HP StorageWorks A7298A Installation Manual page 85

Glossary
Fiber
Thin filament of glass. An optical waveguide consisting of a core and cladding, which is
capable of carrying information in the form of light. Fibre is also a general term used to cover
all physical media types supported by Fibre Channel, such as optical fiber, twisted pair, and
coaxial cable.
Fiber Optics
Light transmission through optical fibers for communication or signaling.
Fibre Channel
A high-speed, serial, bi-directional, topology independent, multi-protocol, highly scalable
interconnection between computers, peripherals, and networks.
Gb/s
Gigabits per second or 1 billion bits per second. A reference to processing speed.
GB/s
Gigabytes per second or 1,073,741,824 bytes per second. A reference to processing speed.
GLM
Gigabit Link Module. A transmitter and receiver that provides high-speed serial links, enabling
continuous throughput in each direction simultaneously.
Host Adapter Module (HAM)
A HAM is the driver component used to drive specific HBA hardware in the NetWare
Peripheral Architecture (NPA).
Interrupt Request (IRQ)
Network boards are supplied with default settings for the IRQ, I/O port and base memory
address. An IRQ is a signal protocol used by hardware devices, such as printers and modems, to
let the computer know that they need some attention. When an IRQ is invoked, the CPU puts its
other work "on hold" and services the needs of the interrupting device.
Kilometer
1,000 meters or 3,281 feet. The kilometer is a unit of measurement commonly used in fiber
optics. To convert kilometers to miles, multiply the number of kilometers by .62 to achieve the
number of miles. To convert miles to kilometers, multiply the number of miles by 1.61 to
achieve the number in kilometers.
Laser
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. A device that produces coherent light
with a narrow range of wavelengths.
Latency
Delay in transmission; can be caused by arbitration time prior to winning control of the
network.
Host Bus Adapter for Windows and Linux Installation Guide 85