> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://specs.govstack.global/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://specs.govstack.global/cloud-infrastructure/3-terminology.md). # 3 Terminology ### Availability Zone A distinct location within a region that is engineered to be isolated from failures in other zones, providing high availability and fault tolerance. ### Container A process or set of processes that have their private and isolated view of the file system and network and compute capacity. All containers on a (virtual) machine share the same operating system. ### Containerization A form of lightweight virtualization that involves encapsulating an application and its dependencies into a container that can run on any computing environment. ### Federation The integration of multiple systems or organizations, allowing them to share resources and manage user identities across different domains while maintaining autonomy. ### Hypervisor Software that creates and runs virtual machines by abstracting the hardware and allowing multiple operating systems to run concurrently on a host computer. ### IAM (Identity and Access Management) A framework of policies and technologies for ensuring that the right individuals have access to the right resources at the right times for the right reasons. ### Infrastructure as Code Virtual infrastructure (software defined storage, network, compute) is managed like code. ### Multi-tenancy An architecture in which a single instance of software runs on a server and serves multiple tenants (users or organizations), ensuring secure isolation between them. ### Quota Usage limits per kind of resource. Users can only create a limited amount of resources to avoid overly high bills or overly high consumption of limited resources. ### Region A geographic area where cloud services and resources are deployed, typically consisting of multiple well-interconnected data centers to provide redundancy and ensure low-latency performance. ### UUID Unique identifier. Typically a random number attached to a newly created resource and then used to uniquely identify and reference it. Commonly 128bit numbers in the format a78622a8-1177-47af-b5da-3378ee5d4313 are used. Other lengths and formatting are possible. ### Virtual Machines (VM) The virtual hardware with virtual CPUs, memory (RAM), disks, network adapters where consumers can run an Operating System and Software of their choice. ### Virtualization The process of creating an abstraction layer over computer hardware (storage, network, compute) that allows a computer to share its hardware with multiple virtual separated environments. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://specs.govstack.global/cloud-infrastructure/3-terminology.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.