A plain-language reference for the words and concepts you'll see throughout InfraNest, written for anyone who isn't a infrastructure expert.
Overview
- InfraNest uses a handful of core concepts — organizations, integrations, domains, monitors, and more — that show up across the whole app.
- This glossary explains each one in simple terms so menus like Infrastructure, DNS, Monitors, and Settings make more sense as you navigate them.
- Come back here anytime a term is unclear.
Key terms
Organization (workspace) — This is your tenant in InfraNest. Everything you work with — domains, servers, team members, billing — belongs to an organization. You can be part of more than one, and you switch between them as needed.
Integration / provider credential — A connection between InfraNest and an outside service, such as a hosting provider or Cloudflare. Once you Connect an account, InfraNest can pull in and sync resources from that provider automatically. You'll find these under Integrations.
DNS zone — This is the DNS "home" for a domain. Inside a zone live the individual records (like A, CNAME, MX, or TXT entries) that control how the domain behaves. You can view these from DNS or by selecting Open DNS zone.
Domain vs. contact — A domain is the actual registered name (like yoursite.com). A contact is a reusable set of registrant, admin, or technical details that you attach to one or more domains, saving you from retyping the same information.
Drop-catch / watched domain — A way to keep an eye on a domain that's about to expire, so InfraNest can try to register it the instant it becomes available again. You'll see this option under Drop Catch.
Dynamic IP — A feature that automatically keeps a DNS record or firewall rule updated whenever a changing IP address (like a home internet or VPN connection) changes. Manage these under Dynamic IPs.
Monitor (check) — A scheduled health check that periodically tests whether a service is up and responding. If a monitor fails enough times, it can automatically open an Incident. Monitors live under Monitors, and you can jump to one directly with Open monitor.
Maintenance window — A planned time period where alerts are paused and your Status Pages show a "maintenance" state instead of an outage, so your users aren't alarmed by expected downtime.
Status page — A public-facing page that shows the current health of your services to your users or subscribers. Found under Status Pages.
Alert destination — The place an alert gets sent — email, Telegram, Slack, Teams, Discord, or a webhook. Set these up under Destinations or Alerts.
Certificate inventory — The list of SSL/TLS certificates InfraNest has automatically discovered for your domains. These are detected, not manually added, and appear under Certificates.
Snapshot vs. backup — A snapshot is a one-time, point-in-time copy of a server's disk that you trigger yourself. A backup is an automated copy taken regularly by your provider. Both live under Backups & Snapshots.
API token — A credential that lets other applications or scripts talk to InfraNest on your behalf. Each token is scoped with specific abilities (read or write access per resource), managed under API Tokens.
Webhook — An automated message sent over the internet when something happens. An inbound webhook is something external calling into InfraNest (secured and verified); an outbound webhook is InfraNest notifying your own system when an event occurs.
Entitlement / plan limit — What's included in your current subscription. If a feature isn't part of your plan, you'll see an "Upgrade" badge next to it.
Trial — A period where you get full access to InfraNest's features without needing a credit card. If you don't upgrade before it ends, your organization automatically moves to the Free plan.
NoteThese terms appear consistently across the app, so understanding them here will make every other help article easier to follow.
TipIf you're ever unsure what a section does, check whether it matches one of these core concepts — most of InfraNest is built from this same set of building blocks.
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