HP StorageWorks Fabric OS 5.0.0 Features Overview (AA-RW1NA-TE, May 2005)

Glossary34
primary FCS
switch
Relates to the Secure Fabric OS feature. The primary fabric configuration server
switch actively manages security and configurations for all switches in the fabric.
principal switch The first switch to boot up in a fabric. Ensures unique domain IDs among roles.
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.
QLA A type of Fibre Channel controller.
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.
QuickLoop An HP software product that allows multiple ports on a switch to create a logical
loop. Devices connected via QuickLoop appear to each other as if they are on the
same arbitrated loop.
QuickLoop Mode Allows initiator devices to communicate with private or public devices that are not in
the same loop.
radius The greatest “distance” between any edge switch and the center of a fabric. A
low-radius network is better than a high-radius network.
RAID Redundant array of independent disks. A collection of disk drives that appear as a
single volume to the server and are fault tolerant through mirroring or parity
checking.
redundancy Having multiple occurrences of a component to maintain high availability (HA).
remote switch An optional product for long-distance fabrics, requiring a Fibre Channel-to-ATM or
SONET gateway.
route As it applies to a fabric, the communication path between two switches. Might also
apply to the specific path taken by an individual frame, from source to destination.
routing The assignment of frames to specific switch ports, according to frame destination.
SAN Storage area network. A network of systems and storage devices that communicate
using Fibre Channel protocols. See also fabric.
scalability One of the properties of a SAN that indicates the size to which a SAN topology
can grow port and switch counts with ease.
sectelnet A protocol similar to telnet but with encrypted passwords for increased security.