Glossary - Qlogic Fibre Channel Adapter User Manual

Glossary

adapter
The board that interfaces between the
host system and the target devices.
Adapter is synonymous with host bus
adapter (HBA), host adapter, and adapter
board.
arbitrated loop
A circular (ring) topology (versus
point-to-point) where two or more ports
can be interconnected, but only two ports
can communicate at a time. All communi-
cation passes through all ports connected
to the loop.
BIOS
Basic input output system (typically in
Flash PROM). The program (or utility) that
serves as an interface between the
hardware and the operating system and
allows booting from the adapter at startup.
boot code
The program that initializes a system or an
adapter. Boot code is the first program to
run when a system or a devices within a
system, such as an adapters. FCode,
BIOS, and EFI (enhanced firmware inter-
face) are all forms of boot code for specific
hardware/operating system environments.
FC0054606-00 A
Boot code for QLogic FC adapters is
required if the computer system is booting
from a storage device (disk drive) attached
to the adapter. The primary function of the
boot code is communication with the
external boot device before the operating
system is up and running. There are also
secondary functions that can be performed
by the boot code, including managing the
setup for the adapter and initializing and
testing the adapter's ISP.
boot device
The device, usually a the hard disk, that
contains the operating system the BIOS
uses to boot from when the computer is
started.
cache
A temporary high-speed storage (memory)
area where recently used or frequently
accessed data is stored for rapid access,
thus increasing the efficiency of processor
operations.
Cache contents duplicate recently-used
values stored on disk or elsewhere. Cache
is quick to access relative to the original
data which either takes more time due to
slow disc-access time, or is slow to
compute. Once data is stored in the cache,
future use can be made by accessing the
cached copy rather than re-finding or
recomputing the original data, so that the
average access time is lower.
L1 cache—Primary (smallest) cache
on the same chip as the processor.
Glossary-1