Glossary 263
LPT Port
Line print terminal. The typical d esignation for a
parallel port connection to a printer or other parallel
device. Most computers support one or two parallel
ports designated as LPT1 and LPT2.
LVD
Low voltage differential. A form of SCSI interface that
will be formalized in the SCSI-3 specification. LVD
uses less power than the pr es ent di f fe rent ial d riv e , is
less expensive, and supports the higher speeds of
Ultra-2 SCSI drives. LVD requires 3.3 VDC instead
of 5 VDC, the previous standard.
m
Meter. A measurement of length that equals 39.37
inches.
mA
milliAmpere. A measurement of current that equals
one thousandth of an A.
Mb
Megabit. A measurement of memory chip capacity
that equals 1024 Kb.
Mbps
Megabits per second. A measurement of network and
modem transmission speeds that equals one million
bits per second.
MB
Megabyte. A measurement of data storage that equals
1,048,576 bytes. 1 MB equals 1024 KB. When
referring to hard drive storage, the term is often
rounded to mean 1 million bytes.
MBA
Managed boot agent. Provides multiple PXEs and
allows a computer to boot from a network server.
MBps
MB(s) per second. A measurement of data
transmission speed.
Memory Address
Addresses assigned to physical memory locations by
the computer at start-up. These addresses allow
devices and software applications to identify
information that the microprocessor can access. This
process is referred to as Memory Mapping.
Memory Mapping
The process by which the computer assigns memory
addresses to physical memory locations at start-up.
Devices and software applications can then identify
information that the microprocessor can access.
MHz
Megahertz. A measurement of frequency that equals
one million Hz.
Microprocessor
A computer chip that interprets and executes
program instructions. Also referred to as the CPU.
See also Bus Speed.
MIF
Management Information Format. A syntax for
describing information for manageable hardware and
software components that can be installed on a
computer. See also COO, WBEM, and WfM.
min
Minute(s). A measurement of time that equals 60 sec.
Mini-DIN
A form of DIN connector that is round, has 6 pins,
and is typically used to connect PS/2 keyboard or
mouse cable connectors.
mm
Millimeter. A measurement of length that equals one
thousandth of a meter or 1/25 inch.
Modem
A shortened reference to modulator/demodulator.
Modems convert analog data into digital data and