LaCie d2 Quadra
Quadruple Interface Hard Drive
page
Glossary
erasing the original data.
Partition, -ing –
After formatting, the hard drive is not
yet ready to store files. It must be divided into sections
that will contain special information required for a Mac
or PC to operate and other sections that will contain the
files. This process of dividing up the hard drive is called
partitioning. A partition is just one section of the hard
drive that will contain either special data put there by
Silverlining or other files and data.
Peripheral –
A generic term applied to printers, scan-
ners, mice, keyboards, serial ports, graphics cords, disk
drives and other computer subsystems. This type of pe-
ripheral often relies on its own control software, known
as a peripheral driver.
Port, hardware –
A connection component (SCSI port,
for example) that enables a microprocessor to commu-
nicate with a compatible peripheral.
Port, software –
A memory address that identifies the
physical circuit used to transfer information between a
microprocessor and a peripheral.
RAM (Random Access Memory) –
Generally referred
to as a computer’s “memory.” An integrated circuit
memory chip that allows information to be stored and
retrieved by a microprocessor or controller. The infor-
mation can be stored or accessed in any order, and all
storage locations are equally accessible.
Seek Time –
The amount of time (in thousandths of a
second, or milliseconds) that it takes a hard drive’s read/
write head to move to a specific location on the disk.
Average seek, then, is the average of a large number of
random samplings all over the disk. Seek time is CPU
independent, meaning that seek time is the same for a
disk drive, whether it is attached to a computer or not.
Software –
In a nutshell, software is a set of instruc-
tions for the computer. A set of instructions to per-
form a particular task is called a program. There are two
main types of software: system software (an operating
system such as Mac OS or Windows) which controls
the operation of the computer and application software
(programs such as Word or Excel) which enable users
to perform tasks such as word processing, spreadsheet
creation, graphics, etc.
Storage –
In computers, any equipment in which infor-
mation may be kept. PCs generally use disk units and
other external storage media (diskettes, CD-ROMs,
magnetic disks, etc.) for permanent storage of informa-
tion.
Striping –
Spreading data evenly over multiple disk
drives to enhance performance. Data striping can be
performed on a bit, byte or block basis for optimum ap-
plication performance.
Transfer Rate –
The rate at which the drive sends and
receives data from the controller. Transfer rates for read-
ing data from the disk drive may not be the same as the
transfer rate for writing data to the disk drive. Transfer
rates are CPU dependent, meaning that regardless of
how great a transfer rate your drive is capable of, the
actual transfer rate can only be as fast as the slowest of
your hard drive and computer.
Volume –
A desktop mountable storage area, may be a
partition of a hard drive, a removable disk or a cartridge.
Typically measured in Megabytes or Gigabytes.
Utility –
Software designed to perform maintenance
tasks on the system or its components. Examples in-
clude backup programs, programs to retrieve files and
data on disk, programs for preparing (or formatting) a
disk or and resource editors.
