Windows Server 2003 Glossary - L

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 - L

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L2TP

See other term: Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)  

label

In DNS, each part of a DNS domain name that represents a node in the domain namespace tree. For example, the three labels "example," "microsoft," and "com" make up the DNS domain name example.microsoft.com. Each label used in a DNS name cannot exceed 63 octets, 255 bytes including the terminating dot, for the fully qualified domain name (FQDN).

See also: domain name   Domain Name System (DNS)   fully qualified domain name (FQDN)   node   

LAN

See other term: local area network (LAN)  

LAN emulation (LANE)

A group of software components that allows asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) to work with legacy networks and applications. With LANE, you can run your traditional local area network (LAN)-aware applications and protocols on an ATM network without modification. LANE makes the ATM protocol layers appear to be an Ethernet or Token Ring LAN to overlying protocols and applications. LANE provides an intermediate step between fully exploiting ATM and not using ATM at all.

See also: asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)   local area network (LAN)   protocol   Token Ring   

LAN emulation client (LEC)

The client on an emulated local area network (ELAN) that performs data forwarding, address resolution, and other control functions. The LEC resides on end stations in an ELAN.

See also: client   emulated local area network (ELAN)   LAN emulation (LANE)   

LAN emulation configuration server

The service that assigns individual local area network emulation (LANE) clients to particular emulated local area networks (ELANs) by directing them to the LAN emulation server (LES).

See also: emulated local area network (ELAN)   LAN emulation (LANE)   LAN emulation server (LES)   service   

LAN emulation server (LES)

The central control point for an emulated local area network (ELAN). LES enables LAN emulation (LANE) clients to join the ELAN, and it resolves local area network (LAN) addresses to asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) addresses.

See also: asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)   emulated local area network (ELAN)   LAN emulation (LANE)   local area network (LAN)   

LANE

See other term: LAN emulation (LANE)  

Last Known Good Configuration

A hardware configuration that is available by pressing F8 during startup. If the current hardware settings prevent the computer from starting, Last Known Good Configuration can allow you to start the computer and examine the configuration. When Last Known Good Configuration is used, later configuration changes are lost.

See also: Safe mode   

latency

In Active Directory replication, the delay between the time an update is applied to a specific replica and the time it is applied to some other replica. Also known as propagation delay.

See also: Active Directory   replica   replication   

Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)

An industry-standard Internet tunneling protocol that provides encapsulation for sending Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) frames across packet-oriented media. For IP networks, L2TP traffic is sent as User Datagram Protocol (UDP) messages. In Microsoft operating systems, L2TP is used in conjunction with Internet Protocol security (IPSec) as a virtual private network (VPN) technology to provide remote access or router-to-router VPN connections. L2TP is described in RFC 2661.

See also: frame   Internet Protocol security (IPsec)   Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)   tunnel   User Datagram Protocol (UDP)   

Layer Two Tunneling Protocol/Internet Protocol security (L2TP/IPsec)

A virtual private network (VPN) connection method that provides session authentication, address encapsulation, and strong encryption of private data between remote access servers and clients. L2TP provides address encapsulation and user authentication, and Internet Protocol security (IPsec) provides computer authentication and encryption of the L2TP session.

See also: authentication   encapsulation   encryption   Internet Protocol security (IPsec)   Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)   virtual private network (VPN)   

LDAP

See other term: Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)  

LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF)

A draft Internet standard for a file format that can be used to perform batch operations on directories that conform to Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) standards.

See also: batch program   Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)   

LDIF

See other term: LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF)  

lease

The length of time for which a DHCP client can use a dynamically assigned IP address configuration. Before the lease time expires, the client must either renew or obtain a new lease with DHCP.

See also: DHCP client   Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)   IP address   

LEC

See other term: LAN emulation client (LEC)  

LES

See other term: LAN emulation server (LES)  

library

A data-storage system, usually managed by Removable Storage. A library consists of removable media (such as tapes or discs) and a hardware device that can read from or write to the media. There are two major types of libraries: robotic libraries (automated multiple-media, multidrive devices) and stand-alone drive libraries (manually operated, single-drive devices). A robotic library is also called a jukebox or changer.

See also: Removable Storage   

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)

The primary access protocol for Active Directory. LDAP is an industry-standard protocol, established by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), that allows users to query and update information in a directory service. Active Directory supports both LDAP version 2 and LDAP version 3.

See also: Active Directory   directory service   Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)   protocol   

Line Printer Daemon (LPD)

A service on a print server that receives print jobs from Line Printer Remote (LPR) tools that are running on client computers.

See also: Line Printer Remote (LPR)   print job   print server   service   

Line Printer Remote (LPR)

A connectivity tool that runs on client computers and that is used to print files to a computer running a Line Printer Daemon (LPD) server.

See also: Line Printer Daemon (LPD)   

A map of an area maintained by Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routers. It is updated after any change in the network topology. The link state database is used to compute Internet Protocol (IP) routes, which must be computed again after any change in the topology.

See also: adjacency   Internet Protocol (IP)   Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)   

linked object

An object that is inserted into a document but still exists in the source file. When information is linked, the new document is updated automatically if the information in the original document changes. If you want to edit the linked information, double-click it. The toolbars and menus from the original program will appear. If the original document is on your computer, changes that you make to the linked information will also appear in the original document.

See also: embedded object   OLE   package   source document   

LIS

See other term: logical IP subnet (LIS)  

Lmhosts file

A local text file that maps network basic input/output (NetBIOS) names (commonly used for computer names) to IP addresses for hosts that are not located on the local subnet. In this version of Windows, this file is stored in the systemroot\System32\Drivers\Etc folder.

See also: host   IP address   network basic input/output system (NetBIOS)   systemroot   

load balancing

A technique used by Windows Clustering to scale the performance of a server-based program (such as a Web server) by distributing its client requests across multiple servers within the cluster. Each host can specify the load percentage that it will handle, or the load can be equally distributed across all the hosts. If a host fails, Windows Clustering dynamically redistributes the load among the remaining hosts.

See also: cluster   host   

load weight

A Network Load Balancing parameter that specifies the relative amount of load-balanced network traffic that the host handles for the associated port rule. Allowed values range from 0 (zero) to 100. To prevent a host from handling any network traffic, set the load weight to 0 (zero).

See also: Network Load Balancing   Network Load Balancing cluster   

local area network (LAN)

A network of computers, printers, and other devices located within a relatively limited area (for example, a building). A LAN enables any connected device to interact with any other on the network.

See also: NetBIOS Extended User Interface (NetBEUI)   network basic input/output system (NetBIOS)   virtual local area network (VLAN)   workgroup   

local computer

The computer that you are currently logged on to as a user. More generally, a local computer is a computer that you can access directly without using a communications line or a communications device, such as a network adapter or a modem.

See also: remote computer   

local group

A security group that can be granted rights and permissions only to resources on the computer on which the group is created. Local groups can have any user accounts that are local to the computer as members, as well as users, groups, and computers from a domain to which the computer belongs.

See also: global group   member server   user account   

local printer

A printer that is directly connected to one of the ports on a computer.

See also: port   

Local Security Authority (LSA)

A protected subsystem that authenticates and logs users on to the local computer. In addition, the LSA maintains information about all aspects of local security on a computer (collectively known as the local security policy), and it provides various services for translation between names and identifiers.

See also: local security policy   security   

Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS)

An interface for managing local security, domain authentication, and Active Directory processes. It handles authentication for the client and for the server. It also contains features that are used to support Active Directory utilities.

local security policy

Security information about all aspects of local security on a computer. The local security policy identifies who is assigned privileges and what security auditing is to be performed.

See also: auditing   security   

local service

A service that performs a specific operating system function for other local processes on the computer.

See also: service   

Local Service account

A predefined local account that is used to start a service and provide the security context for that service. The name of the account is NT AUTHORITY\LocalService. The Local Service account has limited access to the local computer and Anonymous access to network resources.

See also: access control list (ACL)   Local System account   Network Service account   service   

local storage

For the Windows Server 2003 family, NTFS file system disk volumes used as primary data storage. Such disk volumes can be managed by Remote Storage by copying infrequently accessed files to remote (secondary) storage.

See also: NTFS file system   Remote Storage   volume   

Local System account

A predefined local account that is used to start a service and provide the security context for that service. The name of the account is NT AUTHORITY\System. This account does not have a password, and any password information that you supply is ignored. The Local System account has full access to the system, including the directory service on domain controllers. Because the Local System account acts as a computer on the network, it has access to network resources.

See also: directory service   domain controller   Local Service account   Network Service account   service   

local user profile

A computer-based record about an authorized user that is created automatically on the computer the first time a user logs on to a workstation or server computer.

LocalTalk

The Apple networking hardware built into every Macintosh computer. LocalTalk includes the cables and connector boxes that connect components and network devices that are part of the AppleTalk network system. Formerly known as AppleTalk Personal Network.

log file

A file that stores messages generated by an application, service, or operating system. These messages are used to track the operations performed. For example, Web servers maintain log files listing every request made to the server. Log files are usually plain text (ASCII) files and often have a .log extension. In Backup, a file that contains a record of the date the tapes were created and the names of files and directories successfully backed up and restored. The Performance Logs and Alerts service also creates log files.

See also: American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)   service   

logical drive

A volume that you create within an extended partition on a basic master boot record (MBR) disk. Logical drives are similar to primary partitions, except that you are limited to four primary partitions per disk, whereas you can create an unlimited number of logical drives per disk. A logical drive can be formatted and assigned a drive letter.

See also: basic disk   basic volume   drive letter   extended partition   master boot record (MBR)   primary partition   volume   

logical IP subnet (LIS)

A group of Internet Protocol (IP) hosts that belong to the same IP subnet.

See also: host   Internet Protocol (IP)   subnet   

logical printer

The software interface between the operating system and the printer in Windows. While a printer is the device that does the actual printing, a logical printer is its software interface on the print server. This software interface determines how a print job is processed and how it is routed to its destination (to a local or network port, to a file, or to a remote print share). When you print a document, it is spooled (or stored) on the logical printer before it is sent to the printer itself.

See also: printer   spooling   

logical unit number (LUN)

A logical reference to a portion of a storage subsystem. For example, in a disk storage subsystem, a LUN can comprise a disk, a section of a disk, a whole disk array, or a section of a disk array in the subsystem.

logon event category

In auditing, a group of events that are logged when a user attempts to log on to or log off from a computer.

See also: auditing   event   

logon rights

User rights that are assigned to a user and that specify the ways in which a user can log on to a system. An example of a logon right is the right to log on to a system remotely.

See also: user rights   

logon script

A file, typically a batch file, that runs automatically every time a user logs on to a computer or network. It can be used to configure a user`s working environment whenever a user logs on, and it allows an administrator to influence a user`s environment without managing all aspects of it. A logon script can be assigned to one or more user accounts.

See also: batch program   logon script path   user account   

logon script path

A sequence of directory names that specifies the location of the logon script. When a user logs on, the authenticating computer locates the specified logon script (if one has been assigned to that user account) by following that computer`s local logon script path (usually systemroot\System32\Repl\Import\Scripts).

See also: logon script   systemroot   user account   

long distance operator

Digits dialed before the area or city code to access a long distance phone service. For example, in the United States of America, you dial a 1 before the area or city code: (1) (206) 000-0000. The actual digits depend on the country/region or phone service. Area codes and long distance operators are not used in all countries/regions.

long name

A folder name or file name longer than the 8.3 file name standard (up to eight characters followed by a period and an extension of up to three characters) of the file allocation table (FAT) file system. This version of Windows supports file names up to 255 characters and automatically translates long names of files and folders to 8.3 names for MS-DOS and Windows 3.x users. In a Macintosh environment, users can assign names up to 31 characters, excluding colons, to files and folders.

See also: file allocation table (FAT)   MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System)   

loopback

An advanced Group Policy setting that is useful in certain closely managed environments, such as laboratories, classrooms, public kiosks, and reception areas. You can find the setting and its description in the Group Policy console tree under Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Group Policy. The full name of this setting is User Group Policy loopback processing mode.

See also: console tree   Group Policy   

loose name checking

A form of domain name checking DNS uses that examines characters in DNS names for valid American National Standards Institute (ANSI) character compliance. However, loose name checking does not check for compliance with DNS naming requirements and valid character usage for Internet host names, as specified in RFC 1123, Requirements for Internet Hosts - Applications and Support. For RFC compliance, DNS domain names will use name labels made up only of valid uppercase and lowercase letters, number characters, and hyphens (A through Z, a through z, 0 through 9, and -) separated by periods.

See also: domain name   Domain Name System (DNS)   label   Request for Comments (RFC)   

LPD

See other term: Line Printer Daemon (LPD)  

LPR

See other term: Line Printer Remote (LPR)  

LSASS

See other term: Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS)  

luminosity

The brightness of a color based on a scale from black to white on your monitor.

LUN

See other term: logical unit number (LUN)