General Video Streaming Glossary

API - Application Programming Interface (for example, the Red5Pro server API): An interface that allows software programs or components to interact with each other.

Bandwidth - The total amount of data that can be transferred or processed at any one time (also, usually one second). As such, both bandwidth and bitrate are usually measured in Kilobits or Megabits per second.

Bitrate - The number of bits (0 and 1s) that can be transferred or processed from one point to another in a set amount of time (usually one second). Measured in kbps, and Mbps.

CDN (Content Delivery Network) - A system that employs a distributed network of servers to transport data and media files across the internet. Most CDNs operate over an HTTP connection which caches data into different servers to facilitate packet requests. For more on Red5 Pro and decentralized CDNs, please refer to this article.

DNS (Domain Name System) - The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical decentralized naming system for computers, services, or other resources connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities.

Edge - A server that resides on the "edge" between two networks, typically between a private network and the internet. For edge as it refers to autoscaling, please refer to the above reference under "Red5 Pro".

End-to-End Latency - The time it takes video or audio captured by a device to go from the publisher to the subscriber. Refer to this article for more information on types of latency.

JAR - A Java-based library file format. Red5 Pro uses various jars in its configuration in order to load needed libraries at startup.

Native App - Application that is code specific to the device it is running on (commonly iOS or Android).

Node - A computer, container, or virtual instance that is identified by an IP address on the internet.

Origin (Web Server) - A Web server that contains the original Web page. The term is used to identify the Web server from the cache server. Since there is no physical difference between a digital original and a digital copy, the term implies that the origin server is the one that is maintained and updated by the enterprise. For origin, as it refers to autoscaling, please refer to the Red5 Pro Autoscale Glossary.

React Native - Web technology used to build native apps. The intention is to make app creation faster and easier by employing a codebase that can be used with both iOS and Android. React Native was created and is maintained by Facebook.

Relay - An intermediate node between the source and destination when they cannot communicate with each other directly due to distance. For more on relays, please refer to the Red5 Pro Autoscale Glossary.

SDK - Software Development Kit: A set of tools that can be used to develop software applications targeting a specific platform.

Transcoding - Taking already-compressed content; decompressing it; and then altering and recompressing it.

Web App - A web app is usually a browser-based application. However, in the context of Red5 Pro and J2EE or Tomcat, it's actually a Java-based server-side application. Specific to Red5 Pro, a web app refers to custom code to be run on the server-side.