Glossary

AFS
AFS is a network-based file system, formerly called the Andrew file system because it was created at Carnegie-Mellon University, and named after that university's founder. AFS enables users to move, save, and otherwise use files on the network as though they were on their desktop.

Authentication
Authentication is how computer systems verify that a person or computer acting on a person's behalf is who or what they claim to be. It is a secure and trusted form of identification.

Encryption
Encryption is a complex coding scheme to prevent eavesdroppers from reading information they are not entitled to read.

Eudora
An e-mail program that uses the POP (Post Office Protocol) and IMAP protocols. The POP protocol pulls mail off the server and onto a client machine. The IMAP protocol keeps mail on the server so that users can access it from any computer. Eudora works on both the PC and Macintosh. Stanford has licensed the Eudora Pro application from Qualcomm Corp. A freeware package, Eudora Light, is also available.

Forsythe
Formerly Stanford's administrative mainframe computer. It hosted the Prism (administrative forms) and Folio (general information access, including Socrates) environments. It was decommissioned in January 2004. Most systems on Forsythe were replaced by applications that run on other computers; the final remaining applications were moved to a computer called Spires, still used by some Stanfordites. Generally speaking, any remaining references to Forsythe here should be considered to refer to the Spires machine, to Forsythe Hall, or most likely, to something that is no longer operative or relevant.

Kerberos
A scheme for establishing an authenticated identity for a user and sharing that identity securely with distributed computing services, the Kerberos protocol is named for a three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to Hades. Kerberos authenticates a user using a combination of their identifier (or principal) and a password known only to them. It can also encrypt communication across networks.

An application is said to be kerberized if it can supply or retrieve authentication information using the kerberos protocol.

Leland System
The Leland system is a network of UNIX computers offering free computer accounts, electronic mail, Web resources, and other computing services to Stanford faculty, students, and staff. Leland is the first name of Stanford University's founder, and his son for whom the university was named.

Realm
An artificial administrative boundary that uses one set of kerberos authentication servers to manage and deploy a single set of unique identifiers. A realm is a unique login space.

Samson
A telnet application with extensions that make it particularly useful with the Forsythe mainframe computer.

SUNet
Stanford University Network. The computer network at Stanford.

SUNet ID
The passport for entry into Stanford's computer network. It's a name selected when you first set up a computer account -- most likely on the Leland system -- at Stanford. It’s used with a password to verify your authority to access computers and services on the Stanford University Network.

Telnet
A program used to communicate with another computer using standard protocols. It supports the familiar character-based login to sessions on remote hosts.

Ticket
A ticket is a packet of information, several hundred characters long, which is used by Kerberos to extend access to specific services on the network. These tickets can be embedded in virtually any network protocol, thereby allowing the processes implementing that protocol to be sure about the identity of the principals involved.