Maxtor 10K III manual Glossary

Glossary

BEZEL – A plastic panel that extends the face of a drive so that it covers a computer’s drive bay opening. The bezel usually contains a drive- activity LED. Also known as the faceplate.

BIT – Abbreviation for binary digit. A binary digit may have one of two values—1 or 0. This contrasts with a decimal digit, which may have a value from 0 to 9. A bit is one of the logic 1or logic 0 binary settings that make up a byte of data. (See also byte.)

BLOCK – In UNIX workstation environments, the smallest contiguous area that can be allocated for the storage of data. UNIX blocks are generally 8 Kbytes (16 sectors) in size. In DOS environments, the block is referred to as a cluster. (Note: This usage of the term block at the operating system level is different from its meaning in relation to the physical configuration of the hard drive. See sector for comparison.)

BPI – Bits Per Inch. A measure of how densely information is packed on a storage medium. (See also FCI.)

BUFFER – An area of RAM reserved for temporary storage of data that is waiting to be sent to a device that is not yet ready to receive it. The data is usually on its way to or from the hard disk drive or some other peripheral device.

BUS – The part of a chip, circuit board, or interface designed to send and receive data.

BYTE – The basic unit of computer memory, large enough to hold one character of alphanumeric data. Comprised of eight bits. (See also bit.)

CACHE – Specialized￿High-speed RAM used to optimize data transfers between system elements with different performance characteristics, e.g., disk to main memory or main memory to CPU.

CAPACITY – The amount of information that can be stored on a hard drive. Also known as storage capacity. (See also formatted capacity.)

CLEAN ROOM – An environmentally controlled dust-free assembly or repair facility in which hard disk drives are assembled or can be opened for internal servicing.

CMOS – Acronym for complementary metal oxide semiconductor. A low-power, low-heat, high-density semiconductor.

COMMAND QUEUE – The queue used to store I/O processes.

CONNECT – The initiator function that selects a target to establish a nexus and to start an I/O process. The connection that results is an initial connection.

CONNECTION – An initial connection or reconnection that can occur only between one initiator and one target.

CONTINGENT ALLEGIANCE – A condition generated by a CHECK CONDITION or

COMMAND TERMINATED status during which execution of all tagged I/O processes (for the associated I_T_X nexus) are suspended until the condition is cleared. A target preserves an I_T_X nexus until it is cleared by a hard or soft reset, an abort message or another command for that I_T_X nexus. While the contingent allegiance condition exists, the target maintains sense data for the initiator.

CLUSTER – In DOS environments, the smallest contiguous area that can be allocated for the storage of data. DOS clusters are usually 2 Kbytes (4 sectors) in size.

CONTROLLER – The chip or circuit that translates computer data and commands into a form suitable for use by the hard drive. Also known as disk controller.

CONTROLLER CARD – An adapter containing the control electronics for one or more hard disks. Usually installed in a slot in the computer.

CPU – Central Processing Unit. The microprocessor chip that performs the bulk of data processing in a computer.

G-2Maxtor Atlas 10K III 18/36/73 GB Ultra160 SCSI