Common terms

This manual uses certain terms frequently. It is recommended that you understand all the following terms. For further advanced explanations see the Appendix and Glossary.

Windows Service Windows services are programs that run when a Windows computer is started. You generally can not see a Window for services. Services are not closed when a user logs out, only when the machine is shut down. A common example is the program that allows your mouse to operate, the ‘mouse driver’.

WinGate engine This refers to the program called wingateengine.exe in NT or WG95eng.exe in 95. This program is the actual proxy server. You cannot see the engine running, as it is a Windows service.

WinGate machine This is the computer where you installed the WinGate software. Your network accesses the internet via this machine, so it needs a connection to the internet.

Client machine This is a computer on your network that is not connected to the Internet, but gets its access via the WinGate machine. Otherwise known as a workstation.

Gatekeeper Gatekeeper is the remote control and configuration program for WinGate. It is the user interface for the WinGate engine

License count This is the maximum number of machines that are allowed to access the internet via your WinGate machine at any one time. This number is 2, 5, 10 or unlimited, depending on the license you purchase.

Client application A Client app is a program that helps you do something, such as read email or read WWW pages (e.g. Netscape, Eudora etc).

Server A machine or a program running on a machine that provides a service (e.g. Email server, WWW server).

Proxy A proxy is a program or service that does something for you on your behalf, a intermediary between client and server. See the later section on Services.

TCP/IP TCP/IP is a network protocol. Computers use this method to communicate with each other on a network. The Internet uses TCP/IP.

DNS Domain Name Service. This is a useful service that lets you ‘look up’ a computer’s address on the Internet.

IP number Internet Protocol number. Usually referred to as an IP. This is a computer’s ‘address’ on a network. All your client machines need an IP number. The WinGate DHCP server will do this for you.

User User accounts allow individual access restriction and monitoring. Any number of users can be added .

Groups Groups are collections of users. WinGate 2.1allows nesting of groups.

Access Rights Rights can be assigned to individual users or groups.

localhost Localhost is a TCP/IP name used to refer to the computer you are using. Localhost is a computer’s way of saying ‘me’, or referring to itself. If you wish to use a service that is on the computer that you are using (e.g. logging on to WinGate for the first time) you use the name localhost. The address localhost is not included in the license count. The localhost IP address is always 127.0.0.1

Interface An interface is a ‘network connection’, ie a way to connect to another computer, e.g. a network card, a dialer profile, or your local loop back: localhost.

Binding Binding a service to an interface causes that service to listen on that interface. The WinGate services default to ‘Bind to all interfaces’.

ISP Internet Service Provider. This is the company from who you obtain your internet access. IE if you have a modem, you ring their phone number.