Glossary · 61 terms

IT Glossary

Short, concrete definitions of terms in hosting, colocation, IP addresses and AS numbers, RIPE LIR, networking, data centres, GEO/AI visibility and information security. Compiled by Adminor — a Swedish IT company and RIPE member since 1983.

IP addresses & networking

AS number (ASN): A unique number that identifies an autonomous system on the internet. Adminor operates AS51701. AS numbers are assigned by the RIPE NCC. Read more →
Autonomous system (AS): A network or group of IP networks administered under a common routing policy and identified by an AS number.
BGP (Border Gateway Protocol): The internet's routing protocol, which exchanges information about the paths traffic can take between autonomous systems. It is required to announce your own IP addresses to multiple providers. Read more →
RIPE NCC: The regional internet registry for Europe and the Middle East, which allocates IP addresses and AS numbers. Adminor is a RIPE member (LIR). Read more →
LIR (Local Internet Registry): An organisation that is a member of the RIPE NCC and can assign IP addresses and AS numbers. Adminor is an LIR. Read more →
Sponsoring LIR: An LIR that administers IP addresses or AS numbers on behalf of another organisation, so the customer owns the resources without needing its own RIPE membership. Read more →
RPKI: Resource Public Key Infrastructure — a security system that cryptographically confirms which organisation may announce a given IP block, protecting against incorrect routing.
ROA (Route Origin Authorization): A signed RPKI object that states which AS number is permitted to announce a given IP prefix.
IPv4: The fourth version of the internet protocol, with 32-bit addresses (e.g. 192.0.2.1). The addresses are a scarce resource and can be leased or transferred. Read more →
IPv6: The sixth version of the internet protocol, with 128-bit addresses and a practically unlimited address space. A /48 prefix is a common enterprise allocation. Read more →
Peering: A direct exchange of traffic between two networks, often free of charge via an internet exchange, for lower latency and reduced transit dependency.
IXP (internet exchange point): A physical location where many networks interconnect and exchange traffic directly. STHIX and SONIX are examples in Stockholm.
STHIX: Stockholm Internet eXchange, one of Sweden's largest internet exchange points. Adminor peers there via AS51701.
SONIX: Southern Nordic Internet eXchange, an internet exchange point with 100 Gbps connectivity where Adminor has transit and peering.
Transit: A paid service in which a provider forwards your network's traffic to the rest of the internet — as opposed to peering, which is a direct exchange.
Reverse DNS (PTR): A DNS record that translates an IP address to a domain name, important among other things for the deliverability of mail servers. Read more →
DNSSEC: A security extension to DNS that cryptographically signs records so that responses cannot be forged.
Anycast: A routing technique in which the same IP address is announced from several locations and traffic reaches the nearest one, for lower latency and redundancy.
Looking Glass: A public web tool that lets you run read-only routing queries (BGP, ping, traceroute) from a network's routers to verify reachability and route propagation.
Anti-DDoS scrubbing: A mitigation technique that diverts incoming traffic through a scrubbing centre where malicious packets are filtered out and only clean traffic is returned to the target.

Hosting & operations

VPS (virtual private server): An isolated virtual server with its own resources (CPU, RAM, disk) running on shared physical hardware. Read more →
KVM: A Linux virtualisation technology that gives each VPS a full, isolated machine with its own kernel — as opposed to container-based virtualisation. Read more →
Proxmox VE: An open-source platform for virtualisation (KVM and containers) on which Adminor runs its VPS infrastructure.
PBS (Proxmox Backup Server): Proxmox's own solution for encrypted, deduplicated backup of virtual machines and containers. Read more →
Web hosting: Shared hosting where several websites run on the same server, with a control panel for web, email and databases. Read more →
Managed hosting: Hosting in which the provider handles operations, updates, security and monitoring on the customer's behalf. Read more →
Dedicated server: An entire physical server rented by a single customer, with no virtualisation layer, for full performance and control. Read more →
Bare metal: A single-tenant physical server with no hypervisor between the operating system and the hardware, giving predictable performance and full hardware access. Often used interchangeably with dedicated server. Read more →
Snapshot: A point-in-time image of a virtual machine's state that can be restored when needed.
Virtualisation: The technology of running several isolated virtual machines on the same physical hardware.

GEO & AI visibility

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): The practice of making a brand citable and recommended in answers from generative AI engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. Read more →
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization): Optimisation to become the cited answer in AI and answer engines; often used synonymously with GEO. Read more →
llms.txt: A file in a website's root that tells AI crawlers which content is relevant and may be used.
Structured data (JSON-LD): Machine-readable markup following schema.org that helps search engines and AI understand a page's content and entities.

Data centres & colocation

Colocation: A service in which the customer places its own server hardware in a provider's data centre and pays for space, power, cooling and networking. Read more →
Rack unit (U): The standard measure for rack equipment; 1U corresponds to about 4.45 cm of height. A full rack is typically 42U.
Rack (server cabinet): A standardised cabinet (19 inches wide) for mounting servers and network equipment in a data centre.
Cross-connect: A physical cabling link in a data centre between a customer's equipment and a carrier or another customer.
PDU (Power Distribution Unit): A power distribution unit in the rack that supplies, and often meters, electricity to connected equipment.
N+1 redundancy: A redundancy level in which there is at least one spare unit beyond requirement, so operation continues if one unit fails.
UPS (uninterruptible power): Uninterruptible Power Supply — battery backup that bridges power outages until a diesel generator takes over.
Redundant power: Dual, independent power supply paths so that a fault in one path does not stop operations.
Latency: The delay for data to travel between two points, measured in milliseconds; lower is better.
Data centre (server hall): A facility built to house IT equipment with redundant power, cooling, fire protection and physical security. Read more →

Security & compliance

ISO 27001: An international standard for information security management systems (ISMS). Adminor's colocation halls are ISO 27001 certified.
GDPR: The EU's data protection regulation governing the processing of personal data. Read more →
Data Processing Agreement (DPA): An agreement under GDPR that governs how a provider may process personal data on the customer's behalf.
CLOUD Act: A US law that can compel US-owned providers to hand over data even when it is stored in the EU — a reason to choose a Swedish-owned host.
Data sovereignty: The principle that data is subject to the laws of the country where it is stored and of the organisation that processes it.
NIS2: An EU directive that tightens requirements on cybersecurity and incident reporting for essential and important entities.
SLA (Service Level Agreement): An agreement that states the promised service level, for example availability as a percentage, and compensation if the level is not met.
Uptime: The proportion of time a service is available, often expressed as a percentage (for example 99.9%).
DDoS protection: Protection against denial-of-service attacks that attempt to take down a service with large volumes of traffic.
WAF (Web Application Firewall): A firewall that filters and blocks malicious traffic aimed at web applications.
MFA (multi-factor authentication): A login that requires more than one proof of identity, for example a password plus a one-time code.

International & cloud

Sovereign cloud: Cloud infrastructure operated under a single jurisdiction, so that data and the operator remain outside the reach of foreign laws such as the US CLOUD Act. A driver for choosing Swedish-owned hosting. Read more →
Cloud repatriation: Moving workloads from a public hyperscaler back to dedicated servers, colocation or a private cloud, typically to control cost, latency or data sovereignty.
Egress fees: Charges that hyperscalers levy for data transferred out of their network. They can make cloud repatriation attractive and are usually absent from flat-rate colocation and transit.
Hyperscaler: A very large global cloud provider such as AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud, whose scale, metered pricing and non-EU ownership contrast with a regional sovereign host.
IPv4 transfer & leasing: The market for acquiring or renting scarce IPv4 addresses through RIPE-registered transfers. Adminor can broker and administer these as a sponsoring LIR. Read more →
Multihoming: Connecting a network to two or more upstream providers, usually via BGP and an own AS number, for resilience and to avoid dependence on a single carrier. Read more →

Need help choosing?

We're happy to explain what these terms mean for your specific setup — and design a solution that fits.