Technical data

Glossary-14 Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide
Publication Number: 53-0000518-09
principal
switch
The first switch to boot up in a fabric. Ensures unique domain IDs among roles.
private key The secret half of a key pair. See also “key”, “key pair”.
private loop An arbitrated loop that does not include a participating FL_Port.
private loop
device
A device that supports a loop and can understand 8-bit addresses but does not log in to the fabric.
private
NL_Port
An NL_Port that communicates only with other private NL_Ports in the same loop and does not log in
to the fabric.
protocol A defined method and set of standards for communication. Determines the type of error-checking, the
data-compression method, how sending devices indicate an end of message, and how receiving devices
indicate receipt of a message.
pstate Port State Machine.
public device A device that supports arbitrated loop protocol, can interpret 8-bit addresses, and can log in to the
fabric.
public key The public half of a key pair. See also “key”, “key pair”.
public key
cryptography
A type of cryptography that uses a key pair, with the two keys in the pair called at different points in the
algorithm. The sender uses the recipient's public key to encrypt the message, and the recipient uses the
recipient's private key to decrypt it. See also “key pair”, “PKI”.
public loop An arbitrated loop that includes a participating FL_Port and can contain both public and private
NL_Ports.
public NL_Port An NL_Port that logs in to the fabric, can function within either a public or a private loop, and can
communicate with either private or public NL_Ports.
Q
QoS Quality of service.
quad A group of four adjacent ports that share a common pool of frame buffers.
queue A mechanism for each AL_PA address that allows for collecting frames prior to sending them to the
loop.
R
R_A_TOV Resource allocation timeout value. The maximum time a frame can be delayed in the fabric and still be
delivered. See also “E_D_TOV”, “RR_TOV”.
R_CTL Route control. The first 8 bits of the header, which defines the type of frame and its contents.