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Glossary
Introduction
In the realm of cloud computing and network management, understanding key terms and concepts is crucial for effectively managing and utilizing resources. This glossary aims to provide clear and concise definitions of common terms related to cloud infrastructure, networking, and system administration. Whether you’re a seasoned IT professional or new to the field, this glossary will serve as a handy reference guide to enhance your knowledge and operational efficiency.
Availability zone – physical separation of computing resources within the same region. (eg: different hosts)
CIDR – a compact representation of an IP address and its associated routing prefix (subnet mask). (eg: 192.168.1.1/32)
CPU optimized – specification for instances that require high computational power. (eg: Web server, Database server)
Credit – the number of funds available on your account that can be used to launch Cloud instances. Note: Charges are deducted from your credit hourly.
Egress – outgoing traffic.
Flavor – the number of computing resources allocated to your instances (eg: hardware specification)
General optimized – specification for instances that are capable to sustain your common workloads. (eg: VPN, Proxy server)
Image – a template of the operating system which your instance will be running on. Note: The image of your selection will be provisioned to the volume as your boot disk.
Ingress – incoming traffic.
IP address – a numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network for communication. (eg: 192.168.1.1)
Key-pair – a pair of the public and the private key that is used to authenticate your access to the instance.
Port – an endpoint of communication that can be represented by a standard set of numbers. (eg: ssh – 22, RDP – 3389, HTTP – 80, etc.)
Protocol – the classifications of communication rules. (eg: TCP, UDP, ICMP, etc.)
RAM optimized – specification for instances that handle high memory consumption. (eg: Email server)
Region – physical separation of all computing resources across multiple geographical locations. (eg: different data centers)
Security group – an external firewall that regulates (allow/block) the traffic (ingress/egress) to and fro your instances. Note: You can create multiple security groups and associate them in multiple instances.
Security group rules – definition of the behavior of a security group. Note: You can define and add multiple rules to a security group.
Subnet mask – a logical subdivision of an IP network. (eg: 255.255.255.0, /24)
Volume – the storage capacity that is attached to your instance. Note: You can attach multiple volumes to an instance.
Conclusion
This glossary serves as a comprehensive reference for essential terms in cloud computing and network management. By familiarizing yourself with these concepts, you can enhance your understanding and management of cloud infrastructure, ensuring efficient and effective use of resources. Keep this glossary handy as a quick reference guide to support your ongoing learning and operational tasks.