McDATA Enterprise Operating System, User Manual

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Glossary g-11
Glossary
multiswitch fabric
A Fibre Channel fabric created by linking more than one director or
fabric switching device within a fabric.
N
N_Port See node port .
name server (1) In TCP/IP, see domain name server . (2) In Fibre Channel protocol,
a server that allows node ports (N_Ports) to register information
about themselves. This information allows N_Ports to discover and
learn about each other by sending queries to the name server.
network address Name or address that identifies a device on a transmission control
protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) network. The network address
can be either an IP address in dotted-decimal notation (composed of
four three-digit octets in the format xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx) or a domain
name (as administered on a customer network).
node In Fibre Channel protocol, an end device (server or storage device)
that is or can be connected to a switched fabric.
See also device .
node port N_Port. Physical interface within an end device that can connect to an
fabric port (F_Port) on a switched fabric or directly to another N_Port
(in point-to-point communications).
O
offline sequence
OLS. (1) Sequence sent by the transmitting port to indicate that it is
attempting to initialize a link and has detected a problem in doing so.
(2) Sequence sent by the transmitting port to indicate that it is offline.
offline state When the switch or director is in the offline state, all the installed
ports are offline. The ports transmit an offline sequence (OLS) and
they cannot accept a login got connection from an attached device.
Contrast with online state .
OLS See offline sequence .