Amazon EC2 Master Class (with Auto Scaling & Load Balancer)

Switching is the forwarding of frames within a single network segment by a device that learns which hardware address sits on which port and sends each frame only where it needs to go.

A VLAN divides one physical switched network into several logical segments, each with its own broadcast domain, by tagging frames with a VLAN identifier so that ports and devices in different VLANs cannot reach each other without a router.

Network address translation rewrites the addresses and ports in packets as they cross a network boundary, most commonly so that many devices with private addresses can share one public address to reach the internet.

SSL/TLS is the protocol that encrypts the connection between a browser and a server and, by way of a certificate signed by a certificate authority, proves the server is entitled to answer for the domain in the address bar.

A domain name is an address in the internet's public namespace that you rent through a registrar for a yearly fee, and it remains yours only while the registrar account holding it stays paid up and under your own control.

Caching keeps the result of expensive work, such as a rendered page or a database query, and serves that stored copy until it expires, making it the largest single source of speed on any busy website.