The word book

Server“sur-vur”

A computer that stays switched on all the time and shares something with the rest of us — films, files, games, photos. It is not a special kind of computer; an ordinary desktop can be one.For example: Our films live on a server called Akari. Any screen in the house can ask it for a film.

Datacentre“DAY-ta-sen-ter”

A rented, air-conditioned room full of other people's computers, with backup power and a fast internet line. We keep two of our machines there and the rest at home.For example: Akari and Shizuku live in a datacentre; the boxes at home are safer to touch and upgrade.

Network“NET-wurk”

A group of computers that can talk to each other. Your home Wi-Fi is a small network.For example: The TV asks the network for a film, and the film comes from the network.

Tailscale“TAIL-skale”

A private, encrypted tunnel between our own machines, wherever they are in the world. It behaves like the whole house is on one Wi-Fi. Only devices we have invited can join, and it is the reason we do not have to open holes in our front door.For example: On a phone away from home, Tailscale makes our own machines reachable without showing them to anyone else.

IP address“eye-PEE ad-ress”

The number a computer uses to find another computer, like a phone number for a machine. We deliberately do not print ours on this website.For example: You never need to know one. You type a name, we type the number.

Port“port”

A numbered door on a computer. One machine can have thousands, and each program listens on its own number. Fewer open doors means fewer ways in.For example: Our front door has exactly two numbers open. Everything else is shut and written down.

Firewall“FIRE-wawl”

The guard on a computer that decides which visitors may come in and which are turned away. We run it in "default deny" mode: everything is refused unless we have specifically allowed it.For example: A public address is not an open port — the firewall is what keeps the door shut.

Domain name“dome-AYN maym”

The words you type into a browser instead of a number, like mothyfamily.uk. Names are cheap, easy to remember, and can be moved to a different machine without telling anybody.For example: You will type a name; the name will find the right machine even if we move things around.

DNS“dee-en-ESS”

The phone book that turns a domain name into an IP address. When it is broken, everything "feels offline" even when it is not.For example: When a site will not open but the server is fine, DNS is usually the suspect.

HTTPS“aitch-tee-tee-pee-ESS”

The padlock. It means the trip between your device and our machine is sealed, so nobody in the middle can read it, and the machine proved its name.For example: Every page you open at mothyfamily.uk should show a padlock. If it does not, tell us.

Certificate“ser-TIF-ik-it”

The digital ID card that lets a website prove its name and switch on the padlock. It expires on purpose, so it has to be renewed automatically — and a renewal that quietly fails is a real outage waiting to happen.For example: Our watcher alerts us when a certificate is about to run out.

Container“kon-TAY-ner”

One program packed into its own tidy little box with everything it needs, so it can be moved, restarted, or thrown away without disturbing its neighbours. Think flatmates in one house, each with their own front door key.For example: Films, games and the AI helpers each live in their own containers, in their own rooms.

Virtual machine“VUR-tchoo-ol ma-SCHEEN”

A whole computer simulated inside another computer. Heavier than a container, and more private — the simulated machine has its own operating system.For example: Tsubasa runs as a virtual machine, so it is fully separated from the rest of Shizuku.

Proxmox“PROK-mox”

The layer that runs several machines inside one physical box, and lets us start, stop, copy, and snapshot them. It is the landlord of the building.For example: Akari runs Proxmox, and inside it are the four rooms.

Snapshot“SNAP-shot”

A photograph of a machine at a moment in time. If the next change breaks something, we rewind to the photograph. Every phase of our build starts with one.For example: Before we touch anything, we take a snapshot. That is the undo button.

Reverse proxy“ree-VERS PROX-ee”

The single front desk that all visitors come through. It works out which program you actually wanted, shows you the padlock, and asks who you are before letting you past.For example: Our front desk is called Genkan. Everything behind it has no public door of its own.

Single sign-on“SING-gul sign ON”

One password for all of our services, instead of a different one for each app. Log in once at the front door and the apps trust that door.For example: Films, requests, chat and the game panel all open with the same one login.

Multi-factor login“MUL-tee FAWK-tor”

Your password plus something only you have — an app on your phone, or a code. If somebody steals your password they still cannot get in.For example: The important accounts have this on. Please do not turn it off to save a few seconds.

Password manager“PAS-wurd MAY-nur”

An app that remembers a long, unique password for every service so you only ever have to remember one. It is the single biggest upgrade to anyone's safety.For example: One strong password, remembered for you, with the rest generated at random.

API key“ay-pee-EYE key”

A password belonging to a program rather than a person. Treat it like a house key: anyone holding it can do what it is allowed to do, and it is a secret even from friends.For example: Our AI helpers each get their own key, with a spending cap on it.

Backup“BAK-up”

A copy of something irreplaceable, kept somewhere that does not share its fate. A copy on the same disk is not a backup; a backup you have never restored is only a hope.For example: Our settings and documents are small, so a real backup is cheap. The films are re-downloadable, so they are treated differently.

RAID“RAYD”

Several hard disks wired together so one can fail without losing data. It protects against a disk dying. It does not protect against a deleted folder, a virus, or a fire — so RAID is not a backup.For example: Akari's 11 TB of disks are RAID. That keeps a disk failure from being a disaster; it does not keep a mistake from being one.

Storage pool“STOR-ij pool”

A pile of disks managed as one space, with room carved out for each tenant.For example: The films live on the big slow pool; the settings live on the small fast one.

Quota“KWOH-ta”

A hard limit on how much space something may use, so one program cannot quietly fill the whole building.For example: The download room has a 2 TB quota. It cannot grow into the films.

Transcoding“trans-KOH-ding”

Re-shaping a video on the fly so the device you are watching on can play it. It is the single most demanding thing our media server does.For example: Watching a film on an old tablet may need transcoding; on the TV, usually not.

Graphics card“GRAFIKS kard”

A card that does heavy maths for video games, video editing, and AI. It is the part we buy upgrades for.For example: The machine that runs our AI helper is getting a new graphics card so it can think faster.

Model“MOD-el”

The "brain" an AI helper runs on. It is a large file of numbers, and it needs a big, fast machine. A model is not a company's service — ours live on our own computers.For example: Our AI helper answers from a model on our own desktop, not from a website.

Endpoint“END-point”

One address that programs send their work to. The important rule of our design: an AI helper is an address, not a machine — so we can move the machine without breaking anything.For example: Every app asks the same endpoint for AI work; we decide which machine answers it.

Agent“AY-jent”

An AI that does not just answer, but acts: it can read files, run commands, and keep working through many steps until a task is finished. Powerful, and the reason we set budgets and a kill switch.For example: You give an agent a job; it takes a series of steps. We cap how long and how much it may spend.

Self-hosted“self-HOSt-ed”

Running the service ourselves on our own machines instead of renting it from a company. We keep the data, we keep the keys, and we keep the outages — which is why monitoring matters so much.For example: Our films are self-hosted: no subscription, and nobody can take them away.

Uptime“UP-time”

How long something stays available, usually as a percentage. 99% allows about seven and a half hours of downtime a month.For example: We publish a status page so you can see what is up before you blame the Wi-Fi.

Monitoring“MON-ih-tur-ing”

A small watcher that keeps knocking on every service and shouts when one stops answering. It alerts us, so we usually know before you do.For example: If a service goes down, a message appears in our family channel.

Log“log”

A running diary a program writes about what it did. When something breaks, the log is the first place we look.For example: "Send me the log" is the technical version of "what happened just before it broke?"

Ping“ping”

How long a message takes to travel there and back, in milliseconds. Low is good. High ping is why a game character runs into a wall after you released the button.For example: At home our ping is tiny; on a mobile connection it can be 60-100 ms.

Latency“LAY-ten-see”

The delay in a connection, not the speed of it. A fat pipe with high latency still feels sluggish.For example: Distance causes latency. Nothing we buy can beat the speed of light.

The pipeline“PIPE-line”

The set of quiet programs that find, sort, check and file our media, then hand it to the media server. It never talks to the outside world directly — it goes out through a private tunnel.For example: You ask for a film; the pipeline fetches it, files it, and it appears on the TV.

Kill switch“KILL switch”

One button that stops everything immediately. Anything that can run on its own needs one.For example: Every autonomous AI job has a budget, a time limit, and a switch that stops it now.

37 words, all shown

02Three words worth learning first