number consisting of a two-part code assigned to banks and savings associations. The first part shows the location and the second identifies the bank.
Authentication
The process of identifying an individual based on a username and password. In security systems, authentication is distinct from authorization, which is the process of giving individuals access to system objects based on their identity. Authentication ensures that the individual is who he or she claims to be, but says nothing about the access rights of the individual. Windows Authentication is preferred, but SQL Authentication is available for use.
Authorization
The process of granting or denying access to a network resource. Most computer security systems are based on a two-step process. The first stage is authentication, which ensures that a user is who he or she claims to be. The second stage is authorization, which allows the user access to various resources based on the user’s identity.
Business Service Provider
A Business Services Provider (BSP) is an application service provider that focuses on providing and hosting applications related exclusively to business functions.
Consumer
A network application that uses internet protocols to access information and functionality provided by a Service Provider.
DMZ
Demilitarized zone. A computer or small subnetwork that sits between a trusted internal network, such as a corporate private LAN, and an untrusted external network, such as the public internet. Typically, the DMZ contains devices accessible to internet traffic, such as web (HTTP) servers, FTP servers, SMTP (email) servers, and DNS servers. The term comes from military use, meaning a buffer area between two enemies.
FI
Financial Institution
HTTPS
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, see SSL for more information.
NLB
Network Load Balancing (NLB) is a clustering technology offered by Microsoft® as part of all Windows® 2000 Server and Windows Server® 2003 family operating systems. NLB uses a distributed algorithm to load balance network traffic across several hosts, helping to enhance the scalability and availability of IP-based services such as web, Virtual Private Networking, streaming media, terminal services, and proxy. It also provides high availability by detecting host failures and automatically redistributing traffic to operational hosts.
SOA
Abbreviated SOA, an application architecture in which all functions, or services, are defined using a description language and have invokable interfaces that are called to perform business processes. Each interaction is independent every other interaction and the interconnect protocols of the communicating devices (i.e., the infrastructure components that determine the communication system do not affect the interfaces). Because interfaces are platform-independent, a client from any device, using any operating system, in any language can use the service. Though built on similar principles, SOA is not the same as web services, which indicate a collection of technologies, such as SOAP and XML. SOA is more than a set of technologies and runs independent of any specific technologies.
SOAP
Simple Object Access Protocol. It is a lightweight XML-based messaging protocol used to encode the information in web service request and response messages before sending them over a network. SOAP messages are independent of any operating system or protocol and may be transported using various internet protocols, including SMTP, MIME, and HTTP.
SSL
Secure Sockets Layer. It is a protocol developed by Netscape for transmitting private documents via the internet. SSL uses a cryptographic system that uses two keys to encrypt data, a public key known to everyone and a private or secret key known only to the recipient of the message. Both Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer® support SSL, and many websites use the protocol to obtain confidential user information, such as credit card numbers. By convention, URLs that require an SSL connection start with https instead of http.
W3C
World Wide Web Consortium. It is an international consortium of companies involved with the internet and the web. The W3C was founded in 1994 by Tim Berners-Lee, the original design of the World Wide Web. The organization’s purpose is to develop open standards so that the web evolves in a single direction rather than being splintered among competing factions.
XML
Extensible Markup Language. It is a specification developed by the W3C. XML is a pared-down version of SGML, designed especially for web documents. It allows designers to create their own customized tags, enabling the definition, transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and between organizations.