GLOSSARY

S.M.A.R.T. – Self-Monitoring and Analysis Reporting Technology. The continual monitoring of the drive's operating condition with reports sent to the host computer. Similar to Maxtor's EWS (Early Warning System) used in some drives.

SOFT ERROR – A faulty data reading that does not recur if the same data is reread from the disk, or corrected by ECC. Usually caused by power fluctuations or noise spikes.

SOFT-SECTORED – Old time-based method of indicating the start of each sector on a disk. Soft-sectored drives require that location instructions be located in the data fields. (See also hard-sectored.)

SPINDLE – The drive’s center shaft, on which the hard disks are mounted. A synchronized spindle is a shaft that allows two disks to spin simultaneously as a mirror image of each other, permitting redundant storage of data.

SPUTTER – A special method of coating the disk that results in a hard, smooth surface capable of storing data at a high density. Maxtor disk drives use sputtered thin film disks.

STEPPER – A type of motor that moves in discrete steps with each electrical pulse. Stepper were originally the most common type of actuator engine, since they can be geared to advance a read/write head one track per step. However, they are not as fast, reliable, or durable as the voice coil actuators found in Maxtor disk drives. (See also voice coil.)

SUBSTRATE – The material underneath the magnetic coating of a disk. Common substrates include aluminum or magnesium alloys for hard drives, glass, for optical disks, and mylar for floppy disks.

SURFACE – The top or bottom side of a disk, which is coated with the magnetic material for recording data. On some drives one surface may be reserved for positioning information.

SYNCHRONOUS DATA TRANSFER – Data transfer that allows transfer of multiple blocks of data between request or acknowledgment signals, since request and acknowledgment signals need not be sent

before and after each block. This method is faster than asynchronous data transfer.

T

TARGET – An SCSI device that performs an operation requested by an initiator.

TARGET ROUTINE – An I/O process directed to a target and not to a logical unit.

THIN FILM – A type of coating allowing very thin layers of magnetic material, used on hard disks and read/write heads. Hard disks with thin film surfaces can store greater amounts of data.

THIRD-STROKE SEEK – A method of evaluating the power requirements of a hard drive. It involves monitoring drive current while seeking to a selected track, waiting for 1/ 2 a revolution, then seeking to a track that is 1/ 3 of the total actuator stroke from the first. The seek/wait cycle is usually repeated three times.

TPI – Tracks Per Inch. The number of tracks written within each inch of disk’s surface, used as a measure of how closely the tracks are packed on a disk surface. Also known as track density.

TRACK – One of the many concentric magnetic circle patterns written on a disk surface as a guide for storing and reading data. Also known as channel.

TRACK DENSITY – How closely the tracks are packed on a disk surface. The number is specified as tracks per inch (TPI).

TRACK-TO-TRACK SEEK TIME – The time required for the read/write heads to move to an adjacent track.

TRANSFER RATE – The rate at which the disk sends and receives data from the controller. The sustained transfer rate includes the time required for system processing, head switches and seeks, and accurately reflects the drive’s true performance. The burst mode transfer rate is a much higher figure that refers only to the movement of data directly into RAM.

TRUE – Refers to the logical-one (or

Maxtor Atlas 10K V G-11