UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
A protocol in the TCP/IP suite operating at the transport layer to provide connectionless, non-guaranteed communication with no sequencing or flow control. Faster than TCP, but does not provide reliability.
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)
A type of system firmware providing support for 64-bit CPU operation at boot, full GUI and mouse operation at boot, and better boot security.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator/Identifier)
An application-level addressing scheme for TCP/IP, allowing for human-readable resource addressing. For example: protocol://server/file, where "protocol" is the type of resource (HTTP, FTP), "server" is the name of the computer (www.microsoft.com), and "file" is the name of the resource you wish to access.
USB On the Go (OTG)
A USB standard that allows a port to function as either a host or as a device
UTM (Unified Threat Management)
All-in-one security appliances and technologies that combine the functions of a firewall, malware scanner, intrusion detection, vulnerability scanner, Data Loss Prevention, content filtering, and so on.
UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair cabling)
The type of cabling typically used for computer networking, composed of eight insulated copper wires grouped into four pairs with each pair twisted to reduce interference between wires.
VDE (Virtual Desktop Environment)
A virtual environment in which users can customize and update the environment as if it was a physical environment.
VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure)
Hosting user desktops as virtual machines on a centralized server or cloud infrastructure.
The desktop OS plus applications software is delivered to the client device (often a thin client) over the network as an image.
VDSL (Very High Bitrate DSL)
A high speed version of DSL with an upstream rate between 1.5 Mbps and 2.5 Mbps and a downstream rate between 50 Mbps and 55 Mbps.
virtual application streaming
Just enough of an application is installed on the end user device for the system to recognize that the application is available to the user, and when the user accesses the application, additional portions of the code are downloaded to the device.
virtual switch
A software application that enables communication between VMs.
virtualization
Software allowing a single computer (the host) to run multiple "guest" operating systems (or Virtual Machines [VMs]). The VMs are configured via a hypervisor or VM Monitor (VMM). VMs can be connected using virtual networks (vSwitch) or leverage the host's network interface(s). It is also possible for the VMs to share data with the host (via shared folders or the clipboard, for instance). VT is now used as major infrastructure in data centers as well as for testing and training.
VLAN (Virtual LAN)
A logically separate network, created using switching technology. Even though hosts on two VLANs may be physically connected to the same cabling, local traffic is isolated to each VLAN so they must use a router to communicate.
VM (Virtual Machine)
A guest operating system installed on a host computer using virtualization software (a hypervisor), such as Microsoft Hyper-V or VMware.
VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal)
A microwave antenna aligned to an orbital satellite that can either relay signals between sites directly or via another satellite.
VT-x
Extensions in Intel-based systems that allow hardware virtualization.