Rectifier-Remote Site Location

Rectifier -Remote Site Location

Rectifier

Rectifiers are diodes designed to be placed in an alternating current circuit. (The terms "diode" and "rectifier" often are used interchangeably. However, a diode typically is a small signal device with current in the milliamp range, while a rectifier is a power device conducting current from 1 to 1,000+ amps.) When the alternating current flows in the diode's forward direction it passes with no resistance. When the alternating current reverses direction it is blocked by the diode. Rectified current in such a circuit looks like a series of pulses which are just the positive peaks of the alternating current wave form. In short, rectifiers are used for converting Alternating Current (AC) into Direct Current (DC). AC current comes out of the commercial power supply ” 120 volts , 60 Hz. DC power is what drives telephone systems and the circuits that move the transmission around. Typically that DC power ranges from 5 to 48 volts. You need rectifiers to change the AC to DC. See also Diode.

Recurring Charges

The monthly charges to the customer for services, facilities and equipment, which continue for the agreed-upon duration of the service.

Recursion

The ability of a programming language to be able to call functions from within themselves .

RED

Random Early Detection. A QoS (Quality of Service) mechanism for IP-based networks. See Random Early Detection for a much longer explanation.

Red Alarm

In T-1, a red alarm is generated for a locally detected failure such as when a condition like loss of synchronization exists for 2.5 seconds, causing a CGA, (Carrier Group Alarm). See T-1.

Red Black Concept

The separation of electrical and electronic circuits, components , equipment, and systems that handle classified plain text (RED) information in electrical signal form from those that handle encrypted or unclassified (BLACK) information.

Red Book

Another name for the CD-DA audio CD format introduced by Sony and Philips. The Red Book standard defines the number of tracks on the disc that contain digital audio data and the error correction routines that prevent data loss. The format allows 74 minutes of digital sound to be transferred at a rate of 150 kilobytes per second (K/sec).

Red Books

The CCITT's 1984 standards recommendations were published in books with red covers, hence the term "Red Books." The CCITT is now called the ITU, as in International Telecommunications Union. See ITU.

Red Box

A device that produces tones similar to those produced by dropping coins into a pay phone to inform the operator or automatic machinery that money has been deposited. The red box is used to defraud telephone companies. It is so named because they are usually built small enough to be placed in the "crush proof box" of a packet of Marlboro cigarettes. Red boxes are illegal.

Red Herring

According to the magazine called "Red Herring," in the 1800s wily British fugitives discovered that rubbing a herring across their trail would divert the bloodhounds hot in pursuit. Later, in debate and in detective mysteries, red herring described any clever device used to distract people from the main issue. In the 1920s, clever American investment bankers began calling preliminary investment prospectuses red herrings as a warning to investors that the documents were not complete or final. These documents were distinguished by covers printed largely in red. Today, one Wall Street curmudgeon describes a red herring as "the one shining example of truth in advertising in the securities industry." Red herring prospectuses contain words that say the information contained within the pages has not been approved or disapproved by the SEC (the Securities and Exchange Commission). It is a warning, and is known by the euphemism "red herring," which is also the color of two-day old herring left out on the kitchen counter. It stinks something awful .

Red Horde

A nickname for Novell, Inc., an erstwhile leading network operating system software company, as well as the NetWare resellers worldwide. Red is Novell's corporate color.

Red Light District

On-line pornography.

Red Queen

The Red Queen principle is based on a passage in Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass" in which the Red Queen tells Alice "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place." I saw the use of this term in a New York Times article on how some foreign governments try to block their citizens' access to certain web sites. To counter this, people in other countries create new web sites whose purpose is to allow those citizens to pass through and get to the sites they want to ” politics or sex, or whatever. To stay on top, the governments need then to collect new information constantly. To counter the governments , the services must keep one step ahead. Thus, the Red Queen principle.

Redialer

Interface hardware device that interconnects between a fax device and a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). A redialer forwards a dialed number to another destination. Redialers contain a database of referral telephone numbers . When the user dials a specific number, the redialer collects the dialed digits and matches them to a listing in its database. If there is a match, the redialer dials the referral number (transparent to the user ) and forwards the call to the referral number.

Redirection

In the context of message handling, a transmittal event in which an MTA (Message Transfer Agent) replaces a user among a message's immediate recipients with a user preselected for that message.

Redirection and Forwarding

The process whereby the home Mobile Data Intermediate System (MD-IS), upon the receipt of packets encapsulates the packets with the address of the serving MD-IS and forwards them on to the serving MD-IS.

Redirector

Networking software that accepts input/output requests for remote files, named pipes, or mailslots and then sends (redirects) them to a network service on another computer. Redirectors (also called network clients ) are implemented as file system drivers in Windows 95. A redirector is a LAN software module loaded into every network workstation. It captures application programs requests for file- and equipment-sharing services and routes them through the network for action.

Reduce

A Windows term. To minimize a window to an icon at the bottom of the desktop by using the Minimize button or the Minimize command. A minimized application continues running, and you can select the icon to make it the active application.

Reduced Slope

See Chromatic Dispersion.

Redundancy

1. That part of any message which can be eliminated without losing the important information.

2. Having one or more "backup" systems available in case of failure of the main system.

Redundancy Check

A technique of error detection involving the transmission of additional data related to the basic data in such a way that the receiving terminal, by comparing the two sets of data, can determine to a high degree of probability whether there has been an error in transmission.

Redundant Array Of Inexpensive Disks

RAID. The idea is simple: Put several disk drives into a single housing. Then write your data over the disk drives in such a way that if you lose one or more of the drives, you won't have lost any of your data. Thus the term "redundant." At its simplest, RAID mirrors data to an equal number of disk drives, e.g. two sets of two. At its most complex, RAID writes data across a bunch of drives, so that if one goes the data can be retrieved from the remaining drives. RAID as a concept was first defined in 1987 by Patterson, Gibson and Katz of the University of California, Berkeley. As defined, RAID has three attributes:

1. It is a set of physical disk drives viewed by the user as a single logical device.

2. The user's data is distributed across the physical set of disk drives in a defined manner.

3. Redundant disk capacity is added so that the user's data can be recovered if one (but not more than one) drive fails.

The Berkeley engineers described five levels of RAID configurations called RAID-1 through RAID-5. RAID-0 and RAID-6 have since been added by industry usage. The distinguishing features among the various RAID levels are the way data is distributed and the way redundant capacity is implemented. Each RAID level represents very different trade-offs in terms of cost, availability and performance. Here's a simple explanation of the various levels of RAID:

Level O: Disk striping across multiple disks. No error correction or redundancy provided. Level 1: Disk mirroring or shadowing. One disk drive and an exact backup on a second disk, i.e. All data is redundantly recorded ("mirrored") on a second disk.

Level 2: Data is striped across multiple disks, and error checking and correcting (ECC) codes are written onto additional disks for use in fault recovery.

Level 3: Data is striped byte-by-byte across multiple disks and a single additional disk is dedicated to recording parity data.

Level 4: Similar to RAID-3, but stripes data in large chunks . Data is striped block-by- block across multiple disks and a single additional disk is dedicated to recording parity data.

Level 5: The most popular RAID. Data is striped block-by-block across multiple disk, and parity data is also spread out over multiple disks.

Level 6: RAID-5, plus redundant disk controllers, fans buses,etc. A caveat: The above "levels" are overly simplistic. As Raid has appeared, most manufacturers have implemented different variations on the RAID theme. When I show them the above list, I usually get "Well, that's a beginning." And, of course, some levels are combined. The most popular RAID levels are 0/1 (Zero/One), which is an integral part of NetWare and Level 5, which is not but uses proprietary software techniques. The big difference is that level 0/1 maps the information on one drive to a second. You can always take one drive out, and read it. In Level 5, the data is spread across several drives. You can remove one drive and you won't lose any data. But you can't reconstruct your data from that removed drive. You need the others. When you replace a drive in Raid Level 5 (let's say because it is broken), the others will reconstruct the failed drive fairly quickly ” often in less than an hour . Level 0/1 doesn't give you as much total storage space as Level 5.

Redundant Bits

The extra bits included in a transmission for purposes of detecting and/or correcting errors. See Redundancy Check.

Redundant Link

A second connection between a repeater and some other network device like a repeater or switch. One of the connections is active while the other is disabled by the repeater. If link integrity is lost on the active link, it is disabled and the redundant link is enabled so the users are not affected. See also Diversity.

Reed Relay

Two tiny pieces of metal encapsulated in a tiny nitrogen-filled glass tube. When a current is passed through a magnet around the nitrogen-filled glass capsule , one arm of the metal reed relay moves and makes contact with the other. In this way it acts as a "switch." Reed relay switches are reliable. Because they are metal, they can carry great amounts of data. They are rapidly becoming obsolete.

Re-Engineer

To redesign a business process. Re-engineering aims to use the power of information technology to redesign business processes to improve speed, service and quality. See Downsizing.

Re-Gift

See Regift.

Reed-Solomon

A means of accomplishing Forward Error Correction (FEC) in order to compensate for errors bursts in created in data transmission. Named for Messrs. Irving S. Reed and Gustave Solomon, staff members of MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, who published a paper entitled "Polynomial Codes over Certain Finite Fields" in the Journal of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) in 1960. Reed-Solomon coding specifies a polynomial by plotting, or statistically sampling, a large number of points in a data block. The coding technique was a quantum leap in forward error correction (FEC) technology, as it allows recovery of data even if multiple errors occurred in a single block, and does so without the requirement for the embedding of redundant data within that block. The decoding process, however, also was challenging; Elwyn Berlekamp, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, invented an efficient algorithm for that purpose. Berlekamp's algorithm was used in the Voyager II spacecraft, and is the basis for decoding in CD players. Reed-Solomon is used in MPEG-II (Moving Pictures Experts Group) compression for digital television. The encoder examines the 187 bytes of the MPEG-II data packet (having removed the packet synchronization byte), samples them, and manipulates them as a block; thereby, the contents of the data block can be characterized and described in a 20-byte field appended to the data block. The receiver compares the 187-byte block to the 20-byte description in order to determine its validity. Should errors be detected, their exact location(s) can be identified, they can be corrected, and the original data packet can be reconstructed. As many as 10 byte errors per data packet can be corrected in this fashion.

Reengineer

To redesign a business process. Re-engineering aims to use the power of information technology to redesign business processes to improve speed, service and quality. See Downsizing.

Refarming

Refarming is an FCC initiative to promote more efficient use of the frequency bands below 512 MHz allocated to private land mobile radio services.

Reference Channel

Continuously keyed forward-transmission Radio Frequency (RF) channel, used for signal quality assessment.

Reference Clock

A clock of high stability and accuracy that is used to govern the frequency of a network and mutually synchronize clocks of lower stability.

Reference Design

Let's say I'm a semiconductor chip maker who specializes in making chips for broadband communications. How many chips I sell is determined by how well the product that my chips go into sell. So I create mockups of end-user products which I think might sell. For example, I may create a CATV set-top box using my chips. I will take that box to a maker of such boxes and hope that they choose to make and market such a box. The box which I give them is called a reference design.

Reference Level

The measure of a value used as a starting point for further measurements. In communications applications this term usually refers to a power level of a signal or a noise. A common reference level is 0 dBm, that is, 1 milliwatt.

Reference Line

In faxing, the reference line is the first scanning line in memory. The location of each black pixel of this line is kept in memory for the next scanned line. Depending on the compression technique used, more or fewer scan lines are necessary.

Reference Number Prompting

An AT&T Enhanced Fax Mail term. Reference number prompting is an option that allows you to prompt anyone sending a fax message to your mailbox for a reference number of up to 16 digits.

Reference Track

A special magnetic track placed on Floptical diskettes used by the drive to calibrate the optical tracking system with respect to the magnetic recording tracks.

Reference Noise

RN. A reference level of noise power.

Reference Point "R"

This ISDN reference point is used when existing interfaces such as X.21, RS-232C, V.35, etc., are used. See ISDN, R Interface, T Interface and U Interface.

Reference Point "S"

This ISDN reference point is similar to reference point "T", but is appropriate when NT-1 and NT-2 are used. See ISDN, R Interface, T Interface and U Interface.

Reference Point "T"

This ISDN reference point is located either between the standard CCITT user-network interface providing access to the standalone terminal equipment or between the NT-2. See ISDN, R Interface, T Interface and U Interface.

Reference Point "U"

This ISDN reference point is the demarcation point in the network between the customer owned NT1 and the telephone network. The "U" reference point exists only in the United States, due to the Modifed Final Judgment. See ISDN, R Interface, T Interface and U Interface.

Referential Integrity

Refers to a database's ability to link data in two or more files, so that adding data to a record in one file automatically updates data in another file.

Referral Whois

See RWHOIS.

Refile

1. Under Mail Handler (MH), refile is a command used to move messages between folders.

2. A means of reducing long distance calling costs for calls terminating in the US, and originating in another country. Refile is a means by which calls are routed through an intermediary country in order to take advantage of lower wholesale rates or settlement rates. See also International Callback.

Reflectance

The ratio of reflected light power to incident light power. Synonym for "return loss."

Reflection

Radio frequency waves can reflect off hills, buildings , moving cars , the atmosphere ” basically almost anything. The reflected waves may vary in phase and strength from the original wave. Reflections are what allow radio waves to reach their targets around corners, behind buildings, under bridges, in parking garages, etc. RF transmissions bend around objects as a result of reflections. See Microwave Reflection.

Reflection Loss

The loss of signal power resulting from the reflection of the a portion of the signal due to a discontinuity in the circuit. A discontinuity is created when cable pairs are spliced together, particularly when the cable pairs are of different gauges. In addition to reflection loss, such a discontinuity causes echo. See also Echo.

REFLEX

A two-way alphanumeric paging protocol with broadcast speeds of up to 25.6Kbps for pager receive and 9.6Kbps for pager response channels. The ReFLEX system allows standard paging features and also provides short message communication capability between pagers and various other e-mail enabled PCs and terminals. It is one of the communications protocols used between paging towers and the mobile pagers /receivers/beepers themselves. Other protocols are POCSAG, ERMES, GOLAY and FLEX. The same paging tower equipment can transmit messages one moment in GOLAY and the next moment in ERMES, or any of the other protocols.

Reflow Soldering

A surface-mounting process for electronic components in which a solder paste is applied to the solder lands on the PCB and the components are properly aligned and placed on them. Upon heating the solder, it melts and forms a solder bond with the component terminals, electronically and mechanically bonding the component to the board.

Refraction

The phenomenon in which light rays bend and slightly change velocity when passing between dissimilar materials. Refraction depends on two factors: the incident angle and the refractive index, as defined by Snell's Law of Refraction. See also Index of Refraction.

Refractive Index

The ratio of the velocity of light in one medium (e.g., a vacuum ) to the velocity of light in another medium (e.g., glass). Refractive index also can refer to the ratio of the velocity of light in the core of an optical fiber and the cladding of the same fiber. Step-index fiber is distinguished by an abrupt change in the refractive index between the core and the cladding. Graded-index fiber is characterized by a gradual change in refractive index between the core and the cladding. See also Graded-Index Fiber, Index of Refraction, and Step-Index Fiber.

Refresh

1. To update with new data, as in the case of a Web browser. Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), for example, has a "Refresh" button on the tool bar. You use it if you accessed a Web site, IE indicated that the download was "done," but the screen didn't fill with data. Clicking on "Refresh" initiates a fresh download. Some other browsers, such as Netscape Navigator, call it "Reload." See also Refresh Rate.

2. The process by which an electrical charge is restored in DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) cells . See also DRAM.

Refresh Rate

1. The speed by which memory is refreshed (i.e., updated) in RAM (Random Access Memory) during a refresh cycle in order to maintain the state of the data. Measured in lines of data, the refresh rate commonly is 1K, 2K, 4K, or 8K.

2. The interval of time by which a database is updated with new data in order to maintain its currency and, therefore, its accuracy.

3. Also called Vertical Scan Frequency or Vertical Scan Rate, the refresh rate of a video monitor is the rate at which the display is repainted. The phosphor coating on a monitor tube must be repainted or "refreshed" periodically. Typically, color displays use a low persistence phosphor that must be refreshed 60 times per second, or a rate of 60Hz to 70 Hz or more for VGA and higher resolution monitors. Generally , the faster the refresh rate, the less the flicker. Monochrome displays use a phosphor coating with longer persistence and typically are refreshed at a rate of 50 hertz; this difference accounts for the flicker sometimes seen on color monitors operating in a monochrome mode. Above 70 Hz, color monitors are considered flicker-free.

Refurbished

A term used in the secondary telecom equipment business. Refurbishing means that telephone equipment has been cleaned, polished, resurfaced and whatever else it takes to return the equipment to a "like-new" appearance. Refurbishing usually means it has been completely tested and is ready for installation. But don't take my word for it. Get a written guarantee. "Factory Refurbished" means that the manufacturer has refurbished the equipment at its own factory. See also Used, Certified, De-install, NATD, and Remanufactured.

Reg FD

See Regulation Full Disclosure.

Regenerate

To restore a signal to its original shape. Signals need to be restored because they become distorted and acquire noise during transmission. Analog signals cannot be regenerated because it is very hard for telecommunications equipment to distinguish between unwanted noise and wanted noise (i.e. your voice) in an analog signal. Digital signals can be more easily regenerated since they consist of "ones" and "zeros." If digital signals are flattened or distorted , a simple logic circuit ” "Is it a zero or a one?" ” can restore the signal to its original clean squared shape. See also Repeater.

Regenerated Traffic

A telephone company term. Traffic caused by repeated subscriber attempts to seize blocked (busy) equipment. See also Regenerate and Regeneration.

Regeneration

The process of receiving and reconstructing a digital signal so that the amplitudes, waveforms, and timing of its signal elements are constrained within specified limits. See also Repeater.

Regenerative Repeater

A device which regenerates incoming signals and retransmits these signals on an outgoing circuit. See also Regenerate and Repeater.

Regenerator

A receiver and transmitter combination used to reconstruct signals for digital transmission. In an optical regenerator, the receiver converts incoming optical pulses to electrical pulses, decides whether the pulses are "1s" or "0s," generates "cleaned up" electrical pulses, and then converts them to squared off pulses for transmission. See also Repeater.

Regift

A verb made popular by Kathleen Thomas of Veronis Suhler in New York City. Ms. Thomas is the recipient of occasional gifts from yours truly. Ms. Thomas, however, is savvy. She realizes that these gifts are, in the main, gifts I received from other people and which I was now passing onto to her, thus saving me money and making Ms. Thomas feel muchly appreciated. Thus her recent email correspondence with me:

Harry : Thanks for all the hard work and the upcoming hard work. Kathleen: It's been a pleasure . Congrats on a great deal. Harry: Chatkash coming. You know what Chatkash are? Kathleen: Yes. It's all the stuff you've been re-gifting to me.

Regina

The queen. A deserved title. If only I were 20 years younger , more handsome and much smarter . Three traits to solve the riddley.

Regional Bell Operating Company

RBOC. Also known as Regional Holding Company (RHC). See RBOC for a fuller explanation.

Regional Calling Area

RCA. A defined area within a Local Access and Transport Area (LATA). Most telephone directories define RCAs in terms of applicable area codes and/or communities.

Regional Center

A control center (Class 1 office) connecting sectional centers of the telephone system together.

Regional Holding Company

RHC. Also called Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC). See RBOC for a fuller explanation.

Register

1. See Traffic Register.

2. A temporary-memory device used to receive, hold, and transfer data (usually a computer word) to be operated upon by a processing unit. The register holds the information for manipulation by the telephone system or a computer. In an automatic telephone system, a register receives dialed pulses or pushbutton tones and then uses that information to control the switch. Computers typically contain a variety of registers. General-purpose registers perform such functions as accumulating arithmetic results. Other registers hold the instruction being executed, the address of a storage location, or data being retrieved from or sent to storage. Other words associated with "register" include buffer, fetch protection, M-sequence, read-only storage, permanent storage, random-access memory and shift register.

Register Differences

The difference in traffic register reading after a specified time has elapsed. See also Traffic Register.

Registered Access

In the context of message handling services, access to the service performed by subscribers who have been registered by the service provider to use the service.

Registered Jack

RJ. Any of the RJ series of jacks , described in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 47, part 68 used to provide interface to the public telephone network. See also RJ-11, RJ-45.

Registered Terminal Equipment

Terminal equipment which is registered for connection to the telecommunications network in accordance with Subpart C of Part 68 of the FCC's Rules. If a terminal device has been properly registered it will have an identification number permanently affixed to it.

Registered User

A user of a Web site with a recorded name and password. In a FrontPage web, you can register users with a WebBot Registration component.

Registers

An ISDN term. Registers are named storage areas for numbers or strings of characters that control the operation of the ISDN set.

Registrant

See gTLD.

Registrar

Server that accepts register requests. A registrar typically is colocated with a proxy or a redirect server and might offer location services.

Registration

The address registration function is the mechanism by which Clients provide address information to the LAN Emulation Server.

Registration Number (FCC Part 68)

Approval number given to telephone equipment to certify that a particular device passes the tests defined in Part 68 of the FCC Rules. These tests certify the phone won't cause any harm to the public network. They do not attest to the commercial value of the product, nor whether it will (or won't) sell. See also KF-E, MF-E, PF-E and Registration Program.

Registration Program

The Federal Communications Commission program and associated directives intended to assure that all connected terminal equipment and protective circuitry will not harm the public switched telephone network or certain private line services. The program requires the registering of terminal equipment and protective circuitry in accordance with Subpart C of part 68, Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This includes the assignment of identification numbers to the equipment and the testing of the equipment. The registration program contains no requirement that accepted terminal equipment be compatible with, or function with, the network. In other words, a product registered under Part 68 doesn't mean that the product will actually work ” i.e. make and receive phone calls (or whatever). Part 68 simply says it won't cause any harm to the network. See Registration Number and Part 68.

Registration Sequence Count

An 8-bit counter maintained by the Mobile End System (M-ES) and incremented on each successful establishment of a data link connection with a serving Mobile Data Intermediate System (MD-IS). Used to prevent registration errors due to varying network transit delays between serving MD-IS and home MDIS.

Registration Statement

A statement, required by Section 76.12 of the FCC Rules, which is used to notify the FCC that one or more broadcast stations will be carried by the cable television system in a specified Community Unit.

Registration Timer Values

Time values passed from Mobile Data Intermediate System (MD-IS) to a Mobile End System (M-ES) to inform the M-ES of the period of registration. The M-ES must register again prior to expiration of the registration timer.

Registry

A central hierarchical database in Windows used to store information necessary to configure the system for one or more users, applications, and hardware devices. The registry contains information that is constantly referenced during operation, such as profiles for each user, the applications installed on the computer; and the types of documents each can create, property sheet settings for folders and application icons, what hardware exists on the system; and which ports are being used.

REGNOT

REGistration NOTification. A wireless term for the message sent from the VLR (Visitor Location Register) to the HLR (Home Location Register). The VLR is a SS7 database residing on the SCP (Signal Control Point) of the cellular provider in whose territory you are roaming. The REGNOT is sent to the HLR database, which resides on the SCP of your service provider of record in order to verify your legitimacy and to determine the features to which you have subscribed. Confirmation of the REGNOT is in the form of a "regnot" (lower case), sent over the SS7 network from the HLR to the VLR. See also HLR, SCP, SS7, VLR.

Regression Analysis

A method of forecasting the future by plotting events in the past and assuming there'll be some similarity in the future. About as accurate as any other pseudo scientific method.

Regression Testing Regulated

1. Controlled for uniformity . Many aspects of telecommunications are regulated ” from the input voltage powering a telecom system to the output signal of a microwave system.

2. Adhering to the rules, regulations and sundry whims of a government agency. Most aspects of the telephone business are under the control of a government agency to some degree. Their rules cover everything from certifying of expenses which may be capitalized to specifying how many seconds the subscriber can be forced to wait for dial tone (three seconds). Stripped to bare essentials, a regulatory agency can only do two things. First, it can allow the regulated entity to raise its prices to a point where nobody wants to buy anymore. Second, it can stop competitors coming into the business. The first (high price) is the reason no one (or few people, anyway) send telegrams. The second (keep out the competition) reason gets stymied because new technology ” e.g. cheap local microwave ” comes along to force the regulatory agency's hand. In the long run, no regulated entity survives because it has a regulated monopoly. It survives because it provides good service at a fair price.

Regulated Charger

An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) definition. Without a regulated charger, batteries can be insufficiently charged or blistered with too much charge voltage. Either case can cause permanent damage.

Regulated Public Utility

A firm that supplies an indispensable service under essentially noncompetitive conditions with governmental regulation of prices, rate of return, and service quality. In short, a telephone company, a water company, an electricity company.

Regulation

See Power Conditioning.

Regulation Full Disclosure

Reg FD. In October 2000, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued Regulation Full Disclosure which barred companies from giving analysts and money managers key facts about their businesses that other investors (like you and me) didn't have. Reg FD had two effects: First, it generally increased the amount of information available to investors. Companies started using the Web to post more of their financial and business information. They also opened up webcasting of investor conference calls to anyone who wanted to click on the company's web site. But it also had the unintended consequence of making company executives far more careful about answering analysts' questions, basically answering most questions with the same information as was in the company's recent financial releases ” even though the world had changed and the company's management was now effectively telling lies. Those lies became evident a week or two later when the company reported dramatically different financial results.

Regulatory Groups

Refers to local, State or Federal entities that issue orders, findings, etc. that are binding upon providers and users of telecommunications and services.

Rehomes

See Rehoming.

Rehoming

A major network change which involves moving a customer's local loop termination from one Central Office wire center to another. Rehoming generally involves the retermination of private line facilities, although it can simply involve local loop termination for purposes of access to switched services. Rehomes also can be for the purposes of the carrier, perhaps in connection with a switch upgrade or switch move/decommission.

Reinforced Concrete

A type of construction in which steel reinforcement and concrete are combined, with the steel resisting tension and the concrete resisting compression.

Reis, Johann Philipp

The mostly forgotten inventor of the telephone. Born on 7th January 1834 in Gelnhausen, Germany. In 1861 he presented a lecture about "Telephony by means of galvanic current" and then demonstrated the telephone he invented. For a detailed biography see www.ces- germany .de/reis/english/index.htm. See also Bell, Alexander Graham.

REJ

Abbreviation for REJect.

Rejection

A word used in voice recognition to mean a type of recognition classification where the input utterance did not meet the criteria necessary to be classified as a word in the active vocabulary. Usually the speaker is asked to repeat the utterance.

REL

RELease message. The fifth of the ISUP call set-up messages. A message sent in either direction indicating that the circuit identified in the message is being released due to the reason (cause) supplied and is ready to be put into the idle state on receipt of the Release Complete Message. See ISUP and Common Channel Signaling.

Relation

Synonym for table.

Relational Database

A database that is organized and accessed according to relationships between data items. The idea of a relational databases started in 1970 when E.F. Codd, a researcher at IBM's San Jose research laboratory, published a paper "A Relational Model of Data for Large Share Data Banks." His ideas enabled the logical manipulation of data to be independent of its physical location. In its simplest conception , a relational database is actually a collection of data files that "relate" to each other through at least one common field, or "key field," that serves as a thread through the various files. A relational database consists of tables comprising rows and columns, logically similar to a spreadsheet. Each row contains a single data record, and each column contains all instances of each row of one specific piece of data. A corporate telephone directory, for example, consists of columns of names , addresses and telephone numbers. Each row is a separate listing of a given individual's name, address and telephone number. This individual listing is known as a "flat file," as it is two-dimensional and as all the data is contained in a single file. If all of the data in this file is unique, a flat file works just fine. If, however, multiple employees share the same telephone number or address (e.g., cubicle ), the data in the file no longer is unique at all. The telephone number becomes a key to all of the records of the employees who share it. Perhaps one's employee number can be the common thread through several data files, such as payroll, telephone directory, and security clearance. One's employee number, therefore, might be a good way of relating all the files together in one gigantic Relational DataBase Management System (RDBMS). Such keys enable database users to search and sort multiple fields deep in a wide variety of applications, such as inventory management. One might begin the search for all station equipment with certain common attributes such as 1) manufactured by Nortel, 2) touch- tone, 3) supports two-lines, and 4) has an LCD display. The search works through the problem in this specific sequence, diving through multiple levels until the search either is sufficiently deep or hits bottom, i.e., can find no record matches below a certain depth. See also Query Optimization.

Relational Database Management System

See RDBMS.

Relationship Marketing

The concept is that if you develop a lasting relationship with your customer you will sell him more. Several marketing gurus have suggested that we develop that relationship. Probably the closest we've come to relationship marketing is airline frequent flyer miles. They've done an amazing job of making airline travelers more loyal to airlines. See also CRM.

Relationship Routing

A concept introduced by automatic call distributor manufacturer, Aspect Telecommunications, to have callers ' calls routed to agents they had previously developed

Relative Transmission Level

The ratio of the test tone power at one point to the test tone power at some other point in the system chosen as a reference point.

Relative URL

The Internet address of a page or other World Wide Web resource with respect to the Internet address of the current page. A relative URL gives the path from the current location of the page to the location of the destination page or resource. A relative URL can optionally include a protocol. For example, the relative URL doc/harry.htm refers to the page harry.htm in the directory doc, below the current directory.

Relativity , Theory of

Theories of motion developed by Albert Einstein, for which he is justifiably famous. Relativity More accurately describes the motions of bodies in strong gravitational fields or at near the speed of light than Newtonian mechanics. All experiments done to date agree with relativity's predictions to a high degree of accuracy. (Curiously, Einstein received the Nobel prize in 1921 not for Relativity but rather for his 1905 work on the photoelectric effect.)

Relay

1. An electrically activated switch used to operate a circuit. It connects one set of wires to another. Usually, the relay is operated by low voltage electric current and is used to open or close another circuit, which is of much higher voltage. Older telephone switches used many relays to switch (i.e. complete) their calls. Relays come in many forms. There are hermetically-sealed relays, in which thin metal contacts are sealed in an airtight glass or metal enclosure. There are also mercury relays in which a small tube of mercury tilts and completes or breaks a circuit. See also Reed Relay.

2. A station which receives signals and rebroadcasts them either on the same frequency or on a different frequency. A satellite in the sky is a relay. It takes up signals on one frequency and relays them downwards on another. See Repeater, Signal Booster, and Translator.

Relay Center

A common point for the relay of all messages in a system.

Relay Rack

Open iron work designed to mount and support electronic equipment. A relay rack is to electronic equipment what a distribution frame is to wire. See Distribution Frame.

Relayer

Allows a user to open or close a solenoid via the phone system.

Relaying

A function of a layer by means of which a layer entity receives data from a corresponding entity and transmits it to another corresponding entity.

Release

1. A call comes into a switchboard. The operator calls you to tell you it's for you. Then he/she "releases" the call to you. On most switchboards there's a button labelled "RLS." That's the release button. On some phones (not consoles) the release button is the "hang-up" button. Hitting this button means disconnecting the call. Be careful.

2. The ending of an inbound ACD call by hanging up.

3. The feature key on most ACD instruments labelled Release.

4. A term used in the secondary telecom equipment business. The relinquishing of a piece of equipment to a purchaser or user upon fulfillment or anticipated fulfillment of contractual obligations, whether written or oral.

Release Button

The release button ” found always on operator consoles and occasionally on some phones ” ends a call in the same way that hanging up the receiver does.

Release Link Capability

The ability for an originating switching system, on receipt of a new destination address from the current terminating switching system, to release the transmission link to that terminating switching system and continue call processing using the new destination address. Definition from Bellcore in reference to its concept of the Advanced Intelligent Network.

Release Link Trunk

RLT. Telecommunications channel used with Centralized Attendant Service to connect attendant-seeking calls from a branch location to a main location.

Release With Howler

If a phone stays off-hook without originating a call (or the receiver is accidentally knocked off), the system transmits a loud tone over the line and then disconnects the line and the phone. The central office effectively then ignores them (the line and the phone) until someone puts the receiver back on-hook again.

Reliable Sequenced Delivery

The delivery of a set of Protocol Data Unit (PDUs) from a source to a destination with no errors in any PDU, in the order transmitted, and without gaps or duplicates.

Reliable Service Area

RSA. The area specified by the field strength contour within which the reliability of communication service is 90 percent for a mobile unit.

Reliability

A measure of how dependable a system is once you actually use it. Very different from MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures). And very different from availability. See MTBF.

Relief

Relief refers to providing additional equipment to accommodate growth in customer demand.

Religious

Mark Young defines religious as "we take the holidays when we work for people, but work when we're self employed."

Relocatable Code

Machine language programs that can reside in any portion of memory.

Remailer

Remailers are anonymous mail drops that computer hackers have set up on the Internet, untraceable electronic mail addresses where one can send or receive encrypted data. An article in the October, 1994 issue of High Times, a drug related magazine, offered plans for a similar security system as a remailer, adding one interesting twist. By incorporating a computer virus like Viper or Decide in the system, the computer could be programmed essentially to self-destruct as soon as it detected a security breach, thus rendering it worthless as evidence.

Remanufactured

Equipment, parts and/or systems that have been repaired and upgraded to the latest higher revision level. The remanufacturing process makes the telecom equipment (used or new) into a finished product that is the latest release and ready for resale. Remanufactured is the term for the highest level of refurbishing equipment. See also Certified, NATD, and Refurbished.

Remapping

The practice of redefining the meaning of keys on the keyboard.

RemDev

A Bluetooth term. Remote Device. A Bluetooth device that participates in the SDP process. A Remote Device must contain a SDP server along with a service record database. A Remote Device is typically a slave device, however, a Remote Device may not always have a slave connection with a LocDev. requestor An entity that requests information from another entity via the Bluetooth API.

Remind Delay

The period of time from when a call is put on hold to when a reminder tone is heard and a message appears on the telephone display.

Remission

IBM-speak to change the mission of a product or a facility.

Remodulator

In a split broadband cable system, a digital device at the headend that recovers the digital data from the inbound analog signal and then retransmits the data on the outbound frequency.

Remote

A system or device that is separated by a distance greater than usual from a related, but more substantial system or device. Something that is remote is not local. For example, a client workstation (i.e., PC) is local to a server if it is in the same building or campus, and is connected over a LAN (Local Area Network). The client workstation is remote if the user takes it home or on the road, and connects over a dial-up modem through the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and the Internet. Another example is in the PSTN, itself, where carriers often extend the geographic reach of a CO (Central Office) through the deployment of "remotes," which can be in the form of either intelligent nodes or dumb concentrators , also known as line shelves . See also Remote Access and RAS.

Remote Access

Sending and receiving data to and from a computer or controlling a computer with terminals or PCs connected through communications (i.e. phone) links.

Remote Access Concentrator

See RAC.

Remote Access Device

RAD. Typically, a remote access device (also called a Remote Access Server) is a piece of computer hardware which sits on a corporate LAN and into which employees dial to get access to their files and their email. Remote access devices are also used by commercial service providers, such as Internet Access Providers (ISPs) to allow their customers access into their networks. For longer explanations , see also Remote Access Server and Universal Edge Server.

Remote Access Multiplexer

See RAM.

Remote Access Server

1. RAS. A remote access server (also called a Remote Access Device or in a bigger version, a Remote Access Concentrator) is a piece of computer hardware which sits on a corporate LAN and into which employees dial on the public switched telephone network to get access to their email and to software and data on the corporate LAN (e.g. status on customer orders). Remote access servers are also used by commercial service providers, such as Internet Access Providers (ISPs) to allow their customers access into their networks. Remote Access Servers are typically measured by how many simultaneous dial-in users (on analog or digital lines) they can handle and whether they can work with cheaper digital circuits, such as T-1 and E-1 connections. See also Remote Access Concentrator and Universal Edge Server.

2. Software that enable distant PCs and workstations to get into a Remote Access Server to get to software and data on a corporate LAN. Remote access services are provided through modems, analog telephones or digital ISDN lines. Remote access services is For a much longer explanation, see Remote Access (Ref: Hands-On Networking Essentials, M.J. Palmer, Course Technology, Cambridge, MA, 1998, p. 293)

Remote Access To PBX Services

Allows a user outside the PBX to access the PBX by dialing it over a normal phone line. You dial the number. It answers. It may or may not say anything. It may just give you dial tone. You now punch in an authorization code. If your code is acceptable, the PBX gives you another dial tone. That dial tone is effectively the one all users within the PBX get. Once you have this dial tone, you can dial another extension, jump on the company's WATS network, get into the dictation unit, access its voice mail, or whatever. Suffice, you are inside the PBX. You can do whatever anyone else inside the PBX can do.

Remote Access Trojan

RAT. A Trojan horse that accesses other computer systems across a network. Malicious software of this type may be used by a hacker to gain a foothold on a compromised system.

Remote Adapted Routing

The adaptation of backbone routing techniques that take into account; slow-line communications links, intermittent connections, security, charity chatty routing protocols, management, and user ergonomics.

Remote Alarm Indication

Also known as a yellow alarm. RAI is carried in the Facilities Data Link for T-1. RAI is carried in Timeslot 0 for E-1.

Remote Attack

A network security term. An attack that targets a machine other than the one that the attacker is interactively logged onto. An example of a remote attack would be an attacker logging onto a workstation and attacking a server, whether it's on the same network or an entirely different one.

Remote Batch Processing

Processing in a computer system in which batch programs and batch data are entered from a remote terminal or a remote PC (personal computer) over phone lines.

Remote Bridge

A bridge between two or more similar networks on remote sites. Dial up or leased lines typically require a local bridge or gateway and a remote bridge or gateway an each end, in order to network.

Remote Call Forwarding

RCF. This is a neat service. It allows a customer to have a local telephone number in a distant city. Every time someone calls that number, that call is forwarded to you in your city. Remote call forwarding is very much like call forwarding on a local residential line, except that you have no phone, no office and no physical presence in that distant city. Remote Call Forwarding exists purely in the central office. You can also think of it as measured Foreign Exchange. Companies buy Remote Call Forwarding for three reasons:

1. To encourage distant customers to call them by giving them a local number in their own city to call. (This the most obvious reason for an IN-WATS line, a FX or a RCF line);

2. They buy RCF over IN-WATS or FX lines because they don't have the volume to justify these potentially more expensive lines.

3. Companies buy RCF lines as overflow lines from IN-WATS and FX lines. They use their RCF lines when the other lines (FX and IN-WATS) get busy during peak busy periods. Remote Call Forwarding calls are typically charged at the same price as normal DDD calls (i.e. the most expensive to call). And you can't, as yet, reprogram RCF calls easily. You have to place an order with your friendly telco and wait for them to do the reprogramming.

Remote Concentrator

See Remote Line Concentrator.

Remote Control

Remote control software allows a remote PC to connect to the network via a PC that is on the LAN. You must use such software for working from home, for sending in your work, checking on your email, etc. See Remote Node.

Remote Data Services

A Web-based technology that brings database connectivity and corporate data publishing capabilities to Internet and intranet applications.

Remote Diagnostics

You own a phone system. You have a service company. There's some problem with it. Instead of sending a technician out, your service company dials your PBX from a data terminal or PC and "asks" your PBX in computerese what's wrong with it. If it isn't too broken, it will come back and give you some indication. This is called remote diagnostics. Some service companies call all their customers' phone systems every morning and run routine remote diagnostics on their switch. It's like going to the doctor for a daily physical. Sometimes this test may find a problem before the user is even aware. Sometimes the problem can be repaired on-line. If not, the service company will have to dispatch a technician. Remote diagnostics is a good idea. More phone systems should have it. To do remote diagnostics on a telephone system, you will typically need a phone line dedicated to the PBX and a modem on either end.

Remote Digital Loopback

A test that checks the phone link and a remote modem's transmitter and receiver. Data entered from the keyboard is transmitted from the initiating modem, received by the remote modem's receiver, looped through its transmitter, and returned to the local screen for verification.

Remote Hands

A recent telecom term, and service. Remote hands refer to a variety of services that give you some level of remote control and oversight in distant rented facilities. In order to get you to telehouse your routers and servers in a carrier's Internet Exchange Point, the company advertises the fact that it supports "remote hands capability," meaning that you can access information about your equipment. In some cases you can also change its programming, security codes, or operating temperature, and even look at it 24 hours a day using a remote camera.

Remote IP

A telephone company AIN term. When an SCP/Adjunct requests a local AIN switch to make a connection to an IP to which the AIN Switch does not have a direct ISDN connection, the indicated IP is referred to as a remote IP.

Remote Job Entry

RJE. Remote Job Entry occurs in computer operations where work or input is sent in remotely over phone lines. That "work" might include the day's sales of a distant store.

Remote LAN Interconnection

The connection of two or more LANs which are remotely located from each other so that LAN users can communicate with users and servers on any of the interconnected LANs.

Remote Line Concentrator

Also known as a remote line shelf, a remote line concentrator is a concentrator that is positioned some distance from a CO (Central Office) in the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). The device simply concentrates traffic from some number of users' lines onto a lesser number of high-capacity trunks that connect to the CO. The concentrator has absolutely none of the intelligence required to switch calls or provide feature service, even within its own geographic domain. Rather, all calls are concentrated and shipped to the CO, which performs all call processing functions, and ships the call right back to the remote. A remote line concentrator is used because it's cheap and easy. See Remote Concentrator.

Remote Line Switch

A line unit mounted near a cluster of users and equipped with intracalling capability.

Remote Line Unit

A remote line concentrator without intracalling capability. See Remote Concentrator and Remote Line Switch.

Remote Live Screening

See LCS.

Remote Maintenance Facility

See Remote Diagnostics.

Remote Monitoring

A call center term. Remote Monitoring is most frequently used by service agency clients. This is the process whereby a qualified/authorized party can dial into a remote call center and monitor certain telephone calls. The process is usually administered from a specially designated room or place away from the agent's work area. The agent may or may not know that the specific call is being monitored .

Remote Node

1. A remote node is an device that connects to a network from a point some distance away from the central host. For example, a CO (Central Office) in the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) might support a number of remote nodes. Some of the nodes are dumb line concentrators that server only to concentrate traffic over high-capacity trunks in order to reduce cabling costs. Other nodes are intelligent switching partitions that can switch basic local traffic within their own geographic domains, even though they rely on the CO for guidance in the delivery of more complex services, such as custom calling features.

2. Remote node software allows remote users to dial in to the corporate LAN and work with the applications and data on the LAN as if they were "actually in the office." By dialing in, they become nodes on the LAN. Using a PC, Mac, or UNIX workstation; a modem; and a remote access server, employees can connect from any location in the world that has an analog, a switched digital, or a wireless connection.

Remote Office Test Line

ROTL. A testing device that acts in conjunction with a central controller and a responder to make two-way transmission and supervision measurements.

Remote Operations Service Element

ROSE. An application layer protocol that provides the capability to perform remote operations at a remote process. Definition from Bellcore in reference to its concept of the Advanced Intelligent Network.

Remote Order Wire

An order wire is a line on which maintenance and monitoring is done. A remote order wire is an order wire that has been extended to a distant point that may be more convenient .

Remote Procedures Call

RPC. A message-passing facility that allows a distributed program to call services available on various computers in a network. Used during remote administration of computers, RPC provides a procedural view, rather than a transport-centered view, of networked operations.

Remote Programming

Dial your phone system with your friendly personal computer, modem and a communications software package and you can change the telephone system's programming remotely. This feature is great for companies with telephone systems in many locations. They can all be run from one central point. This feature is also great if you want some changes made on your system. It's obviously a lot cheaper for your vendor to make those changes from his office rather than have to visit yours. It's also a lot faster. See Remote Diagnostics.

Remote Resource

Any device not attached to the local node, but available through the network.

Remote Service Unit

RSU. A cable telephony term. See RSU for lots of detail.

Remote Site

The remote site is the person or location doing the sending in a file transfer operation. An example: Sales reps in the field typically update the central database on a periodic basis. The central database location is known as the host and the sales reps in the field are doing so from remote locations.

Remote Site Location

A location for a DCE device which is not at the central or control site. A typical application would have a terminal at the remote site and the host computer at the central or control site.