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ASUS PCI-SC896 User’s Manual
4. Appendix
4. Appendix
DMA Bus Master - A feature that allows a peripheral to control the flow of
data to and from system memory by blocks, as opposed to PIO (Programmed
I/O) where the processor is in control and the flow is by byte.
Device Driver - A program that allows a microprocessor (through the operat-
ing system) to direct the operation of a peripheral device.
Differential - A hardware configuration for connecting SCSI devices. It uses a
pair of lines for each signal transfer (as opposed to single-ended SCSI which
references each SCSI signal to a common ground).
Dword - A double word is a group of 4 consecutive bytes or characters that are
stored, addressed, transmitted, and operated on as a unit. The lower two ad-
dress bits of the least significant byte must equal zero in order to be dword
aligned.
EEPROM - Electronically-Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory. A
memory chip typically used to store configuration information. See NVRAM.
EISA - Extended Industry Standard Architecture. An extension of the 16-bit
ISA bus standard. It allows devices to perform 32-bit data transfers.
External SCSI Device - A SCSI device installed outside the computer cabi-
net. These devices are connected in a continuous chain using specific types of
shielded cables.
Fast SCSI - A standard for SCSI data transfers. It allows a transfer rate of up to 10
Mbytes/s over an 8-bit SCSI bus and up to 20 Mbytes/s over a 16-bit SCSI bus.
FCC - Federal Communications Commission.
File - A named collection of information stored on a disk.
Firmware - Software that is permanently stored in ROM. Therefore, it can be
accessed during boot time.
Hard Disk - A disk made of metal and permanently sealed into a drive car-
tridge. A hard disk can store very large amounts of information.
Host - The computer system in which a SCSI host adapter is installed. It uses
the SCSI host adapter to transfer information to and from devices attached to
the SCSI bus.
Host Adapter - A circuit board or integrated circuit that provides a SCSI bus
connection to the computer system.
Internal SCSI Device - A SCSI device installed inside the computer cabinet. These
devices are connected in a continuous chain using an unshielded ribbon cable.
