Windows Server 2003 Glossary - W

Article
10/08/2009

Applies To: Windows Server 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

For more Windows Server terms, see the Windows Server 2008 Glossary.

Glossary - W

# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Waiting for Call

A telephony signal that Network Connections has put the modem in Listen mode and is waiting for incoming calls.

See also: modem (modulator/demodulator) Network Connections

wake-on-LAN

A power management feature that allows a device to bring the operating system out of standby or sleep mode if there is network activity.

WAN

See other term: wide area network (WAN)

warning level

The point at which users are nearing their quota limit.

weak password

A password that does not provide an effective defense against unauthorized access to a resource. A weak password can be less than six characters long, contain all or part of a users account name, or contain less than three of the four following categories of characters: uppercase characters, lowercase characters, base 10 digits, and symbols found on the keyboard (such as !, @, #).

See also: password password policy strong password

Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)

An application protocol related to Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) 1.1 that allows clients to transparently publish and manage resources on the World Wide Web.

See also: Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) protocol

Web server

A computer that is maintained by a system administrator or Internet service provider (ISP) and that responds to requests from a user's browser.

See also: Internet service provider (ISP)

Web Services (WS-*)

The specifications for a Web Services Architecture that is based on industry standards such as Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP); XML; Web Service Description Language (WSDL); and Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI). WS-* provides a foundation for delivering complete, interoperable business solutions for the extended enterprise, including the ability to manage federated identity and security.

Web Services Security (WS-Security)

A series of specifications that describe how to attach signature and encryption headers to Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) messages. In addition, WS-Security describes how to attach security tokens, including binary security tokens such as X.509 certificates and Kerberos tickets, to messages. In Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS), WS-Security is used when Kerberos signs security tokens.

WebDAV

See other term: Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)

well-connected

Sufficient connectivity to make your network and Active Directory useful to clients on your network. The precise meaning of well-connected is determined by your particular needs.

well-known services

Services that are so pervasive in the computer industry that standard bindings are universally recognized. These services often maintain a machine-centric status and are frequently legacy services such as those developed for use in TCP/IP networks, for example, Telnet and File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Well-known services can published in Active Directory, but because their bindings are widely known, the information is superfluous.

See also: Active Directory File Transfer Protocol (FTP) machine-centric service Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

wide area network (WAN)

A network that connects geographically separated locations by using telecommunications services.

See also: device local area network (LAN)

wildcard character

A keyboard character that can be used to represent one or many characters when conducting a query. The question mark (?) represents a single character, and the asterisk (*) represents one or more characters.

wildcarding

In DNS, the supported use of wildcard characters such as the asterisk (*) in domain names for DNS queries that resolve to multiple names. When wildcarding is used, DNS servers must support resolving name queries that use wildcard characters, and resolvers must be able to parse multiple records from any resource record sets (RRsets) issued in wildcard query responses.

See also: DNS server domain name Domain Name System (DNS) resource record set (RRset) wildcard character

Windows Catalog

A Web site that lists hardware and software that is designed for use with Windows XP, Windows 2000 Server products, and products in the Windows Server 2003 family. You can use this site to help you decide whether to purchase a particular device or program, to help you evaluate whether a particular computer would support an upgraded operating system, or for similar decisions about hardware and software.

See also: device Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)

Windows Clustering

A feature of Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, and Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, that provides the complementary clustering technologies, Network Load Balancing clusters, and server clusters.

See also: cluster Network Load Balancing cluster server cluster

Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL)

Provides compatibility testing services to test hardware and drivers for Windows operating systems.

Windows Internet Name Service (WINS)

A Windows name resolution service for network basic input/output system (NetBIOS) names. WINS is used by hosts running NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) to register NetBIOS names and to resolve NetBIOS names to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

See also: IP address network basic input/output system (NetBIOS) resource service WINS proxy WINS resource

Windows Logo Program

A certification program to help customers identify systems, hardware, and software that meet a baseline definition of platform features and quality goals and ensure a good user experience of Windows.

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)

A management infrastructure in Windows that supports monitoring and controlling system resources through a common set of interfaces and provides a logically organized, consistent model of Windows operation, configuration, and status.

Windows Management Instrumentation filter

A query that is based on Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and used to filter the effect of a Group Policy object (GPO). WMI filters are written in WMI Query Language (WQL) and are evaluated on the target computer or user. If the filter evaluates to true, then the GPO is applied. Otherwise, the GPO is not applied. WMI filters are useful for exception management.

See also: Group Policy Management console (GPMC) Group Policy object (GPO) Group Policy object link

Windows Media Services

Software that provides multimedia support, allowing you to deliver content using Advanced Streaming Format over an internet or the Internet.

Windows Open Services Architecture (WOSA)

A common set of interfaces that connect front-end applications with back-end services.

Windows Support Tools

Tools that administrators, developers, or support personnel can use to diagnose and troubleshoot operating system configuration problems. Although Windows Support Tools are included on the operating system CD, they are not guaranteed or supported by Microsoft, and they must be installed separately from the operating system.

Windows NT token–based application

A Windows application that relies on a Windows NT token to perform authorization of users.

WINS

See other term: Windows Internet Name Service (WINS)

WINS proxy

A computer that listens to name query broadcasts and responds for those names not on the local subnet. The proxy communicates with a WINS server to resolve names and then caches them for a specific time period.

See also: subnet Windows Internet Name Service (WINS)

WINS resource

A resource type that provides Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) from a cluster.

See also: cluster resource types Windows Internet Name Service (WINS)

Winsock

Windows Sockets. An application programming interface (API) standard for software that provides a TCP/IP interface under Windows.

See also: application programming interface (API) Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

wireless communication

Communication between a computer and another computer or device without wires. The form of wireless communication provided as part of the Windows operating system uses infrared (IR) light to transmit files. Radio frequencies, as used by cellular and cordless telephones, are another form of wireless communication.

See also: infrared (IR) infrared device infrared port

WMI

See other term: Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)

WMI filter

See other term: Windows Management Instrumentation filter

workgroup

A simple grouping of computers, intended only to help users find such things as printers and shared folders within that group. Workgroups in Windows do not offer the centralized user accounts and authentication offered by domains.

See also: authentication domain user account

working set

For a process, the amount of physical memory assigned to the process by the operating system.

World Wide Web (WWW)

A system for exploring the Internet by using hyperlinks. When you use a Web browser, the Web appears as a collection of text, pictures, sounds, and digital movies.

WOSA

See other term: Windows Open Services Architecture (WOSA)

WS-Federation

A specification that defines a model and set of messages for brokering trust and the federation of identity and authentication information across different trust realms. The WS-Federation specification identifies two sources of identity and authentication requests across trust realms: active requestors, such as Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)-enabled applications, and passive requestors, which are defined as HTTP browsers capable of supporting broadly supported HTTP, for example, HTTP 1.1.

WS-Federation Passive Requestor Profile (WS-F PRP)

An implementation of the WS-Federation specification that proposes a standard protocol for how passive clients (such as Web browsers) apply the federation framework. Within this protocol, Web service requestors are expected to understand the new security mechanisms and be capable of interacting with Web service providers.