HP StorageWorks 8B FC Entry Switch - Manual (Page 27)

Fabric Watch User’s Guide Glossary-1
Glossary
8b/10b
Encoding An encoding scheme that converts each 8-bit byte into 10 bits. Used to balance
ones and zeros in high-speed transports.
Address
Identifier A 24-bit or 8-bit value used to identify the source or destination of a frame.
Advanced
Performance
Monitoring A software product that provides error and performance information to the
administrator and end user for use in storage management.
AL_PA Arbitrated Loop Physical Address; a unique 8-bit value assigned during loop
initialization to a port in an arbitrated loop.
Alias Address
Identifier An address identifier recognized by a port in addition to its standard identifier. An
alias address identifier may be shared by multiple ports.
Alias AL_PA An AL_PA value recognized by an L_Port in addition to the AL_PA assigned to
the port. See also AL_PA.
Alias Server A fabric software facility that supports multicast group management.
ANSI American National Standards Institute; the governing body for Fibre Channel
standards in the U.S.A.
API Application Programming Interface; defined protocol that allows applications to
interface with a set of services.
Arbitrated
Loop A shared 100 MBps Fibre Channel transport structured as a loop. Can support up
to 126 devices and one fabric attachment. See also Topology.
ASIC Application Specific Integrated Circuit.
ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode; a transport used for transmitting data over LANs
or WANs that transmit fixed-length units of data. Provides any-to-any
connectivity, and allows nodes to transmit simultaneously.
AW_TOV Arbitration Wait Time-out Value; the minimum time an arbitrating L_Port waits
for a response before beginning loop initialization.
Bandwidth The total transmission capacity of a cable, link, or system. Usually measured in
bps (bits per second). May also refer to the range of transmission frequencies
available to a network. See also Throughput.
BB_Credit Buffer-to-buffer credit; the number of frames that can be transmitted to a directly
connected recipient or within an arbitrated loop. Determined by the number of
receive buffers available. See also Buffer-to-buffer Flow Control, EE_Credit.
Beginning
Running
Disparity The disparity at the transmitter or receiver when the special character associated
with an ordered set is encoded or decoded. See also Disparity.