IPX/SPX Programming Manual

Glossary
HP NonStop IPX/SPX Programming Manual—528022-001
Glossary-11
Physical Layer
Physical Layer. Layer 1 in the OSI Reference Model. This layer establishes the actual
physical connection between the network and the computer equipment. Protocols at
the physical layer include rules for the transmission of bits across the physical medium
and rules for connectors and wiring.
ping. (Packet Internet Groper) The name of a program used in the Internet to test
reachability of destinations by sending them an ICMP echo request and waiting for a
reply. NonStop systems running the TCP/IP product use the ECHO command rather
than ping. The term has survived the original program and is now used as a verb:
“please ping host A to see if it is alive.”
POET. See PathWay Open Environment Toolkit (POET).
port. TLAM object that defines a set of link-level access points.
port address. For X25AM lines, the logical port number used to specify the address of the
connection to the X.25 network. For TLAM lines, the address used by TLAM to specify
the address of the connection to a LAN controller.
predefined value. A commonly used value—for instance, a value for a token or a field in a
token—that is given a name in a set of definition files.
print queue. In a NetWare network, a directory on the network on which print jobs are
stored. A printer is assigned to a print queue.
print server. In a NetWare network, a server that sends print jobs from a print queue to a
network printer.
printing distributor. An EMS distributor process that obtains formatted text for select event
messages and distributes it to a printer or other display device, or to a file.
process. A running entity that is managed by the operating system, as opposed to a
program, which is a collection of code and data. When a program is taken from a file
on a disk and run in a processor, the running entity is called a process.
protocol. A formal description of message formats and the rules two or more machines
must follow to exchange those messages. Protocols can describe low level details of
machine to machine interfaces (for example, the order in which the bits from a byte are
set across a wire), or high-level exchanges between application programs (for
example, the way in which two programs transfer a file across the Internet). Most
protocols include both intuitive descriptions of the expected interactions as well as
more formal specifications using finite state machine models.
PSERVER. NetWare printer utility used to load a print server on the file server after
services have been defined with PCONSOLE.
PTrace. A HP program used to display trace files created through the use of the SCF Trace
command.