Endpoint Hardware and Support Glossary

Short definitions for hardware, networking, mobile-device, virtualization, and troubleshooting terms.

Term Meaning
APIPA IPv4 link-local addressing in 169.254.0.0/16, commonly associated with missing DHCP configuration.
DHCP Service that automatically supplies IP configuration.
DNS Service that resolves names to IP addresses.
M.2 Physical form factor used by some SSDs and expansion modules.
NVMe Storage command protocol commonly used over PCIe.
RAID Drive layout that can trade capacity, performance, and redundancy.
UEFI Firmware environment that initializes hardware and starts the boot path.
Hypervisor Software layer that runs virtual machines.
VDI Centrally hosted desktop delivered remotely to a user.
WPS Wi-Fi onboarding feature that should be disabled when it is not required.

See the quick reference for common distinctions and the endpoint support reference for context.

Revised on Friday, September 11, 2026