McDATA Eclipse 2640 SAN, Administration And Configuration Manual

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g-4 Eclipse™ 2640 SAN Router Administration and Configuration Manual
Glossary
such as implementing the lower-layer Fibre Channel protocol (FC-0).
They are particularly suited to sending video and audio information,
as well as text. ASICs differ from general-purpose devices such as
memory chips or microprocessors.
arbitrated loop
One of the three connection topologies offered by Fibre Channel
protocol. Up to 126 node ports and one fabric port can communicate
without the need for a separate switched fabric.
See also
point-to-point .
arbitrated loop
physical address
AL_PA. A 1-byte value used in the arbitrated loop topology that
identifies loop ports (L_Ports). This value then becomes the last byte
of the address identified for each public L_Port on the loop.
arbitration
Process of selecting one device from a collection of devices that
request service simultaneously.
archive
(1) To copy files to a long-term storage medium for backup. (2)
Removing data, usually old or inactive files, from a system and
permanently storing the data on removable media to reclaim system
hard disk space.
area
The second byte of the node port (N_Port) identifier.
ARP See
address resolution protocol .
array
Two or more disk drives connected to a host, and connected and
configured such that the host perceives the disk drives to be one disk.
ASCII See
American National Standard Code for Information Interchange .
ASIC See
application-specific integrated circuit .
availability
The accessibility of a computer system or network resource.
B
b See
bit .
B See
byte .