N
name resolution
The process of having software translate between names that are easy for users to work with and numerical IP addresses, which are difficult for users but necessary for TCP/IP communications. Name resolution can be provided by software components such as DNS or WINS.See also Domain Name System (DNS).See also Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).See also Windows Internet Name Service (WINS).
namespace
A naming convention that defines a set of unique names for resources in a network. For DNS, a hierarchical naming structure that identifies each network resource and its place in the hierarchy of the namespace. For WINS, a flat naming structure that identifies each network resource using a single, unique name.See also Domain Name System (DNS).See also Windows Internet Name Service (WINS).
Network File System (NFS)
A service for distributed computing systems that provides a distributed file system, eliminating the need for keeping multiple copies of files on separate computers.
network latency
The time it takes for information to be transferred between computers in a network.
Network Load Balancing
A Windows network component that uses a distributed algorithm to load-balance Internet Protocol (IP) traffic across a number of hosts, helping to enhance the scalability and availability of mission-critical, IP-based services, such as Terminal Services, Web services, virtual private networking, and streaming media. It also provides high availability by detecting host failures and automatically redistributing traffic to the surviving hosts.See also availability.See also cluster.See also host.See also scalability.
Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP)
A protocol that is used to distribute network news messages to NNTP servers and to NNTP clients (news readers) on the Internet. NNTP provides for the distribution, inquiry, retrieval, and posting of news articles by using a reliable, stream-based transmission of news on the Internet. NNTP is designed in such a way that news articles are stored on a server in a central database, so that users can select specific items to read. Indexing, cross-referencing, and expiration of old messages are also provided. NNTP is defined in RFC 977.
NNTP
See Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP).
node
For tree structures, a location on the tree that can have links to one or more items below it.For local area networks (LANs), a device that is connected to the network and is capable of communicating with other network devices.For server clusters, a computer system that is an active or inactive member of a cluster.See also local area network (LAN).See also server cluster.
NTFS file system
An advanced file system that provides performance, security, reliability, and advanced features that are not found in any version of file allocation table (FAT). For example, NTFS guarantees volume consistency by using standard transaction logging and recovery techniques. If a system fails, NTFS uses its log file and checkpoint information to restore the consistency of the file system. NTFS also provides advanced features, such as file and folder permissions, encryption, disk quotas, and compression.
See also FAT32.See also file allocation table (FAT).