IT Certification Glossary

Application Programming Interface - A set of protocols, routines, and tools for building software applications. APIs define how different software components should interact, enabling systems to communicate and share data seamlessly.

A cloud computing feature that automatically adjusts the number of compute resources (like virtual machines) based on current demand. This ensures optimal performance during peak times while minimizing costs during low-traffic periods.

The world's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud computing platform, offering over 200 fully featured services from data centers globally. AWS provides compute, storage, database, analytics, machine learning, and other services.

Microsoft's cloud computing platform providing a wide range of cloud services including compute, analytics, storage, and networking. Azure supports multiple programming languages, tools, and frameworks, including Microsoft-specific and third-party systems.

A fully managed platform for building, deploying, and scaling web apps. Supports multiple languages including .NET, Java, Node.js, Python, and PHP. Provides features like auto-scaling, CI/CD integration, and custom domains.

Microsoft's object storage solution for the cloud, optimized for storing massive amounts of unstructured data such as text, binary data, images, and documents. Offers hot, cool, and archive tiers for cost optimization.

A serverless compute service that lets you run event-triggered code without having to explicitly provision or manage infrastructure. Perfect for processing data, integrating systems, and building APIs.

Google Cloud's fully managed, serverless data warehouse that enables super-fast SQL queries using the processing power of Google's infrastructure. Supports real-time analytics of petabytes of data with built-in machine learning capabilities.

The capability of an organization to continue delivering products or services at acceptable predefined levels following a disruptive incident. Encompasses disaster recovery, backup strategies, and incident response planning.

The three core principles of information security: Confidentiality (protecting data from unauthorized access), Integrity (ensuring data accuracy and trustworthiness), and Availability (ensuring authorized users can access data when needed).

Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment - A method of frequently delivering applications by automating build, test, and deployment processes. CI ensures code changes are automatically tested, while CD automates deployment to production environments.

AWS's Infrastructure as Code (IaC) service that lets you model and provision AWS resources using templates. Enables version control, repeatability, and automation of infrastructure deployment.

Google Cloud's serverless execution environment for building and connecting cloud services. Allows you to write simple, single-purpose functions that respond to cloud events without managing servers.

Google Cloud's unified object storage service offering multiple storage classes (Standard, Nearline, Coldline, Archive) for different access patterns and cost optimization needs.

Google Cloud's Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering that delivers scalable, high-performance virtual machines. Supports custom machine types, preemptible VMs, and sole-tenant nodes.

A lightweight, standalone package that includes everything needed to run a piece of software: code, runtime, system tools, libraries, and settings. Containers provide consistent deployment across different environments.

An open platform for developing, shipping, and running applications in containers. Docker enables separation of applications from infrastructure, providing consistent environments across development, testing, and production.

AWS's fully managed NoSQL database service providing fast and predictable performance with seamless scalability. Supports key-value and document data models with built-in security, backup, and restore capabilities.

A set of policies, tools, and procedures to enable the recovery of vital technology infrastructure and systems following a natural or human-induced disaster. Includes strategies like backup sites, data replication, and failover mechanisms.

AWS's web service that provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud. EC2 reduces the time required to obtain and boot new server instances, allowing quick scaling of capacity based on changing requirements.

AWS's managed Kubernetes service that makes it easy to run Kubernetes on AWS without needing to install and operate your own Kubernetes control plane or worker nodes.

The process of converting data into a coded format that can only be read with the correct decryption key. Includes encryption at rest (stored data) and encryption in transit (data being transferred).

A network security device or software that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. Acts as a barrier between trusted internal networks and untrusted external networks.

A category of cloud computing that provides a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage application functionalities without the complexity of building and maintaining infrastructure. Examples include AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, and Cloud Functions.

Google's suite of cloud computing services that runs on the same infrastructure Google uses internally for its end-user products. Offers computing, storage, data analytics, and machine learning services.

Google Cloud's managed Kubernetes service that provides a production-ready environment for containerized applications. Offers auto-scaling, auto-upgrade, and auto-repair features.

An operational framework that applies DevOps best practices used for application development (version control, collaboration, compliance) to infrastructure automation. Uses Git as the single source of truth for declarative infrastructure.

A system design approach and associated service implementation that ensures a prearranged level of operational performance will be met during a contractual measurement period. Typically achieved through redundancy, load balancing, and failover mechanisms.

A computing environment that combines a public cloud and a private cloud by allowing data and applications to be shared between them. Provides greater flexibility and more deployment options.

A framework of policies and technologies ensuring that the right users have the appropriate access to technology resources. Controls who can access what resources and what actions they can perform.

The practice of managing and provisioning infrastructure through machine-readable definition files rather than physical hardware configuration or interactive configuration tools. Examples include Terraform, CloudFormation, and ARM templates.

A cloud computing model that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet. IaaS gives users access to computing infrastructure such as servers, storage, and networking on a pay-as-you-go basis.

An open-source container orchestration platform for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. Originally developed by Google, now maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF).

A managed service that makes it easy to create and control the cryptographic keys used to encrypt data. Available in AWS, Azure (Key Vault), and GCP for secure key management.

AWS's serverless compute service that runs code in response to events and automatically manages the underlying compute resources. Supports multiple programming languages and integrates with other AWS services.

A device or service that distributes network traffic across multiple servers to ensure no single server bears too much demand. Improves responsiveness, increases availability, and enables horizontal scaling.

A security mechanism that requires users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource. Combines something you know (password), something you have (token), and something you are (biometrics).

An architectural style that structures an application as a collection of loosely coupled, independently deployable services. Each service is focused on a specific business capability and can be developed, deployed, and scaled independently.

A strategy that uses two or more cloud computing services from different cloud vendors. Organizations adopt multi-cloud to avoid vendor lock-in, improve resilience, and leverage best-of-breed services from each provider.

A category of database management systems that do not use the traditional relational model. NoSQL databases are designed for distributed data stores with massive scale requirements. Types include document, key-value, column-family, and graph databases.

A security layer in Azure that contains security rules to allow or deny inbound and outbound network traffic to and from Azure resources. Similar to security groups in AWS and firewall rules in GCP.

An open standard for access delegation commonly used as a way for users to grant websites or applications access to their information on other websites without giving them passwords. OAuth 2.0 is the current version.

A cloud computing model that provides a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage applications without dealing with the underlying infrastructure. Examples include Azure App Service, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, and Google App Engine.

A framework of policies, hardware, software, and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store, and revoke digital certificates and manage public-key encryption. Essential for secure electronic transactions.

A security concept where users, programs, or processes are given only the minimum levels of access necessary to perform their job functions. Reduces the attack surface and limits the damage potential from security breaches.

An approach to restricting system access to authorized users based on their role within an organization. Roles are created for various job functions, and permissions are assigned to specific roles.

AWS's managed relational database service that makes it easier to set up, operate, and scale databases in the cloud. Supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Oracle, and SQL Server engines.

An architectural style for designing networked applications that uses HTTP requests to perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations. RESTful APIs are stateless and use standard HTTP methods.

AWS's object storage service offering industry-leading scalability, data availability, security, and performance. Stores data as objects in buckets, with multiple storage classes for different use cases.

A software distribution model in which applications are hosted by a service provider and made available to customers over the internet. Users access software via web browsers without managing underlying infrastructure.

A cloud computing execution model where the cloud provider manages the server infrastructure, automatically allocating resources. Developers focus on code while the provider handles scaling, patching, and capacity planning.

An authentication scheme that allows users to log in with a single ID to multiple related but independent software systems. Improves user experience while maintaining security through centralized identity management.

AWS's fully managed messaging service for application-to-application (A2A) and application-to-person (A2P) communication. Enables pub/sub messaging, SMS text messaging, and mobile push notifications.

An open-source Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool by HashiCorp that enables users to define and provision infrastructure using a declarative configuration language (HCL). Supports multiple cloud providers for multi-cloud deployments.

A cryptographic protocol designed to provide secure communication over a computer network. TLS encrypts data transmitted between web browsers and servers, ensuring privacy and data integrity. Successor to SSL.

A software-based emulation of a physical computer that runs an operating system and applications. VMs are created using virtualization technology and can run multiple instances on a single physical server.

An isolated virtual network within a cloud provider's infrastructure that you define and control. Provides complete control over your virtual networking environment, including IP address ranges, subnets, route tables, and network gateways.

Azure's fundamental building block for private networks. VNETs enable Azure resources to securely communicate with each other, the internet, and on-premises networks. Equivalent to AWS VPC and GCP VPC.

A firewall that monitors, filters, and blocks HTTP/HTTPS traffic to and from a web application. WAFs protect against common web attacks like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and CSRF attacks.

A security model that requires strict identity verification for every person and device trying to access resources, regardless of whether they are inside or outside the network perimeter. Based on the principle of "never trust, always verify."