C - Definitions

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  • C

    cache

    A cache -- pronounced CASH -- is hardware or software that is used to store something, usually data, temporarily in a computing environment.

  • cache memory

    Cache memory is a chip-based computer component that makes retrieving data from the computer's memory more efficient.

  • capacity management

    Capacity management is the broad term describing a variety of IT monitoring, administration and planning actions that ensure that a computing infrastructure has adequate resources to handle current data processing requirements, as well as the capacity to accommodate future loads.

  • charge-coupled device

    A charge-coupled device (CCD) is a light-sensitive integrated circuit that captures images by converting photons to electrons.

  • cloud archive

    A cloud archive is storage as a service for long-term data retention.

  • cloud data management

    Cloud data management is a way to manage data across cloud platforms, either with or instead of on-premises storage.

  • Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI)

    The Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI) is an international standard that defines a functional interface that applications use to create, retrieve, update and delete data elements from cloud storage.

  • cloud encryption

    Cloud encryption is a service cloud storage providers offer whereby a customer's data is transformed using encryption algorithms from plaintext into ciphertext and stored in the cloud.

  • cloud hosting

    Cloud hosting is the process of outsourcing an organization's computing and storage resources to a service provider that offers its infrastructure services in a utility model.

  • cloud SLA (cloud service-level agreement)

    A cloud SLA (cloud service-level agreement) is an agreement between a cloud service provider and a customer that ensures a minimum level of service is maintained.

  • cloud storage

    Cloud storage is a service model in which data is transmitted and stored on remote storage systems, where it is maintained, managed, backed up and made available to users over a network (typically the internet).

  • cloud storage API

    A cloud storage API is an application programming interface that connects a locally based application to a cloud-based storage system so that a user can send data to it and access and work with data stored in it.

  • cloud storage provider

    A cloud storage provider, sometimes referred to as a managed service provider, is a company that offers organizations and individuals the ability to place and retain data in an off-site storage system.

  • cloud storage service

    A cloud storage service is a business that maintains and manages its customers' data and makes that data accessible over a network, usually the internet.

  • cloud washing

    Cloud washing (also spelled cloudwashing) is the purposeful and sometimes deceptive attempt by a vendor to rebrand an old product or service by associating the buzzword 'cloud' with it.

  • cold storage

    Cold storage is a computer system or mode of operation designed for the retention of inactive data.

  • Common Information Model (CIM)

    The Common Information Model (CIM) is a computer industry standard that defines device and application characteristics so system administrators and management programs can control devices and applications from different manufacturers.

  • Common Internet File System (CIFS)

    CIFS (Common Internet File System) is a protocol that gained popularity around the year 2000, as vendors worked to establish an Internet Protocol-based file-sharing protocol.

  • compact disc (CD)

    A compact disc is a portable storage medium that can record, store and play back audio, video and other data in digital form.

  • computational storage

    Computational storage is an IT architecture in which data is processed at the storage device level to reduce the amount of data that must move between the storage plane and the compute plane.

  • content-addressed storage (CAS)

    Content-addressed storage (CAS) -- also called content-addressable storage -- is a method for storing fixed content as objects and providing fast access to that content.

  • converged network adapter (CNA)

    A converged network adapter (CNA) is a single network interface device that provides the functionality of both a Fibre Channel (FC) host bus adapter (HBA) and a TCP/IP Ethernet network interface card (NIC).

  • copy data management (CDM)

    Copy data management (CDM) is an approach to reducing storage consumption that involves eliminating the unnecessary duplication of production data.

  • What is a clustered network-attached storage (NAS) system?

    A clustered network-attached storage (NAS) system is a scale-out storage platform made up of multiple NAS nodes networked together into a single cluster.

  • What is a CompactFlash card (CF card)?

    A CompactFlash card (CF card) is a memory card format developed by SanDisk in 1994 that uses flash memory technology to store data on a very small portable device.

  • What is Ceph?

    Ceph is an open source software solution that provides a unified system for enterprise-level object, block- and file-based storage.

  • What is cloud NAS (cloud network-attached storage)?

    Cloud NAS (network-attached storage) is remote storage that is accessed over the internet as if it is local.

  • What is cloud testing? An introduction to testing in the cloud

    Cloud testing is the process of using the cloud computing resources of a third-party service provider to test software applications.

  • What is continuous data protection (CDP)?

    Continuous data protection (CDP), also known as 'continuous backup,' is a backup and recovery storage system in which all the data in an enterprise is backed up whenever any change is made.