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FC0054607-00 A Glossary-1
Glossary
adapter
The board that interfaces between the
host system and the target devices.
Adapter is synonymous with host bus
adapter (HBA), host channel adapter
(HCA), host adapter, and adapter board.
arbitrated loop
A circular (ring) topology (versus
point-to-point) where two or more ports
can be interconnected, but only two ports
can communicate at a time. All communi-
cation passes through all ports connected
to the loop.
adapter port
A port on the adapter board.
adapter port beacon
An LED on the adapter. Flashing it enables
you to locate the adapter.
basic input output system
See BIOS.
BIOS
Basic input output system (typically in
Flash PROM). The program (or utility) that
serves as an interface between the
hardware and the operating system and
allows booting from the adapter at startup.
boot code
The program that initializes a system or an
adapter. Boot code is the first program to
run when a system or a device within a
system, such as an adapter, is powered
on. FCode, BIOS, and EFI (enhanced
firmware interface) are all forms of boot
code for specific hardware/operating
system environments.
Boot code for QLogic Fibre Channel
Adapters is required if the computer
system is booting from a storage device
(disk drive) attached to the adapter. The
primary function of the boot code is
communication with the external boot
device before the operating system is up
and running. Boot code can also perform
secondary functions, including managing
the setup for the adapter and initializing
and testing the adapter's ISP.
boot device
The device, usually a the hard disk, that
contains the operating system the BIOS
uses to boot from when the computer is
started.
boot from SAN
The ability for each server on a network to
boot their operating system from a Fibre
Channel RAID unit located on the SAN,
rather than from a local disk or
direct-attached storage (DAS). This
enables easier SAN management
because you can replace a server and
boot it from the Fibre Channel RAID unit.