Spectra Logic Spectra nTier300, Installation Manual

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Glossary of Terms
A
administrator
A type of user who is allowed control of the nTier300 VTL, but cannot
configure or change other users.
array
A group of storage devices (typically hard disk drives) controlled in
such a way as to provide higher data transfer rates, higher data
availability, and/or data redundancy. An array is typically treated as a
single volume by a host operating system. One of the most common
uses of arrays is in RAID storage. See also
RAID .
automatic rebuild
A process in which data is automatically reconstructed after a new drive
is installed manually in place of a failed drive.
B
block
A single sector on a disk. The smallest unit of data stored (written) to or
retrieved (read) from a disk.
BlueScale•
Software available on Spectra nTier300 VTL appliance that supports
nTier300 VTL configuration and monitoring.
bus
A bus is a collection of wires through which data is transmitted from
one part of a computer to another (or from one device to another).
C
cache
A high-speed storage device used to reduce the effective time required
to read data from or write data to a lower speed device. Read cache
holds data in anticipation that it will be requested by a client. Write
cache holds data written by a client until it can be safely stored on more
permanent storage media, such as disk or tape. (SNIA)
caching
A process that allows data to be stored in a pre-designated area of a
disk. Caching is used to speed up the operation of RAID arrays, disk
drives, computers and servers, or other peripheral devices.