F

Fault Tolerance

The ability of an object (application, device, or other entity) to recover from an error. For example, the fault tolerance provided by a transaction server allows a network to recover from potential data loss induced by a system or use failure. Another example of fault tolerance is the ability of a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) system to recover from a hard drive failure.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

One of several common data transfer protocols for the Internet. This particular protocol specializes in data transfer in the form of a file download or upload. The site presents the user with a list of available files in a directory list format. An FTP site may choose DOS or UNIX formatting for the file listing, although the DOS format is extremely rare. Unlike HTTP sites, an FTP site provides a definite information hierarchy using directories and subdirectories, much like the file directory structure used on most workstation hard drives . Generally, FTP transfers require a special application, but some browsers now include this capability. FTP transfers occur without encryption, so security is an issue unless the owner of the FTP site encrypts the individual files.

Filtering

The act of removing unnecessary information from a data stream, data store, or response set. For example, when you receive data from a Web service, the response set will likely contain data you don't need for the current application. In most cases, applications use filtering to make the resulting output easier to understand and less complex.

FTP

See also File Transfer Protocol (FTP).