1.1 Glossary
This document uses the following terms:
64-bit Network Data Representation (NDR64): A specific instance of a remote procedure call (RPC) transfer syntax. For more information about RPC transfer syntax, see [C706] section 14.
activity: Used as specified in [C706] section 9.5.
application configuration file (ACF): A supplemental file that accompanies an Interface Definition Language (IDL) specification and is used to specify stub processing rules. For more information, see "The Attribute Configuration Source" in Part 2 of [C706] and [MS-RPCE].
authentication level: A numeric value indicating the level of authentication or message protection that remote procedure call (RPC) will apply to a specific message exchange. For more information, see [C706] section 13.1.2.1 and [MS-RPCE].
Authentication Service (AS): A service that issues ticket granting tickets (TGTs), which are used for authenticating principals within the realm or domain served by the Authentication Service.
authentication type: A numeric identifier that uniquely identifies a security provider.
big-endian: Multiple-byte values that are byte-ordered with the most significant byte stored in the memory location with the lowest address.
binary large object (BLOB): A discrete packet of data that is stored in a database and is treated as a sequence of uninterpreted bytes.
client address space (CAS): Used as specified in [C706] section 9.5.
connectionless RPC: An RPC protocol dialect built on top of an RPC transport that does not support connections. For more information, see [C706] section 12.
connection-oriented RPC: A remote procedure call (RPC) protocol dialect built on top of an RPC transport that supports connections. For more information, see [C706] section 12.
conversation callback: A remote procedure call (RPC) request/response message exchange initiated by an RPC Server and received by an RPC Client. The message exchange is internal to the connectionless RPC engine.
correlation: In an Interface Definition Language (IDL) file, the runtime properties of one argument dictate the allowed runtime properties of another argument.
dynamic endpoint: A network-specific server address that is requested and assigned at run time. For more information, see [C706].
endpoint: A network-specific address of a remote procedure call (RPC) server process for remote procedure calls. The actual name and type of the endpoint depends on the RPC protocol sequence that is being used. For example, for RPC over TCP (RPC Protocol Sequence ncacn_ip_tcp), an endpoint might be TCP port 1025. For RPC over Server Message Block (RPC Protocol Sequence ncacn_np), an endpoint might be the name of a named pipe. For more information, see [C706].
endpoint mapper: A service on a remote procedure call (RPC) server that maintains a database of dynamic endpoints and allows clients to map an interface/object UUID pair to a local dynamic endpoint. For more information, see [C706].
globally unique identifier (GUID): A term used interchangeably with universally unique identifier (UUID) in Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the value. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] have to be used for generating the GUID. See also universally unique identifier (UUID).
interface: This term is used exactly as specified in [C706] section "Introduction to the RPC API" in Part 2.
Interface Definition Language (IDL): The International Standards Organization (ISO) standard language for specifying the interface for remote procedure calls. For more information, see [C706] section 4.
Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX): A protocol that provides connectionless datagram delivery of messages. See [IPX].
listening state: A server or proxy state in which the server or proxy is able to accept and respond to events coming from the network.
little-endian: Multiple-byte values that are byte-ordered with the least significant byte stored in the memory location with the lowest address.
marshal: To encode one or more data structures into an octet stream using a specific remote procedure call (RPC) transfer syntax (for example, marshaling a 32-bit integer).
marshaling: The act of formatting COM parameters for transmission over a remote procedure call (RPC). For more information, see [MS-DCOM].
Microsoft Interface Definition Language (MIDL): The Microsoft implementation and extension of the OSF-DCE Interface Definition Language (IDL). MIDL can also mean the Interface Definition Language (IDL) compiler provided by Microsoft. For more information, see [MS-RPCE].
named pipe: A named, one-way, or duplex pipe for communication between a pipe server and one or more pipe clients.
NetBEUI: NetBIOS Enhanced User Interface. NetBEUI is an enhanced NetBIOS protocol for network operating systems, originated by IBM for the LAN Manager server and now used with many other networks.
NetBIOS: A particular network transport that is part of the LAN Manager protocol suite. NetBIOS uses a broadcast communication style that was applicable to early segmented local area networks. A protocol family including name resolution, datagram, and connection services. For more information, see [RFC1001] and [RFC1002].
NetBIOS host name: The NetBIOS name of a host (as described in [RFC1001] section 14 and [RFC1002] section 4), with the extensions described in [MS-NBTE].
NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NBT): A feature that allows NetBIOS to be used over the TCP/IP protocol, as defined in [RFC1001] and [RFC1002].
Network Data Representation (NDR): A specification that defines a mapping from Interface Definition Language (IDL) data types onto octet streams. NDR also refers to the runtime environment that implements the mapping facilities (for example, data provided to NDR). For more information, see [MS-RPCE] and [C706] section 14.
object UUID: A UUID that is used to represent a resource available on the remote procedure call (RPC) servers. For more information, see [C706].
opaque: Data that the client does not use and data (or, more often, a handle) for use on the server on behalf of the client. Opaque data is sent to the client and returned to the server and used to access data or state information needed to process client calls/requests.
opnum: An operation number or numeric identifier that is used to identify a specific remote procedure call (RPC) method or a method in an interface. For more information, see [C706] section 12.5.2.12 or [MS-RPCE].
protocol data unit (PDU): Information that is delivered as a unit among peer entities of a network and that can contain control information, address information, or data. For more information on remote procedure call (RPC)-specific PDUs, see [C706] section 12.
protocol identifier: A numeric value that uniquely identifies an RPC transport protocol when describing a protocol in the context of a protocol tower. For more information, see [C706] Appendix I.
protocol tower: A protocol sequence along with its related address and protocol-specific information. For more information, see [C706] section 6.
protocol variant: A protocol version that is distinct and noninteroperable from other protocol versions when all versions are from the same group of related protocols.
remote procedure call (RPC): A communication protocol used primarily between client and server. The term has three definitions that are often used interchangeably: a runtime environment providing for communication facilities between computers (the RPC runtime); a set of request-and-response message exchanges between computers (the RPC exchange); and the single message from an RPC exchange (the RPC message). For more information, see [C706].
RPC client: A computer on the network that sends messages using remote procedure call (RPC) as its transport, waits for responses, and is the initiator in an RPC exchange.
RPC protocol sequence: A character string that represents a valid combination of a remote procedure call (RPC) protocol, a network layer protocol, and a transport layer protocol, as described in [C706] and [MS-RPCE].
RPC server: A computer on the network that waits for messages, processes them when they arrive, and sends responses using RPC as its transport acts as the responder during a remote procedure call (RPC) exchange.
RPC transfer syntax: A method for encoding messages defined in an Interface Definition Language (IDL) file. Remote procedure call (RPC) can support different encoding methods or transfer syntaxes. For more information, see [C706].
RPC transport: The underlying network services used by the remote procedure call (RPC) runtime for communications between network nodes. For more information, see [C706] section 2.
security context: An abstract data structure that contains authorization information for a particular security principal in the form of a Token/Authorization Context (see [MS-DTYP] section 2.5.2). A server uses the authorization information in a security context to check access to requested resources. A security context also contains a key identifier that associates mutually established cryptographic keys, along with other information needed to perform secure communication with another security principal.
security provider: A pluggable security module that is specified by the protocol layer above the remote procedure call (RPC) layer, and will cause the RPC layer to use this module to secure messages in a communication session with the server. The security provider is sometimes referred to as an authentication service. For more information, see [C706] and [MS-RPCE].
serialization: A mechanism by which an application converts an object into an XML representation.
serialize: The process of taking an in-memory data structure, flat or otherwise, and turning it into a flat stream of bytes. See also marshal.
Server Message Block (SMB): A protocol that is used to request file and print services from server systems over a network. The SMB protocol extends the CIFS protocol with additional security, file, and disk management support. For more information, see [CIFS] and [MS-SMB].
strict NDR/NDR64 data consistency check: A set of related rules for data validation during processing of an octet stream.
stub: Used as specified in [C706] section 2.1.2.2. A stub that is used on the client is called a "client stub", and a stub that is used on the server is called a "server stub".
universally unique identifier (UUID): A 128-bit value. UUIDs can be used for multiple purposes, from tagging objects with an extremely short lifetime, to reliably identifying very persistent objects in cross-process communication such as client and server interfaces, manager entry-point vectors, and RPC objects. UUIDs are highly likely to be unique. UUIDs are also known as globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) and these terms are used interchangeably in the Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the UUID. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] has to be used for generating the UUID.
unmarshal: In remote procedure call (RPC), the process of decoding one or more data structures from an octet stream using a specific RPC Transfer Syntax.
User Datagram Protocol (UDP): The connectionless protocol within TCP/IP that corresponds to the transport layer in the ISO/OSI reference model.
well-known endpoint: A preassigned, network-specific, stable address for a particular client/server instance. For more information, see [C706].
MAY, SHOULD, MUST, SHOULD NOT, MUST NOT: These terms (in all caps) are used as defined in [RFC2119]. All statements of optional behavior use either MAY, SHOULD, or SHOULD NOT.