TYAN S1867 THUNDER 2500, Manual

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Appendix 2
Glossary
DMA D irect M emory A ccess channels are similar to IRQs. DMA channels allow hardware
devices (like sound cards or keyboards) to access the main memory without involving the
CPU. This frees up CPU resources for other tasks. As with IRQs, it is vital that you do not
double up devices on a single line. Plug and Play devices will take care of this for you.
In Doze mode , only the CPU’s speed is slowed.
DRAM D ynamic RAM is a widely available, very affordable form of RAM which has the
unfortunate tendency to lose data if it is not recharged regularly (every few milliseconds).
This refresh requirement makes DRAM slower three to ten times slower than non-
recharged RAM such as SRAM.
EDO RAM ( E xtended D ata- O ut RAM ) speeds access to memory locations by assuming
that memory addresses are static: the next time it looks for a bit of data, it will be at the
same spot, or one nearby.
EEPROM Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM, also called Flash BIOS, is a ROM
chip which can, unlike normal ROM, be updated. This allows you to keep up with changes
in the BIOS programs without having to buy a new chip. TYAN’s BIOS updates can be
found at http://www.tyan.com/html/drivers.html
ESCD ( E xtended S ystem C onfiguration D ata) is a format for storing information about
Plug and Play devices in the system BIOS. This information helps properly configure the
system each time it boots.
Firmware is low level software that controls the system hardware.
Form factor is an industry term for the size, shape, power supply type, and external
connector type of the PCB (personal computer board) or motherboard. The standard form
factors are the AT and ATX, although TYAN also makes some Baby-AT boards.
A Global timer is an onboard hardware timer, such as the Real Time Clock.
Handshaking is a form of encryption. One system, typically the server, sends an
encryption scheme to another agent, typically a client. Thus, the client’s data is protected
during transmittal to the server.
HDD stands for H ard D isk D rive.
H-SYNC controls the horizontal properties of the monitor.
IC ( I ntegrated C ircuit) is the formal name for the computer chip.
IDE I ntegrated D evice (or Drive) E lectronics is a simple, self-contained hard drive
interface. It can handle drives up to 8.4GB in size. Almost all IDEs sold now are in fact
Enhanced IDEs (EIDEs).
IDE INT ( IDE Int errupt) is a hardware interrupt signal that goes to the IDE.