U

U for URL

abbreviation / acronyms term definition
U2F Undetectable and Untraceable Fraud A major issue for information technology is fraud made possible by technology and electronic transactions, especially crimes that leave no trace and no audit trail.
UA Upgrade Advantage A Microsoft software license program.
UAC User Account Control A security technology in Windows Vista that reduces exposure to attacks by running in nonadministrative mode, even when logged on with an administrative account, unless and until administrative privileges are required to perform a task.
UART universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter A module composed of a single integrated circuit, which contains both the receiving and transmitting circuits required for asynchronous serial communication.
UAT User Acceptance Test Normally a suite of documented tests, derived from a requirements or functional specification and agreed with a client, that when successfully completed indicate that a produced product is acceptable
uauth user authentication user authentication
UBE unsolicited bulk email a formal term for spam. The most common type of UBE is UCE: bulk email that is trying to get the recipient to buy some product or service.
µBGA / uBGA Micro Ball Grid Array Next to bare die, uBGA is the smallest of the chip-scale packaging options.
UBR Undefined Bit Rate An economical class of QoS on a moment-to-moment basis, without guaranteeing service levels.
UC Unified communications UC is a direct result of the convergence of communications and applications. Differing forms of communications historically have been developed, marketed and sold as individual applications. In some cases, they even had separate networks and devices.
UC2 Unified Communications and Collaboration IBM portfolio based on Lotus Notes messaging, Sametime collaboration products and the Eclipse client framework
UC&C (or UCC) Unified Communications & Collaboration Mashups, consoles, APIs and packaged clients will enable other collaboration services to be blended into
a mix that includes e-mail, RSS feeds, calendars, blogs, tasks, wikis, personal pages and discussion threads.
UCB unit control block A control block in common storage that describes the characteristics of a particular I/O device on the operating system
UCC Uniform Code Council Data Model standard
UCCW Ultimate custom widget versatile Android widgets
UCD

Unicode Character Database

Uplink Channel Descriptor

User-centered design

Consists of a number of data files listing character properties and related data along with a documentation file that explains the organization of the database and the format and meaning of the data in the files. See also http://www.unicode.org

a concept in the IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) network, which describes the uplink burst profile

a design philosophy where the end-user’s needs, wants and limitations are a focus at all stages within the design process and development lifecycle.

UCE Unsolicited Commercial Email Electronic junk mail advertising a product, service, or web site, where the recipient did not request to receive the message.
UCM

Unified Change Management

Unified Computing System

Universal Content Management

Universal Customer Master

Use Case Maps

A Change Management (CM) concept implemented by Rational Software Corporation (acquired by IBM)

Cisco next-generation data center platform accelerates the delivery of new services simply, reliably, and securely through end-to-end provisioning and migration support.

Oracle's unified platform for WCM, document anagement, digital asset management and retention management

Siebel MDM product, acquired by Oracle

a visual representation of the requirements of a system, using a precisely defined set of symbols for responsibilities, system components, and sequences. www.usecasemaps.org

UCP Ubuntu Certified Professional first introduced in May 2006 is a computer based examination about the Ubuntu operating system. It is administered by the LPI foundation.
UCS Universal Character Set

A character set using 16-bit character codes, also called ISO 10646. UCS is a standard defined by the ISO and IEC.

A printer feature that permits the use of a variety of character arrays.

uDAPL User Direct Access Programming Library a specification and a library that defines a single set of user APIs for all RDMA-capable transports.
UDDI Universal Description, Discovery and Integration A method for finding new Web Services by referring to a central directory. The specification for an index of all available Web services which is comparable to a global Yellow-Pages directory. UDDI helps businesses to produce descriptions of the services they offer, pass on details to the registry and thus appear to be a services provider. www.uddi.org
UDF Universal Disk Format The volume format of DVD disks.
UDLP UniDirectional Link Protocol This protocol is used by inexpensive, receive only antennas to receive data via satellite.
UDMA Ultra DMA (Ultra Direct Memory Access) A protocol developed by Quantum Corporation and Intel for disk drives that enables the computer to take advantage of the fast Ultra ATA disk drives.
UDO Ultra Density Optical Optical storage technology that increases capacities by using an extremely focused blue laser to write and read data. HP, Sony, and Plasmon collaborated on the UDO standard
UDP User Datagram Protocol
It is part of the TCP/IP suite of protocols used for data transferring. UDP is a known as a "stateless" protocol, meaning it doesn't acknowledge that the packets being sent have been received. For this reason, the UDP protocol is typically used for streaming media. While you might see skips in video or hear some fuzz in audio clips, UDP transmission prevents the playback from stopping completely.
UDRP Uniform Dispute Resolution policy defines how disputes over domain name registrations are resolved in the global top-level domains (.biz, .com, .info, .name, .net, and .org as well as .aero, .coop, and .museum).
UFS Unix File System The default disk-based file system under the Unix operating system
UGC User generated content UGC covers a range of media content available in a range of modern communications technologies.
UGS Unsolicited Grant Service one of the five QoS service types defined in the IEEE 802.16 WiMAX. The 802.16 protocol supports five types of QoS.
UHF Ultra High Frequency Electromagnetic frequencies in the range of 300 to 3000 megaherz. Used for some television and radio transmission.
UHV Ultra High Voltage a term meaning any amount of voltage in excess of 800,000 volts.
UI user interface The connection between the user and a computer's hardware or software that permits the user to work productively with a system or a program. User interface design requires significant skill and attention and has become a recognized specialty.
UIA Unified Information Access Information Access provides total insight based on aggregating all types of data and content in one universal index
UL Underwriters Laboratories Inc. a world leader in product safety testing and certification, is working with HP on a two-year project to standardize processes and technologies.
ULH ultra-long-haul 100Gbps optical system
ULV Ultra Low Voltage A class of processors that are deliberately under clocked to use less power at the expense of performance.
UM

Unified messaging

UM is an extension of voice mail that enables subscribers to access and manage messages, such as voice mail, fax mail and e-mail, from a single-user interface.
Typical e-mail clients include Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes and Novell GroupWise. The telephone is another user interface alternative for unified messaging.

UMA

Unified-Memory Architecture

Unlicensed Mobile Access

Upper Memory Area

User Mode Audio

Allows the CPU and video controller to share the same main memory and 64 bit data path. One or two MB of main memory is allocated to video via a Win 95 utility or in the PCs setup.

provides access to GSM and GPRS mobile services over unlicensed spectrum technologies, including Bluetooth and 802.11, typically using a broadband connection to "backhaul" traffic to the service provider.

In a PC, the memory area between 640K and 1024K. Under DOS, this memory area is ordinarily designated for use by the ROM BIOS and display, and is unavailable for use by other programs.

Together with PUMA, is an engine in the Windows Vista Protected Environment that provides a safer environment for audio playback, as well as checking that the enabled outputs are consistent with what the content allows

UMB

Ultra Mobile Broadband

upper memory block

the brand name for the project to improve the CDMA2000 mobile phone standard for next generation applications and requirements.

An upper memory block is a contiguous block of memory starting at an address above 640 KB. MS-DOS distinguishes between conventional memory (addresses between 0 and 640 KB) and upper memory (addresses above 640 KB).

UMC ultra modular computing

The radical adoption of modular principles based on using commodity components in a standardized architecture in order to simplify the environment for creating, delivering, and operating applications within an enterprise.

UMID Unique Material IDentifier A methodology for materials suppliers to code a material that only THEY supply. While used in the computer and chip making industries, it is also used in other industries such as medical, food processing and weapons, to name a few.
UML Unified Modeling Language A standardized visual notation for communication about system specifications and design details. Initially created at Rational Software (now part of IBM).
UMS Unfied Messaging Systems a technology that should allow users to access messages sent in different formats through one single interface.
UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunication System
UMTS is envisioned as the successor to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). UMTS signals the move into the third generation (3G) of mobile networks.
UNC Uniform / Universal Naming Convention this is a syntax for a network resource, file or printer, in the standard format:
\\SERVER\QUEUE or
\\SERVER\VOLUME\DIRECTORY
UNI

User-to-Network Interface

ATM User Network Interface is an ATM Forum specification of the interface between an ATM user device and the ATM network.

Unicode UNIversal CODE A 16-bit character set defined by ISO 10646.
UNR Ubuntu Netbook Remix Canonical-sponsored netbook-optimized Linux distribution that is based on Ubuntu. It has been available since Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron". UNR is an optional preinstalled Linux on some netbooks such as Dell Inspiron Mini 10v and the Toshiba NB100.
UOL Universo Online UOL is a Brazilian online service provider and ISP.
UOW unit of work

In advanced program-to-program communications, the amount of processing that is started directly or indirectly by a program on the source system.

A recoverable sequence of operations performed by an application between two points of consistency.

A recoverable sequence of operations within an application process.

UPA user printable area The area within the valid printable area (VPA) where user-generated data can print without causing an exception condition.
UPC Universal Product Code The bar code printed on retail merchandise, it contains the vendor's identification number and the product number.
UPnP Universal Plug and Play
Plug and Play describes devices that work with a computer system as soon as they are connected. UPnP is an extension of this idea that expands the range of Plug and Play devices to networking equipment. Universal Plug and Play uses network protocols to allow a wide range of devices to be interconnected and work seamlessly with each other. www.upnp.org
UPS Uninterruptible Power Supply
In the technology world, UPS is more than just a brown shipping company. It is also a type of power supply that uses battery backup to maintain power during unexpected power outages.
UPT Universal Personal Telecommunications a set of standards developed by the CCITT for wireline personal communications.
URC Utility Ready Computing HP's integrated IT compute capacity acquisition program that includes a portfolio of deployment, support, availability, and management services.
URI Uniform Resource Identifier

An address for s resource available on the Internet. The first part of a URI is called the "scheme". the most well known scheme is http, but there are many others. Each URI scheme has its own format for how a URI should appear.

A compact string of characters for identifying an abstract or physical resource.

URL

Uniform Resource Locator

The standard way to give address of any resource on the Internet that is part of the WWW.The most common way to use a URL is to enter into a WWW browser program, such at Netscape, or Lynx.

URN Uniform Resource Name A URI that is supposed to be available for along time. For an address to be a URN some institution is supposed to make a commitment to keep the resource available at that address.
uRPF Unicast Reverse Path Forwarding limit the malicious traffic on an enterprise network
URT

universal receiver transmitter

User Registration Tool

A circuit which is used for synchronous, asynchronous, or combined synchronous/asynchronous communications, and which contains a serial-to-parallel converter for data transmitted out of the computer and a parallel-to-serial converter for data coming in.

Dynamic authorization and policy control framework that manages access to the LAN by partitioning user traffic through VLANs

USB

Universal Serial Bus

Upper Side Band

an external bus standard that supports data transfer rates of 12 Mbps.

Upper Side Band in HAM and commercial radio

USENET USEr's NETwork A world-wide system of discussion groups, with comments passed among hundreds of thousands of machines. Not all USENET machines are on the Internet. USENET is completely decentralized, with over 10,000 discussion areas, called newsgroups.
USF Universal Service Fund Financial mechanism that helps compensate phone companies for providing access to telecom service at reasonable and affordable rates across the country.
USG UNIX Systems Group The division of Novell concerned with UNIX and UNIX products.
USHER United States Higher Education Root Certificate Authority USHER is a public key infrastructure.
USL UNIX System Laboratories The division of AT&T which was responsible for UNIX from 1990 until it was acquired by Novell in 1993.
USM

Unifed Service Model

Unsharp masking

CA extensible schema that models both entities and rela- tionships as well as policies and rules that govern how the Catalyst Services federate, correlate and reconcile data and capabilities

A process used to sharpen images.

USMT User State Migration Tool Tool to migrate user files and settings during large deployments of Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows Vista® operating systems
USO universal service obligation The obligation under the Telecommunications Act 1997 to ensure that standard telephone services, payphones and prescribed carriage services are reasonably accessible to all Australians on an equitable basis, wherever they reside or carry on business.
USP

Universal Storage Platform

usage sensitive pricing

Hitachi VM that delivers controller-based virtualization, logical partitioning and universal replication for open systems and mainframe environments in a rack mounted storage services platform.

Charge for service based on the amount of use.

usr Unix System Resources In any unix (and variants like linux) system the /usr directory
USRT Universal Synchronous Receiver Transmitter A circuit which is used for synchronous data communications via the serial port on a computer. It converts data into serial form for transmission.
USS unformatted system service A communications function that translates a character-coded command, such as a LOGON or LOGOFF command, into a field-formatted command for processing by formatted system services.
UT Upper Tester Representation in ISO/IEC 9646 of means of providing, during test execution, control and observation of upper service boundary of IUT, as defined by chosen Abstract Test Method.
UTF-8 Unicode Transformation Format 8 a method for converting 16-bit Unicode characters to 8-bit characters. This format supports all of the world's languages, including those that use non-Latin 1 characters.
UTM

Unified Threat Management

Universal Transverse Mercator

a comprehensive security product that includes protection against multiple threats. A UTM product typically includes a firewall, antivirus software, content filtering and a spam filter in a single integrated package.

one of many different mathematical projection models upon which satellite-derived positions can be translated into a coordinate system that orresponds to positions derived through standard maps.

UTP unshielded twisted pair a type of cable used in most telephone networks and some computer networks. Pairs of unshielded wires are twisted to protect against electromagnetic interference, rather than relying on a metal sheath around each pair of wires to protect against interference.
UTSL Use The Source Luke meaning read the source code
UUCP Unix to Unix Copy A file exchange protocol between two host computers. Used as part of many firewall mechanisms.
UUEE Unix-to-Unix Encode A tool for transferring files through e-mail.
UUENCODE Unix to Unix Encoding A method for converting files from Binary format to ASCII text so that they can be sent across the Internet via email.
UUG Unix User Group There are UUGs worldwide
UUID Universally Unique Identifier The 128-bit numerical identifier that is used to ensure that two components do not have the same identifier.
UUNET UNIX to UNIX Network The first Internet access provider, founded in 1987 in Fairfax, Virginia
UUT Unit Under Test refers to some type of electrical apparatus connected to test instrumentation. The apparatus can range from a simple circuit to a complex subsystem such as a mobile phone, base station or MSC.
UV UltraViolet light UV is used in the electronics world to erase EPROMs and similar devices. An invisible band of radiation at the high-frequency end of the light spectrum.
UWB Ultra-Wide-Band also called digital pulse, is a wireless technology defined in IEEE 802.15.3 for transmitting digital data over a wide swath of the radio frequency spectrum with very low power.
UWIN Unix for WINdows Software that enables Unix software to be executed on a Windows platform
UXP user experience user experience
U U is the standard unit of measurement for rack-mounted equipment. Racks can be used to house servers, hard drives, switches, routers, and other computer hardware. They are also used for mounting audio and video equipment. 1U is equal to 1.75 inches.
undead An undead object is an object that cannot be proven to be dead by the garbage collector, but whose liveness is dubious.
Unix A computer operating system (the basic software running on a computer, underneath things like word processors and spreadsheets). Unix is designed to be used by many people at the same time (it is multi-user) and has TCP/IP built-in.
up-link / uplink A term used in satellite communications to describe the earth station and the transmit ted signal to a communications satellite .
USBlyzer A software USB Protocol Analyzer for Windows that displays USB Descriptors and captures and analyzes the activity of USB devices in real time.