Maxtor DIAMONDMAX PLUS 40 54098U8 - Manual (Page 57)

GLOSSARY
GL – 1
GLOSSARY
Glossary Glossary Glossary Glossary Glossary
A AA AA
ACCESS ACCESS ACCESS ACCESS ACCESS
To obtain data from, or place data into, RAM, a register, or data
storage device.
ACCESS TIME ACCESS TIME ACCESS TIME ACCESS TIME ACCESS TIME
The interval between the issuing of an access command and the
instant that the target data may be read or written. Access time
includes seek time, latency and controller overhead time.
ADDRESS ADDRESS ADDRESS ADDRESS ADDRESS
A number, generally binary, distinguishing a specific member of an
ordered set of locations. In disk engineering, the address may
consist of drives (unit address), radial positions (cylinder address),
or circumferential position (sector address).
ALLOCATION ALLOCATION ALLOCATION ALLOCATION ALLOCATION
A process of assigning designated areas of the disk to particular
files.
ALTERNATE TRACK ALTERNATE TRACK ALTERNATE TRACK ALTERNATE TRACK ALTERNATE TRACK
A spare track used in the event that a normal track becomes
damaged or is unusable.
ANALOG ANALOG ANALOG ANALOG ANALOG
A signal or system that does not use digital states to convey
information. A signal may have any number of significant states
(values), contrasted to digital signals which can only have two
states.
ANSI ANSI ANSI ANSI ANSI
American National Standards Institute.
APPLICATION PROGRAM APPLICATION PROGRAM APPLICATION PROGRAM APPLICATION PROGRAM APPLICATION PROGRAM
A sequence of programmed instructions that tell the computer how
to perform some end-user task, such as accounting or word
processing.
AREAL DENSITY AREAL DENSITY AREAL DENSITY AREAL DENSITY AREAL DENSITY
Bit density (bits per inch) multiplied by track density (tracks per inch)
or bits per square inch.
ASYMMETRY ASYMMETRY ASYMMETRY ASYMMETRY ASYMMETRY
A distortion of the readback signal which is shown in different
intervals between the positive and negative voltage peaks.
AUXILIARY MEMORY AUXILIARY MEMORY AUXILIARY MEMORY AUXILIARY MEMORY AUXILIARY MEMORY
Memory other than main memory; generally a mass-storage
subsystem containing disk drives and backup tape drives,
controller(s) and buffer memory (also called peripheral memory).
AVERAGE ACCESS TIME AVERAGE ACCESS TIME AVERAGE ACCESS TIME AVERAGE ACCESS TIME AVERAGE ACCESS TIME
The average time to make all possible length accesses (seeks).
AVERAGE SEEK TIME AVERAGE SEEK TIME AVERAGE SEEK TIME AVERAGE SEEK TIME AVERAGE SEEK TIME
The average time to make all possible length seeks. A typical
measure of performance.
BBBBB
BAD BLOCK BAD BLOCK BAD BLOCK BAD BLOCK BAD BLOCK
A block that cannot store data because of a media flaw.
BIT BIT BIT BIT BIT
An abbreviation for binary digit, of which there are two (0 and 1). A
bit is the basic data unit of most digital computers. A bit is usually
part of a data byte or word, but bits may be used singly to control or
read logic “on-off” functions. The fundamental unit information,
often used loosely to refer to a circuit or magnetization state at a
particular instant in time.
BIOS BIOS BIOS BIOS BIOS
Acronym for Basic Input/Output System. The firmware area of a CPU
that controls operations through the system bus and to the
attached cards and peripheral devices.
BPI BPI BPI BPI BPI
Acronym for bits per inch. See bit density.
BLOCK BLOCK BLOCK BLOCK BLOCK
A group of bytes handled, stored, and accessed as a logical data
unit, such as an individual file record.
BUFFER BUFFER BUFFER BUFFER BUFFER
A temporary data storage area that compensates for a difference in
data transfer rates and/or data processing rates between sender
and receiver.
BUS BUS BUS BUS BUS
A collection of functionally parallel conductors that forms an
interconnection between functional blocks in a digital device. A
length of parallel conductors that forms a major interconnection
route between the computer system CPU (central processing unit)
and its peripheral subsystems. Depending on its design, a bus may
carry data, addresses, power, and more.
BYTE BYTE BYTE BYTE BYTE
An ordered collection of bits treated as a unit. Most often, a byte is
understood to consist of eight bits. One byte is necessary to define
an alphanumeric character.
CCCCC
CACHE CACHE CACHE CACHE CACHE
Random access memory (RAM) used as a buffer between the CPU
and the disk drive.
CAPACITY CAPACITY CAPACITY CAPACITY CAPACITY
The amount of data, usually expressed in bytes, which can be stored
in a given device or portion of same.
CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU) CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU) CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU) CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU) CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)
The heart of the computer system that executes programmed
instructions. It includes the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) for performing
all math and logic operations, a control section for interpreting and
executing instructions, internal memory for temporary storage of
program variables and other functions.
CHANNEL CHANNEL CHANNEL CHANNEL CHANNEL
A collection of electronic circuits used in the process of writing and
reading information to and from magnetic media.
CHARACTER CHARACTER CHARACTER CHARACTER CHARACTER
An ordered collection of bits representing one of a set of
predefined symbols. Often the term is used interchangeably with
byte, but this is inexact.
CLOSED LOOP CLOSED LOOP CLOSED LOOP CLOSED LOOP CLOSED LOOP
A control technique that enables the positioning system to correct
off-track errors in real time. The actual head position is monitored
and compared to the ideal track position to determine any position
error that might be occurring. This information is then used to
produce a correction signal (feedback) that goes to the positioner
to correct the error. (See also track following servo).
CLOSED LOOP SERVO CLOSED LOOP SERVO CLOSED LOOP SERVO CLOSED LOOP SERVO CLOSED LOOP SERVO
A servo control technique that uses position feedback to correct
off-track errors. See Track Following Servo.
CLUSTER CLUSTER CLUSTER CLUSTER CLUSTER
The smallest allocatable unit of disk storage allowed by MS-DOS;
each FAT entry represents one cluster.
CONTROLLER CONTROLLER CONTROLLER CONTROLLER CONTROLLER
An electronic device for connecting one or more mass storage
peripherals (rigid disk drives, tape drives, and optical disk drives) to
the input/output circuits of a host computer. Controllers vary in
complexity, with more sophisticated units able to buffer and
schedule commands, correct data errors, and bypass media defects
without host intervention.