cloud clientcomputing device for cloud computing. Updated version of thin client.
cloud computingProvides users access to IT-related capabilities (infrastructure and/or applications) "as a service" without regard for the underlying technology or…
Cloud EnablerA general term that refers to organizations (typically vendors) who are not cloud providers per se, but make available technology, such as cloudware, that…
cloud envyused to describe a vendor who jumps on the cloud computing bandwagon by rebranding existing services.
Cloud PortabilityThe ability to move applications (and often their associated data) across cloud computing environments from different cloud providers, as well as across…
Cloud ProviderAn organization that makes a cloud computing environment available to others, such as an external or public cloud.
cloud serverA "server" is simply an operating system leveraging the pool of CPU and Ram resources available from the underlying physical hardware also referred to as…
Cloud Service Architecture (CSA)A term coined by Jeff Barr, chief evangelist at Amazon Web Services. The term describes an architecture in which applications and application components…
Cloud SpanningRunning an application in a way that its components straddle multiple cloud environments (which could be any combination of internal/private and…
cloud storagejust what it says) Sometimes compared to leasing a car - you'll have monthly payments but hopefully you'll always have the lastest/greatest technology.
Cloud-Oriented Architecture (COA)An architecture for IT infrastructure and software applications that is optimized for use in cloud computing environments.
cloudburstwhat happens when your cloud has an outage or security breach and your data is unavailable.
Cloudburst (negative)The failure of a cloud computing environment due to the inability to handle a spike in demand.
Cloudburst (positive)The dynamic deployment of a software application that runs on internal organizational compute resources to a public cloud to address a spike in demand.
cloudcentera large company, such as Amazon, that rents its infrastructure.
CloudFormationAllows developers and systems administrators to easily create and manage a group of related AWS resources by provisioning and updating them in an…
CloudsourcingLeveraging services in the network cloud to provide external computing capabilities, often to replace more expensive local IT capabilities.
cloudstormconnecting multiple cloud computing environments. Also called cloud network.
CloudstormingThe act of connecting multiple cloud computing environments.
CloudwareA general term referring to a variety of software, typically at the infrastructure level, that enables building, deploying, running or managing…
CloudWatchA tracking service which allows developers and administrators to minitor resource utilization, application performance, and operational health.
cluster compute instanceA type of instance that provides a great amount of CPU power coupled with increased networking performance, making it well suited for High Performance…
Cluster InterconnectA very high-speed connection allowing nodes in a cluster to communicate.
cluster placement groupA logical cluster compute instance grouping to provide lower latency and high-bandwidth connectivity between the instances.
ClusteringConnecting two or more computers together in such a way that they appear to be a single computing resource.
co-brandingRunning a business logo on a site or service that another company provides. Co-branding with Amazon Simple Pay, for example, is merely adding an…
command line interface (CLI)(CLI)A software product that allows the user to type in commands at a prompt. Contrast to forms interface.
command/responseBoth FTP and GridFTP are command/response protocols. What this means is that once a client sends a command to the server, it can only accept responses…
Commercial Enterprise ApplicationA class of enterprise application which usually exhibits some of the following attributes: Multi-tier architecture.
Compute ElementA physical grid component that is a general purpose computer, such as a server. See also: Grid Component
compute unitA compute unit is measurement tool used to compare and contrast different virtual servers (instances).
concurrencyPart of an acquisition strategy which combines or overlaps two or more phases of the acquisition process, or combines development T&E with operational T&E.
CondorA job scheduler mechanism supported by GRAM. See http://www.cs.wisc.edu/condor/ for more information.
consistency modelThe method a service uses to achieve high availability. For example, it could involve replicating data across multiple servers in a data center.
consistent readWhen data is written or updated successfully, all copies of the data are updated in all AWS regions.
ConsoleA scroll-shaped projecting bracket that supports a horizontal member.
ConsolidateOne of the three steps recommended by Oracle to help data centers move to a Grid Computing architecture.
ContainerIn the Exchange Administrator program, an object that contains other objects. For example, the Recipients container is composed of recipient objects.
control channelThe Communication link (TCP) over which commands and responses flow. Low bandwidth; encrypted and integrity protected by default.
Control TheoryThe mathematical analysis of the systems and mechanisms for achieving a desired state under changing internal and external conditions.
cooldown periodAmount of time during which Auto Scaling does not allow the desired size of the Auto Scaling group to be changed by any other notification from a…
core nodeAn EC2 instance that runs Hadoop map and reduce tasks and stores data using the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS).
credentialsAlso called access credentials or security credentials. In authentication and authorization, a system uses credentials to identify who is making a call…
customer gatewayA router or software application on your side of a VPN tunnel that is managed by Amazon VPC.
CyberneticsA term derived from the Greek word for "steersman" that was introduced in 1947 to describe the science of control and communication in animals and…
DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph)A directed graph containing no directed cycles, i.e. closed directed loops. See also: Mathworld's definition.
data centerA facility that provides a suitable environment (power, cooling, network connectivity, management services) for housing information technology equipment…
data channelCommunication link(s) over which the actual data of interest flows. High Bandwidth; authenticated by default; encryption and integrity protection optional.
Data PipelineA web service offered by Amazon which enables you to process and move data between different AWS services such as computing, storage and on-premise data…
Data ProvisioningMaking data available when and where its needed and as it becomes available.
database engineThe database software and version running on the DB instance.
database nameThe name of a database hosted in a DB instance. A DB instance can host multiple databases, but databases hosted by the same DB instance must each have a…
DB compute classSize of the database compute platform used to run the instance.
DB instanceAn isolated database environment running in the cloud. A DB instance can contain multiple user-created databases.
DB instance identifierUser-supplied identifier for the DB instance. The identifier must be unique for that user in an AWS region.
DB parameter groupA container for database engine parameter values that apply to one or more DB instances.
DB security groupA method that controls access to the DB instance. By default, network access is turned off to DB instances.
DB snapshotA user-initiated point backup of a DB instance.
DecommissioningThe process of removing a power plant, apparatus, equipment, building, or facility from operation.
Dedicated InstanceAn instance that is physically isolated at the host hardware level and launched within a VPC.
default denyThe default result from a policy in the absence of an allow or explicit deny.
delete markerAn object with a key and version ID, but without content. Amazon S3 inserts delete markers automatically into versioned buckets when an object is deleted.
deployment(1) The placement of force elements in battle positions to obtain a higher state of readiness.
Description propertyA property added to parameters, resources, resource properties, mappings, and outputs, to help you to document AWS CloudFormation template elements.
detailed monitoringMonitoring of AWS-provided metrics derived at a 1-minute frequency.
dimensionA name/value pair (for example, InstanceType=m1.small, or EngineName=mysql), that contains additional information to identify a metric.
Disaster Recovery (DR)(DR)An architecture is a prevention mechanism that scales up immediately and enable a rapid failover in case of a failure in users’ critical IT systems.
discussion forumsA place where AWS users can post technical questions and feedback to help accelerate their development efforts and to engage with the AWS community.
distributed cacheA Hadoop feature that allow you to transfer files from a distributed file system to the local file system.
Domain Name System (DNS)(DNS)Hierarchical distributed database used for name/address translation and client-server rendezvous.
DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM)(DKIM)A standard that email senders use to sign their messages. ISPs use those signatures to verify that messages are legitimate.
Donation buttonAn HTML-coded button to provide an easy and secure way for US-based, IRS-certified 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations to solicit donations.
dual channel protocol[fixme - this term does not appear anywhere in the gridftp docs] GridFTP uses two channels: One of the channels, called the control channel, is used for…
Dynamo DBA NoSQL database service offered by Amazon that allows guaranteed throughput and low latency, making it suitable for users interested in gaming, ad tech…
EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud)EC2 stands for Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud. Using EC2 you can launch instances (specific packages of dedicated compute resources) that look and feel…
EC2 compute unitAn AWS standard for compute CPU and memory. This measure enables you to evaluate the CPU capacity of different EC2 instance types.
EC2 instanceIn Amazon EC2, this is simply an instance. Other AWS services use the term EC2 instance to distinguish these instances from other types of instances they…
EGA (Enterprise Grid Alliance)The Enterprise Grid Alliance is a consortium of leading vendors and customers focused on developing Enterprise Grid solutions.
Elastic Block Store (EBS)(EBS)Offers block level storage volumes for EC2 users. With Amazon EBS, users can decrease the risk of running into component failures as its feature…
Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)(EC2)A web service that is central to Amazon’s cloud computing platform. It allows users to ‘rent’ from its resizable computing capacity and possibly…
elastic IP addressA fixed (static) IP address that you have allocated in Amazon EC2 or Amazon VPC and then attached to an instance.
Elastic Load BalancingA web service that improves an application's availability by distributing incoming traffic between two or more EC2 instances. See Also http://aws.amazon.
Elastic MapReduce (EMR)(EMR)Allows any AWS user to process large amounts of data using a hosted Hadoop framework. This feature runs on the EC2 and S3 infrastructure.
elastic network interfaceAn additional network interface that can be attached to an instance. ENIs include a primary private IP address, one or more secondary private IP…
ElastiCacheProvides in-memory caching for web applications. Users can use this feature to retrieve information from in-memory caches faster than getting information…
End Entity Certificate (EEC)A certificate belonging to a non-CA entity, e.g. you, me or the computer on your desk.
endpointIn clinical trials, an event or outcome that can be measured objectively to determine whether the intervention being studied is beneficial.
endpoint portAmazon RDS: The port number used by a DB instance.
Enterprise ApplicationsThe applications or services that are run within modern enterprise data centers.