McDATA 3232 Switch User Manual


 
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McDATA® Sphereon 3032 and 3232 Fabric Switches Installation and Service Manual
Glossary
fiber optics The branch of optical technology concerned with the transmission of
radiant power through fibers of transparent materials such as glass,
fused silica, or plastic (E). Telecommunication applications of fiber
optics use optical fibers. A single fiber or a nonspatially aligned fiber
bundle is used for each information channel. Such fibers are often
called optical fibers to differentiate them from fibers that are used in
noncommunication applications (D).
fibre A generic Fibre Channel term used to cover all transmission media
types specified in the Fibre Channel Physical Layer (FC-PH) standard
such as optical fiber, copper twisted pair, and copper coaxial cable.
Fibre Channel FC. Integrated set of standards recognized by American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) which defines specific protocols for flexi-
ble information transfer. Logically, a point-to-point serial data chan-
nel, structured for high performance.
Fibre Channel
adapter
FC adapter. See host bus adapter.
Fibre Channel address A 3-byte node port (N_Port) identifier which is unique within the
address domain of a fabric. Each port may choose its own identifier,
or the identifier may be assigned automatically during fabric login.
Fibre Channel
Association
FCA. The FCA is a non-profit corporation consisting of over 150
members throughout the world. Its mission is to nurture and help
develop the broadest market for Fibre Channel products through
market development, education, standards monitoring, and fostering
interoperability among members’ products.
Fibre Channel fabric
element
FCFE. Any device linked to a fabric.
Fibre Channel fabric
element
management
information base
FCFE-MIB. A table of variables available to network management
stations and resident on a switch or director. Through the simple net-
work management protocol (SNMP) these pointers can be manipu-
lates to monitor, control, and configure the switch or director.
Fibre Channel Industry
Association
FCIA. A corporation consisting of over 100 computer indus-
try-related companies. Its goal is to provide marketing support,
exhibits, and tradeshows for its member companies. The FCIA com-
plements activities of the various standards committees.