Glossary
API Application Programming Interface; a defined protocol that allows applications to interface with a set of services.
Arbitrated A shared 100 MBps Fibre Channel transport structured as a loop. Can
Loop 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.
B
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
Beginning Running The disparity at the transmitter or receiver when the special character
Disparity associated with an ordered set is encoded or decoded. See also Disparity.
BER Bit Error Rate; the rate at which bits are expected to be received in error. Expressed as the ratio of error bits to total bits transmitted. See also Error.
Block As applies to Fibre Channel, upper level application data that is transferred in a single sequence.
Broadcast The transmission of data from a single source to all devices in the fabric, regardless of zoning. See also Multicast and Unicast.
Departmental Switch Model
