McDATA Sphereon 4500 - Manual (Page 197)

Glossary g-9
Glossary
fibre port module
card
Each fiber port module card provides four Fibre Channel connections
through duplex small form factor pluggable (SFP) fiber-optic
transceivers.
field-replaceable unit Assembly removed and replaced in its entirety when any one of its
components fails.
firmware Embedded program code that resides and executes on the switch.
FLASH memory A computer chip with a read-only memory that retains its data when
the power is turned off and that can be electronically erased and
reprogrammed without being removed from the circuit board.
F_Port See fabric port.
frame A variable-length packet of data that is transmitted in frame relay
technology.
FRU See field-replaceable unit.
Fx_Port A configurable port type that restricts a port to operate either as an
F_Port or FL_Port.
G
gateway A multi-homed host used to route network traffic from one network
to another, and to pass network traffic from one protocol to another.
gateway address A unique string of numbers (in the format xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) that
identifies a gateway on the network.
GBIC
GigaBit Interface Converter. A removable module that converts an
electrical serial data stream to an optical or amplified electrical serial
data stream. Contains connector for attaching fiber optic cable.
generic port Also known as G_Port. Physical interface on a switch that can
function either as a fabric port (F_Port) or an extension port (E_Port)
depending on the port type to which it connects.
G_Port See generic port.