Glossary
AlphaServer Intelligent Peripheral Platform Hardware Owner's Guide
Glossary-3
dry contacts
An electromagnetic device for remote or automatic control that is activated by variation in
conditions of an electric circuit and that in turn operates other devices (such as switches) in
the same or a different circuit.
DSX-1
Digital Signal Cross-connect Level 1. Any equipment that supports a set of parameters for
cross-connecting DS-1 (either T-1 or E-1) lines.
E-1
Another name given to the CEPT (Conference of European Postal and Telecommunications
Administrations) digital telephony format. E-1 is a digital transmission channel that carries
data at the rate of 2.048 Mb/s (DS-1 level).
ECC
Error correction code. The code and algorithms used by logic to facilitate error detection and
correction.
EISA bus
Extended Industry Standard Architecture bus. A 32-bit industry-standard I/O bus used
primarily in high-end PCs and servers.
EISA Configuration Utility (ECU)
A feature of the EISA bus that helps you select a conflict- free system configuration and
perform other system services. The ECU must be run whenever you change, add, or remove
an EISA or ISA controller.
environment variables
The global data structures that can be accessed from console mode. The setting of these data
structures determines how a system powers up, boots the operating system, and operates.
Ethernet
The IEEE 802.3 standard local area network.
firmware
The software code stored in hardware.
initialization
The sequence of steps that prepare the computer system to start. Initialization occurs after a
system has been powered up.
Interrupt request lines (IRQs)
The bus signals that connect an EISA or ISA module (for example, a disk controller) to the
system so that the module can get the system's attention by means of an interrupt.
ISA
Industry Standard Architecture. An 8-bit or 16-bit industry-standard I/O bus, widely used in
personal computer products. The EISA bus is a superset of the ISA bus.