Glossary
- administrator
- The most powerful user role; administrators can create users, request public IP addresses, view all the environment in the account, and view account auditing and usage reports. To learn more, see User roles and access permissions.
- APAC-2
- The computing region that generally provides the best performance for users in Asia and Eastern Europe. The data center for the APAC-2 region is in Singapore. To learn more, see Understanding Regions. This region appears as `sng1r1` in webhook data and API responses.
- assets
- An account-specific, web-based storage feature that lets you upload files (such as ISOs, test data, training manuals, etc.) for use with your VMs. To learn more, see Adding and sharing files with the Assets page.
- attached licenses
- A licensing model that allows users to run fully-licensed software products and operating systems, including Microsoft and IBM i titles on Skytap VMs.
- AU-Sydney-I-1
- The computing region that generally provides the best performance for users in Australia and New Zealand. The data center for the AU-Sydney-I-1 region is in Sydney, Australia. To learn more, see Understanding Regions. This region appears as `syi1r1` in webhook data and API responses.
- auto-shutdown
- A feature that automatically suspends or shuts down inactive environments after a defined period of time (from 5 minutes to 24 hours) Administrators can set auto-shutdown defaults for all new environments created in an account. End-users can override the account-level defaults, if needed, for each environment. To learn more, see Automatically suspend or shut down inactive environments.
- CAN-Toronto
- The computing region that generally provides the best performance for users in Eastern Canada. The data center for the CAN-Toronto region is in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. To learn more, see Understanding Regions. This region appears as `tor1r1` in webhook data and API responses.
- CIDR
- Classless Inter-Domain Routing – a compact representation of an IP address and its associated routing prefix.
- CPW
- Commercial Processing Workload – A measure of processing power for IBM i—essentially a processor benchmark for Power CPUs.
- CRN
- The Cloud Resource Name (CRN) uniquely identifies a resource (in this case the bucket instance) in the IBM Cloud.
- CSV
- Comma-Separated Values – A text file that uses the comma (,) character to delimit between values. CSV files can import directly into a worksheet application, such as Microsoft Excel.
- concurrent Metered RAM
- The amount of RAM in use for all simultaneously running VMs. To learn more, see How usage is calculated.
- concurrent VMs
- The number of VMs running simultaneously. To learn more, see How usage is calculated.
- container
- A lightweight, isolated, self-contained executable software package. A container holds all of the dependencies needed to enable the software package to run, including system resources, system libraries, and code. To learn more, see Using containers in Skytap.
- container host
- A VM running Docker, that has the Skytap Agent deployed, and is designated as a container host. To learn more, see Using containers in Skytap.
- container registry
- A repository that stores, manages, and distributes Docker container images. To learn more, see Using containers in Skytap.
- cumulative storage
- An aggregate, over the length of the billing cycle, of the amount of storage used on a hourly basis. To learn more, see How usage is calculated.
- customer account
- The primary account that includes all of your resources and users.
- DE-Frankfurt-I-1
- The computing region that generally provides the best performance for users in Germany and Central Europe. The data center for the DE-Frankfurt-I-1 region is in Frankfurt, Germany. To learn more, see Understanding Regions. This region appears as `fri1r1` in webhook data and API responses.
- department
- A group of users who share usage limits for RAM hours, concurrent Metered RAM, and Storage. To learn more, see Managing departments.
- EMEA
- The computing region that generally provides the best performance for users in Western Europe. The data center for the EMEA region is in London, England. To learn more, see Understanding Regions. This region appears as `lon1r1` in webhook data and API responses.
- Entitled capacity
- The fraction of a physical CPU core allocated as a virtual CPU core.
- environment
- An object that comprises one or more VMs, one or more networks, configuration settings, and metadata. You can save the exact state of an environment as a read-only template. To learn more, see Skytap quick start: Building your first environment.
- FQDN
- Fully Qualified Domain Name – The complete domain name for a specific host on the internet, including the host name and Top-Level Domain (TLD) name.
- group
- A set of related users. Groups can share resources through projects. To learn more, see Managing groups.
- guest OS
- An operating system running on a VM. This functions like an operating system running on a physical machine.
- HMAC
- Hash-based Message Authentication Code – A short series of characters used for secure authentication.
- ICNR
- Inter-Configuration Network Routing – Connects networks from different environments to a single, shared server. Without ICNR, environments are on isolated networks. To learn more, see Networking between environments.
- import
- The process of uploading a VM into Skytap. To learn more, see Overview: Importing VMs, LPARs, and vApps into Skytap.
- IPsec
- Internet Protocol Security – A protocol suite used by VPN connections to secure Internet Protocol (IP) communications. IPsec protects data flows between a pair of hosts (For example: computer users or servers), between a pair of security gateways (For example: routers or firewalls), or between a security gateway and a host.
- label
- A text key/value pair attached to a Skytap resource to enhance usage reporting. For more details, see Using labels for in-depth usage reporting.
- limit
- A hard cap placed on a user, department, or customer account usage of storage, RAM hours, concurrent Metered RAM, and concurrent VMs. Limits may apply to global usage or to usage in a particular region. To learn more, see Usage limits overview.
- local keyboard
- A physical keyboard connected to the computer that you're using to access Skytap.
- local machine
- The computer that you're using to access Skytap.
- LPAR
- Logical Partition – A virtual computer composed of a portion of the hardware resources of a computer, similar to a VM. An LPAR is created and managed at the firmware level of a Power server.
- MAC address
- A unique identifier assigned to most network adapters or network interface cards (NICs) by the manufacturer for identification, and used in the Media Access Control protocol sub-layer. Also known as an Ethernet Hardware Address (EHA), hardware address, adapter address, or physical address.
- max settable limit
- The highest usage limit that you can set for your account. To increase this value, contact support.
- Metered RAM
- A unit of measurement used to calculate VM usage, based on the amount of RAM (in GB) for a VM. To learn more, see How usage is calculated.
- Metered RAM hours
- A unit of measurement that corresponds to the total number of hours that your account has run VMs, translated into their Metered RAM equivalents. 1 Metered RAM hour is equivalent to 1 GM of Metered RAM running for 1 hour. To learn more, see How usage is calculated.
- NAT
- Network Address Translation – A networking feature that helps you connect environments that have overlapping network subnets. NAT prevents IP address conflicts by mapping an additional, unique IP address to every VM on a connected network. This NAT IP address is used for inbound and outbound communication with the connected network. To learn more, see Using Network Address Translation (NAT) to avoid IP address conflicts.
- NL-Amsterdam-M-1
- The computing region that generally provides the best performance for users in the Netherlands and Central Europe. The data center for the NL-Amsterdam-M-1 region is in Amsterdam, Netherlands. To learn more, see Understanding Regions. This region appears as `amm1r1` in webhook data and API responses.
- notification
- An automated message used to monitor resource usage. Users can create notifications for their own accounts (see Monitoring your usage with email notifications), while administrators can create notifications for the entire customer account (see Setting up account-wide usage notification emails).
- NTP
- Network Time Protocol – a networking protocol developed to synchronize network clocks (typically, of computers) over Internet Protocol (IP). To learn more, see NIST Authenticated NTP Service.
- on-demand RAM hours
- A reserve of short-term usage RAM hours allocated to provide pay-as-you-go flexibility for your account.
- overage
- Any usage in excess of reserved capacity for RAM hours, concurrent Metered RAM, or Storage.
- pay-as-you-go
- Any usage of maximum concurrent RAM, cumulative RAM hours, or overall storage capacity in excess of your reserved capacity, globally or in any region. To learn more, see Current account usage overview.
- pay-as-you-go limit
- An administrator-defined limit that permits usage in excess of the reserved capacity for maximum concurrent Metered RAM, cumulative RAM hours, or overall storage capacity—globally or in any region. The pay-as-you-go limit must be a value equal to or greater than the reserved capacity limit and less than or equal to the max settable limit. To learn more, see Current account usage overview.
- PNC
- Skytap on Azure ExpressRoute connections
- Power
- A CPU architecture that supports IBM i, AIX, and Linux (on Power) in Skytap.
- Power VM
- A Skytap VM that is based on Power hardware. A Power VM can be considered the equivalent of an LPAR.
- Private Network Connection with ExpressRoute
- Used to send network traffic between an external network (such as a network in your on-premises data center or another cloud service provider) and one or more Skytap virtual environments in your account. To learn more, see Overview of {{site.EROSs}}.
- project
- A set of shared templates, environments, and assets. Users gain access to shared resources by becoming a member of a project. To learn more, see Sharing resources with projects.
- project role
- A set of permissions assigned to a project member that determines which actions the member can perform on resources in the project. To learn more, see Understanding project roles.
- public IP address
- An IPv4 address assigned to create an access point for a VM, or to set up a VPN. A public IP address exposes every port on the VM to the public Internet. To enable this paid feature, talk to your sales representative. To learn more, see Using public IP addresses.
- published service
- A service that enables external access to a VM using a single port on a virtual machine. This service can be used to enable access via RDP or SSH, for example. To learn more, see Accessing VMs with published services.
- RAM hours
- A unit of measurement that corresponds to the total number of hours that your account has run VMs, translated into their Metered RAM equivalents. 1 GB of Metered RAM hour is equivalent to 1 GB of Metered RAM running for 1 hour. To learn more, see How usage is calculated.
- RDP
- Remote Desktop Protocol – A proprietary protocol that allows you to access and interact with another computer using a graphical interface. This protocol was developed by Microsoft and is commonly used to access Windows VMs. By default, RDP connects over TCP port 3389.
- region
- A data center located in a unique geographic area. When you upload an asset or import a VM, you must specify its region. To learn more, see Understanding regions.
- reserved capacity
- The global or regional limit for concurrent RAM, RAM hours, storage (GB), networks, and public IP addresses defined in your contract. You can exceed your account reserved capacity by setting a higher limit for max concurrent Metered RAM, Metered RAM hours, and storage usage. You are charged a premium for this additional usage.
- resource
- An environment, template, or asset.
- restricted user
- A user role with limited permission to view and create resources in Skytap. To learn more, see User roles and access permissions.
- schedule
- An automation tool that controls actions for environments and templates. A schedule can automate the resources that are used, the actions performed (such as creating and deleting an environment), and the times that the actions execute. To learn more, see Automating actions with schedules.
- SFTP
- SSH File Transfer Protocol – A standard network protocol used to copy a file from one host to another over a TCP/IP-based network, such as the Internet.
- SG-Singapore-M-1
- The computing region that generally provides the best performance for users in the Asia and Eastern Europe. The data center for the SG-Singapore-M-1 region is in Singapore, Netherlands. To learn more, see Understanding Regions. This region appears as `sgm1r1` in webhook data and API responses.
- sharing portal
- An access client that can be used to share one or more VMs in an environment with users that don't have a Skytap account. For any VM or environment, you can publish a single URL that can be emailed or shared via other means. To learn more, see Sharing VMs and environments with sharing portals.
- Skytap Helper
- A tool that manages Windows VM hostnames. This tool can be downloaded from the public assets library. To learn more, see Synchronizing Windows hostnames and Skytap network hostnames with Skytap Helper.
- SPLA
- Service Provider Licensing Agreement - A licensing model that allows users to run fully-licensed software products and operating systems, including Microsoft and IBM i titles on Skytap VMs.
- SRA client
- Secure Remote Access client – A browser access client that provides quick access to Skytap VM desktops. To learn more, see Accessing VMs with your browser.
- SSH
- Secure Shell Protocol – A cryptographic protocol that provides a secure channel over an unsecured network. You can use an SSH connection during an SRA browser session.
- SSO
- Single Sign-On – An authentication framework that enables a user to have a single set of credentials across a variety of SaaS products. To use this feature, you must enable your account for SSO, and then create user accounts for users to sign in via SSO. To learn more, see Using Single Sign-On.
- standard user
- A user role with permission to create and view resources in Skytap. To learn more, see User roles and access permissions.
- storage
- The amount of data storage space used by assets, environments, and templates.
- storage hours
- The amount of data storage space used by assets, environments, and templates, on an hourly basis.
- supported browser
- A modern browser that provides the necessary technical capabilities to display the SRA client. Supported browsers include the latest versions of: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Apple Safari. For more information, see Access requirements.
- tag
- A text value attached to a Skytap resource to improve search results. For more details about tags, see Organizing resources with labels and tags
- template
- A read-only copy of an environment that can be used to back up critical environments. It acts like a blueprint for new environments. To learn more, see Saving an environment as a template.
- US-Central
- The computing region that generally provides the best performance for users in central areas of North America. The data center for the US-Central region is Dallas, Texas. To learn more, see Understanding Regions. This region appears as `dal1r1` in webhook data and API responses.
- US-East-2
- The computing region that generally provide the best performance for users in Eastern North America and parts of Western Europe. The data center for the US-East-2 region is Virginia To learn more, see Understanding Regions. This region appears as `wdb1r1` in webhook data and API responses.
- US-Virginia-M-1
- The computing region in Microsoft Azure that generally provide the best performance for users in Eastern North America and parts of Western Europe. The data center for the US-Virginia-M-1 region is in Ashburn, VA To learn more, see Understanding Regions. This region appears as `vam1r1` in webhook data and API responses.
- US-West
- The computing region that generally provides the best performance for users in Western North America. The data center for the US-West region is in Tukwila, Washington. To learn more, see Understanding Regions. This region appears as `tuk1r1` in webhook data and API responses.
- usage
- The consumption of resources (Metered RAM and storage) for your customer account. Metered RAM usage is charged by the minute (for example, if you ran a VM from 10:00 AM to 10:02 AM, it would result in two minutes of usage; if you ran the same VM again from 10:05 AM to 10:15 AM, you'd be charged for an additional 10 minutes of usage). To learn more, see How usage is calculated.
- user account
- An individual account within your customer account. A user account comprises a sign-in name, password, and user role for a single user.
- user manager
- A user role with permission to create and view resources and user accounts in Skytap. To learn more, see User roles and access permissions.
- virtual machine
- VM – A virtual computer or server hosted within a data center. A VM runs a full operating system and applications. Each VM has virtual resources, including CPU, RAM, file system storage, CD/DVD drive, and network interfaces.
- VM
- Virtual Machine – A virtual computer or server hosted within a data center. A VM runs a full operating system and applications. Each VM has virtual resources, including CPU, RAM, file system storage, CD/DVD drive, and network interfaces.
- VM sequencing
- A user-determined start and stop order for multiple VMs in an environment so that required services and data from specific VMs are available for dependent VMs. To learn more, see VM sequencing.
- VPN
- Virtual Private Network – A secure connection between an environment and your local network. After a VPN connection is established, your all VMs have access to systems in the connected environment. To learn more, see Overview: VPNs.
- WAN
- Wide Area Network – A VPN or {{site.EROS}}. WANs allow you to connect external networks (like the network in your corporate data center) to networks in your Skytap virtual environments. To learn more, see Managing WANs.
- WPAR
- Workload Partition – A software partition that has its own memory, file space, network, and security, separate from other partitions, but that shares AIX libraries with other partitions. A WPAR is similar to an LPAR, except that it's created and managed in software, rather than at the firmware level of the server.
- x86
- The most common CPU architecture. x86 CPUs support Windows and Linux VMs in Skytap.