66Glossary of TermsPPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) - A protocol (setof communication rules) that allows corporations to extendtheir own corporate network through private "tunnels" over thepublic Internet. In this way a corporation can effectively use aWAN (Wide Area Network) as a large single LAN (Local AreaNetwork). This kind of interconnection is known as a virtualprivate network (VPN).Pre/post alarm images - The images from immediately beforeand after an alarm. These images are stored in a buffer for laterretrieval.Progressive scan - Progressive scan, as opposed to interlacedvideo, scans the entire picture, line by line every sixteenth of asecond. In other words, captured images are not split intoseparate fields as in interlaced scanning.Computer monitors do not need interlace to show the pictureon the screen, but instead show them progressively, on one lineat a time in perfect order, i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 etc., so there isvirtually no ‘flickering’ effect. In a surveillance application, thiscan be critical when viewing detail within a moving image,such as a person running. A high-quality monitor is required toget the best from progressive scan. See also Interlacing.Protocol - A special set of rules governing how two entitieswill communicate. Protocols are found at many levels ofcommunication, and there are hardware protocols and softwareprotocols.Proxy server - In an organization that uses the Internet, aproxy server acts as an intermediary between a workstationuser and the Internet. This provides security, administrativecontrol, and a caching service. Any proxy server associated witha gateway server, or part of a gateway server, effectivelyseparates the organization’s network from the outside networkand the local firewall. It is the firewall server that protects thenetwork against outside intrusion.A proxy server receives requests for Internet services (such asweb page requests) from many users. If the proxy server is alsoa cache server, it looks in its local cache of previouslydownloaded web pages. If it finds the page, it is returned to theuser without forwarding the request to the Internet. If the pageis not in the cache, the proxy server, acting as a client on behalfof the user, uses one of its own IP addresses to request the pagefrom another server over the Internet. When the requestedpage is returned, the proxy server forwards it to the user thatoriginally requested it.P-VOP - See VOP.Resolution - Image resolution is a measure of how much detaila digital image can hold: the greater the resolution, the greaterthe level of detail. Resolution can be specified as the number ofpixel-columns (width) by the number of pixel-rows (height),e.g. 320x240.Alternatively, the total number of pixels (usually in megapixels)in the image can be used. In analog systems it is also commonto use other format designations, such as CIF, QCIF, 4CIF, etc.RTCP (Real-Time Control Protocol) - RTCP provides supportfor real-time conferencing of groups of any size within anintranet. This support includes source identification andsupport for gateways like audio and video bridges as well asmulticast-to-unicast translators.RTCP offers quality-of-service feedback from receivers to themulticast group as well as support for the synchronization ofdifferent media streams.RTP (Real-Time Transport Protocol) - RTP is an Internetprotocol for the transport of real-time data, e.g. audio andvideo. It can be used for media-on-demand as well asinteractive services such as Internet telephony.RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) - RTSP is a controlprotocol, and a starting point for negotiating transports such asRTP, multicast and Unicast, and for negotiating codecs.RTSP can be considered a ‘remote control’ for controlling themedia stream delivered by a media server. RTSP servers typicallyuse RTP as the protocol for the actual transport of audio/videodata.Router - A device that determines the next network point towhich a packet should be forwarded on its way to its finaldestination. A router creates and/or maintains a special routingtable that stores information on how best to reach certaindestinations. A router is sometimes included as part of anetwork switch. See also switch.Server - In general, a server is a computer program thatprovides services to other computer programs in the same orother computers. A computer running a server program is alsofrequently referred to as a server. In practice, the server maycontain any number of server and client programs. A web serveris the computer program that supplies the requested HTMLpages or files to the client (browser).Sharpness - This is the control of fine detail within a picture.This feature was originally introduced into color TV sets thatused notch filter decoders. This filter took away all highfrequency detail in the black and white region of the picture.The sharpness control attempted to put some of that detailback in the picture. Sharpness controls are mostly superfluousin today's high-end TVs. The only logical requirement for itnowadays is on a VHS machine.SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) - SMTP is used forsending and receiving e-mail. However, as it is ‘simple,’ it islimited in its ability to queue messages at the receiving end,and is usually used with one of two other protocols, POP3 orIMAP. These other protocols allow the user to save messages ina server mailbox and download them periodically from theserver.SMTP authentication is an extension of SMTP, whereby theclient is required to log into the mail server before or during thesending of email. It can be used to allow legitimate users tosend email while denying the service to unauthorized users,such as spammers.SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) - SNMPforms part of the Internet Protocol suite, as defined by theInternet Engineering Task Force. The protocol can supportmonitoring of network-attached devices for any conditionsthat warrant administrative attention.Sockets - Sockets are a method for communication between aclient program and a server program over a network. A socket isdefined as ‘the endpoint in a connection.’ Sockets are createdand used with a set of programming requests or ‘function calls’sometimes called the sockets application programming