Networknet reference
Short explanations of the networking, security and infrastructure terms used in my notes and command-line snippets.
19 terms
A defined interface through which software systems exchange requests and responses.
An API specifies how a client interacts with a service. Authentication and authorization determine which clients may call it and what they can do.
The naming system that maps domain names to records such as IP addresses.
DNS answers which address a name currently resolves to. Results can vary by resolver, network, time and record type.
HTTP carried over an encrypted, authenticated transport, usually TLS.
A reachable TCP port does not by itself prove that HTTPS or certificate validation works. HTTP/3 can use QUIC over UDP instead of TCP.
Processes and controls for identities, authentication and access rights.
IAM covers who or what can sign in, how identity is verified, which permissions are granted and how those permissions are reviewed or revoked.
The network-layer protocol for addressing and routing packets between hosts.
IP addresses identify endpoints at a given network boundary. NAT, proxies and tunnels can change which address a remote service observes.
The Internet Protocol version that uses 32-bit addresses.
Public IPv4 traffic commonly passes through NAT, so a public egress address may differ from a host's private address.
The Internet Protocol version that uses 128-bit addresses.
An IPv6 egress check shows whether the tested host and path support IPv6. It does not establish that every application follows the same route.
Automated communication between software services or devices without a person signing in for each request.
M2M integrations still require workload identity, scoped authorization, credential management and useful access logging.
Authentication that requires evidence from more than one independent factor.
Examples of factors are something you know, possess or are. MFA strengthens sign-in security but does not replace correct resource authorization.
A network function that rewrites IP addresses, and sometimes ports, as traffic crosses a boundary.
NAT is common at internet egress points. The address seen by an external service may be the gateway's translated address, not the originating host's address.
A recorded set of network packets collected at a particular interface or observation point.
Packet captures help inspect handshakes and traffic paths. They do not, on their own, identify which security policy matched a connection.
An authorization model that grants permissions through roles.
A role groups allowed actions or resources. Users and workloads receive roles rather than being assigned every permission individually.
Authentication that lets a user access multiple applications through a shared sign-in session.
SSO centralizes sign-in but does not mean every application grants the same permissions. Each application still needs authorization controls.
A connection-oriented transport protocol that provides an ordered, reliable byte stream.
Establishing a TCP connection demonstrates reachability to that service port at that moment. It does not prove application-layer behavior, TLS, or which policy allowed it.
A cryptographic protocol that protects network communication with encryption and integrity checks.
TLS commonly secures HTTPS. Testing that a TCP listener is reachable is not the same as completing a TLS handshake or validating a certificate.
A platform that delivers centrally hosted desktop environments to users.
VDI changes where an interactive desktop runs. Identity controls, endpoint posture, session security and traffic visibility still matter.
A technology for carrying traffic through a protected tunnel between network endpoints.
A VPN provides a network path and may encrypt traffic. The tunnel alone does not establish whether an application should authorize a user or workload.
A security approach that avoids granting implicit trust based on network location.
Access decisions should consider identity, device, resource and context, with least privilege and ongoing evaluation where supported.
Access to applications based on identity, device context and explicit policy rather than trusted network location.
ZTNA controls access to specific resources rather than assuming everyone on a network is trusted. A successful netcat connection confirms TCP reachability, not the identity of the policy rule that permitted it.
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