Glossary
Term/Acronymn
Definition
- Bill of Materials (BOM)
List of items needed.
- Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
Key process/document in continuity planning, identifies (and quantifies) the urgency of each business activity in event of outage and typically outlines allowable time window for recovery.
- Change Control Board (CCB)
A review committee that renders decisions on proposed system changes while representing the broader corporate initiatives/goals/interests/security/architecture/etc.
- Change Notice (CN)
Process/Form submitted to announce/inform stakeholders that a change in information systems will occur (uncluding what and when).
- Chassis
Blade enclosure that provides many of the non-core services and holds the blades.
- Cloud Computing
Provides computation, software, data access, and storage services without knowledge of the physical location or configuration of the system that delivers the services.
- Colocation
Act of placing multiple entities within a single location. (e.g. You shouldn't co-locate a system and it's DR).
- Computer Room Air Conditioning Unit (CRAC)
Device that monitors and maintains the temp, air distribution, and humidity in a network room or datacenter.
- Computing as a Service (CaaS)
Delivery of computing as a service rather than a product (see Cloud Computing).
- Configuration Item (CI)
Fundamental structural unit of a CMDB.
- Configuration Management Database (CMDB)
Repository of information related to all the components of an information system.
- Disaster Recovery (DR)
Applies to systems that perform this function as well as plans that address such events.
- EMC
Leading supplier of storage products for midrange computers and mainframes.
- Forklift Migration (FL)
Migration of existing system via physical relocation of the hardware into the new data center.
- General Computer Controls (GCC)
Control activities performed within the IT Organization or the technology they support that can be applied to every system that the organization relies upon.
- Information Systems Continuity Plan (ISCP)
Identified the planning actions/procedures for restoration of systems. One is generally required for any unaccepted risk.
- Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
Detailed specifications used to track business objectives (can be though of as a metric with a target).
- Local Area Network (LAN)
Network of computers in close proximity to each other (e.g. home/office building).
- Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
Network covering a geographic area (town/city).
- Move Bundle
The smallest collection of servers than can move based upon technical dependencies (i.e. "atomic move unit").
- Move Group
Collection of Move Bundles that are scheduled to move simultaneouly (due to convenience, business reason, whatever).
- Network Attached Storage (NAS)
Dedicated hardware which allows files to be stored and retrieved across a network, typically over Ethernet.
- Network Design Review (NDR)
Process/Form submitted to CCB for approval to perform changes in enterprise network architecture.
- Over-the-Wire (OTW)
Conversion/Migration directly into the target site using the WAN connection between sites.
- Physical-to-Physical (P2P)
Conversion of a server from physical to physical (running it on different dedicated hardware).
- Physical-to-Virtual (P2V)
Conversion of a server from physical to virtual instance.
- Refresh Cycle
Time between replacement of computers/hardware.
- Server Blade
Stripped down server computer with modular design optimized to minimize space and energy.
- Server Change Request (SCR)
Process/Form submitted to CCB for approval to perform a change on a server which already exists in the enterprise
- Server Design Request (SDR)
Process/Form submitted to CCB for approval to to place a new server into the enterprise.
- Server Rack
Standardized frame for mouting multiple equipment modules.
- Site Module (SM)
Would not recommend including - uncommon/non-standard/has a different meaning in web development.
- Storage Area Network (SAN)
A network of storage disks, typically connects multiple servers to a centralized pool of disk storage.
- Structured Storage
Data having a predefined structure (SQL, Access, Exchange databases) - More involved to migrate.
- Swing Equipment
Duplicate application hardware in a new data center used to migrate systems into the new environment via Swing Migration.
- Swing Migration
Migration of system onto new hardware in the new data center. Enables you to simply "cut over" in real time instead of incurring down time (P2P).
- System of Record (SOR)
The authoritative data source for a given set of information.
- T2P
Would not recommend including - uncommon.
- Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM)
IBM Storage Management Software that automates data backup and restore functions.
- Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
Provides emergency power to a load during failure, differs from a generator in that it provides instantaneous protection via batteries for a short period while auxillary power comes on line.
- Unstructured Data
Data having no identifiable strucutre (e.g. images, text, non-database) - Easily migratable, this is most enterprise data
- Virtual LAN (vLAN)
Virtual LAN, has the same attributes as a physical LAN but allows for end station to be grouped together even if not located on the same network switch.
- Virtual Machine (VM)
A "guest" environment that does not physically exist but is created within another "host" environment.
- Virtual Migration
Migration of a server via transmission of the virtual image to the new data center (V2V, P2V OTW).
- Virtual-toVirtual (V2V)
Conversion of a server from virtual to virtual instance.
- vMotion
VMware's tool that enables live migration of virtual machines
- VMware
Majority owned by EMC, a provider of virtualization software
- vSphere
VMware Inc.'s flagship server virtualization suite.
- Wide Area Network (WAN)
Long-distance communications network (typically using Internet for connectivity between MANs/LANs).
