Dell PowerEdge 350 - Manual (Page 49)

support.dell.com Glossary 3
diagnostics
See diskette-based diagnostics.
DIMM
Acronym for dual in-line memory module.
DIN
Acronym for Deutsche Industrie Norm.
DIP
Acronym for dual in-line package. A circuit
board, such as a system board or expan-
sion card, may contain DIP switches for
configuring the circuit board. DIP switch-
es are always toggle switches, with an
ON position and an OFF position.
directory
Directories help keep related files orga-
nized in a hierarchical, "inverted tree"
structure. Each disk has a "root" directory;
for example, a C:\> prompt normally indi-
cates that you are at the root directory of
hard-disk drive C. Additional directories
that branch off of the root directory are
called subdirectories. Subdirectories may
contain additional directories branching
off of them.
diskette-based diagnostics
A comprehensive set of diagnostic tests
for your Dell system. To use the diskette-
based diagnostics, you must boot your
system from the
Dell Diagnostics
Diskette . Refer to your Installation and
Troubleshooting Guide for a complete
discussion about how to use the diskette-
based diagnostics.
display adapter
See video adapter.
DMA
Abbreviation for direct memory access. A
DMA channel allows certain types of data
transfer between RAM and a device to
bypass the microprocessor.
DRAC
Acronym for Dell OpenManage Remote
Assistant Card.
DRAM
Abbreviation for dynamic random-access
memory. A system's RAM is usually
made up entirely of DRAM chips. Be-
cause DRAM chips cannot store an
electrical charge indefinitely, your system
continually refreshes each DRAM chip in
the system.
drive-type number
Your system can recognize a number of
specific hard-disk drives. Each is assigned
a drive-type number that is stored in
NVRAM. The hard-disk drive(s) specified
in your system's System Setup program
must match the actual drive(s) installed in
the system. The System Setup program
also allows you to specify physical param-
eters (cylinders, heads, write precomp,
landing zone, and capacity) for drives not
included in the table of drive types stored
in NVRAM.
ECC
Abbreviation for error checking and
correction.
EEPROM
Acronym for electrically erasable pro-
grammable read-only memory.
expansion bus
Your system contains an expansion bus
that allows the microprocessor to com-
municate with controllers for peripheral
devices, such as a network card or an in-
ternal modem.