IT Glossary - F - ITU Online IT Training
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IT Glossary
Key Terms To Know In The IT Industry

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FaaS (Fabric as a Service)

A model where cloud providers offer development and deployment environments for application services. It's less common as a term but sometimes used to describe highly scalable network management solutions.

You will find this term commonly used in Cloud Computing, Networking

FaaS (Framework as a Service)

Similar to Function as a Service, but specifically refers to the provision of frameworks as a cloud service, allowing developers to build applications with various frameworks without managing the underlying infrastructure.

You will find this term commonly used in Cloud Computing

FaaS (Function as a Service)

A category of cloud computing services that provides a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage application functionalities without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure typically associated with developing and launching an app.

You will find this term commonly used in Cloud Computing

FaaS (Functions as a Service)

A cloud computing service that allows for the execution of code in response to events without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure typically associated with developing and launching an app. It's a key part of the serverless architecture.

You will find this term commonly used in Cloud Computing

Fabless Manufacturing

A business model in the semiconductor industry where companies design and sell hardware devices and semiconductor chips while outsourcing the fabrication of these components.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Hardware Development

Fabric Computing

A form of computing where every part of a system is interconnected in a flexible and scalable way, allowing for efficient data sharing and processing.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, General IT

Fabric Switch

A network switch that interconnects various devices in a computer network, forming a fabric, to ensure high availability and scalability.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Data Center

Face Recognition

A technology capable of identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source. One of the ways to do this is by comparing selected facial features from the image and a face database.

You will find this term commonly used in AI, Security

Facial Recognition

A technology capable of identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source. It is often used in security systems and can be compared to other biometrics such as fingerprint or eye iris recognition systems.

You will find this term commonly used in AI, Security

Facial Recognition Technology

Advanced software algorithms that identify or verify a person's identity from a digital image or video frame.

You will find this term commonly used in AI, Security

Factory Reset

A process of restoring an electronic device (e.g., computer, smartphone, router) to its original system state by erasing all of the information stored on the device, thereby restoring the device to its original manufacturer settings.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Security

Fading Channels

A phenomenon in wireless communication where the signal amplitude and phase change over time due to the mobility of the transmitter, the receiver, or obstacles in the signal path.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking

Fail-fast System

A system design principle where operations fail as soon as a problem is detected, making it easier to identify and address issues early in the development cycle. It contrasts with fail-safe systems that attempt to continue operation in the presence of a problem.

You will find this term commonly used in Software Development, Security

Fail-safe

A design feature or practice that in the event of a specific type of failure, inherently responds in a way that will cause no or minimal harm to other equipment, the environment or to people.

You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Safety

Fail-Silent System

A system designed in such a way that it either performs its function correctly or does not perform it at all, without producing incorrect results. Fail-silent systems are often used in distributed computing and fault-tolerant systems designs.

You will find this term commonly used in Systems Design, Security

Failback

The process of returning a system to its original state after a failover has occurred. This usually involves restoring the system to the primary machine or server after repairs or maintenance have been completed.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Security

Failback Procedures

The process of returning a system to its original state after a failover event, such as switching back to the primary system after repairs or maintenance have been completed on it, ensuring that the primary system resumes its role.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Security

Failback Process

The procedure of returning a system or application to its original or primary setup after it has been operating in a failover mode due to a failure or maintenance event. Failback ensures that operations can return to normal conditions with minimal disruption.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Data Management

Failover

The process of switching to a redundant or standby computer server, system, hardware component or network upon the failure or abnormal termination of the previously active application, server, system, hardware component, or network.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Security

Failover Capacity

The ability of a system to automatically and seamlessly switch to a redundant or standby system upon the failure of the currently active system, without service interruption or loss of data. Failover capacity is critical for maintaining high availability in network and database systems.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Databases

Failover Cluster

A group of independent computers that work together to increase the availability and scalability of clustered roles (formerly called clustered applications and services). The cluster remains available if one or more of the cluster nodes fail.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Security

Failover Protocol

A protocol that enables a system to automatically switch to a redundant or standby system upon failure of the currently active system, ensuring service continuity.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Security

Failover System

A redundant or standby system that automatically takes over when the main system fails. Failover systems are critical for high-availability environments, ensuring that services continue without interruption despite hardware or software failures.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Cloud Computing

Failsoft

A system's ability to degrade gracefully in the face of hardware or software failures, maintaining partial operation.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, High Availability

False Acceptance Rate (FAR)

In biometric security systems, the rate at which unauthorized users are incorrectly accepted as authorized users.

You will find this term commonly used in Security, Biometrics

False Positive Rate

In the context of security and machine learning, it refers to the rate at which a system incorrectly identifies a non-threat as a threat or a negative result as positive.

You will find this term commonly used in Cybersecurity, AI

False Rejection Rate (FRR)

In biometric security systems, the rate at which authorized users are incorrectly rejected.

You will find this term commonly used in Security, Biometrics

Falsification Attack

A cyber attack where false data is injected into a system to mislead or disrupt its operation.

You will find this term commonly used in Cybersecurity

Fan-Out

In electronics and software, it refers to the number of output connections that can be made to another single node. In a broader sense, it can also refer to the spreading out of data transmission or processing to multiple destinations or operations.

You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Software Development

Far-End Crosstalk (FEXT)

Interference caused by the signal transmission at the end of a cable affecting another signal transmission in the same cable bundle.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking

Faraday Cage

A structure used to block electromagnetic fields. Faraday cages are made of conductive materials and prevent the passage of electromagnetic waves, protecting electronic equipment from external electrical noise and surges.

You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Security

Fast Boot

A feature in computer systems that reduces the startup time. Fast boot technologies achieve this by skipping certain initialization steps traditionally performed during bootup or by preserving system state data across shutdowns for quicker retrieval.

You will find this term commonly used in Operating Systems, Hardware

Fast Charging Technology

Technologies designed to charge batteries faster than standard charging methods, often used in smartphones and electric vehicles.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Hardware

Fast Ethernet

A term for a number of Ethernet standards that carry traffic at the nominal rate of 100 Mbit/s, against the original Ethernet speed of 10 Mbit/s. Fast Ethernet is an extension of the 10 megabit Ethernet standard.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking

Fast Packet Switching

A method of transferring packets within a network that minimizes processing delays by using hardware-based processing. Fast packet switching is designed to handle high-speed network traffic efficiently by rapidly routing or switching packets between network segments.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking

FAT (File Allocation Table)

An older type of file system that is simple and widely compatible, but not as efficient or reliable as more modern file systems like NTFS or ext4.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Storage

FAT Filesystem

A family of file systems that use the File Allocation Table (FAT) to manage files on a disk. It is simple and widely compatible, making it a common format for floppy disks and digital camera cards.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Storage

Fault Detection and Isolation

Techniques and processes used to detect faults in a system, diagnose the cause of the fault, and isolate the faulty component or function for repair or replacement. It is critical for maintaining the reliability and availability of IT systems.

You will find this term commonly used in Hardware, Software Development

Fault Domain

A group of devices or resources within a system that share a common potential cause of failure. This concept is used in designing systems that are resilient to hardware failures and other issues.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Reliability

Fault Injection

A testing technique used to determine the robustness of software by deliberately introducing faults into the system.

You will find this term commonly used in Software Testing, Reliability

Fault Injection Testing

A testing technique used to determine the robustness of software by deliberately introducing faults to test if a system can withstand and manage faulty conditions.

You will find this term commonly used in Software Development, Testing

Fault Isolation

The process of identifying and isolating faults within a system to ensure that they do not affect other components of the system. This is crucial in maintaining the overall system's reliability and availability.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Security

Fault Isolation Manual

A document or digital tool used to identify and rectify faults within complex systems, often found in IT and telecommunications.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Troubleshooting

Fault Management

The process of detecting, isolating, diagnosing, and correcting faults in a network or system.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, System Administration

Fault Tolerance

The ability of a system to continue operating without interruption when one or more of its components fail.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Security

Fault Tolerance Techniques

Methods and procedures used to enable a system to continue operating properly in the event of the failure of some of its components. These techniques can include redundancy, error checking, and failover processes.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Security

Fault Tolerant Design

The design and implementation of a system or component to continue operating properly in the event of the failure of some of its components. Fault tolerance is critical in high-availability or life-critical systems.

You will find this term commonly used in General IT, Hardware, Security

FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet)

A computer network technology that encapsulates Fibre Channel frames over Ethernet networks. This allows Fibre Channel to use 10 Gigabit Ethernet networks (or higher speeds) while preserving the Fibre Channel protocol.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking

FCoIP (Fibre Channel over IP)

A technology that enables the transmission of Fibre Channel traffic over IP networks, facilitating the connection of geographically dispersed SANs (Storage Area Networks). It allows for data management and storage resources to be extended over long distances.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Storage

FDM (Frequency-Division Multiplexing)

Similar to Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) previously mentioned, it's a process of transmitting multiple signals simultaneously over a single transmission path, such as a cable or wireless system, by using different frequencies for each signal.

You will find this term commonly used in Networking, Telecommunications

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