Demilitarized zone

In military terms, a demilitarised zone (DMZ) is an area, usually the frontier or boundary between two or more groups, where military activity is not permitted, usually by treaty or other agreement. Often the demiltarized zone lies upon a line of control and forms a de-facto international border.

Demilitarized zones have also unintentionally become wildlife preserves as they cause the land which they sit on to be too dangerous for construction. See also Korean Demilitarized Zone.

Generally, "demilitarized" means converted to non-military use or purpose, returned to a civilian field. In such meaning the term is oftenly used in former Soviet countries both in Western and local (transliterated) languages.

In Computer network terms, a DMZ is a network or part of a network, separated from other systems by a Firewall which allows only certain types of network traffic to enter or leave. In a typical example, a company will protect its internal networks from the internet with a Firewall, but will have a separate DMZ to which the public can gain limited access. Public web servers might be placed in such a DMZ.