Fabric Watch User’s Guide Glossary-7
Loop_ID A hex value representing one of the 127 possible AL_PA values in an arbitrated
loop.
Looplet A set of devices connected in a loop to a port that is a member of another loop.
LPSM Loop Port State Machine; the logical entity that performs arbitrated loop
protocols and defines the behavior of L_Ports when they require access to an
arbitrated loop.
LWL Long Wavelength; a type of fiber optic cabling that is based on 1300mm lasers
and supports link speeds of 1.0625 Gbps. May also refer to the type of GBIC or
SFP. See also SWL.
Master Port As relates to trunking, the port that determines the routing paths for all traffic
flowing through the trunking group. One of the ports in the first ISL in the
trunking group is designated as the master port for that group. See also Brocade
ISL Trunking.
MIB Management Information Base; an SNMP structure to help with device
management, providing configuration and device information.
Multicast The transmission of data from a single source to multiple specified N_Ports (as
opposed to all the ports on the network). See also Broadcast, Unicast.
Multimode A fiber optic cabling specification that allows up to 500 meters between devices.
N_Port Node Port; a port on a node that can connect to a fibre channel port or to another
N_Port in a point-to-point connection. See also NL_Port, Nx_Port.
Name Server Frequently used to indicate Simple Name Server. See also SNS.
NL_Port Node Loop Port; a node port that has arbitrated loop capabilities. Used to connect
an equipment port to the fabric in a loop configuration through an FL_Port. See
also N_Port, Nx_Port.
Node A fibre channel device that contains an N_Port or NL_Port.
Node Name The unique identifier for a node, communicated during login and port discovery.
Non-
participating
Mode
A mode in which an L_Port in a loop is inactive and cannot arbitrate or send
frames, but can retransmit any received transmissions. This mode is entered if
there are more than 127 devices in a loop and an AL_PA cannot be acquired. See
also L_Port, Participating Mode.
Nx_Port A node port that can operate as either an N_Port or NL_Port.
Ordered Set A transmission word that uses 8B/10B mapping and begins with the K28.5
character. Ordered sets occur outside of frames, and include the following items:
•Frame delimiters Mark frame boundaries and describe frame contents.
•Primitive signals Indicate events.
•Primitive sequences Indicate or initiate port states.
Ordered sets are used to differentiate fibre channel control information from data
frames and to manage the transport of frames.
Packet A set of information transmitted across a network. See also Frame.
Participating
Mode A mode in which an L_Port in a loop has a valid AL_PA and can arbitrate, send
frames, and retransmit received transmissions. See also L_Port, Non-
participating Mode.