A plain-English glossary of web and game hosting terms
Hosting is full of short, confusing words. This glossary explains the ones you meet most often, in plain language, with links to the guides that go deeper. Skim it, or search for a term when you hit one you do not know.
Hardware and resources
CPU. The processor that does the work. Servers list cores and speed. Many games rely on how fast a single core is.
RAM (memory). Fast, temporary storage for running programs. If you run out, programs slow down or are killed. See Understanding CPU, RAM and disk usage.
Disk / storage. Where files live permanently. SSD and NVMe are fast types. Backups and logs use disk space too.
Bandwidth. How much data can move per second, or in total per month. See Bandwidth, latency and ping explained.
Swap. Disk space used as emergency memory. See How to add swap space to your VPS.
Types of hosting
Shared hosting. Many websites share one server and its limits. Cheap and simple, less flexible.
VPS (virtual private server). A slice of a physical machine with your own operating system and root access. See What is a VPS?.
Dedicated server. A whole physical machine for you.
Game server hosting. Plans for running game servers with a control panel. See How game server hosting works.
Bot hosting. Plans designed to keep a bot, often for Discord, running all day.
Cloud. Resources rented on demand from large pools, usually billed by usage.
Networking
IP address. The numeric address of a machine, such as 203.0.113.10. IPv4 uses four numbers, IPv6 is longer.
Port. A numbered door on an IP address for a particular service, such as 80 for web or 25565 for Minecraft Java. See How game server ports work.
Domain name. A human-friendly name, such as example.com, that points to an IP address.
DNS. The system that translates names to addresses. See DNS records explained.
TTL. How long a DNS answer may be cached.
Latency / ping. The round-trip delay in milliseconds.
Packet loss. Data that never arrives. See Fix high ping and packet loss.
Firewall. Rules that allow or block network traffic. See Set up a firewall on your VPS with UFW.
DDoS. An attack that floods a service with traffic. See DDoS attacks explained.
Reverse proxy. A server that sits in front of your application and forwards requests to it. nginx is a popular one.
CDN. A network of servers that cache and deliver content close to visitors.
Security
SSH. A secure way to log in to and control a server from the command line. See Connect to your VPS over SSH.
SSH key. A pair of files used for login instead of a password. See How to set up SSH key authentication.
SFTP. Secure file transfer, over SSH. See How to choose and set up an SFTP client.
SSL / TLS certificate. Lets browsers use HTTPS, encrypting traffic. See How to set up an SSL certificate.
Two-factor authentication (2FA). A second proof of identity, such as a code. See Enable two-factor authentication.
Root. The all-powerful administrator account on Linux. Avoid using it for daily work. See How to create a non-root sudo user.
Phishing. Tricking you into giving away secrets. See How to spot phishing and fake support messages.
Software and operations
Operating system (OS). The base software, such as Ubuntu or Windows Server.
Package manager. A tool that installs software, such as apt.
Service / daemon. A program that runs in the background. See How to run your own program as a systemd service.
Cron. A scheduler that runs commands at set times. See How to schedule tasks with cron.
Container. An isolated package that holds an application and its dependencies. Docker is the best-known tool. See How to install Docker on Ubuntu.
Database. Software that stores structured data, such as MariaDB or PostgreSQL.
Environment variable. A named setting passed to a program, often used for secrets. See Environment variables for bots.
Control panel. A web interface to manage a server without the command line.
API. A way for programs to talk to each other. See Create and use API keys.
Reliability and money
Uptime. The share of time a service is available. See Uptime and maintenance windows explained.
Backup. A separate copy of your data. See The 3-2-1 backup rule.
Snapshot. A saved state of a disk or machine at a point in time.
Migration. Moving a service to a new host. See Moving to a new host: a migration checklist.
Auto-renew. A plan that renews and charges you automatically. See Renewals and auto-renew.
Invoice. A record of a charge. See View and download invoices.
Games
Slot. One player space on a server.
Tick / TPS. A server's update step and how many it does per second. See Understanding TPS and MSPT.
Plugin / mod. Add-ons that change a game. See Mod hygiene for game servers.
Wipe. A scheduled reset of a game world. See Rust wipe schedule explained.
For Minecraft-specific words, see the glossary of Minecraft server terms.
Still stuck? Open a ticket on Discord - run /ticket in any channel, pick a department, and include your Server ID or Invoice ID so we can jump straight in.