Cyclone System Board Manual
Disk Drive
- A hardware device which
provides for the storage of data on dis-
kettes or hard metal disks that have a
magnetic coating. A disk drive func-
tions by spinning at high speed while
moving a device called the read/write
head across the disk’s surface in order
to read or write data in magnetic code.
DMI
- An acronym for Desktop Man-
agement Interface. DMI makes hard-
ware inventory easier. It defines a for-
mat of a management agent for desk-
top systems. Its layered-model architec-
ture allows a wide range of software and
hardware components to pass informa-
tion about themselves to an asset man-
agement system.
DRAM
- An acronym for Dynamic
Random Access Memory. A type of
memory chip that only keeps its
memory if supplied with regular clock
pulses and a chance to regularly refresh
its data. It is slower and more cost ef-
fective than SRAM. See SRAM.
ECP
- An acronym for Expanded
Capabilities Port. A standard set by
Hewlett Packard and Microsoft Corpo-
ration to expand the capabilities of the
parallel port.
EDO Memory
- An acronym for Ex-
tended Data Out. A DRAM perfor-
mance feature that permits multiple bit
of data in a single row to be accessed
quickly.
EPP
- An acronym for Enhanced Par-
allel Port. A standard which increases
the capabilities of the parallel port.
EPROM
- Acronym for Erasable Pro-
grammable Read Only Memory. A
type of ROM chip that can be pro-
grammed with relatively simple tools
that will retain its data until erased. It
can only be erased by exposing the cir-
cuitry in the chip to ultraviolet light.
See also Flash ROM.
Feature Connector
- A point-to-point
channel used to transfer video signals
between two video controllers, typically
between the display adapter and a video
capture adapter.
Flash ROM
- A type of ROM chip that
will retain its data until erased. It can
be erased or reprogrammed by supply-
ing it with +12V of voltage. See ROM
and EPROM.
Gigabyte
- A disk storage capacity mea-
surement. Approximately one thousand
megabytes or 1,073,741,824 bytes.
IDE
- An acronym for Integrated
Device Electronics. A standard for
communicating between a hard drive
and a computer.
Internal Cache
- Cache which is built
into the CPU. See Cache.
ISA
- An acronym for Industry Stan-
dard Architecture. A well-established
bus standard that originated with the
IBM AT. See
PCI and VESA Local Bus.
NLX
- A system board size measuring
approximately 9” x 10”. The NLX de-
sign allows better access to upgradeable
components inside the system.
Glossary
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