Appendix A

Glossary of Terms and

Abbreviations

Active

The electrical connection required at each end of the SCSI bus,

Termination

composed of active voltage regulation and a set of termination resistors.

 

Ultra and Ultra2 SCSI require active termination.

Address

A specific location in memory, designated either numerically or by a

 

symbolic name.

Asynchronous

One of the ways data is transferred over the SCSI bus. It is slower than

Data Transfer

synchronous data transfer.

BIOS

Basic Input/Output System. Software that provides basic read/write

 

capability. Usually kept as firmware (ROM based). The system BIOS on

 

the mainboard of a computer is used to boot and control the system. The

 

SCSI BIOS on your host adapter acts as an extension of the system

 

BIOS.

Bit

A binary digit. The smallest unit of information a computer uses. The

 

value of a bit (0 or 1) represents a two-way choice, such as on or off,

 

true or false, and so on.

Bus

A collection of unbroken signal lines across which information is

 

transmitted from one part of a computer system to another. Connections

 

to the bus are made by way of taps on the lines.

Bus Mastering

A high-performance way to transfer data. The host adapter controls the

 

transfer of data directly to and from system memory without interrupting

 

the computer’s microprocessor. This is the fastest way for multitasking

 

operating systems to transfer data.

Byte

A unit of information consisting of eight bits.

CISPR

A special international committee on radio interference (Committee,

 

International and Special, for Protection in Radio).

LSI8751D PCI to SCSI Host Adapter

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