Broadband Glossary "H" Definitions

# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Welcome to our Broadband Glossary. We compiled a comprehensive collection of Broadband and Internet related terms and definitions. To look for a definition or term, simply click on the letter that matches the first letter of the word you are searching for. If the term you want is a numeral, you will find it under the 0-9 listing.

We intend for our Broadband Glossary to be ever expanding. As new technology is released, we will add these definitions to our Glossary. If you cannot find the term you are searching for, please contact us and we will add it to the Broadband glossary as quickly as possible. We hope that you find this Broadband Glossary easy to navigate and that you find the term you're looking for.

Hard Drive

Semi-permanent magnetic storage medium in your computer. May also be called a hard disk.

Hertz or Hz

A frequency measurement unit. It is one cycle per second. An electromagnetic radio wave is a cycle or periodic event. Hertz is the basic measurement unit for bandwidth.
·kilohertz: kHz or 1,000 Hz
·megahertz: MHz or 1,000 kHz
·gigahertz: GHz or 1,000 MHz
·terahertz: THz or 1,000 GHz

Home Page

The main or front page of a Web site. A home page typically provides an overview of the site and includes links to other pages on the site.

Home Phone Line Network Alliance or HPNA

Technical specification for a networking standard that utilizes the telephone wiring installed in homes to connect devices to the network. This eliminates the need to install special wiring. The HPNA 2.0 standard provides for up to 10 Mbps per second throughput speeds.

Host

The term "host" is used in several contexts, in each of which it has a slightly different meaning:
1) In Internet protocol specifications, the term "host" means any computer that has full two-way access to other computers on the Internet. A host has a specific "local or host number" that, together with the network number, forms its unique IP address. If you use Point-to-Point Protocol to get access to your access provider, you have a unique IP address for the duration of any connection you make to the Internet and your computer is a host for that period. In this context, a "host" is a node in a network.
2) For companies or individuals with a Web site, a host is a computer with a Web server that serves the pages for one or more Web sites. A host can also be the company that provides that service, which is known as hosting.
3) In IBM and perhaps other mainframe computer environments, a host is a mainframe computer (which is now usually referred to as a "large server"). In this context, the mainframe has intelligent or "dumb" workstations attached to it that use it as a host provider of services. (This does not mean that the host only has "servers" and the workstations only have "clients." The server/client relationship is a programming model independent of this contextual usage of "host.")
4) In other contexts, the term generally means a device or program that provides services to some smaller or less capable device or program.

Hot list

If you use a web browser, for example Netscape or Internet Explorer (IE) you can save a list of the WWW addresses (URLs) of sites or pages that you frequently visit. This list is called "bookmarks".
See also Bookmarks and Favorites.

Hypertext Markup Language or HTML

A computer scripting language that tells a browser how to display text, links and graphics on a Web page.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol or HTTP

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the set of rules for transferring files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide Web. As soon as a Web user opens their Web browser, the user is indirectly making use of HTTP. HTTP is an application protocol that runs on top of the TCP/IP suite of protocols (the foundation protocols for the Internet).

Hub

A central location on a network that joins communication lines. At the center of a LAN, the hub connects all network devices, including computers, printers, and DSL bridges using cables.

Hyperlink or Hypertext

Hypertext is the organization of information units into connected associations that a user can choose to make. An instance of such an association is called a link or hypertext link. (And the highlighted word "link" in the previous sentence is an example of a hypertext link.)
Hypertext was the main concept that led to the invention of the World Wide Web, which is, after all, nothing more (or less) than an enormous amount of information content connected by an enormous number of hypertext links.