Glossary
36
LaCie Dupli Disc CD121
User’s Manual
Hardware –
Physical components of a computer system, including the computer itself and peripherals such as printers,
modems, mice, etc.
Host Bus Adapter (HBA) –
A printed circuit board that installs in a standard microcomputer and an interface between the
device controller and the computer. Also called a controller.
Hot-plug, -gable –
The ability to plug in a cable or connector while the computer and peripheral are powered-on without
danger of system errors. Both FireWire and USB interfaces are hot-pluggable, while SCSI is not.
Hub-
A device which links several peripherals together onto the same bus. Active hubs, which regenerate and retransmit
signals down the cable, require a power supply. Passive hubs only interconnect various components.
Initialize, -ed, Initialization –
After a hard drive (or other storage device) is formatted and partitioned, some special data
needs to be written to it that helps the Mac and Windows create files and save data. The process is called initialization. This
process, like formatting, causes all user data on the storage device to be lost.
Interface –
The protocol data transmitters, data receivers, logic and wiring that link one piece of computer equipment to
another, such as a hard drive to an adapter or an adapter to a system bus. Protocol means a set of rules for operating the
physical interface, such as: do not read or write before the drive is ready.
I/O (Input/Output) –
Refers to an operation, program or device whose purpose is to enter data into or to extract data from a
computer.
Kb (Kilobit) –
Equivalent to 1,000 bits.
Kb/s –
Kilobits per second. 480Kb/s is equal to 60KB/s.
KB (KiloByte) –
Basically, this means 1,000 bytes, but it is actually 1,024 bytes.
KB/s –
Kilobytes per second. A means of measuring throughput.
Mb (Megabit) –
Equivalent to 1,000,000 bits.
Mb/s –
Megabits per second. A means of measuring throughput. 480Mb/s is equal to 60MB/s.
MB (Megabyte) –
Basically means one million bytes, but is actually 1,024 Kilobytes or 1,024 x 1,024 bytes, which equals
1,048,576 bytes.
MB/s –
Megabytes per second. A means of measuring throughput.
Media –
The material or device used to store information in a storage subsystem, such as a tape cartridge, CD, DVD or disk
drive.
