Cloud Glossary: Letter D

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D

DaaS (Data as a Service)

A cloud computing model where data is made available to users on demand over a network, typically through APIs or web services.

DaaS (Desktop as a Service)

Cloud-based virtual desktop infrastructure that delivers desktop environments to users over the internet.

Daemon

A background process that runs continuously and provides services to other programs or responds to system events.

Dashboard

A visual interface that displays key metrics, performance indicators, and system status information in real-time.

Data

Information stored in digital format that can be processed, analyzed, and used by computer systems and applications.

Data Analytics

The process of examining datasets to discover patterns, draw conclusions, and support decision-making through statistical analysis.

Data Archiving

Moving infrequently accessed data to long-term storage systems that offer lower costs but longer retrieval times.

Data Backup

Creating copies of data to protect against loss, corruption, or accidental deletion, enabling recovery when needed.

Data Breach

Unauthorized access to sensitive, protected, or confidential data, often resulting in data theft or exposure.

Data Center

A facility that houses computer systems and associated components, including power, cooling, and networking infrastructure.

Data Classification

The process of organizing data based on sensitivity levels, regulatory requirements, and business value for appropriate protection.

Data Compression

Reducing data size by encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation to save storage and bandwidth.

Data Consistency

The property that ensures all nodes in a distributed system reflect the same data at any given time.

Data Corruption

Damage to data that makes it partially or completely unreadable, often caused by hardware failures, software bugs, or transmission errors.

Data Discovery

The process of identifying, locating, and cataloging data assets across an organization's systems and repositories.

Data Encryption

Converting data into a coded format that can only be read by authorized parties who possess the decryption key.

Data Engineering

The practice of designing and building systems for collecting, storing, and analyzing data at scale.

Data Flow

The movement of data through a system, including inputs, processing steps, transformations, and outputs.

Data Governance

Policies, procedures, and standards for managing data quality, security, privacy, and compliance across an organization.

Data Integration

Combining data from different sources into a unified view for analysis, reporting, or operational use.

Data Lake

A centralized repository that allows storage of structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data at any scale.

Data Lifecycle Management

Managing data from creation to deletion, including policies for retention, archiving, and disposal.

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

Technologies and processes to detect and prevent unauthorized access, use, or transmission of sensitive data.

Data Mart

A subset of a data warehouse focused on specific business lines or departments, providing targeted analytics capabilities.

Data Migration

The process of moving data from one system, format, or location to another, often during cloud adoption.

Data Mining

Extracting patterns and knowledge from large datasets using statistical, mathematical, and machine learning techniques.

Data Modeling

Creating abstract representations of data structures and relationships to guide database design and application development.

Data Pipeline

A series of data processing steps that move data from source systems through transformations to destination systems.

Data Plane

The part of a system responsible for forwarding user data and traffic, as opposed to the control plane that manages configuration.

Data Privacy

Protecting personal and sensitive information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure in compliance with regulations.

Data Processing

Collecting, transforming, and analyzing raw data to extract meaningful information and insights.

Data Protection

Safeguarding data against corruption, compromise, or loss through backup, encryption, and access controls.

Data Quality

The measure of data's fitness for its intended use, considering accuracy, completeness, consistency, and timeliness.

Data Recovery

The process of restoring lost, corrupted, or accidentally deleted data from backups or other recovery mechanisms.

Data Redundancy

Storing multiple copies of data across different locations or systems to ensure availability and protection against loss.

Data Replication

Copying data from one location to another to ensure consistency, availability, and disaster recovery capabilities.

Data Residency

Legal and regulatory requirements specifying where data must be physically stored geographically.

Data Retention

Policies and practices for how long data should be kept before deletion, balancing compliance and storage costs.

Data Science

An interdisciplinary field using scientific methods, algorithms, and systems to extract insights from structured and unstructured data.

Data Security

Protecting data from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft through encryption, access controls, and monitoring.

Data Sovereignty

The concept that data is subject to the laws and governance structures of the country where it's collected or stored.

Data Transfer

Moving data between systems, networks, or storage locations, often involving bandwidth and cost considerations.

Data Transformation

Converting data from one format, structure, or representation to another to meet specific requirements or standards.

Data Validation

Checking data accuracy, completeness, and consistency against defined rules and constraints before processing.

Data Visualization

Representing data graphically through charts, graphs, and interactive dashboards to facilitate understanding and analysis.

Data Warehouse

A centralized repository that stores integrated data from multiple sources for business intelligence and analytics.

Database

An organized collection of structured information stored electronically and managed by a database management system.

Database Administrator (DBA)

A professional responsible for managing, maintaining, and optimizing database systems and ensuring data integrity.

Database Backup

Creating copies of database data and structure to protect against data loss and enable recovery operations.

Database Clustering

Grouping multiple database servers to work together for improved performance, availability, and scalability.

Database Index

A data structure that improves query performance by creating shortcuts to quickly locate specific data in tables.

Database Migration

Moving databases from one environment to another, including schema, data, and application dependencies.

Database Replication

Copying and maintaining database data across multiple database instances to ensure availability and performance.

Database Scaling

Increasing database capacity to handle growing data volumes and user loads through vertical or horizontal scaling.

Database Schema

The logical structure of a database that defines tables, fields, relationships, and constraints.

Database Sharding

Partitioning database data across multiple servers to distribute load and improve performance.

Datacenter

A facility housing computer systems and associated components including power, cooling, and networking infrastructure.

Dataflow (Google Cloud)

Google Cloud's stream and batch data processing service for transforming and enriching data in real-time.

DataOps

A collaborative data management practice focused on improving communication, integration, and automation of data flows.

Datastore (Google Cloud)

Google Cloud's NoSQL document database built for automatic scaling, high performance, and ease of application development.

DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service)

A cyber attack that attempts to make a service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources.

Dead Letter Queue

A service implementation for handling messages that cannot be processed successfully after multiple attempts.

Debugging

The process of finding and fixing bugs or defects in software code or system configurations.

Decryption

The process of converting encrypted data back to its original readable format using the appropriate decryption key.

Dedicated Host

A physical server exclusively allocated to a single customer, providing isolation and control over the underlying hardware.

Dedicated Instance

A virtual machine that runs on hardware dedicated to a single customer account, providing enhanced isolation.

Deduplication

The process of eliminating duplicate copies of data to reduce storage requirements and improve efficiency.

Deep Learning

A subset of machine learning using neural networks with multiple layers to learn complex patterns in data.

Default Route

A network route that directs traffic to a default gateway when no specific route to the destination is available.

Dependency

A relationship where one component relies on another component to function properly or complete its tasks.

Deployment

The process of installing, configuring, and making software applications available for use in a target environment.

Deployment Automation

Using tools and scripts to automatically deploy applications consistently across environments without manual intervention.

Deployment Model

The approach for delivering cloud services, including public, private, hybrid, and community cloud models.

Deployment Pipeline

An automated process that moves code from version control through testing and deployment to production environments.

Deployment Strategy

A planned approach for releasing software updates, including blue-green, canary, and rolling deployment methods.

DevOps

A set of practices combining software development and IT operations to shorten development lifecycles and provide continuous delivery.

DevSecOps

An approach that integrates security practices into the DevOps process, making security a shared responsibility throughout development.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)

A network service that automatically assigns IP addresses and network configuration to devices on a network.

Digital Certificate

An electronic document that proves the ownership of a public key and the identity of the certificate holder.

Digital Signature

A cryptographic mechanism used to verify the authenticity and integrity of digital messages or documents.

Digital Transformation

The integration of digital technology into all business areas, changing how organizations operate and deliver value.

Directory Service

A network service that stores and organizes information about network resources and makes them accessible to users and applications.

Disaster Recovery

Strategies and procedures for quickly resuming business operations after a disruptive event or system failure.

Disaster Recovery Plan

A documented process for recovering and protecting IT infrastructure in the event of a disaster or major system failure.

Disk

A storage device that holds data permanently, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs).

Disk Encryption

Protecting data stored on disk drives by encoding it in a format that can only be read with the correct decryption key.

Distributed Computing

A model where computing tasks are spread across multiple machines working together to solve complex problems.

Distributed Database

A database that consists of multiple interconnected databases stored at different locations and managed as a single unit.

Distributed System

A system where components located on networked computers communicate and coordinate actions by passing messages.

DNS (Domain Name System)

A hierarchical system that translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses that computers use to identify each other.

Docker

A platform for developing, shipping, and running applications using containerization technology to package applications with dependencies.

Docker Container

A lightweight, standalone package that includes everything needed to run an application: code, runtime, libraries, and settings.

Docker Image

A read-only template with instructions for creating a Docker container, including the application and all its dependencies.

Domain

A distinct subset of the internet with addresses sharing a common suffix or under the control of a particular organization.

Domain Controller

A server that responds to security authentication requests within a Windows domain and manages user accounts and permissions.

Domain Name

A human-readable address used to access websites and other resources on the internet, mapped to IP addresses by DNS.

Downtime

A period when a system is unavailable or not operational, often measured as a percentage of total operating time.

DR (Disaster Recovery)

The process of maintaining or reestablishing vital infrastructure and systems following a natural or human-induced disaster.

Driver

Software that allows an operating system to communicate with and control hardware devices or components.

Durability

The ability of a storage system to keep data intact over time, often expressed as a percentage (e.g., 99.999999999%).

DynamoDB (AWS)

Amazon's fully managed NoSQL database service that provides fast and predictable performance with seamless scalability.

Dynamic Allocation

Automatically assigning computing resources based on current demand and usage patterns rather than fixed allocations.

Dynamic Content

Web content that changes based on user interactions, database queries, or real-time data, as opposed to static content.

Dynamic Routing

Network routing that automatically adjusts routing tables based on current network conditions and topology changes.

Dynamic Scaling

Automatically adjusting compute resources up or down based on real-time demand to optimize performance and costs.