Glossary

adapter

A printed circuit assembly that translates data between the FC host processor’s internal bus and

 

a different bus, such as SCSI.

address

See SCSI addressing.

addressing mode

Used to create a mapping table that maps devices on the SCSI bus to Fibre Channel logical

 

units.

AL_PA

Arbitrated Loop Physical Address. A unique one-byte valid value, derived and used in an

 

Arbitrated Loop Topology as defined in ANSI specification FC_AL ver 4.5.

arbitrated loop

See Fibre Channel - Arbitrated Loop. (ANSI specification FC_AL ver 4.5)

area

The second byte of the N_Port Identifier.

auto-assigned

A menu item. The auto-addressing option creates a mapping table using devices discovered

mapping

upon powering up or resetting the interface card, that is not otherwise retained by the

 

interface card.

baud

A unit of signaling speed, expressed as the maximum number of times per second the signal

 

can change the state of the transmission line or other medium (units of baud are sec-1). Note:

 

With Fibre Channel scheme, a signal event represents a single transmission bit.

bus

A means of transferring data between modules and adapters or between an adapter and SCSI

 

devices. For a SCSI bus definition, see SCSI bus.

channel

A general term for a path on which electronic signals travel.

clusters

Two or more computers sharing the same resources on a communication link.

interface card

An intelligent device within the SAN (storage area network) infrastructure that can handle

 

multiple protocols, such as Fibre Channel and SCSI. The routing decision is based on paths

 

between address mappings among dispersed initiators and targets.

interface

Configuration involving at least two interface card/routers where one interface card/router is

card-to-router

in Initiator Mode and another in Target Mode.

device

See FC Device or SCSI Device.

differential

An electrical signal configuration using a pair of lines for data transfer. The advantage of

 

differential compared to single-ended configuration is a relative high tolerance for

 

common-mode noise and crosstalk when used with twisted pair cables. In layman’s terms, this

 

means longer distance.

domain

A FC term describing the most significant byte in the N_Port Identifier for the FC device. It is not

 

used in the FC-SCSI hardware path ID. It is required to be the same for all SCSI targets

 

logically connected to a FC adapter.

exchange

A FC term for the basic mechanism used for managing an operation. An exchange identifies

 

information transfers consisting of one or more related non concurrent sequences that may

 

flow in the same or opposite directions, but always in half duplex mode. An exchange is

 

identified by an OX_ID and an RX_ID.

fabric

An FC term that includes FC Arbitrated Loop, Switched Fabric, and Point-to-Point.

FC

See Fibre Channel.