drive channels. The DS4200, DS4700, and DS4800 subsystems use dual-port drive channels that, from the physical point of view, are connected in the same way as two drive loops. However, from the point of view of the number of drives and enclosures, they are treated as a single drive loop instead of two different drive loops. A group of storage expansion enclosures are connected to the DS4000 storage subsystems using a drive channel from each controller. This pair of drive channels is referred to as a redundant drive channel pair.

drive loops. A drive loop consists of one channel from each controller combined to form one pair of redundant drive channels or a redundant drive loop. Each drive loop is associated with two ports. (There are two drive channels and four associated ports per controller.) For the DS4800, drive loops are more commonly referred to as drive channels. See drive channels.

DRAM. See dynamic random access memory.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). A protocol defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force that is used for dynamically assigning Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to computers in a network.

dynamic random access memory (DRAM). A

storage in which the cells require repetitive application of control signals to retain stored data.

ECC. See error correction coding.

EEPROM. See electrically erasable programmable read-only memory.

EISA. See Extended Industry Standard Architecture.

electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). A type of memory chip which can retain its contents without consistent electrical power. Unlike the PROM which can be programmed only once, the EEPROM can be erased electrically. Because it can only be reprogrammed a limited number of times before it wears out, it is appropriate for storing small amounts of data that are changed infrequently.

electrostatic discharge (ESD). The flow of current that results when objects that have a static charge come into close enough proximity to discharge.

environmental service module (ESM) canister. A

component in a storage expansion enclosure that monitors the environmental condition of the components in that enclosure. Not all storage subsystems have ESM canisters.

E_port. See expansion port.

error correction coding (ECC). A method for encoding data so that transmission errors can be detected and corrected by examining the data on the

receiving end. Most ECCs are characterized by the maximum number of errors they can detect and correct.

ESD. See electrostatic discharge.

ESM canister. See environmental service module canister.

automatic ESM firmware synchronization. When

you install a new ESM into an existing storage expansion enclosure in a DS4000 storage subsystem that supports automatic ESM firmware synchronization, the firmware in the new ESM is automatically synchronized with the firmware in the existing ESM.

EXP. See storage expansion enclosure.

expansion port (E_port). A port that connects the

switches for two fabrics.

Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA). A bus standard for IBM compatibles that extends the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus architecture to 32 bits and allows more than one central processing unit (CPU) to share the bus. See also Industry Standard Architecture.

fabric. A fibre channel entity which interconnects and facilitates logins of N_ports attached to it. The fabric is responsible for routing frames between source and destination N_ports using address information in the frame header. A fabric can be as simple as a point-to-point channel between two N-ports, or as complex as a frame-routing switch that provides multiple and redundant internal pathways within the fabric between F_ports.

fabric port (F_port). In a fabric, an access point for connecting a user's N_port. An F_port facilitates N_port logins to the fabric from nodes connected to the fabric. An F_port is addressable by the N_port connected to it. See also fabric.

FC. See Fibre Channel.

FC-AL.See arbitrated loop.

feature enable identifier. A unique identifier for the storage subsystem, which is used in the process of generating a premium feature key. See also premium feature key.

Fibre Channel (FC). A set of standards for a serial input/output (I/O) bus capable of transferring data between two ports at up to 100 Mbps, with standards proposals to go to higher speeds. FC supports point-to-point, arbitrated loop, and switched topologies.

Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL). See

arbitrated loop.

Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) for small computer system interface (SCSI). A high-levelfibre-channel

mapping layer (FC-4) that uses lower-level fibre-channel

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IBM DS4700 manual Automatic ESM firmware synchronization. When, Expansion port Eport. a port that connects