network control program

network control program

[¦net‚wərk kən′trōl ‚prō·grəm]

(computer science)

A computer program that controls communications between multiple terminals and a mainframe.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

network control program

In a minicomputer or mainframe environment, the network control program is software that manages the traffic between terminals and the central computer. It resides in the communications controller or front end processor. IBM's SNA network control program is called precisely that: "network control program" (NCP).

In a LAN, the network control program is the operating system in the server. The "network operating system" (NOS) manages requests from the user's workstations. See front end processor and network operating system.

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