Big idea 4: Computer systems and networks Flashcards
computing device
A physical device that can run a program, such as a computer, smart phone, or smart sensor.
computer network
group of interconnected computing devices capable of sending or receiving data.
bandwidth
The maximum amount of data that can be sent in a fixed period of time over a network connection, typically measured in bits per second.
protocol
An agreed upon set of rules that specify the behavior of a system.
scalability
The ability of a system to adjust in scale to meet new demands.
IP (Internet Protocol)
he protocol that determines how to address nodes on the network (with IP addresses) and how to route data from one node to a destination node (using routers).
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
A data transport protocol that includes mechanisms for reliably transmitting packets to a destination.
UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
A lightweight data transport protocol with minimal error checking.
World Wide Web
A system of linked pages, media, and files, browsable over HTTP.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
The protocol that powers the Web, used to request webpages from servers and submit form data to servers.
parallel computing
A computational model which splits a program into multiple tasks, some of which can be executed simultaneously.
speedup
The improvement in the amount of time a parallelized program takes to solve a problem, computed as the amount of time to complete the task sequentially divided by the amount of time to complete the task when run in parallel.
distributed computing
A computational model which uses multiple devices to run different parts of a program.
