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FileWave Glossary: Naming Conventions and Acronyms

How to use this glossary

Use this alphabetical glossary to decode FileWave product names, interface terms, platform abbreviations, and legacy names that still appear in older documentation or customer environments.

Terms are listed alphabetically by the abbreviation or name most likely to appear in the interface.

A

  • ABM - Apple Business Manager is a web-based portal designed for businesses and organizations to manage Apple devices and services. It provides tools for device deployment, app distribution, and configuration management. ABM allows businesses to streamline device procurement, deploy custom apps, enforce security policies, and centrally manage Apple devices for improved efficiency and productivity.

  • ADE - Automated Device Enrollment is a program that simplifies the deployment and management of Apple devices within organizations. It allows for easy enrollment of devices into a mobile device management solution, automating configuration and saving time in the setup process. In the past this was DEP.
  • Admin - A generic reference to FileWave administration. Older articles may use FileWave Admin specifically for the native application now named FileWave Central; current workflows may use FileWave Central, FileWave Anywhere, or both.
  • Administrator - A FileWave user account with permissions to access administrative features in FileWave Central or FileWave Anywhere.
  • Anywhere API (v2) - The second RESTful API that is used by FileWave Anywhere and usually commands are on TCP 443 unless you have changed the port that FileWave Anywhere operates on.
  • App Portal - A name used for FileWave’s self-service experience, particularly in iOS/iPadOS documentation. See Kiosk; distinguish current platform guidance from the retired IPA-based implementation and desktop Kiosk 1. See App Portal and Kiosk transition history.

  • AppleSeed - AppleSeed is an invitation-only program offered by Apple that allows selected users to test pre-release software and provide feedback to Apple's engineering teams. Participants in the AppleSeed program get early access to upcoming software updates and can help identify and report bugs, ensuring a more stable and polished user experience before the software is released to the general public.

  • Apps and Books - Apple’s current app-and-book purchasing and managed-distribution service in Apple Business Manager and Apple School Manager. FileWave controls and older documentation may call it VPP. See Apple Apps and Books (VPP) Filesets.
  • Archive - To archive a device is to remove it from active monitoring. The device remains in the database with its last reporting information intact; but the device is no longer counted as an active Client. Archiving a Client frees up one Client license.

  • ASM - Apple School Manager is a web-based portal provided by Apple for educational institutions to manage Apple devices and services. It allows schools to easily deploy and manage Apple devices, distribute apps and books, create Apple IDs for students and staff, and configure settings for a seamless educational experience.

  • Associations - The legacy workflow for linking Filesets or images to target devices and groups, with optional timing rules. Current Fileset guidance normally uses Deployments; Associations remain available for environments and workflows that still use them. The term can also describe other object relationships, such as licenses to Filesets or VPP users to devices.
  • Attributes - Properties of files that specify how the files are treated once the FileWave Client activates them.
  • Azure - Microsoft's cloud platform. Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), the former identity-service name commonly found in older FileWave guidance, is now Microsoft Entra ID; Azure itself was not renamed.

B

  • Booster - A Linux, macOS, or Windows system running software that caches software deployments for macOS and Windows clients.

C

  • Client Group - A client Group is a container of like Clients and/or Client Groups.
  • Client State - The device state used for tracking or archiving. Current tracking controls use Tracked, Untracked, and Missing. Tracked permits periodic location requests when the platform, license, Client settings, and OS permissions allow them; it does not prove that a fresh location has arrived. Untracked (called Not Tracked in older documentation) stops ongoing location requests while ordinary management continues. Missing is a separate recovery action; on supervised iPhone and iPad it invokes Managed Lost Mode and locks normal use. Older screenshots may show Normal; do not assume it is the current control for enabling tracking. An Archived record is inactive but retains historical inventory. See Set Tracking Mode and Archiving Clients for the applicable workflow.
  • Clients - The managed device records shown in FileWave. A record may represent a computer using FileWave Client software or a device enrolled through a platform management service; the word does not imply that every device runs the desktop Client. See FileWave Client and the management overview.
  • Clone - A Clone is an alias of a Client or Client Group that can exist in many Client Groups.
  • Cloudv1 - Our original hosted server environment which is running in AWS with Linux based VMs.
  • Cloudv2 - Our newer hosted server environment which is running in AWS with Docker/Kubernetes.
  • Command Line API (v1) - The initial RESTful API for FileWave. Commands happen on TCP 20443 and 20445.
  • Custom Field - An additional inventory field for organization-specific information, populated through a configured source such as an administrator value, Client script, or directory data. Its values can be used in reports and Smart Group criteria. See Custom Fields.

D

  • DEP - Device Enrollment Program (DEP) is a service provided by Apple that enables organizations to streamline the initial setup and configuration of Apple devices. DEP allows devices to be automatically enrolled in a mobile device management (MDM) solution during the activation process, ensuring that they are pre-configured with the necessary settings and policies defined by the organization. DEP simplifies device provisioning, enhances security, and enables seamless device management for organizations deploying a large number of Apple devices. This is now referred to as Automated Device Enrollment (ADE).

  • Deployment - Connects Filesets or Payloads to target devices or groups, with installation options and optional timing. The Fileset is the content; the Deployment is its assignment. See Deployments in FileWave Central.

E

  • Enrollment - The process of bringing a device under management. FileWave Client registration and MDM enrollment are different connections; the required route depends on the platform and task. Installing the Windows FileWave Client alone does not establish Windows MDM enrollment. See how the management pieces fit together and Windows MDM prerequisites.

F

  • File - A File in a Fileset represents a file that will be delivered to a specific location for a FileWave Client. Files have attributes and permissions.
  • Fileset - A FileWave content object prepared for deployment, such as files and folders, an application installer, a script, a configuration profile, or an app-store reference. Types and delivery methods depend on the platform. File-level Filesets include a listing of their contents, permissions, and checksums for delivery integrity; not every Fileset stores application files on the Server. In Anywhere’s content-management interface, these objects are called Payloads. See FileWave Fileset Types.
  • Fileset Group - A container for organizing Filesets that can be assigned through a Deployment. A Client Group organizes devices instead. Adding content to an already assigned Fileset Group can expand what its target devices receive. See Organize Filesets into Groups.
  • Fileset Magic - FileWave’s snapshot-based packaging tool: compare the system before and after an installation or configuration change, then select the differences to capture in a Fileset. It is a way to build content, not another name for the content itself. See FileWave Fileset Types and merging updates with Fileset Magic.
  • Fileset Revision - A version of the content within a single Fileset or Payload object, useful for testing and rolling out changes without creating a separate Fileset. It is not a FileWave product release or the server model number. See Fileset Revisions Overview.
  • FileWave Admin - Now called FileWave Central.
  • FileWave Anywhere - The web-based administration tool.
  • FileWave Central - The native administration tool that runs on macOS and Windows.
  • FileWave Client - The management software installed on macOS and Windows computers to process assigned Filesets and report inventory. It is distinct from the device record called a Client and from OS-native MDM enrollment. See How the FileWave Client Communicates.
  • FileWave WebAdmin - Now called FileWave Anywhere.
  • Folder - Files in a Fileset can be organized into Folders (directories). A file is activated in the corresponding folder on the boot volume of the FileWave Client. Folders do NOT have attributes; they only have permissions.
  • FW - FileWave the company.
  • fwcld - The FileWave Client executable name seen in commands and Client-related files such as fwcld.log. It refers to the desktop Client, not the MDM enrollment service. See FileWave Log File Locations.

G

  • Geofencing - A way to define a boundary that a device should not enter or exit. Geofencing is used with Location Tracking for Android devices.
  • Geolocation Tracking - Another way of referring to Location Tracking.

H

  • Hosted Customer - Any customer where FileWave runs the server itself in either our Cloudv1 or Cloudv2 infrastructure.

I

  • IdP (Identity Provider) - An identity service FileWave integrates with for supported administrator sign-in and device-enrollment authentication workflows. Examples include Microsoft Entra ID, Google, Okta, and Keycloak. See FileWave IdP Integration Overview.
  • Inventory Report - A saved definition of criteria and result fields used to display stored inventory. Called a Query in older interfaces and documentation. Reports show information; Smart Groups define device membership for targeting. See Create and Edit Inventory Reports.
  • IVS - Imaging Virtual Server, a Linux-based FileWave component used on the local network to capture and deploy Windows images.

K

  • Kiosk - The self-service portal to the FileWave server for a specified device. The Kiosk contains an Install pane with associated applications and content for that device/Apple ID, and in the case of OS X (macOS)/Windows computers, an Info pane with device configuration information and a Verify button for the user to initiate a request to the Server to verify, update, and repair any associated Filesets.

L

  • Location Tracking - Requests a device's reported position through a supported platform route. Also called Geolocation or Geolocation Tracking. Availability depends on the platform, enrollment, FileWave components, license, and privacy permissions. The retired iOS/iPadOS Kiosk IPA is no longer a working passive-tracking route; App Store Kiosk delivery alone does not establish a replacement. Use Location Tracking Setup to check prerequisites and distinguish passive reporting from Missing/Lost Mode.

M

  • Management Mode - In FileWave 11, we added a new client flag (for computer clients). It has two values: Managed (normal mode) and Inventory only. The latter setting allows you to have your client reporting data to FileWave, but will not be affected by any Filesets except for upgrade Filesets. Inventory only does consume a client license.
  • Manifest - This is the list of things that a FileWave Server tells a FileWave Client it should have installed, removed, or available in the Kiosk. When you update the Model in FileWave it creates an updated Manifest which is used to determine what a FileWave Client receives. 
  • MDM - Mobile Device Management: management through the operating system’s supported enrollment, configuration, and command mechanisms. Despite the name, MDM also applies to supported desktop platforms. It is separate from the FileWave Client software. See platform communication paths and Windows MDM prerequisites.
  • Microsoft Entra - Microsoft's family of identity and network-access products. In FileWave guidance, the term usually refers to Microsoft Entra ID, formerly Azure Active Directory, for identity, single sign-on, and enrollment workflows.
  • Model Update - The command that commits pending model changes from all FileWave administrators. Coordinate shared work before updating the model. During a model update, all modified Filesets are updated on the server, the Server model is incremented, and the automatic backup process stores the previous model. For desktop Clients, check-in, downloads, installation conditions, and scheduled attributes determine when Filesets activate. A higher model number confirms the commit, not a completed installation. See how FileWave turns changes into device work for the preparation, publishing, and verification sequence.

O

  • On-Premise - The term used to refer to running a FileWave Server on your own network. 

P

  • Payload - In FileWave Anywhere’s content-management interface, the object called a Fileset in FileWave Central. In Apple configuration-profile terminology, a payload instead means a set of settings inside a profile; one profile can contain multiple payloads. Read the term in its interface and platform context. See FileWave Fileset Types.
  • Permissions - Properties of files and folders that specify the access rights of the files and folders. Permissions are set when the FileWave Client activates the files and folders in a Fileset. Self-healing also sets permissions during the verification phase.
  • Policy - A management-rule or settings object whose meaning depends on its platform and Fileset type. FileWave includes Client policies as well as platform-specific Windows MDM and Android policies; the word alone does not establish the delivery method. See FileWave Fileset Types.
  • Profile - A configuration object used to deliver supported settings. An Apple configuration profile can contain multiple settings payloads; Windows MDM configuration policies are also called profiles in FileWave. Supported settings and delivery depend on the platform. See FileWave Fileset Types and Windows MDM Policies (aka Profiles).

Q

R

  • Release - Another name for version. If I say "release 15.3.1" with no other references to indicate what it is about then it would usually mean version 15.3.1 of FileWave.
  • RESTful API - Another name for the Command Line API (v1) and you may hear it referred to as either name because originally there was a single API and it was RESTful. Now there are 2 different APIs and both are RESTful so it makes more sense to not call it the RESTful API. 

S

  • Self-Healing - A per-file verification behavior that restores the Fileset copy when the deployed file is missing or changed. Other settings, including Download if Missing and Ignore At Verify (Left Behind), behave differently; do not assume every installed app or file is repaired. See Verification.
  • Smart Group - A device group whose membership is calculated from criteria, such as platform, installed software, or Custom Fields. Unlike a manually maintained Client Group, membership changes as the matching data changes. See Groups and Smart Groups.

T

  • Time Attribute - A Time Attribute is a property of an Association that specifies the Time a FileWave Client executes an action.

U

  • Update Model - The interface action also called Model Update. It commits pending model changes from all administrators; it does not confirm device completion. See the Model Update entry and how changes become device work.

V

  • Verify / Verification - A FileWave Client operation that checks Fileset state, applies the configured verification behavior, and refreshes inventory. It can repair managed content and process pending device work; it is not just a refresh of the administration screen. See Client communication and Fileset verification settings.
  • VPP - Volume Purchase Program, the older Apple name still used in FileWave controls and documentation for Apps and Books licensing and distribution. Organizations acquire apps and books through Apple Business Manager or Apple School Manager and use FileWave to manage their distribution. See Apple Apps and Books (VPP) Filesets.

W

  • WinGet - A command-line tool and package manager for Windows operating systems. It allows users to discover, install, update, and uninstall software applications from the command line or through scripts. With Winget, users can search for available software packages from the Microsoft Store as well as third-party repositories. It simplifies the software management process by providing a centralized tool for handling installations and updates, making it easier to maintain a collection of software applications on Windows systems.

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