The world of IT Acronyms is unquestionably robust, and frankly, can border on the ridiculous. (For example, did you know if you say "CSS," you could be referring to Cascading Style Sheets, Content-Scrambling System, Closed Source Software, or Cross-Site Scripting?). While we're not going to pretend to describe every IT acronym and abbreviation, here are some common ones that you possibly use every day and never knew what it stood for, some you may have forgotten over time, and some (while not especially technical) you are likely familiar with if you work in IT.
To inform, enlighten, and occasionally amuse is what we like to do at TechMikeNY, so enjoy the list of electronics abbreviations and let us know if we missed any!
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Acronym/ Abbreviation |
Description |
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2FA
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Two-Factor-Authentication. A standard security system that relies on two separate forms of communication to access or logon to something.
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Advanced Format. This refers to hard drives that are formatted with larger sectors for better storage capacity. Not to be confused with the off-color social media abbreviation, "as f*ck." So, if somebody asks you, "Is your hard drive AF?" they are probably (hopefully) asking about the format.
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CPU |
Central Processing Unit. The 'brain' of a computer.
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DIY |
Do It Yourself. DIY projects are the best way to learn new skills (in our humble opinion).
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iDRAC |
Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller. The embedded remote management tool for Dell servers.
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DVD
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Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc. While optical discs are going the way of the Dodo, how many of us knew what 'DVD' stood for in its heyday? Paradoxically, Blu-ray – which replaced DVD – is also a digital video disc -- 'DVD' was just first, so it got the acronym!
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DVI |
Digital Visual Interface. The same digital video feed as HDMI, but without the multi-media capacity. Translation: DVI ports/cables cannot transmit audio.
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ECC
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Error Correcting Code. Broadly stated, it is used for controlling errors in data over unreliable channels. Found more commonly in the server hardware realm when talking about RAM or Advanced Format hard drives.
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FUBAR
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F*@ked Up Beyond All Recognition. This is a term familiar to IT professionals and network administrators who are expected to perform magic. Scotty could get warp drive to warp at the last second because it was a TV show. Just sayin.’
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GPU
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Graphics Processing Unit. Mainly developed for 3D rendering and graphics processes, these have expanded to be useful for crypto-mining and even AI (Artificial Intelligence) due to their emphasis on parallel computing -- compared to its microprocessor cousin, CPU, which focuses more on serial processing.
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HA
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High Availability. A term that means a piece of hardware (typically) has a degree of redundancy and fault tolerance built-in for ensuring virtually zero downtime. ‘HA’ is often found in network equipment.
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HAL
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As in HAL 9000, it stands for Heuristically-Programmed ALgorithmic Computer. HAL a sentient computer being that is excellent at chess; not recommended for monitoring humans during space-faring hibernation.
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HDD |
Hard Disk Drive. Referring to the "traditional," spinning platter drives that surpass SSDs in volume per dollar.
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HDMI
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High-Definition Multimedia Interface. Video and audio are one port/cable. HDMI has become the AV standard in almost all modern displays and home theater systems.
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iLO |
Integrated Lights Out. HP's proprietary remote management tool for their Enterprise servers.
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IPMI |
Intelligent Platform Management Interface. This is the core technology name that Dell, HP, IBM renamed to be their own. It makes it possible to control and monitor servers centrally.
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ISP
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Internet Service Provider. If somebody asks, "who is your ISP?" they want to know who you fork money over to have access to the Internet.
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JBOD |
Just a Bunch of Drives. This is a server configuration that emphasizes storage via a high volume of hard drives.
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KVM |
Keyboard, Video Mouse. Most frequently seen in a KVM switch. If you have ever had to find a KVM switch for a user who has one monitor with a VGA connector and another with an HDMI, you are not a fan of KVM switches.
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LASER |
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. That's right; Laser is actually an acronym.
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NAS |
Network Attached Storage. If you hear "NAS Device," it is likely referring to a toaster-sized box with a couple of hard drives in it.
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NDC
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A Network Daughter Card allows various Network interface cards to be integrated with more options as you would typically add on a PCI Adapter Card. Essentially it expands the upgrade capabilities for a motherboard (hence, "daughter" as in a "mother-daughter" relationship).
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NIC |
Network Interface Controller; as in 'NIC card.'
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NVMe
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Nonvolatile Memory Express is a recent hard drive protocol that provides much faster data rates than SATA/SAS with SSD and flash storage. These are becoming ubiquitous in laptops and small form desktops, but will likely not replace SATA, and SAS drives on Enterprise servers.
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PC |
Personal Computer. Originally applied to the first generation of computers for home use, this applies to anything that is a computer used for personal use – a Smartphone is a mobile pc.
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PCI
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Peripheral Component Interconnect is a common connection interface for attaching computer peripherals to the motherboard. PCI was popular between 1995 and 2005 and was most often used to connect sound cards, network cards, and video cards. Is now referred to as PCI-E for PCI-Express.
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PEBCAK
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Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard. Or, in other words, user error. For example, "the inability of Randolph to understand that CTRL+ALT+DEL needed to be pressed at the same time, is a classic PEBCAK scenario."
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PERC |
PowerEdge RAID Controller. When you hear, "PERC" it refers to the proprietary RAID controller Dell developed for their PowerEdge server line.
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Redundant Array of Independent Disks or Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. The "inexpensive" is due to RAID being first developed to take advantage of the growing market of inexpensive hard drives for PC's. In the business world, RAID is an acronym for Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Dependencies - a type of log used to track project issues.
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Random Access Memory. Used interchangeably with 'memory,' this refers to a computer's component that allows for short-term access to the system's data.
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RPM
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Revolutions Per Minute; often confused/interchanged with Rotations Per Minute. Rotations are when an object turns on an internal axis – like the Earth spinning. Revolutions are when an object circles an external axis -- like the Earth revolving around the sun. Within the world of IT hardware, this refers to the speed at which an HDD spins – the faster the spin, the faster the drive's read/write capability.
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Serial-Attached SCSI; the 'SCSI' (pronounced 'scuzzy') = Small Computer System Interface. It's an Acronym within an acronym – down the rabbit hole! SAS is the Enterprise-class connector for servers that require a high degree of speed and reliability.
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SATA
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Serial AT Attachment. The 'AT' is for "Advanced Technology" -- which, frankly, isn't very descriptive since everything is "Advanced Technology" when it first comes out (we have a similar gripe towards the term, "Post-Modernism").
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SNAFU |
Situation Normal, All F*@ked Up. Interchangeable with FUBAR.
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SSD |
Solid State Drive. Faster and more efficient than HDDs -- but still more expensive per GB.
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Often confused with the shipping company of the same name during the regular conversation with non-IT folks, this actually stands for Uninterrupted Power Supply. These devices provide a battery backup to mission-critical devices. Should the power go down, the unit will provide enough power for the server to perform an orderly shutdown.
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USB |
Universal Serial Bus. As ubiquitous as they are acronym-wise, unknown.
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VGA |
Video Graphics Array. Despite being over 30 years old, this video port is still commonly found in smaller, 20inch monitors and projectors. Like DVI, it is video only and sends an analog signal (not digital).
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Wi-Fi |
Short for Wireless Fidelity. A marketing term developed by the brand firm, Interbrand. Apparently, "IEEE 802.11b Standard Protocol" wasn't catchy enough. |