OPF Glossary – N

natural language
a native language people speak (e.g., English).
Contrast with implementation language and modeling language.
navigation diagram
a diagram showing the webpages of a website (or more generally, the screens of a graphical user interface) and the navigation paths between them.
Also known as a sitemap.
network
a collection of computers that have been connected so that they can share resources and information over a transmission media.
See also bus [network], extranet, Internet, intranet, local area network (LAN), mesh network, metropolitan area network (MAN), personal area network (PAN), ring network, star network, and wide area network (WAN).
network administration
the operations task during whic one or more networks are administered to ensure that they continuously function properly.
network administrator
the role that is played when a person administers one or more networks.
network connectivity device
a hardware component that connects computers on a network.
See also bridge, brouter, cable, cache, connector, firewall, hub, modem, network interface card, receiver, repeater, router, switch, and transmitter.
nonrepudiation
(1) a user-oriented security quality requirement specifying the degree to which an application or component shall prevent a party to an interaction (e.g., message, transaction) from denying having participated in all or part of the interaction.
(2) a quality factor measuring the degree to which an application or component actually provides proof preventing a party to an interaction from repudiating it.
(3) a security mechanism by which an application or component measuring the degree to which an application or component prevents a party to an interaction from denying having participated in all or part of the interaction. For example, the application or component may use digital signatures, timestamps, encryption, decryption, and hash function to provide tamper-proof records of the:
Contrast with auditability.
normal path
a path through a use case that represents a normal sequence of interactions.
Contrast with exceptional path.