UNC

Stands for "Universal Naming Convention," not just the home of the North Carolina Tar Heels. UNC is a filename format that is used to specify the location of files, folders, and resources on a local-area network (LAN). The UNC address of a file may look something like this:

\\server-name\directory\filename

UNC can also be used to identify peripheral devices shared on the network, including scanners and printers. It provides each shared resource with a unique address. This allows operating systems that support UNC (such as Windows) to access specific resources quickly and efficiently.

Published: 2004