Glossary
Listed below are the UTMC golssary of terms used throughout all UTMC systems.
Application: Software hosted on UTMC components and infrastructure to implement UTMC functions.
Application message: messages used to transfer data between applications within UTMC systems and between UTMC systems and external systems.
Authority: local or central government or other body responsible for a UTMC system.
AVL: Automatic Vehicle Location.
BER: Basic Encoding Rules.
CCTV: Closed-Circuit Television
CDR: Common Data Representation.
CEN: Comité Européen de Normalisation, the European Standards body. CEN functions via a series of Technical Committees (TC), with TC278 being responsible for transport telematics. Communication protocol: A set of rules or procedures governing the transfer of data from one point to another.
Component: Any equipment connected to the UTMC infrastructure. Components can be either instation or outstation components. Components in a UTMC system may be supplied by more than one manufacturer.
CORBA: Common Object Request Broker Architecture, a technical framework for objectoriented programming suited to the open interconnection of systems.
Data Object: A specific coherent structure of data, registered for public use at the UTMC Data Objects Registry. Data Objects may be defined to several different standards for use by different technology systems.
DATEX: A task force under the European Road Transport Telematics Implementation and Coordination Organisation to set standards for data exchange between fixed installations. This has included setting up the DATEX data dictionary.
DSRC: Digital Short Radio Communications.
ETSI: European Telecommunication Standards Institute.
External system: Systems that are not formally part of an individual UTMC system, but may exchange information with the UTMC system. An external system has no direct contact with UTMC outstations.
FEP: Front End Processor.FTP: File Transfer Protocol – an internet protocol for the transfer of files across a network.
Functionality: The nature of what an application or component does within itself (cf interface).
Functions: Defined transport related activities performed by a UTMC system. Functions are implemented by single or multiple Applications hosted in single or multiple Components on the UTMC infrastructure.
GIOP: General Inter-ORB Protocol (GIOP).
GPRS: General Packet Radio Service.
GSM: Global System for Mobile communications.
HTTP: Hyper Text Transfer Protocol – the transport layer for exchange of XML files over TCP/IP networks.
ICMP: Internet Control Message Protocol is a messaging and service management protocol for IP.
IDL: Interface Definition Language.
IETF: Internet Engineering Task Force.
IHL: Internet Header Length.
IIOP: Internet Inter-ORB Protocol.
Information: Processed data to meet the needs of authorities or travellers.
Interface: The technical means by which one application, component or element of a UTMC infrastructure connects to others, through communications and information exchange.
Instation: Collection of UTMC components and applications based in an indoor environment. Instations will typically be regularly manned.
IP: Internet Protocol is the basis for addressing within TCP/IP networks that provides a connectionless-oriented network layer protocol.
ISO: International Standards Organisation.
ITS: Intelligent Traffic Systems.
ITU: International Telecommunications Union, the world telecommunications standards body.
LAN: Local Area Network.
Message: Package of information created for the purposes of communications between components or between applications.
MIB: Management Information Base.
MIB-II: Managed objects for the internet suite of protocols as defined by RFC1213.
Module: A group of components, applications or elements of a UTMC infrastructure subject to separate procurement, against specifications for functionality and interfaces.
MPT: Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.
NTCIP: National Transportation Communications for Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Protocol as prepared by the NTCIP Joint Standards Committee and referred to the ISO.
OASIS: Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards, open industryled body responsible for development of standards such as UDDI and development of XMLbased services.
Ofcom: The Office of Communications, the UK’s regulatory body for telecommunications service providers.
OID: Object Identity.
OMG: Object Management Group, an international grouping of systems developers that maintains CORBA.
Open standards: Standards in the public domain. Two kinds of ‘standards’ are distinguished: de jure (created in a formal legal manner by standardisation body, eg ISO, CEN, or BSI), and de facto (specifications that gain near-universal adoption, eg Microsoft Windows). Some standards are administered to be open by a user group or committee rather than a legal standards body – see under IETF, W3C, and OMG.
ORB: Object Request Broker.
OTU: Outstation Transmission Unit, field-based equipment that communicates with the transport controller within a UTC network.
Outstation: UTMC components and applications based in the field. Outstations will not normally be manned.
PDU: Protocol Data Unit. Physical interface: Physical and electrical interface types - connectors, signal levels, device addressing schemes etc.
PMR: Private Mobile Radio.
PPP: Point-to-Point Protocol links two permanent points enabling IP transport of data.
Product: A package of components, applications or elements, with or without associated services, offered for sale to potential implementers of UTMC systems, and possessing specifications for functionality and interfaces.
PSTN: Public Switched Telephone Network.
RFC: Request For Comment (used as the description of internet ‘standards’).
RTA: Road Traffic Advisor.
RTTE: Radio & Telecommunications Terminal Equipment.
SCOOT: Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique is a real time adaptive control system for linked signal junctions.
SOAP: Simple Object Access Protocol – an XML language used to make requests for service and receive the response
SLIP: Serial Line Internet Protocol is an access protocol primarily designed to allow PCs to access the internet using a modem although this technology has now been surpassed by PPP.
SNMP: Simple Network Management Protocol is an email application that defines the sending and receiving of emails.
SQL: Structured Query Language is employed for accessing databases.
STMF: Simple Transport Management Framework.
STMP: Simple Transport Management Protocol.
SUPS: Simple UTC Protocol System.
SVD: Selective Vehicle Detection.
TCP: Transmission Control Protocol is a connection-oriented protocol.
TETRA: Terrestrial Trunked Radio.
TOS: Type of Service.
Traffic and Travel Data Dictionary: The data dictionary prepared by the DATEX Task Force and referred to CEN.
Traffic Management System: Any collection of components and applications deployed for the purposes of managing and controlling road traffic in a specific area, whether or not it complies with the UTMC Technical Specification.
TTL: Time To Live.
UDDI: Universal Description, Discovery and Integration – an XML language used to catalogue Web Service providers.
UDP: User Datagram Protocol is a connectionless transport protocol.
UHF: Ultra High Frequency.
UTC: Urban Traffic Control.
UTMC Data Objects Registry: The repository of Data Objects managed on behalf of the UTMC community, and recorded in TS004.
UTMC infrastructure: Basic UTMC system services that support components and applications, such as communication services, database management systems, operator interfaces etc.
UTMC system: an integrated Traffic Management System (qv) that conforms to the requirements of the UTMC Technical Specification.
UTMC Technical Specification: TS003 as supplemented by TS004.
VHF: Very High Frequency.
VMS: Variable Message Sign.
W3C: The World Wide Web Consortium, an open organisation of developers responsible for developing and maintaining web applications standards including XML, WSDL and SOAP
WAN: Wide Area Network. Web Services: a set of industry standards, using XML, which allow applications to share functionality and data with other applications connected by a network.
WSDL: Web Services Description Language – an XML language used to describe services that are available.
XML: eXtensible Markup Language – a language for describing data in a simple ASCII Text document.
XML schema: Used to define an XML Language in terms of tag names, data types and formats. The schema is itself an XML document.
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