Brocade Communications Systems A7990A - StorageWorks SAN Director 4/16 Blade Switch Manual page 25

MSRS
Multiprotocol SAN Routing Services. An optionally licensed software bundle available on certain
Brocade platforms, such as the SilkWorm Fabric AP7420, that includes the Fibre Channel Routing
Service, the iSCSI Gateway Service, and the FCIP Tunneling Service.
MTBF
Mean time between failures. An expression of time, indicating the longevity of a device.
multicast The transmission of data from a single source to multiple specified N_Ports (as opposed to all the ports
on the network). See also broadcast, unicast.
multimode A fiber optic cabling specification in which multiple light waves (or modes) are transmitted over
relatively short distances due to modal dispersion. Single mode specifies a single light wave and can
transmit over much longer distances. Specific distance limitations at a certain speed are determined by
the optical loss budget for the transmit and receive optics.
N
N_Port
Node port. A Fibre Channel host or storage port in a fabric or point to point connection. See also
NL_Port, Nx_Port.
Name Server Simple Name Server (SNS). A switch service that stores names, addresses, and attributes for up to 15
minutes and provides them as required to other devices in the fabric. SNS is defined by Fibre Channel
standards and exists at a well-known address. Also referred to as "directory service."
NAS Network-attached storage; disk storage connected to an IP network that provides file level access for
hosts. The protocols used are typically CIFS for MS Windows environments and NFS for Unix and
Linux environments.
native PID Introduced with the SilkWorm 2000 series, this PID format supports up to 16 ports per switch. See also
VC Encoded
NDMP
Network Data Management Protocol. Used for tape backup without using server resources.
NIC Network interconnect card.
NL_Port
Node loop port. A node port that has arbitrated-loop capabilities. Used to connect an equipment port to
the fabric in a loop configuration through an FL_Port. See also N_Port, Nx_Port.
node
A Fibre Channel device that contains an N_Port or NL_Port.
node count The number of SAN devices attached to a fabric.
node name
The unique identifier for a SAN device, communicated during login and port discovery.
nondisruptive A Fabric OS feature that allows you to download configuration files to a switch while the switch is
configuration enabled, that is, you do not need to disable the switch for configuration changes in SNMP, Fabric
download
Watch, and ACL parameters. Nondisruptive configuration download is independent of the hardware
platform and supported on all hardware platforms running Fabric OS v5.2.0 and higher.
Nonparticipati A mode in which an L_Port in a loop is inactive and cannot arbitrate or send frames but can retransmit
ng mode
received transmissions. This mode is entered if there are more than 127 devices in a loop and an AL_PA
cannot be acquired. See also L_Port,
Brocade Glossary
Publication Number: 53-1000040-03
PID, core PID, and extended edge
Participating
PID.
mode.
Glossary
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