Please
select one of the options below to explore our web hosting glossary. If
you don't see a term here that you feel should be included, please
submit the term and definition section.
SaaS
Short for Software as a Service, SaaS is a software delivery approach
that provides access to software and its functions remotely as a
Web-based service. Because the software is hosted remotely, users don't
need to invest in additional hardware. SaaS is sometimes referred to as
hosted applications. Click here to read more on SaaS.
Secure Server
Any web server that supports a major security protocol - like SSL - to
encrypt messages to protect them against intrusion. Click here to visit our SSL Showcase.
Shadow Nameservers
A shadow nameserver is a nameserver that has been labeled as yours (the
reseller's) despite the fact it actually belongs to your Web hosting
provider. This ensures that domains located on your server are listed
as "ns.yourservername.com" instead of "ns.yourprovidersname.com". Also
see NAMESERVER below.
Shared Hosting
Sometimes called "Virtual Hosting" this service provides a customer
with a limited amount of server space to create their web site.
Bandwidth and storage space is distributed among many clients, who all
"share" the same physical server.
Shell
The outermost layer of a program. Operating systems and applications
typically provide an easy-to-use shell program to make interaction with
the system easier. A shell may be a GUI system that translates user
selections into the appropriate command-line prompts. A number of web
hosting solutions provide the user with shell access to the server,
which reduces the technical knowledge required to configuring critical
systems and applications.
Shockwave
A technology developed by Macromedia, Inc. that enables Web pages to
include multimedia elements. Shockwave supports audio, animation,
video, and even user actions such as mouse clicks and roll-overs. It
runs on all Windows and Macintosh platforms.
SMTP
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol . A protocol used to send e-mail on the
Internet. SMTP is a set of rules regarding the interaction between a
program sending e-mail and a program receiving e-mail.
SQL
Structured Query Language - SQL is a standard interactive and
programming language for getting information from and updating a
database. Although SQL is both an ANSI and an ISO standard, many
database products support SQL with proprietary extensions to the
standard language.
SSH
Developed by SSH Communications Security Ltd, Secure Shell protects a
network from attacks such as IP spoofing, IP source routing, and DNS
spoofing. Any login session or transmission of passwords to the web
server is encrypted, making it almost impossible for an outsider to
collect this information.
SSL
The Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a commonly used protocol which
protects transmissions on the Internet by encrypting data in a user’s
web browser. The data is then transferred from the browser to the
website in this encrypted format, unencrypted by the web server
software, and then used by the website.
Store Builder
An online application that allows a hosting client to quickly create an
online storefront and catalog - without advanced programming knowledge.
SubDomain
A subdomain is a subdivision of a larger domain. For example,
"mail.tophosts.com" is a subdomain of "tophosts.com."
