Certification terms: M

372 study terms starting with M.

372 terms

M LanguagePower Query Formula Language: the functional, case-sensitive language behind every Power Query transformation.Intermediate
M of N ControlRequiring any M of N designated custodians to cooperate to perform a sensitive operation.Intermediate
M.2A small form factor connector and card standard used mainly for SSDs, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth modules.Foundational
MAC AddressA 48-bit Layer 2 address that identifies a network interface on a local network, written as 12 hexadecimal digits.Foundational
MAC Address RandomizationClient privacy feature that uses random MAC addresses for scanning or per network.Intermediate
MAC Address TableThe switch table mapping learned source MAC addresses to ports and VLANs, used for frame forwarding (CAM table).Foundational
MAC Authentication Bypass (MAB)Authenticating a device by sending its MAC address to RADIUS when it cannot perform 802.1X.Intermediate
MAC FloodingOverwhelming a switch's MAC address table with fake entries so it floods frames to all ports like a hub.Intermediate
MAC MobilityAn EVPN mechanism using a sequence-number extended community to track hosts moving between VTEPs and to detect duplicate MACs.Advanced
Mac OS Extended (HFS+)Apple's legacy file system used before APFS, still used for some external and Time Machine drives.Foundational
MAC Protocol Data Unit (MPDU)The 802.11 MAC frame including header, frame body, and FCS.Advanced
MAC Service Data Unit (MSDU)The Layer 3-7 payload handed down from LLC to the 802.11 MAC; maximum 2,304 bytes.Advanced
MAC Times (MACB)File system timestamps recording when a file was Modified, Accessed, Changed (metadata) and Born (created).Advanced
MAC/IP Advertisement RouteEVPN Type 2 route that advertises a host's MAC address and optionally its IP address, with L2 and L3 VNIs or labels.Advanced
Machine Creation Services (MCS)A Citrix provisioning method that uses hypervisor APIs to create VM catalogs from a master image snapshot.Intermediate
Machine Learning (ML)A subset of AI in which systems learn patterns from data to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed with rules.Foundational
Machine Learning Operations (MLOps)Practices and tooling that apply DevOps principles to build, deploy, monitor and maintain ML models reliably in production.Foundational
Machine Translation (MT)Automatically translating text or speech from one language to another.Foundational
macOSApple's desktop operating system for Mac computers, built on a Unix-based (Darwin) foundation.Foundational
macOS App InstallationInstalling Mac software via the App Store, .dmg disk images, or .pkg installer packages.Foundational
macOS RecoveryA built-in recovery environment for reinstalling macOS, restoring backups, and repairing disks.Foundational
Macro VirusA virus written in a macro language, such as VBA, embedded in documents and executed when the document is opened.Foundational
Magic NumberA fixed sequence of bytes at the start of a file that identifies its true format regardless of extension.Intermediate
Mail Exchanger Record (MX)A DNS record that identifies the mail servers that accept email for a domain, with preference values.Foundational
Main Distribution Frame (MDF)The primary telecommunications room where the building's backbone cabling converges and where carrier circuits typically connect.Foundational
Maintenance KitA manufacturer bundle of wear parts, such as fuser and rollers, replaced at a set page count.Foundational
Maintenance WindowAgreed period when changes are permitted for a CI, used in conflict detection.Intermediate
Major IncidentA high-impact incident requiring a separate, expedited procedure with dedicated coordination.Intermediate
Major Incident ManagementServiceNow process for handling high-impact incidents with candidates, proposal, promotion, communication plans and dedicated workbench.Intermediate
Major Issue ManagementCSM capability to identify and manage cases affecting many customers, linking child cases to a major case.Advanced
Make-or-Buy AnalysisAnalysis used to determine whether work or deliverables are best produced internally or purchased externally.Foundational
Malicious PackageAn open-source package intentionally published or modified to perform harmful actions such as stealing credentials or installing backdoors.Intermediate
MaltegoA graphical link-analysis tool that maps relationships between people, domains, organizations and infrastructure for OSINT.Intermediate
MalvertisingThe use of online advertising to deliver malware or redirect users to malicious sites.Intermediate
MalwareMalicious software designed to damage, disrupt, spy on or gain unauthorized access to systems or data.Foundational
Malware Removal ProcessCompTIA's seven-step procedure for removing malware from a system.Intermediate
Malware SandboxAn isolated, instrumented environment where suspicious files or URLs are executed safely to observe behavior.Intermediate
Man-in-the-Browser (MitB)An attack in which malware inside the browser intercepts and modifies web content and transactions.Intermediate
Manage by ExceptionPRINCE2 principle of setting tolerances for each objective and escalating only when tolerances are forecast to be exceeded.Foundational
Manage Project KnowledgeProcess of using existing knowledge and creating new knowledge to achieve objectives and contribute to organizational learning.Intermediate
Manage QualityProcess of translating the quality management plan into executable quality activities that incorporate quality policies.Intermediate
Manage TeamProcess of tracking team member performance, providing feedback, resolving issues, and managing changes to optimize performance.Intermediate
Managed Detection and Response (MDR)An outsourced service providing 24x7 threat detection, investigation and active response using the provider's tools and analysts.Intermediate
Managed IdentityAutomatically managed Entra ID identity for Azure resources, letting code authenticate to services without stored credentials.Intermediate
Managed Instance Group (MIG)Google Cloud group of identical VMs created from an instance template with autoscaling, autohealing and rolling updates.Intermediate
Managed PackageUpgradeable, namespace-protected package used by ISV partners to distribute apps, often on AppExchange.Intermediate
Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP)A third party that delivers outsourced security monitoring and management services.Foundational
Managed TableA table whose data files and metadata are both managed by the platform; dropping it deletes the data.Intermediate
Management FrameAn 802.11 frame type (type 0) used to join, leave, and maintain a BSS.Foundational
Management GroupAzure container above subscriptions used to apply governance such as Azure Policy and RBAC across many subscriptions.Foundational
Management Information Base (MIB)A hierarchical database definition describing the objects an SNMP agent exposes, such as interface counters and CPU usage.Intermediate
Management ReserveBudget withheld from the cost baseline for unforeseen work within project scope ('unknown-unknowns').Intermediate
Management ReviewPlanned review by top management of an ISMS to ensure its continuing suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness.Intermediate
Managerial ControlControl category focused on governance and risk management activities such as policies, assessments, and planning.Foundational
Managing a Stage BoundaryPRINCE2 process giving the Project Board what it needs to review the stage, approve the next stage plan, and confirm business justification.Intermediate
Mandatory Access Control (MAC)Access control model where a central authority enforces access based on security labels and clearances.Foundational
Mandatory VacationPolicy requiring employees to take consecutive days off so others can perform their duties and uncover fraud.Foundational
ManifestA YAML or JSON file describing Kubernetes objects with apiVersion, kind, metadata, and spec fields.Foundational
Manual SharingAd hoc record sharing by the owner, someone above them in the hierarchy, or an admin, using the Sharing button.Foundational
Many-to-Many RelationshipData model where records of one object relate to many of another and vice versa, implemented in Salesforce with a junction object.Foundational
Many-to-Many Relationship (Database) (M:N)A relationship where many rows in one table relate to many rows in another; it is resolved with a junction table.Intermediate
Mapped Network DriveA drive letter assigned to a shared network folder for easy access.Foundational
MapReduceA programming model that processes large datasets in parallel with a map phase producing key-value pairs and a reduce phase aggregating them.Intermediate
Margin of Error (MOE)Half the width of a confidence interval: the critical value multiplied by the standard error.Foundational
Mark as Date TableA Power BI setting that designates a table as the model's date table, validating a unique, contiguous date column for time intelligence.Intermediate
Mark of the Web (MotW)A Zone.Identifier alternate data stream Windows adds to downloaded files to mark them as originating from the internet.Advanced
Marketing Cloud ConnectConnector integrating Marketing Cloud Engagement with Sales and Service Cloud for data sync, sends and tracking.Intermediate
Marketing Cloud EngagementSalesforce's enterprise B2C marketing platform (formerly ExactTarget) for email, mobile, advertising and journeys.Foundational
Marvis ActionsMist's proactive dashboard that surfaces detected network issues and recommended fixes.Intermediate
Marvis Virtual Network AssistantMist's conversational AI assistant for natural-language troubleshooting and network queries.Intermediate
Masked Language Modeling (MLM)A pretraining objective in which random tokens are hidden and the model predicts them from surrounding context.Advanced
Masking PolicyA Snowflake Enterprise schema-level object that dynamically masks column values at query time based on conditions such as the current role.Intermediate
Mass AssignmentA vulnerability where a framework binds all request parameters to object properties, letting users set fields they should not control.Intermediate
Massively Parallel Processing (MPP)An architecture that splits data and query work across many nodes that process their portions in parallel.Intermediate
Master Boot Record (MBR)A legacy partitioning scheme storing the boot loader and partition table in the first 512-byte sector of a disk.Foundational
Master DataCore, relatively stable business entities shared across processes, such as customers, products, employees and locations.Foundational
Master Data Management (MDM)Discipline and tools for creating and maintaining a single, authoritative version of key business entities like customers, products and suppliers.Intermediate
Master File Table (MFT)The NTFS metadata file that holds a record for every file and directory on the volume.Advanced
Master Service Agreement (MSA)An umbrella contract setting the general legal terms for all future work between a client and a service provider.Foundational
Master-Detail RelationshipTightly coupled parent-child relationship where the detail record inherits ownership and sharing from the master and is deleted with it.Foundational
Match RuleIdentity resolution criteria determining when source profiles should be merged.Advanced
Matching RuleCriteria defining how two records are compared, using exact or fuzzy matching, to identify duplicates.Foundational
Material Requirements Planning (MRP)Planning process that calculates material needs and timing based on demand, BOMs and inventory.Intermediate
Material WeaknessDeficiency in internal control such that a material misstatement may not be prevented or detected timely.Advanced
MaterialitySignificance of an item or error such that it could influence decisions of users of audit results.Intermediate
Materialized ViewA database object that stores the precomputed result of a query and refreshes it as base data changes.Intermediate
Matrix StrategyA CI feature that runs the same job multiple times across combinations of variables such as OS and language version.Intermediate
Maturity ModelStructured scale for measuring the capability and consistency of processes from ad hoc to optimized.Intermediate
Max TokensAn inference parameter limiting the number of tokens the model may generate in a response.Foundational
Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC)Receive technique that combines signals from multiple antennas to improve SNR.Advanced
Maximum Segment Size (MSS)The largest amount of TCP payload data a host will accept in one segment, advertised in the SYN.Intermediate
Maximum Tolerable Downtime (MTD)The longest period a business function can be unavailable before causing unacceptable or irrecoverable harm.Intermediate
Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU)The largest Layer 3 packet, in bytes, that a link can carry without fragmentation; 1500 bytes on standard Ethernet.Foundational
Maximum-PrefixA BGP neighbor limit on the number of prefixes accepted, protecting against route leaks and table overflows.Advanced
MCP ClientThe component inside an AI host application that maintains a connection to an MCP server.Intermediate
MCP Resources and PromptsMCP primitives besides tools: resources expose readable data, prompts expose reusable templates.Advanced
MCP ServerA program that exposes tools, resources and prompts to AI applications via the Model Context Protocol.Intermediate
MeanThe arithmetic average: the sum of values divided by the number of values.Foundational
Mean Absolute Error (MAE)The average of absolute differences between predicted and actual values.Foundational
Mean Opinion Score (MOS)A 1-to-5 rating of perceived voice or video quality, where 5 is excellent and about 4 or higher is toll quality.Foundational
Mean Squared Error (MSE)The average of squared differences between predicted and actual values.Foundational
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)The average operating time between failures of a repairable system, a measure of reliability.Foundational
Mean Time to Detect (MTTD)The average time between when an incident begins and when it is detected.Foundational
Mean Time to Repair (MTTR)The average time required to repair a failed component or system and return it to service.Foundational
Mean Time to Respond (MTTR)The average time between detecting an incident and containing or resolving it.Foundational
Measured BootBoot process that records hashes of each component into the TPM so the boot state can be verified later.Advanced
Measured ServiceNIST cloud characteristic: resource usage is metered, monitored and reported, enabling pay-per-use billing and transparency.Foundational
Measurement System Analysis (MSA)Evaluation of a measurement system's accuracy, precision, and stability before relying on its data.Advanced
Measures of Central TendencySingle values that describe the center of a distribution: mean, median and mode.Foundational
Mechanical SpliceJoining two fibers by aligning them in a fixture with index-matching gel, without fusing.Intermediate
Medallion ArchitectureA lakehouse design pattern that refines data progressively through Bronze (raw), Silver (cleansed) and Gold (business-ready) layers.Intermediate
Media Access Control Security (MACsec)IEEE 802.1AE standard providing Layer 2 hop-by-hop encryption and integrity on Ethernet links.Advanced
Media BypassA Teams Direct Routing setting that sends media directly between the Teams client and the SBC instead of through Microsoft relays.Advanced
Media ConverterA Layer 1 device that converts signals between different media types, such as copper twisted pair to fiber.Foundational
Media Flow-ThroughA CUBE mode in which RTP media is terminated and re-originated by CUBE, providing topology hiding and media interworking.Advanced
Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP)A centralized master/slave protocol (UDP 2427) in which a call agent such as CUCM controls voice gateway endpoints.Intermediate
Media Resource Group (MRG)A CUCM collection of media resources such as conference bridges, transcoders, MTPs, annunciators and MOH servers.Intermediate
Media Resource Group List (MRGL)An ordered list of media resource groups assigned to a device or device pool to determine which resources it uses.Intermediate
Media SanitizationRemoving data from storage so it cannot be recovered, using clear, purge, or destroy methods.Intermediate
Media Termination Point (MTP)A CUCM media resource that anchors an RTP stream to bridge mismatches such as DTMF methods, early offer or IPv4/IPv6.Intermediate
MedianThe middle value of ordered data, or the average of the two middle values when the count is even.Foundational
Medium Access Control (MAC)The 802.11 sublayer of Layer 2 that handles addressing, framing, medium access, and security.Foundational
Meet-Me ConferenceA conference that participants join by dialing a pre-assigned meet-me number at a scheduled time.Foundational
Meeting HijackingUnauthorized entry into an online meeting to disrupt, eavesdrop or share offensive content, also called meeting bombing.Foundational
Memory BallooningA memory reclamation technique where a driver inside the guest inflates to make the guest OS release memory back to the hypervisor.Advanced
Memory ForensicsAnalysis of volatile memory captures to find running processes, network connections, injected code and other evidence.Intermediate
Memory InjectionInserting malicious code into the memory space of a running process to execute it under that process's context.Advanced
Memory OvercommitmentAllocating more total memory to VMs than the physical host has, relying on reclamation techniques when demand peaks.Intermediate
Memory SpeedThe data transfer rate of RAM, expressed in mega-transfers per second (MT/s) or as a PC module rating.Intermediate
Memory Tagging Extension (MTE)An ARM hardware feature that tags memory allocations and pointers so mismatched accesses, such as use-after-free or overflows, are detected.Advanced
Memory-Safe LanguageA programming language that prevents memory errors such as buffer overflows and use-after-free by design.Intermediate
Meraki Air MarshalMeraki's built-in wireless intrusion detection and prevention system.Intermediate
Meraki Auto RFMeraki's automatic channel and power optimization, enhanced by AI-RRM.Intermediate
Meraki DashboardCisco Meraki's cloud management interface for wireless, switching, security, and cameras.Foundational
Meraki MR Access PointCisco Meraki's cloud-managed wireless access point line.Intermediate
Meraki Splash PageMeraki's captive portal options for guest onboarding, including click-through and sign-on pages.Intermediate
Meraki SSID Addressing ModeThe Meraki per-SSID setting controlling how client IP addressing and traffic forwarding work.Advanced
MergeCombining the changes from one Git branch into another, creating a merge commit when histories have diverged.Foundational
Merge ConflictA situation where Git cannot automatically combine changes because the same part of a file was modified differently in both branches.Foundational
Merge QueriesA Power Query operation that joins two queries horizontally on matching columns, like a SQL join.Foundational
MERGE StatementA single DML statement that inserts, updates or deletes target rows based on whether they match rows in a source.Intermediate
Mesh Access Point (MAP)A mesh AP that connects to the network wirelessly through a root AP or other mesh APs.Advanced
Mesh TopologyA topology in which devices have multiple interconnections, providing redundant paths.Foundational
Message Authentication Code (MAC)Short tag computed with a shared secret key that verifies a message's integrity and origin.Intermediate
Message Batches APIAn asynchronous API for submitting large volumes of Claude requests at a discount, processed within 24 hours.Intermediate
Message Digest 5 (MD5)Legacy 128-bit hash function that is broken for collision resistance.Foundational
Message ExchangeAnypoint MQ construct that routes a published message to multiple bound queues (pub/sub fan-out).Advanced
Message Waiting Indicator (MWI)A lamp or icon on a phone that lights when the user has new voicemail, controlled by the voicemail system.Foundational
MetadataData about data: technical (schemas, types), business (definitions, owners) and operational (load times, lineage, usage) information.Foundational
Metadata AnalysisExtracting hidden information such as usernames, software versions and paths from public documents and images.Intermediate
Metadata APISalesforce API used to retrieve, deploy, create, update or delete customization metadata such as objects and code.Intermediate
Metadata FilteringRestricting vector search to documents whose attributes match conditions such as date, source or access level.Intermediate
Metadata-Driven ArchitecturePlatform approach where customizations are stored as metadata describing the app rather than as compiled code or physical schema.Intermediate
Metamorphic MalwareMalware that rewrites its own code on each propagation so no two copies share the same instructions.Advanced
MetricA protocol-specific value expressing the cost of a path; within one routing protocol the lowest metric route is preferred.Foundational
Metric TypesThe kinds of metrics used in monitoring systems such as Prometheus: counter, gauge, histogram, and summary.Intermediate
Metro EthernetA carrier service that delivers Ethernet connectivity between sites across a metropolitan area or wider WAN.Intermediate
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)A network spanning a city or metropolitan area, larger than a campus but smaller than a WAN.Foundational
MFA Fatigue AttackRepeatedly sending MFA push requests to a user with stolen credentials until they approve one.Intermediate
Micro-Batch ProcessingA streaming approach that processes incoming data in very small, frequent batches.Intermediate
Micro-PartitionSnowflake's immutable, automatically created columnar storage units, each holding 50-500 MB of uncompressed data with min/max metadata per column.Intermediate
Micro-SegmentationA security approach that applies fine-grained firewall policies between individual workloads, even within the same subnet.Intermediate
Micro-USBA small USB connector used on older Android phones, accessories, and peripherals.Foundational
microATX (mATX)A smaller motherboard form factor (9.6 x 9.6 inches) with up to four expansion slots.Foundational
Microphone ArrayA group of microphone elements whose signals are combined with DSP beamforming to form steerable pickup lobes.Intermediate
Microphone Level (Mic level)The very low signal voltage produced by microphones, typically around -60 to -40 dBu, which needs a preamplifier.Foundational
MicrosegmentationDividing networks into very small, workload-level zones with granular policies controlling east-west traffic.Intermediate
Microservices ArchitectureAn architectural style that structures an application as small, independently deployable services communicating over APIs.Foundational
Microsoft Account (MSA)A personal Microsoft identity used to sign in to Windows, Outlook.com, OneDrive, and Xbox.Foundational
Microsoft Calling PlansA Teams Phone PSTN option in which Microsoft acts as the carrier and provides phone numbers and calling minutes.Foundational
Microsoft Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol version 2 (MSCHAPv2)A password-based challenge-response protocol commonly used as the inner method of PEAP.Intermediate
Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure (CAF)Microsoft's guidance, best practices and tools for cloud adoption organized into methodologies from strategy through management.Intermediate
Microsoft Cost ManagementAzure-native tooling for analyzing costs, creating budgets and alerts, allocating costs and exporting billing data.Foundational
Microsoft Defender AntivirusThe built-in antimalware engine in Windows that provides real-time and cloud-delivered protection.Foundational
Microsoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft CNAPP providing cloud security posture management and workload protection for Azure, AWS, Google Cloud and on-premises.Intermediate
Microsoft Defender XDRMicrosoft's extended detection and response suite, formerly Microsoft 365 Defender, unifying endpoint, identity, email and cloud app protection.Intermediate
Microsoft Entra B2B CollaborationEntra ID capability for inviting external partner users as guests to access an organization's apps and resources.Intermediate
Microsoft Entra ConnectMicrosoft tool (formerly Azure AD Connect) that synchronizes on-premises Active Directory identities to Microsoft Entra ID.Intermediate
Microsoft Entra Connect SyncThe on-premises synchronization tool, formerly Azure AD Connect, that syncs AD DS identities to Microsoft Entra ID.Intermediate
Microsoft Entra External IDMicrosoft's customer identity and access management (CIAM) solution for consumer- and business-customer-facing apps.Intermediate
Microsoft Entra IDMicrosoft's cloud identity and access management service, formerly Azure Active Directory (Azure AD).Foundational
Microsoft Entra ID ProtectionEntra ID feature that detects identity risks such as leaked credentials and risky sign-ins and enforces risk-based policies.Advanced
Microsoft Entra JoinJoining a Windows device directly to Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) instead of on-premises AD.Intermediate
Microsoft Entra Privileged Identity Management (PIM)Entra ID feature providing just-in-time, time-bound and approval-based activation of privileged Entra and Azure roles.Advanced
Microsoft Entra TenantA dedicated, isolated instance of Microsoft Entra ID representing an organization, identified by a tenant ID and domain.Foundational
Microsoft FabricMicrosoft's unified SaaS analytics platform combining data engineering, integration, warehousing, real-time analytics, data science and Power BI on OneLake.Foundational
Microsoft FoundryMicrosoft's unified Azure platform for building AI apps and agents with models, tools and governance (formerly Azure AI Foundry).Foundational
Microsoft IntuneMicrosoft's cloud-based endpoint management service for Windows, macOS, iOS/iPadOS, Android, and Linux.Intermediate
Microsoft Management Console (MMC)The Windows framework that hosts administrative snap-ins in customizable consoles.Intermediate
Microsoft PurviewMicrosoft's unified data governance, security and compliance platform, including the Unified Catalog, Data Map, data lineage, sensitivity labels and DLP.Intermediate
Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle (SDL)Microsoft's prescriptive secure development process defining security practices from training and requirements through release and response.Intermediate
Microsoft SentinelMicrosoft's cloud-native SIEM and SOAR solution built on Azure Log Analytics.Intermediate
Microsoft Service Trust PortalMicrosoft portal providing audit reports, compliance certifications and trust documents for Microsoft cloud services.Foundational
Microsoft TeamsMicrosoft's collaboration platform for chat, meetings, calling and file collaboration within Microsoft 365.Foundational
Microsoft Teams PhoneMicrosoft's cloud PBX capability for Teams that provides calling, call control and PSTN connectivity options.Foundational
Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR)Certified meeting room systems that run the Teams Rooms app on Windows or Android for one-touch Teams meetings.Foundational
Microsoft Threat Modeling ToolA free Microsoft application for drawing DFDs and automatically generating STRIDE-based threats.Intermediate
Microsoft Universal PrintA Microsoft 365 cloud print service that removes the need for on-premises print servers.Intermediate
MID ServerJava application installed on a server inside the customer network that communicates with the instance to perform Discovery, orchestration and integrations.Intermediate
Migrate to Flow ToolSetup tool that converts workflow rules and Process Builder processes into record-triggered flows.Intermediate
MilestoneRequired step with a time limit in an entitlement process, such as first response within 4 hours.Intermediate
Milestone ChartA summary schedule that shows only the planned start or completion dates of major deliverables and external interfaces.Foundational
Millimeter Wave (mmWave)Radio spectrum from roughly 24 to 100 GHz used by 5G FR2 and 60 GHz Wi-Fi for very high capacity at short range.Intermediate
Milliwatt (mW)One thousandth of a watt; the common linear unit of RF transmit power for Wi-Fi.Foundational
MimikatzA post-exploitation tool that extracts plaintext passwords, hashes, Kerberos tickets and other credentials from Windows memory.Advanced
MIMO NotationThe TxR:S format describing transmit chains, receive chains, and supported spatial streams.Intermediate
Mini-ITXA compact motherboard form factor measuring 6.7 x 6.7 inches with a single expansion slot.Foundational
Mini-LEDAn LCD backlight technology using thousands of tiny LEDs grouped in local dimming zones.Intermediate
Minimum Bend RadiusThe smallest radius a cable can be bent without damaging it or degrading performance.Intermediate
Minimum Marketable Feature (MMF)The smallest unit of functionality that delivers meaningful value to customers and can be released.Intermediate
Minimum Necessary StandardHIPAA requirement to limit use, disclosure, and requests of PHI to the minimum needed for the purpose.Intermediate
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)The version of a new product that allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning with the least effort.Foundational
MiraiAn IoT botnet malware family that spreads by logging in to devices with default credentials and launches massive DDoS attacks.Intermediate
MirroringWriting identical copies of data to two or more drives or systems for redundancy.Foundational
Mirroring in FabricA Fabric feature that continuously replicates operational databases (Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, Snowflake and others) into OneLake as Delta tables in near real time.Advanced
Mishandling of Exceptional ConditionsOWASP Top 10 2025 category (A10) for improper error handling, failing open and logic errors under abnormal conditions.Intermediate
Misleading VisualizationA chart that distorts the data's message through truncated or inconsistent axes, inappropriate scales, cherry-picked ranges or area distortion.Foundational
MISPAn open-source threat intelligence sharing platform originally called the Malware Information Sharing Platform.Advanced
MISRA CA set of C language coding guidelines from the Motor Industry Software Reliability Association for safety- and security-critical embedded systems.Advanced
Missing LogsAn indicator of compromise where expected log data is absent, suggesting tampering or deliberate clearing.Intermediate
Mission-Essential Function (MEF)A business function that must continue or be quickly restored for the organization to fulfill its mission.Foundational
Mist EdgeAn on-premises Juniper appliance or VM that terminates AP tunnels for central switching or guest anchoring.Advanced
Misuse CaseA UML-style use case that models an actor performing actions the system should prevent, linked to the use cases it threatens.Intermediate
MITRE ATLASAdversarial Threat Landscape for Artificial-Intelligence Systems: a knowledge base of adversary tactics and techniques against AI.Intermediate
MITRE ATT&CKA globally accessible knowledge base of adversary tactics, techniques and procedures based on real-world observations.Foundational
MITRE D3FENDA MITRE knowledge graph of defensive cybersecurity countermeasures mapped to offensive techniques.Advanced
Mixed DML ErrorError raised when setup objects (like User or PermissionSetAssignment) and non-setup objects are modified in the same transaction.Advanced
Mixed Precision TrainingTraining with lower-precision number formats (FP16/BF16/FP8) for most operations while keeping critical values in FP32.Intermediate
Mixture of Experts (MoE)An architecture where a router activates only a few expert sub-networks per token, increasing capacity without proportional compute.Advanced
mkfsThe Linux command family that creates (formats) a filesystem on a block device, such as mkfs.ext4 or mkfs.xfs.Foundational
ML PipelineAn automated, repeatable sequence of steps such as data preparation, training, evaluation and deployment.Intermediate
MLflowAn open-source platform for experiment tracking, model packaging, model registry and evaluation.Intermediate
Mob ProgrammingPractice in which the whole team works on the same thing, at the same time, at one computer.Intermediate
Mobile and Remote Access (MRA)An Expressway solution that lets Webex App, Jabber and Cisco endpoints use CUCM services from the internet without a VPN.Intermediate
Mobile App AttestationPlatform services that let a backend verify a request came from a genuine, unmodified app on a genuine device.Advanced
Mobile App SandboxOperating system isolation that restricts each mobile app to its own data and resources unless granted permissions.Foundational
Mobile App TroubleshootingSteps to resolve app crashes, freezes, or misbehavior on mobile devices.Foundational
Mobile Application Management (MAM)Managing and protecting corporate apps and data on a device without managing the whole device.Intermediate
Mobile DeviceA portable computing device such as a smartphone, tablet, or wearable.Foundational
Mobile Device Battery HealthThe remaining capacity and performance of a mobile device battery relative to when new.Foundational
Mobile Device ForensicsAcquiring and analyzing data from smartphones and tablets, such as messages, location history and app data.Intermediate
Mobile Device Management (MDM)Centralized management of phones, tablets, and computers to enforce policies, deploy apps, and secure data.Foundational
Mobile Device OverheatingExcess heat in a phone or tablet caused by heavy use, charging, environment, or failing batteries.Foundational
Mobile Device SynchronizationKeeping data such as contacts, calendar, email, and files consistent between a mobile device and other systems.Foundational
Mobile OS UpdateInstalling new versions or security patches of iOS, iPadOS, or Android on mobile devices.Foundational
Mobile Security Framework (MobSF)An open-source automated tool for static and dynamic security analysis of Android and iOS applications.Intermediate
Mobile StudioMarketing Cloud suite of MobileConnect (SMS), MobilePush (app notifications) and GroupConnect (chat apps such as LINE).Intermediate
Mobility GroupA set of wireless controllers that share client context to support seamless roaming between them.Advanced
MockingReplacing real dependencies in tests with controllable fake objects that simulate behavior and record interactions.Intermediate
ModbusA simple master/slave (client/server) industrial communication protocol created by Modicon in 1979, widely used to read and write PLC registers.Foundational
ModeThe most frequently occurring value in a dataset; there may be none, one (unimodal) or several (multimodal).Foundational
Mode of OperationA method that defines how a block cipher repeatedly applies its transformation to encrypt data longer than one block.Intermediate
Model BuilderData 360 tool to configure generative AI models, including bring-your-own LLMs, and build predictive models.Advanced
Model CardA document describing a model's intended use, performance, limitations, training data and ethical considerations.Foundational
Model CategoryClassification linking a product model to an asset class and a CI class to synchronize assets and CIs.Intermediate
Model Context Protocol (MCP)An open protocol, introduced by Anthropic, that standardizes how AI applications connect to tools, data sources and prompts.Intermediate
Model EvaluationMeasuring a trained model's performance, robustness and fitness for purpose before and after deployment.Foundational
Model Inversion and ExtractionAttacks that reconstruct sensitive training data from a model or steal a model's functionality via queries.Advanced
Model MonitoringContinuously tracking a deployed model's inputs, outputs, performance and fairness to detect degradation.Intermediate
Model ParametersThe internal values, such as weights and biases, that a model learns from training data.Foundational
Model RegistryA central catalog that stores model versions with metadata, lineage and approval status for deployment.Intermediate
Model ServingHosting a trained model behind an interface so applications can request predictions.Foundational
Model TrainingThe process of fitting a model's parameters to data by optimizing an objective function.Foundational
Model-Driven Telemetry (MDT)Streaming YANG-modeled operational data from network devices to collectors, replacing periodic SNMP polling.Advanced
Model-View-Controller (MVC)A software design pattern that separates an application into the data model, the user interface view, and the controller that handles input.Intermediate
ModemA device that modulates digital data onto an analog carrier and demodulates it back, connecting a customer network to a provider medium.Foundational
Moderation RuleExperience Cloud rule that blocks, flags, replaces or reviews member-generated content containing defined keywords or posted too frequently.Intermediate
Modified EUI-64A method that builds a 64-bit IPv6 interface ID from a 48-bit MAC address by inserting fffe in the middle and flipping the seventh bit.Intermediate
Modular Power SupplyA PSU with detachable cables so only the needed connectors are installed.Foundational
Modular QoS CLI (MQC)Cisco's three-step QoS configuration framework: class-map, policy-map and service-policy.Intermediate
ModulationVarying a carrier wave's amplitude, frequency, or phase to encode data.Foundational
Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS)An index combining modulation type and coding rate that determines a PHY data rate.Intermediate
Module-Lattice-Based Digital Signature Algorithm (ML-DSA)NIST post-quantum digital signature standard (FIPS 204), derived from CRYSTALS-Dilithium.Advanced
Module-Lattice-Based Key-Encapsulation Mechanism (ML-KEM)NIST post-quantum key encapsulation standard (FIPS 203), derived from CRYSTALS-Kyber.Advanced
Molex ConnectorA legacy 4-pin peripheral power connector supplying 5 V and 12 V, used for older drives and fans.Foundational
MongoDBA popular document database that stores BSON documents in collections and supports rich queries, indexes, aggregation and horizontal sharding.Foundational
MongoDB Aggregation PipelineA MongoDB framework that processes documents through ordered stages such as $match, $group, $project, $sort, $lookup and $unwind.Intermediate
Monitor and Control Project WorkProcess of tracking, reviewing, and reporting overall progress to meet performance objectives defined in the plan.Intermediate
Monitor ModeAn AP mode that does not serve clients but scans all channels for rogues, intrusion, RRM, and location.Intermediate
Monitor RisksProcess of monitoring the implementation of agreed-upon risk responses, tracking identified risks, identifying new risks, and evaluating effectiveness.Intermediate
MonitoringCollecting, aggregating, and alerting on predefined metrics and checks to detect known failure conditions.Foundational
MonorepoA single repository that contains code for many projects or services.Intermediate
Monte Carlo SimulationStatistical technique that runs many randomized iterations over input ranges to produce a probability distribution of outcomes.Advanced
Mosca's TheoremRule stating that if data's secrecy lifetime plus migration time exceeds the time to a quantum threat, action is overdue.Advanced
MoSCoW PrioritizationPrioritization technique classifying requirements as Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won't have (this time).Foundational
MotherboardThe main circuit board that connects the CPU, memory, storage, expansion cards, and I/O.Foundational
Motherboard Form FactorA standard that defines a motherboard's dimensions, mounting holes, and I/O placement.Foundational
Motivation TheoriesTheories explaining what drives people at work, including Maslow, Herzberg, McGregor, McClelland, and Vroom.Intermediate
mountThe Linux command that attaches a filesystem on a device or network share to a directory in the file tree.Foundational
Mount PointAn existing directory where a filesystem is attached so its contents become accessible at that path.Foundational
Moving AverageThe average of the most recent n periods, recalculated each period to smooth short-term fluctuations and reveal trends.Foundational
MPLS LabelA 32-bit shim header containing a 20-bit label value, 3-bit Traffic Class (EXP), 1-bit bottom-of-stack flag and 8-bit TTL.Intermediate
MPLS Layer 3 VPN (L3VPN)A provider service (RFC 4364) that carries customer IP routes in separate VRFs across an MPLS core using MP-BGP.Advanced
MPLS Traffic Class (TC)The 3-bit field in an MPLS label (formerly EXP) used to carry QoS markings across the core.Advanced
MPLS Traffic Engineering (MPLS TE)Steering traffic along explicit, constraint-based paths using RSVP-TE tunnels to use network capacity efficiently.Advanced
MQTT SecurityProtecting the MQTT publish/subscribe messaging protocol widely used by IoT devices.Intermediate
MST RegionA group of interconnected switches with identical MST name, revision number and VLAN-to-instance mapping.Advanced
MudaJapanese term for waste: any activity that consumes resources without adding customer value.Foundational
Mule EventThe data object passed through a Mule flow, consisting of a Mule message and variables.Foundational
Mule FlowSequence of event processors with an optional source and its own error handling.Foundational
Mule Maven PluginMaven plugin for building, packaging and deploying Mule applications in CI/CD pipelines.Advanced
Mule MessagePart of the Mule event holding the payload and attributes such as headers or query parameters.Foundational
Mule RuntimeLightweight Java-based runtime engine that executes Mule applications.Foundational
Mule VariableNamed value stored on the Mule event with the Set Variable component, accessible as vars.name.Foundational
MuleSoft ComposerNo-code integration tool inside Salesforce for business users to connect apps like Salesforce, NetSuite and Slack.Foundational
MuleSoft RPAMuleSoft robotic process automation product for automating tasks in systems without APIs.Intermediate
Multi-Agent System (MAS)An architecture in which multiple specialized agents collaborate, often coordinated by an orchestrator.Intermediate
Multi-Cluster WarehouseA Snowflake Enterprise Edition warehouse that automatically adds or removes clusters, between a minimum and maximum, to handle concurrent users.Intermediate
Multi-Exit Discriminator (MED)An optional non-transitive BGP attribute that suggests to a neighboring AS which entry point to use; lower is preferred.Intermediate
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)Salesforce requirement for users to verify identity with a second factor, such as Salesforce Authenticator or a security key, at login.Foundational
Multi-Fiber Push On (MPO)A rectangular multi-fiber connector holding 8, 12, 16, 24 or more fibers, used for parallel optics and high-density trunks.Intermediate
Multi-Head Attention (MHA)Running several attention operations in parallel so the model can attend to different relationships at once.Advanced
Multi-Instance GPU (MIG)An NVIDIA feature that partitions one GPU into up to seven isolated instances with dedicated compute and memory.Intermediate
Multi-Link Device (MLD)A Wi-Fi 7 device with multiple affiliated stations or APs presenting a single MAC SAP for MLO.Advanced
Multi-Link Operation (MLO)Wi-Fi 7 feature allowing a device to use multiple bands or channels simultaneously as one logical link.Intermediate
Multi-Model DatabaseA database that supports several data models, such as document, key-value, graph and column, behind one service.Intermediate
Multi-Region ArchitectureDesign that deploys an application across two or more cloud regions for resilience to regional failure, lower global latency or data residency.Advanced
Multi-RUWi-Fi 7 capability to assign more than one resource unit to a single user.Advanced
Multi-Site Active-ActiveDR and availability strategy where full production capacity runs simultaneously in multiple regions, all serving traffic.Advanced
Multi-Stage BuildA Dockerfile technique using multiple FROM stages so build tools stay in early stages and only needed artifacts are copied to the final image.Intermediate
Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO)MIMO in which an AP sends different spatial streams to multiple clients simultaneously.Intermediate
MulticastOne-to-many communication delivered only to hosts that have joined a particular group.Foundational
Multicast Address RangesKey IPv4 multicast blocks: 224.0.0.0/24 link-local, 232.0.0.0/8 SSM, 233.0.0.0/8 GLOP and 239.0.0.0/8 administratively scoped.Foundational
Multicast DNS (mDNS)A zero-configuration protocol that resolves .local names on the local link using multicast queries to UDP port 5353.Intermediate
Multicast Domain Name System Gateway (mDNS Gateway)A controller function that forwards Bonjour/mDNS service advertisements between VLANs.Advanced
Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD)The IPv6 equivalent of IGMP, carried in ICMPv6, for hosts to signal multicast group membership.Intermediate
Multicast MAC AddressA MAC address with the least significant bit of the first byte set to 1, used to deliver frames to a group of interfaces.Intermediate
Multicast Source Discovery Protocol (MSDP)A TCP-based protocol (port 639) that shares active source information between RPs in different PIM domains or anycast RP sets.Advanced
Multicast VPN (mVPN)Technology for carrying customer multicast across an MPLS L3VPN, using GRE/PIM (draft-Rosen) or BGP and mLDP/P2MP RSVP-TE.Advanced
Multicast-to-UnicastConverting multicast frames into unicast frames per client so they can use higher rates and ACKs.Advanced
Multichassis Link Aggregation (MC-LAG)A technique that lets a device bundle links to two separate switches as one LAG, as in Juniper MC-LAG or Cisco vPC.Advanced
Multiclass ClassificationClassification where each input is assigned to exactly one of three or more classes.Intermediate
MulticloudStrategy of using services from two or more public cloud providers within one organization or architecture.Foundational
MulticollinearityHigh correlation among predictor variables in a regression, which makes coefficient estimates unstable and hard to interpret.Advanced
Multicriteria Decision AnalysisTechnique using a decision matrix to evaluate options against weighted criteria.Intermediate
Multifactor Authentication (MFA)Authentication requiring two or more factors from different categories.Foundational
Multifunction Device (MFD)A device combining printing, scanning, copying, and often faxing in one unit.Foundational
Multigigabit Ethernet (NBASE-T)2.5GBASE-T and 5GBASE-T Ethernet (802.3bz), which deliver more than 1 Gbps over existing Cat 5e and Cat 6 cabling.Intermediate
Multilayer Perceptron (MLP)A feedforward neural network with one or more hidden layers of fully connected neurons.Intermediate
Multilayer SwitchA switch that can also perform Layer 3 routing (and sometimes higher-layer functions) in hardware.Foundational
Multimedia Conferencing MarkingMarking interactive video such as desktop and room conferencing as AF41 under RFC 4594-based designs.Intermediate
MultimeterA handheld meter that measures voltage, current, resistance, and continuity.Foundational
Multimodal EmbeddingAn embedding that places different modalities, such as images and text, in the same vector space.Intermediate
Multimodal ModelA model that can process or generate more than one data type, such as text, images, audio and video.Foundational
Multimode Fiber (MMF)Fiber with a larger core (50 or 62.5 microns) that carries multiple light paths, used for shorter distances inside buildings and data centers.Foundational
MultipathTwo or more copies of the same signal arriving at a receiver at slightly different times via different paths.Foundational
Multipath I/O (MPIO)Using multiple physical paths between a host and storage for redundancy and load balancing, managed by multipathing software.Intermediate
Multiple BSSID (MBSSID)A feature that advertises multiple BSSIDs in a single beacon to reduce overhead.Advanced
Multiple CurrenciesOrg setting allowing records to use different ISO currencies with conversion to the corporate currency.Intermediate
Multiple Linear RegressionA regression model that predicts a numeric outcome from two or more predictors: y = β0 + β1x1 + ... + βkxk + ε.Intermediate
Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MST)IEEE 802.1s, which maps many VLANs to a small number of RSTP-based spanning tree instances.Advanced
Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO)Use of multiple transmit and receive antennas and radio chains to improve throughput and reliability.Foundational
MultiplexingCombining multiple signals or data streams over a single shared medium.Intermediate
Multipoint Control Unit (MCU)A conference bridge that decodes, mixes and re-encodes audio and video from multiple participants into composite streams.Intermediate
Multipoint GRE (mGRE)A GRE tunnel interface with no fixed destination that can reach many endpoints, used as the DMVPN overlay.Advanced
Multipoint LDP (mLDP)LDP extensions for building point-to-multipoint and multipoint-to-multipoint LSPs, used for multicast VPN.Advanced
Multiprotocol BGP (MP-BGP)Extensions to BGP (RFC 4760) that carry routing information for multiple address families such as IPv6, VPNv4, EVPN and multicast.Advanced
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)A forwarding technology that switches packets using short labels instead of IP lookups, enabling VPNs, traffic engineering and fast reroute.Intermediate
MultitenancyArchitecture where multiple customers (tenants) share the same physical infrastructure or application instance with logical isolation.Foundational
Multitenant ArchitectureDesign in which many customers share the same infrastructure and code base while their data and customizations stay isolated.Foundational
Multivalued Dependency (MVD)A constraint where one attribute determines a set of values for another attribute, independent of the other attributes.Advanced
Multiversion Concurrency Control (MVCC)A concurrency method that keeps multiple versions of rows so readers see a consistent snapshot without blocking writers.Advanced
MUnitMuleSoft's testing framework for unit and integration tests of Mule flows with mocking and assertions.Intermediate
Muri and MuraLean terms for overburden (muri) and unevenness or variability (mura), which together with muda are the 3 Ms.Intermediate
Music on Hold (MOH)A media resource that streams audio to callers placed on hold, sourced from audio files or a fixed live input.Intermediate
Mutable InfrastructureInfrastructure that is updated in place after provisioning, for example by patching or reconfiguring running servers.Foundational
Mutation-Based FuzzingFuzzing that creates test inputs by randomly modifying valid sample inputs.Intermediate
Muting Permission SetSpecial permission set within a permission set group that disables selected permissions granted by the group's other sets.Advanced
Mutual RedistributionRedistributing routes in both directions between two routing protocols, a common source of loops when done at multiple points.Advanced
Mutual TLS (mTLS)TLS in which both client and server present and verify certificates, providing two-way authentication and encryption.Intermediate
mv CommandA Linux/macOS command that moves or renames files and directories.Foundational
My DomainOrg-specific subdomain for Salesforce URLs, required for Lightning components, SSO and enhanced domains.Foundational

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