Terminology
Consistency fosters trust. In standardizing our terms and phrases, we assure our audience that we are knowledgeable and thorough. We speak as a single unified company to avoid confusion and provide a consistent experience.
General Phrasing
American English
Global collateral uses American English spellings and grammar. E.g., authorized instead of authorised, behavior instead of behaviour, color instead of colour, license instead of licence.
Working out how to spell a technical term
For pre-existing terms, search the command reference and FOG to see how we already spell it. If it’s new, then if it’s defined in a standard like an RFC, use the spelling from that standard. Otherwise, google the alternative spellings and see which is most popular.
Copyright
Use the following statement in documents, changing the copyright date as necessary: “© 2020 Allied Telesis, Inc. All rights reserved.“
Contacting support staff
Use the phrase “Contact your authorized Allied Telesis representative … “.
Allied Telesis company name
Always use the words “Allied Telesis” together—never just “Allied”, as there are many other companies with this name. When possible, keep both words together on the same line. Never use the Company name as a possessive.
Example:
- “Allied Telesis’ iMG” should be written “The Allied Telesis iMG”
Trademark symbol
With the exception of the website—where we don’t include trademark symbols—the first use of a trademarked brand name in the heading, or text, should include the ™ or ® mark. Successive uses within the same document do not include those symbols.
Product series
A collection of products with the same basic product number is referred to as a Series. Capitalize Series when it is preceded by the product name.
Example:
- “the Allied Telesis GS970EMX Series”
Product families
A collection of products that spans a Series is a Family. Capitalize Family when it is preceded by the product name.
Example:
- “the Allied Telesis iMAP Family”
Product names
We use the casual version of our product names on the website, meaning they do not begin with “AT-” or “CentreCOM”.
Everywhere else, use the complete product name the first time, then the casual name thereafter.
Example:
- “Allied Telesis AT-x950-52XSQ4” the first time, “x950-52XSQ” thereafter.
Acronyms
Spell the phrase out the first time, including the acronym in parentheses. After the first time, use only the acronym. First use of acronyms in headings is acceptable.
Example:
- “Power over Ethernet (PoE)”
The HTML tag <abbr> defines an abbreviation or acronym and should be used on our website wherever possible.
Example:
- <abbr title=”Cascading Style Sheets”>CSS</abbr>
Spelling and Word Choice
(A–G)
| Preferred Form | Comments |
|---|---|
| 802.1Q | IEEE and many others use capital Q. Avoid dot1q or Dot1q. |
| 802.1Q | The X seems to be uppercase in most google hits, so not 802.1 x. Avoid referring to it as dot1 x. |
| 802.1Q authentication | Not 802.1X-authentication and always capitalize the X. Avoid referring to it as dot1x authentication. |
| affect | Verb meaning to have an impact on or make a difference to. For example, some commands affect security. |
| AMF | Allied Telesis Autonomous Management Framework™ . Although all AMF commands are prefixed with atmf, the AMF feature should never be referred to as ATMF. |
| AMF master, AMF member, AMF node | Use lowercase on ‘master’, ‘member’, ‘node’ etc. |
| AMF guestnode | This is a marketing term for the AMF guestnode feature. When writing about guest nodes, however, it is usually better to keep “guest node” as two separate words unless prefixing them with AMF e.g. The AMF guestnode feature allows you to configure guest nodes …. |
| AMF Security, AMF-Sec, AMF Security mini | As an application running on the VST-APL: ‘AMF Security’, abbreviated to ‘AMF-Sec’ (hyphen, uppercase AMF-S, lowercase ec). Less-featured application running on AlliedWare Plus devices: ‘AMF Security mini’ or ‘AMF-Sec mini’. This was previously known as, and still is some contexts, AT-SESC (AT-SecureEnterpriseSDN Controller). The CU in AW+uses AMF-SEC as a name for the application, and sesc in the name of the image file. |
| antivirus | Not hyphenated and not capitalised unless a proper name e.g. Kaspersky Antivirus. |
| backpressure | Also styled as “back pressure” and “back-pressure” in various Cisco documents, our doco uses “backpressure” to be consistent with the command name. |
| blade | Do not use unless in example output. See line card. |
| built-in vs built in | Built-in is the adjective, for example, the built-in script. Built in is the verb, for example, the script was built in. |
| bus | For example, PCI bus. |
| cannot | One word. |
| case-sensitive not case sensitive | Or “non case-sensitive”. Used as an adjective. Not “case insensitive”. |
| CFlash | CompactFlash, not “Compact Flash”. |
| chassis | For both singular and plural (only the pronunciation changes). |
| checkbox | One word, used in the context of GUls. |
| check mark | Two words, used in the context of GUls. Use instead of “tick”. |
| Class A | An IP address range. |
| click | When referring to GUI buttons or checkboxes. Not “click on”. |
| client | When referring to mode. |
| configuration | Not “config” unless referring to a specific command, such as create config. |
| crash | What our competitors’ devices do. Use “system reboot”, or if you want it to be clear that it’s a crash instead of a scheduled reboot, use “unexpected reboot”. |
| cross-link | Not crosslink. The AMF command, however, is switchport atmf-crosslink. |
| cyber attack | Two words. Not cyberattack or cyber-attack. |
| dependent | Not dependant, although this is an equally valid word. |
| deselect | When referring to GUI checkboxes. May also use “clear” but not “uncheck”. |
| Device GUI | Device has a capital D. |
| echo | For example, ICMP echo requests and echo replies. |
| effect | Noun meaning result or change, such as “this command has no effect on user authentication”. |
| Not “e-mail” | |
| enter | For GU ls to refer to typing something on a keyboard. |
| Ethernet, Eth port | These terms are not interchangeable. Both Eth ports and switch ports run over Ethernet. |
| filename | One word. |
| flash | When referring to memory. Spell flash memory with a lowercase f. |
| frames | Layer 2 messages. Use when not constrained by existing text. |
| guest-class | Not guest class or guestclass. |
| guest-link | Not guest link or guestlink. The AMF command is atmf-guestlink. |
| guest node | Not guest-node, and not guestnode unless prefixed by AMF. |
(H–P)
| Preferred Form | Comments |
|---|---|
| heartbeat | Type of a communication packet that is sent between nodes. |
| hello | Type of a communication packet. |
| hot swap hot swapping hot-swappable | Verb or adjective, such as “to hot swap” or “these are hot-swappable”. |
| interface-list | A list of interfaces, when specifying a parameter. |
| Internet | Capital “I” when referring to the World Wide Web. |
| internet | Lowercase “i” when referring to a smaller set of networks connected by IP. |
| interoperate | Not inter-operate. |
| into | Such as “When logged into an account … “ |
| IPsec | Not IPSec or IPSEC. |
| keepalive | Type of message. |
| Layer 2, Layer 3, etc. | When referring to specific layers of the OSI model. |
| license | Not “licence”. This is because we use US spelling. |
| line card | Not “blade”. |
| login | Noun and adjective. such as “login attempts”. |
| log in or log into | As verbs. |
| lowercase | One word. |
| MAC authentication | Not MAC-authentication and always capitalize the word MAC. |
| MACsec | Capital MAC, lowercase sec. (MACsec is Media Access Control Security.) |
| malware | Lower case ‘m’ unless referring to the router feature called Malware Protection. |
| master | Avoid unless referring to a software/hardware role that uses that term, e.g. “AMF master”, “stack master”. |
| non-volatile storage NVS | When referring to memory. |
| notify status | Type of message. |
| packets | Layer 3 messages. Use when not constrained by existing text. |
| ping | Acceptable as a verb. |
| plaintext | Refers to passwords. |
| press | For GUls to tell users what to do with a key, for example. “press the Ctrl key”. Not “hit” or “push”. |
(Q–Z)
| Preferred Form | Comments |
|---|---|
| RADIUS | Acronym, so not “Radius”. |
| rapid | When referring to mode. |
| RadSec | Abbreviation for Transport Layer Security (TLS) Encryption for RADIUS or RADIUS over TLS. |
| radsecproxy | A generic RADIUS proxy with RadSec support. |
| real-time | Real-time, with a hyphen, is an adjective describing something in which results, feedback, or statistical data follow input with no noticeable delay. |
| router | Lowercase. |
| secure | When referring to mode. |
| Secure Mode | Not “secure mode”. |
| select | For GUls when choosing items in a menu or clicking a checkbox. |
| server | When referring to mode. |
| set up vs setup | “Setup” is the noun and “to set up” is the verb. E.g. Click the Add button to set up your widget. Then click the Finish button to complete the setup. |
| slave | Avoid when possible because term is dated. Consider whether “backup master” is appropriate. |
| standard | When referring to mode. |
| start | Verb. Not “start up”. |
| startup | Adjective and occasionally a noun. |
| subtree | Often used with MIBs and not “sub-tree”. |
| switch, switch controller | Lowercase. |
| system reboot | When referring to a crash, or a fatal error that results in a reboot, especially in Release Notes and Field Advisory Notes. Can also say “unexpected reboot”. |
| TACACS, TACACS+ | Acronyms. |
| telnet | Acceptable as verb, but better to say “to start a Telnet session”. |
| Telnet | Noun and adjective, such as Telnet hosts. |
| timezone | One word. |
| unidirectional | When you are talking about the links themselves, for example: … can be used to detect and disable unidirectional Ethernet fiber or copper links. |
| UniDirectional Link Detection | When you are using the protocol’s full name. Note the capital D in UniDirectional. |
| uppercase | One word. |
| username | One word. |
| virtual-link | Not virtuallink. The AMF command is atmf virtual-link. |
| virtual cross-link | Not virtual-crosslink. The AMF command, however, is atmf virtual-crosslink |
| VLAN | Use “vlan2” for a specific interface. |
| web authentication | Not Web-authentication. No need to capitalise the web. web-based authentication is also permissible. |
| web browser | Not Web-browser. No need to capitalise the web. |
| Wi-Fi | Not WiFi or wi-fi or wifi or Wifi. |
| wire speed wire-speed | For example, “services at wire speed”. Adjective, such as “it delivers wire-speed switching performace”. |
Recent Additions
and (do not use ‘&’)
AlliedView
AlliedWare
Allied Telesis (never use ATI)
antivirus
auto-configuration
auto-ranging
BiDi
Class 3/4
database
DiffServ
DIN rail
DSL
email
eco-friendly(adj), eco friendly(n)
end note
end-to-end
Enterprise-class (adj) Enterprise class (n)
EtherGRID
Ethernet Protection Switched Ring (EPSRing™)
Ethernet-based
Fast Ethernet
full-duplex
FTTx
GBIC
Gigabit
half-duplex
hardware-based
high-speed
home page
hot-swappable
hyperlink
IEEE 802
intelligent Multiservice Gateway (iMG)
integrated Multiservice Access Platform (iMAP)
Internet
intranet
IPSec
IP Triple Play
IPv6
load balancing
low-density
MAC address
MDI/MDI-X
MHz
MissingLink
MicroMAP
MiniMAP
Mpps
multi-mode
multi-protocol
multiservice
Net.Cover
Net.Monitor
Next-Generation Firewall
No Compromise Wi-Fi
non-blocking
non-condensing
online
OSPFv2
Pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ)
Pass-through
PCI-Express (PCIe)
PCI Extended (PCI-x)
Plug and Play (noun) Plug-and-Play (adjective)
Plug-in (noun and adjective)
Point-to-Point Protocol
policy-based
POTS
Power over Ethernet
PPPoA
PPPoE
PoE (POE in product names)
QoS
Rack mount
Rapid Spanning Tree
RIPv1/v2
RoHS
RJ-45
AT-SBx908 GEN2
Series
sFlow
SFP
single-mode
Smart MissingLink
Numbers and units
Measurements
95 in
95 inches
25 mm
100 ft
2.5 kg
10 km
100 μm
Power
-48 VDC
240 VAC
150W or 150 Watts
Temperature
45°C 112°F
Quantity
100K is acceptable (denoting thousands) in such specifications as:
- 32K MAC Addresses
- 8K Layer 3 entries
- Up to 5K RIP routes
- 24- and 48-port models
Not acceptable in narrative:
- “We sell more than 2K switches every month”
Data
10T (not 10baseT)
10/100TX (not 10base/100baseTX)
1000SX (not 1000baseSX)
10G
10GbE
10 Gigabit
1024 bytes
100Mbps
9 kilobits
24KB
24 kilobytes
1000kbps (not 1000 kbit/s)
10GB
10Gbps (not 10 Gbit/s)
GbE
24MB
Mbps (not Mbit/s)
VAC
VDC
