Common terms used in Microsoft Windows Servers KM components

BSC

an acronym for Backup Site Controller

Backup Site Controller

a computer configured to provide load balancing and failure recovery for a PEC or PSC
It contains a read only copy of the PEC or PSC information store and functions as an MSMQ Routing Server.

Information Store

see MSMQ Information Store

Journaling

the process of storing (logging) an exact copy of the data to be processed prior to it being processed

Journal Queue

an organized storage medium used for journaling

Message

an application-defined unit of information transmitted between computers
It can be as large as 4 MB.

Microsoft Message Queue Service

a store and forward service that allows applications to exchange information across heterogeneous networks and systems that may be temporarily offline

MSMQ

Microsoft Message Queue Service

MSMQ Dependent Client

an application that uses MSMQ and requires synchronous access to an MSMQ server (PEC, PSC, or MSMQ Routing Server) to perform standard MSMQ functions

MSMQ Independent Client

an application that uses MSMQ but does not require synchronous access to an MSMQ server (PEC, PSC, or MSMQ Routing Server) to perform standard MSMQ functions

MSMQ Information Store

a distributed database that stores information pertaining to the MSMQ network
It contains information about the enterprise topology (site names, connected network names and types, routing server assignments, and so forth) and settings (enterprise and PEC name, database replication interval, and so forth) as well as computer and queue information.

MSMQ Routing Server

a computer that supports dynamic routing and intermediate storage of MSMQ messages

PEC

Primary Enterprise Controller

PSC

Primary Site Controller

Primary Enterprise Controller (PEC)

a computer that maintains a database that contains configuration information about the entire MSMQ network
It also functions as a PSC and as an MSMQ Routing Server.

Primary Site Controller (PSC)

a computer that functions as an MSMQ Routing Server.

Routing Server

see MSMQ Routing Server

blue screen

A common term used to describe a Stop error that occurs on a Windows based system; the video screen turns blue and displays an error message when the Stop error occurs
Synonymous with Stop error

core dump

See crash dump

crash dump

A file that contains the complete memory image of the system at the time a Stop error occurs

recovery

A procedure taken by the system to save relevant system information prior to re-establishing normal system operation

Stop error

An action taken by the operating system when it can no longer function

Component

an object that encapsulates both data and code

COM

see Component Object Model

Component Object Model (COM)

an open architecture for cross-platform development of client/server applications based on object-oriented technology
Clients have access to an object through interfaces implemented on the object. COM is language neutral.

COM+

an extension to COM that integrates Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) and offers new services to support components in the middle tier of an application

COM+ Application

a set of components that perform related application functions
All components in an application run together in the same Microsoft COM+ process. An application is a trust boundary that defines when security credentials are verified, and a deployment unit for a set of components.

Connection Pooling

a performance optimization based on using collections of pre-allocated resources, such as objects or database connections
Pooling results in more efficient resource allocation.

DCOM

see Distributed Component Object Model

Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM)

an object protocol that enables components to communicate directly with each other across a network
DCOM is language neutral, so any language that produces COM components can also produce DCOM applications.

DTC

see Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator

Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC)

a component manager that offers full transaction support for components in the middle tier of an application
MTS merged with Microsoft COM+ in Windows 2000.

ODBC

see Open Database connectivity

Open Database connectivity (ODBC)

a standard programming language interface used to connect to a variety of data sources

Transaction

a unit of work that is done as an atomic operation, that is, the operation succeeds or fails as a whole