Glossary
A — Ampere(s).
AC — Alternating current.
ACPI — Advanced Configuration and Power Interface. A standard interface for enabling the operating system to direct configuration and power management.
ambient temperature — The temperature of the area or room where the system is located.
ANSI — American National Standards Institute. The primary organization for developing technology standards in the U.S.
asset tag — An individual code assigned to a system, usually by an administrator, for security or tracking purposes.
backup — A copy of a program or data file. As a precaution, back up your system’s hard drive(s) on a regular basis.
blade — A module that contains a processor, memory, and a hard drive. The modules are mounted into a chassis that includes power supplies and fans.
BMC — Baseboard management controller.
bootable media — A CD or USB memory key that is used to start your system if the system does not boot from the hard drive.
BTU — British thermal unit.
bus — An information pathway between the components of a system. Your system contains an expansion bus that allows the processor to communicate with controllers for the peripheral devices connected to the system. Your system also contains an address bus and a data bus for communications between the processor and RAM.
C — Celsius.
cache — A fast storage area that keeps a copy of data or instructions for quick data retrieval.
cm — Centimeter(s).
COMn — The device names for the serial ports on your system.
control panel — The part of the system that contains indicators and controls, such as the power button and power indicator.
controller — A chip or expansion card that controls the transfer of data between the processor and memory or between the processor and a peripheral device.
coprocessor — A chip that relieves the system’s processor of specific processing tasks. A math coprocessor, for example, handles numeric processing.
