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access control list (ACL)

A list of security protections that apply to an entire object, a set of the object s properties, or an individual property of an object. There are two types of access control lists: discretionary and system.

Accessibility Wizard

An interactive tool that makes it easier to set up commonly used accessibility features by specifying options by type of disability, rather than by numeric value changes.

Active Directory

The Windows-based directory service. Active Directory stores information about objects on a network and makes this information available to users and network administrators. Active Directory gives network users access to permitted resources anywhere on the network using a single logon process. It provides network administrators with an intuitive, hierarchical view of the network and a single point of administration for all network objects. See also domain; forest.

Active Directory Installation Wizard

The tool that is used to install and remove Active Directory. See also Active Directory.

Active Directory replication

The synchronization of Active Directory partition replicas between domain controllers. Replication automatically copies the changes that originate on a writable directory partition replica to all other domain controllers that hold the same directory partition replica. More specifically , a destination domain controller pulls these changes from the source domain controller. See also Active Directory; domain controller; global catalog.

Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI)

A directory service model and a set of Component Object Model (COM) interfaces. ADSI enables Windows applications and Active Directory clients to access several network directory services, including Active Directory. ADSI is supplied as a software development kit (SDK). See also Active Directory; Component Object Model (COM).

Active Directory Users and Computers

An administrative tool used by an administrator to perform day-to-day Active Directory administration tasks. The tasks that can be performed with this tool include creating, deleting, modifying, moving, and setting permissions on objects stored in the directory. Examples of objects in Active Directory are organizational units, users, contacts, groups, computers, printers, and shared file objects. See also Active Directory; permission.

ActiveX

A set of technologies that allows software components to interact with one another in a networked environment, regardless of the language in which the components were created.

administrative credentials

Logon information that is used to identify a member of an administrative group. Groups that use administrative credentials include Administrators, Domain Admins, and DNS Admins. Most system-wide or domain-wide tasks require administrative credentials. See also Administrators group; group .

administrator account

On a local computer, the first account that is created when you install an operating system on a new workstation, stand-alone server, or member server. By default, this account has the highest level of administrative access to the local computer, and it is a member of the Administrators group.

In an Active Directory domain, the first account that is created when you set up a new domain by using the Active Directory Installation Wizard. By default, this account has the highest level of administrative access in a domain, and it is a member of the Administrators, Domain Admins, Domain Users, Enterprise Admins, Group Policy Creator Owners, and Schema Admins groups.

See also Active Directory; Administrators group; local computer; member server; user account.

Administrators group

On a local computer, a group whose members have the highest level of administrative access to the local computer. Examples of administrative tasks that can be performed by members of this group include installing programs; accessing all files on the computer; auditing access control; and creating, modifying, and deleting local user accounts.

In an Active Directory domain, a group whose members have the highest level of administrative access in the domain. Examples of administrative tasks that can be performed by members of this group include setting domain policy; assigning and resetting domain user account passwords; setting up and managing domain controllers; and creating, modifying, and deleting domain user accounts.

See also Active Directory; auditing; domain; domain controller; group; local computer; user account.

Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI)

An open industry specification that defines power management on a wide range of mobile, desktop, and server computers and peripherals. ACPI is the foundation for the OnNow industry initiative that allows system manufacturers to deliver computers that start at the touch of a keyboard. ACPI design is essential to take full advantage of power management and Plug and Play. See also Plug and Play.

advertise

In Windows 2000, Windows XP, the Windows Server 2003 family, and Systems Management Server (SMS), to make a program available to members of a group.

advertisement

In Systems Management Server, a notification sent by the site server to the client access points (CAPs) specifying that a software distribution program is available for clients to use. In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, the Software Installation snap-in generates an application advertisement script and stores this script in the appropriate locations in Active Directory and the Group Policy object.

Anonymous access

An authentication mechanism by which users who are able to connect to an Internet site without credentials are assigned to the IUSR_ ComputerName account and granted the access rights that are assigned to that account. See also Anonymous authentication.

Anonymous authentication

An authentication mechanism that does not require user accounts and passwords. Anonymous authentication grants remote users the identity IUSR_ ComputerName . Anonymous authentication is used on the Internet to grant visitors restricted access to predefined public resources. See also Anonymous access; user account.

answer file

A text file used to automate Setup or other installation processes. Using this text file, you can provide custom answers to Setup- related questions. Typically, you must point the Setup program to use the answer file at the same time Setup is started. Answer files can only be used on applications and operating systems that support them. See also Setup; Unattend.txt.

application

A computer program, such as a word processor or electronic spreadsheet, or a group of Active Server Pages (ASP) scripts and components that perform such tasks.

application isolation

The separation of applications by process boundaries that prevent the applications from affecting one another. Application isolation is configured differently for each of the two Internet Information Services (IIS) isolation modes. See also IIS 5.0 isolation mode; worker process isolation mode.

application pool

A grouping of one or more URLs served by a worker process.

application programming interface (API)

A set of routines that an application uses to request and carry out lower-level services performed by a computer s operating system. These routines usually carry out maintenance tasks such as managing files and displaying information.

assigning

In Windows 2000, Windows XP, the Windows Server 2003 family, and Systems Management Server (SMS), to deploy a program to members of a group, where installation of the program is mandatory.

auditing

The process that tracks the activities of users by recording selected types of events in the security log of a server or a workstation.

authentication

The process Windows uses to verify that the detected device is the same device you want to communicate with. Windows uses a passkey, also known as a personal identification number (PIN), for authentication. If the passkey entered by the user matches the passkey of the detected device, authentication succeeds; if the passkeys do not match, authentication fails. However, some devices allow communication without authentication.

authorization

The process that determines what a user is permitted to do on a computer system or network.

auto-static updates

The process of adding static routes to the routing table automatically. When you configure an interface to use auto-static update mode, the router sends a request to other routers and inherits routes. The routes are saved in the routing table as auto-static routes and are kept even if the router is restarted or the interface goes down. Auto-static updates are supported in Routing Information Protocol (RIP) for Internet Protocol (IP) and in RIP for Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX), but they are not available for use with Open Shortest Path First (OSPF). See also Open Shortest Path First (OSPF); routing.

automated installation

An unattended setup using one or more of several methods such as Remote Installation Services, bootable CD, and Sysprep. See also Remote Installation Services (RIS); Sysprep.

Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA)

A TCP/IP feature in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 that automatically configures a unique IP address from the range 169.254.0.1 through 169.254.255.254 with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0 when the TCP/IP protocol is configured for dynamic addressing and a DHCP server is not available. The APIPA range of IP addresses is reserved by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for use on a single subnet, and IP addresses within this range are not used on the Internet. See also Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP); IP address; Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

availability

A level of service provided by applications, services, or systems. Highly available systems have minimal downtime, whether planned or unplanned . Availability is often expressed as the percentage of time that a service or system is available, for example, 99.9 percent for a service that is down for 8.75 hours a year.