A
Application performance monitoring (also called application performance management) is one of the keys to optimizing application performance, whether in a traditional or web-based application environment. APM looks at end user application performance data, application/network resource demands, and business rules/IT metrics to assess application performance against benchmarks and identify areas for potential optimization.
B
"Big data" is a term used to describe data sets that are difficult to process without scalable, distributed computing power. These data sets are increasingly common given the vast data collection capabilities of search engines, the growing number of real-time inputs, and tracking of behavioral information.
C
DNS Cache Poisoning occurs when the legitimate IP address of a Web site is replaced with a fraudulent IP address, resulting in end users who log on to a targeted Web site being taken instead to a different, often malicious Web site even though they typed the correct address into their browser.
Cloud computing (sometimes referred to as "The Cloud") is the concept of shared storage and processing resources that are available on-demand to a multitude of users and organizations. Cloud computing shifts the need for computing power from personal computers and mobile devices to managed, third party networks which sell capacity to application providers and other vendors.
Cloud models are typically categorized by where the cloud computing environment is deployed (the basis of distinction between public cloud, private cloud, community cloud, and hybrid cloud), and by which part of the IT service and application stack the cloud provides (the distinction between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS clouds).
Cloud computing security is a fast-changing area of information security that is primarily concerned with the policies, technologies, and platforms that protect data, applications, and the associated infrastructure necessary for cloud computing.
Cloud services are any services that are delivered via a third party cloud computing platform rather than via traditional client/server infrastructure. Examples of cloud services include Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS).
Computer security is an area of information security that is primarily concerned with computers and networks, both hardware and software. The goal of computer security initiatives is to safeguard users, data, and businesses while still allowing access to information and systems.
Content Delivery Network refers to a large network of servers deployed across multiple networks in several data centers, often geographically distributed. CDNs are employed by companies across many industries to deliver HTTP content, rich media like streaming audio and video, and downloadable files. CDNs are optimized to provide higher speed and greater scalability and availability than is practical for a standalone server deployment.
Cyber attacks take advantage of the open infrastructure of the Internet to steal or destroy critical corporate data, compromise Web sites, and disrupt operational infrastructures, making cyber security a top priority for any enterprise with valuable digital assets and an Internet presence. Due to the increased availability of easy-to-implement attack tools, almost anyone with the basic skills necessary can carry out a cyber attack. Vulnerabilities include weaknesses in software, computing devices, increasing complexity of sites and applications, and the humans that administer and use them. Government organizations and financial firms remain the focus of many cyber attacks.
Cyber security systems and principles are designed to safeguard websites and web applications from attackers seeking to disrupt, delay, alter or redirect the flow of data. These attackers vary in target, motive, levels of organization, and technical capabilities, requiring public and private organizations to adopt ever-increasing measures to prevent cyber attacks.
D
DoS and DDoS are attacks that prevent or slow authorized access to a system resource (including web sites, web-based applications and databases), generally by making a sufficient number of demands on available capacity to overwhelm a system's ability to process information. DDoS attacks may be carried out by a single individual or a group of individuals, sometimes using 'bots,' or computers that have been co-opted into making bogus requests on a target system.
The domain name system (DNS) is a naming convention for computers, services, or any other system or resource on the Internet or in a private network. Essentially, domain names are translated into IP addresses for the purposes of routing traffic and identifying users worldwide.
A Download Manager is a software application, generally housed or placed on a client machine or device, which is responsible for downloading files, applications and media from the Internet.
F
Front End Optimization (FEO) is a means of mobile optimization of web content and applications for smartphone and tablet users, that targets the front end user interface or "last mile" of web content consumption: the delivery of websites and applications over the wireless network and the rendering of HTML in a browser.
H
To make political statements or damage the reputation of companies, proponents of hacktivism use a variety of tactics to deface or block access to digital properties, conduct virtual sit-ins, and gather confidential information and intelligence. Cyber attack strategies include SQL injection attacks, brute force attacks, and distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Ideological hacker collectives like Anonymous and the Syrian Electronic Army have been able to quickly mobilize forces and access the botnets and resources they need to launch sophisticated cyber attacks as a means of protest, exacting revenge, or distributing propaganda.
A hybrid cloud is a distributed cloud computing architecture in which an enterprise supplements its private cloud with resources from a public cloud, with some degree of integration between the two, creating a hybrid cloud network.
I
Information security is an area of computer security primarily focused on information made available on the Internet, with specific emphases on both browser and network security.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is model whereby IT infrastructure such as server hardware, storage, and networking are provided via the cloud on a pay-per-use basis. Its advantages include reduced need for purchasing, maintaining and administering privately owned IT infrastructure.
L
Load balancing is an IT discipline that involves distributing requests over multiple web or file servers, either within a centralized data center or distributed geographically, in order to avoid a situation where a single server becomes overwhelmed by web traffic load.
M
A media platform is a network architecture designed to support end-to-end media preparation, storage and delivery. It should support the latest online media initiatives like TV Everywhere and Ultraviolet, simplify content management and distribution workflows, and provide a superior, widely-accessible viewing experience.
Media streaming is the process of transmitting continuous video and audio content over the Internet to connected users. Other examples include streaming text such as live closed captioning. In media streaming, the content is continuously received and presented to viewers from a website managed by a network operator or media delivery company.
Akamai's intelligent mobile optimization layer is part of the Akamai global application delivery platform. The Web Experience Solutions Mobile service applies real-time mobile application optimizations including front end optimization (FEO), adaptive image compression, and mobile detection and redirect.
Today's cloud application providers are compelled to offer services specifically for mobile consumers as well as enterprise users. Mobile cloud computing depends on the public Internet as an extended delivery platform, with all the related challenges around reliability, performance, and security. This is compounded by difficulties specific to mobile, such as high latency over the last mile, device performance limitations, and proliferation of device types.
A Mobile Commerce platform accelerates online shopping content for mobile devices, by serving it from a network of edge cache servers close to where mobile users are. The platform applies a variety of context-sensitive mobile optimizations in real time, including adaptive image compression, front end optimization (FEO), mobile browser detection and redirect, and TCP and HTTP protocol optimization.
Many companies develop mobile-optimized versions of their websites, requiring them to detect which HTTP requests are from mobile devices so they can redirect those requests to the appropriate mobile-optimized site. Mobile device detection requires a database of thousands of device types and redirect mappings, and can introduce latency into the end user experience.
Akamai's Web Performance Solutions Mobile platform is a cloud-based mobile optimization solution suite that delivers a fast, high quality online experience to mobile users, while enabling you to offload much of the complexity associated with mobile optimization.
N
In cloud computing, the public Internet is a key component in cloud application delivery. Network optimization is a set of solutions and techniques for managing data center networks and Internet connections between end users to the data center.
NoSQL, or "Not only SQL" is a category of database that is non-relational, and is generally deployed where extremely large volumes of data must be stored and retrieved using a SQL database.
O
An online video platform includes video transcoding and processing, video player design and development, content hosting, video syndication and distribution, advertising, video analytics, secure streaming and content protection. The online video platform can alleviate the challenges of preparing, delivering and monetizing online video streaming content.
P
PCI compliance refers to an international information security standard for any organization that handles cardholder information for debit, credit, prepaid, ATM and POS (Point of Sale) cards. It requires compliant organizations to meet minimum standards for network security, cardholder data security, access control, testing, and an information security policy. Read more.
Platform as a Service (PaaS) is an IT model where organizations purchase not only the computing power, storage and networking from a third-party web platform provider, but also key components for application development such as databases, file sharing and other Internet platform functionality.
A private cloud is essentially an extension of a company or organization's traditional datacenter that is optimized to provide storage capacity and processor power for a variety of functions. "Private" refers more to the fact that this type of cloud platform is a non-shared resource than to any security advantage.
A public cloud consists of a service or set of services that are purchased by a business or organization and delivered via the Internet by a third-party provider. These services use cloud-based storage capacity and processor power that is not owned by the business itself.
R
Real user monitoring is a web analytics solution that gathers data about individual web page requests and deliveries, tracks web user behavior, and then aggregates and reports back to help you optimize your website's performance.
S
Software as a Service (SaaS) is a distribution/utilization model where software applications are managed, administered and delivered via cloud computing infrastructure as opposed to a traditional client/server model. SaaS is delivered on a fee-for-use basis, and transfers the administrative burden and software ownership costs from the customer organization to the SaaS provider.
SQL (Sequential Query Language) injection is a technique deployed to attack databases through a website. This is accomplished by including fragments of SQL statements in a web form entry field to force the website to pass a new, malicious SQL command to the database. An example could be a command to share the contents of the database. Read more.
T
TV Everywhere is an initiative to provide controlled access to pay television (cable, satellite) customers across multiple device platforms. The concept is based on the capability of the video content provider to verify the end user's identity and authorization to access web video on-demand content.
U
Universal streaming is an approach to rich media delivery which takes source content (in this case a video stream) and encodes and optimizes it for multiple popular device formats. Read more.
V
The data collected through analytics provides you with insights into how users consume media and what they expect now-or may want in the future-from an online video platform.
Video optimization solutions enhance online viewing experiences for consumers and improve network utilization, thereby enabling cable operators and mobile carriers to handle surges in demand for high-resolution streaming digital media-and the bandwidth necessary to supply it.
Video Streaming refers to providing online video to a web user in real time as it is being consumed, as opposed to an online video download, which must be completed before being consumed. Video Streaming is available for both live events ("Live Streaming Video") and for pre-recorded online video assets.
A virtual machine is essentially software that emulates the capabilities of a computer or server, executing programs, accessing data, and performing computing operations. Multiple virtual machines can run simultaneously on a single physical cloud-based host.
A virtual private server (VPS) is a virtual machine that performs the traditional functions of a server, e.g. providing processing power and data to client machines. Multiple virtual private servers can utilize the same physical infrastructure, leveraging the efficiencies of shared computing resources while still providing a strong level of web security.
W
A web application firewall (WAF) is an appliance, server plugin, or filter that applies a set of rules to HTTP conversations to protect the integrity, availability, and performance of web-based applications. WAFs are typically deployed to protect against common attack types such as Cross-site Scripting (XSS) and SQL Injection. Read more.
Web security requires organizations to resources struggle to fully protect their web properties and the data that lies behind them. What makes web security a tough challenge for these organizations-and even more so for smaller organizations with fewer resources at their disposal-is that the web security threat environment is constantly evolving.
Web security professionals tasked with safeguarding an organization's online assets face a shifting threat landscape. Major trends in the web security environment include: Read more.
Web services are a set of web-based IT capabilities that form a scalable, resilient, flexible web computing platform as compared to traditional IT infrastructure. These are often referred to as "cloud-based" services.