JFrog Artifactory Terminology

Here’s a comprehensive list of JFrog Artifactory Terminology that is commonly used across its documentation and platform:

✅ Core Concepts

• Artifact: Any binary file produced during build or development (e.g., .jar, .war, .apk, .docker).
• Repository: A storage location in Artifactory where artifacts are kept.
• Package Type: Defines the technology the repository supports (e.g., Maven, npm, Docker, PyPI).
• Build: A collection of artifacts and metadata generated by a CI/CD process.
• Artifact Metadata: Additional information (version, build info, properties) attached to artifacts.

✅ Repository Types

• Local Repository: Hosts internally created artifacts.
• Remote Repository: Acts as a caching proxy for external repositories (e.g., Maven Central, npm registry).
• Virtual Repository: Aggregates multiple local and remote repositories into a single endpoint.
• Federated Repository: Synchronizes repositories across multiple Artifactory instances.

✅ Repository Layout

• Repository Path: The full URL/path to access artifacts within a repository.
• Checksum: A hash value (SHA1, MD5) used to verify artifact integrity.
• Immutable Artifacts: Artifacts that cannot be overwritten once deployed.

✅ Access & Permissions

• RBAC (Role-Based Access Control): System for controlling user permissions.
• Users & Groups: Entities with access to repositories based on roles.
• Access Token: Token-based authentication method for API and automation.

✅ Metadata & Querying

• Properties: Key-value metadata pairs attached to artifacts.
• AQL (Artifactory Query Language): Query language for searching and automating tasks within Artifactory.
• Build Info: Metadata about builds (git commit, build number, environment).

✅ Security & Compliance

• Xray: JFrog’s security scanning tool for vulnerabilities and license compliance.
• SCA (Software Composition Analysis): Analyzing dependencies for security issues.
• CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures): Database of known security vulnerabilities.

✅ Distribution

• Replication: Syncing repositories across instances.
• Promotion: Moving artifacts from one repository (e.g., dev) to another (e.g., prod).
• Distribution Repository: Repository used for distributing signed, immutable releases.

✅ CI/CD Integration

• Build Pipeline: Automated sequence of steps for building and deploying software.
• JFrog CLI: Command-line tool to automate interaction with Artifactory.
• REST API: Provides programmatic access to Artifactory functions.

✅ Storage & Infrastructure

• Filestore: The physical storage backend for artifacts (e.g., local disk, NFS, cloud object storage).
• Checksum Storage: Deduplicates artifacts by storing only unique binaries identified by checksum.
• HA (High Availability): Clustered Artifactory instances for redundancy and load balancing.

✅ Advanced Concepts

• Edge Node: Remote Artifactory node for distributed teams/sites.
• CDN Distribution: Use of Content Delivery Network for artifact delivery at scale.
• Immutable Release Bundle: Signed, versioned artifact collection for distribution.

Rajesh Kumar

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