NonStop S-Series Server Description Manual (G06.24+)
Glossary
HP NonStop S-Series Server Description Manual—520331-003
Glossary-67
open system
open system. A system with interfaces that conform to international computing standards 
and therefore appear the same regardless of the system’s manufacturer. For example, 
the Open System Services (OSS) environment on HP NonStop™ systems conforms to 
international standards such as ISO/IEC IS 9945-1:1990 (ANSI/IEEE Std. 1003.1-
1990, also known as POSIX.1), national standards such as FIPS 151-2, and portions 
of industry specifications such as the X/Open Portability Guide Version 4 (XPG4).
Open System Services (OSS). An open system environment available for interactive or 
programmatic use with the HP NonStop™ Kernel operating system. Processes that 
run in the OSS environment usually use the OSS application program interface; 
interactive users of the OSS environment usually use the OSS shell for their command 
interpreter. Synonymous with “Open System Services (OSS) environment.” Contrast 
with Guardian. 
Open System Services (OSS) environment. The HP NonStop™ Kernel Open System 
Services (OSS) application program interface (API), tools, and utilities. 
Open System Services (OSS) Monitor. A Guardian utility that accepts commands 
affecting OSS objects through an interactive Guardian interface named the Subsystem 
Control Facility (SCF).
Open System Services (OSS) signal. A signal model defined in the POSIX.1 specification 
and available to TNS processes and TNS/R native processes in the OSS environment. 
OSS signals can be sent between processes.
Open Systems Interconnection (OSI). A seven-layer network architecture model defined 
by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The two lowest layers deal 
with the physical connections and their protocols. The five upper layers deal with 
network services, such as network file transfers and accessing remote databases.
Open Systems Interconnection Layer 2. The data-link control level of the Open Systems 
Interconnection (OSI) model, composed of asynchronous or minimal line control 
protocols, byte-oriented or character-oriented protocols, and bit-synchronous or 
bit-oriented protocols. Data link protocols can be defined in terms of method of access 
of data, link relationship of stations, error detection scheme, error recovery, message 
formatting, logical half-duplex or full-duplex operation, code, and machine 
transparency.
operating system image. See OSIMAGE.
operational environment. The conditions under which your system performs. These 
include the devices and communications lines that are made active and the system 
and application processes that are started at system startup.
operator. (1) A symbol—such as an arithmetic or conditional operator—that performs a 
specific operation on operands. (2) In Network Control Language (NCL), a lexical 
element used for working on terms in expressions. There are five types of operators: 
parenthetical, arithmetic, Boolean, relational, and string. (3) For an HP NonStop™ 
system, the person or program responsible for day-to-day monitoring and maintenance 










