Glossary of Terms

Term	Acronym	Definition
AutoSol Communications Manager	ACM	ACM is a multi-protocol, multimedia communication hub that integrates Human Machine Interface (HMI), data management, gas meter validation systems, alarm notification systems, and security management into a cohesive system.
AutoSol Enterprise Server	AES	A multi-protocol, multi-media communication hub that integrates HMI, data management, gas meter validation systems, alarm notification systems, and security management into a cohesive system.
Baud Rate		The rate at which information is transferred in a communication channel. In the serial port context, "9600 baud" means that the serial port is capable of transferring a maximum of 9600 bits per second.
Block Check Character	BCC	A character added to a transmission block to facilitate error detection.
Broker		In the context of an MQTT system, a broker orchestrates publishing of data messages and subscriptions to those messages. A single broker can receive messages published from one or more clients and each of those messages, in turn, can be sent to one or more subscribing clients.
Common Industry Protocol	CIP	Wiki Article.
Client-Server		Client-Server is a distributed application structure that partitions tasks or workloads between the providers of a resource or service, called servers, and service requesters, called clients.
Connection		A Connection is a virtual circuit established between two nodes or application processes, so that a bit stream or byte stream may be delivered between the nodes.
Cry-out		A Cry-out is an end-device initiated (device to host) message or series of messages to inform the host system that one or more events have taken place on the device.
Cyclic Redundancy Check	CRC	Wiki Article.
Clear To Send	CTS	A signal sent to the device on the other end indicating it is ready to receive data.
Custody Transfer Data	CTD	The term used for when an asset changes hands from one owner to another. In this case, it's the data that identifies how much natural gas was transferred.
Debounce		Delays a reading until some time period has elapsed, to make sure the reading is constant.
Device		A Device is hardware that contains data values to be polled from a host application.
Dialup		A connection method that uses a modem and the facilities of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to establish a communication channel via telephone lines between two nodes, application processes or devices.
Data Terminal Ready	DTR	A signal to the modem that the server is on and ready to accept a connection.
Electronic Flow Meter	EFM	EFM is a device that measures the volumetric or mass flow rates of gas and/or liquid within a system.
Ethernet		Ethernet is a connection method using a family of frame-based computer networking technologies for Local Area Networks (LANs).
Footprint Level		This setting controls the level of code tracing log entries helpful for debugging.
Gas Chromatograph	GC	This object is used to define I/O mapping of Gas Chromatograph data from a device.
Hang Up Delay		A delay that is applied after hanging up the modem to allow time for the modem reply to be received.
Human Machine Interface	HMI	An HMI is the interface method between the human and the equipment/machine. This term supersedes Man Machine Interface (MMI).
Internet Protocol	IP	IP is a protocol used for communicating data across a packet-switched inter-network using the Internet Protocol Suite, also referred to as TCP/IP.
Internet Bristol Protocol	IBP	A version of the BSAP protocol used when communicating with a BSAP device over Ethernet.
IP Address		An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label that is assigned to devices participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication between its nodes. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing.
Measurement Canada		Measurement Canada is an agency responsible for ensuring accuracy in the selling of measured goods, developing and enforcing the laws related to measurement accuracy, approving and inspecting measuring devices and investigating complaints of suspected inaccurate measurement.
Master Signal Directory	MSD	A database of signal names and addresses assigned to them.
Network Host PC	NHP	The IP address of the computer that ACM is hosted on.
Network Routing Information	NRI	BSAP Protocol node routing table and IP Addresses for alarm and RBE reports.
Object Linking and Embedding	OLE	OLE is a technology developed by Microsoft that allows embedding and linking to documents and other objects.
OLE for Process Control	OPC	OPC is a standard that specifies the communication of real-time plant data between control devices from different manufacturers.
Operating System	OS	An Operating System is software that consists of programs and data that runs on computers and manages the computer hardware and provides common services for efficient execution of various applications (for example: Microsoft Windows 7).
PEM format	PEM	A common file format for X.509 certificates. ACM can be configured to use certificates for secure connection to other applications, e.g MQTT brokers.
PFX format	PFX	A common file format storing multiple cryptographic objects within a single file, often used for "self-signed" certificates. ACM can be configured to use certificates for secure connection to other applications, e.g MQTT brokers.
Polling		When a client application requests specific data from ACM through the OPC Client-Server interface, ACM will subsequently request data from the corresponding field devices according to the designated protocol.
Port		View the Connections section of the User Guide for details on the different types of Ports used in ACM.
Programmable Logic Controller	PLC	A digital computer used for automation of electro-mechanical processes, such as control of machinery on factory assembly lines.
Protocol		A formal description of message formats and the rules for exchanging those messages. The rules governing the syntax, semantics, and synchronization of communication.
Portable Calibration and Collection Unit	PCCU	The Totalflow native protocol.
Ready To Send	RTS	A signal sent from a device when it has something to send.
Remote Terminal Unit	RTU	An RTU is a microprocessor controlled electronic device that connects sensors in a process, converts sensor signals to digital data and sends the digital data to the SCADA system.
Report By Exception	RBE	Only the data values that have changed since the last report will be sent. This can be via polled or unsolicited messages.
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition	SCADA	A SCADA system is a computer system for monitoring and controlling a process.
Serial Communication		A Serial Communication is the process of sending data one bit at a time, sequentially, over a communication channel.
Serial Port		A Serial Port is a serial communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one bit at a time (contrast parallel port).
Server		A Server is a computer or series of computers that links other computers or electronic devices together. They often provide essential services across a network.
Sparkplug B Specification		The Sparkplug B specification prescribes a structure for the transmission of data over MQTT. For example, it provides rules for the structure of topic names, payload contents, and message sequence.
Transmission Control Protocol	TCP	TCP provides the service of exchanging data reliability directly between two network hosts and is one of the core protocols of the Internet Protocol Suite.
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol	TCP/IP	TCP/IP is a set of communications protocols used for the Internet and other similar networks. (Also known as the Internet Protocol Suite.)
TCP Listen Communication		The process of sending data one bit at a time, sequentially, over a communication channel.
TCP Listen Port		A TCP Listen communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one bit at a time (contrast parallel port).
TCP Port Number		TCP Port Number is a list of Internet socket port numbers used by protocols of the Transport Layer of the Internet Protocol Suite for the establishment of host-to-host communications. A well-known range of port numbers is reserved by convention to identify specific service types on host computers.
Throughput		Throughput determines the percentage of good polls that go through the TCP port being used. This statistic is used in some of the predefined reports in the Reporting tab.
User Datagram Protocol	UDP	UDP is an Internet Protocol (IP) that allows computer applications to send messages, in this case referred to as datagrams, to other hosts on an IP network without requiring prior communications to set up special transmission channels or data paths.