edge switch 2/32 product manager user guide

edge switch 2/32 product manager user guide Glossary–9
Glossary
fiber optics
Branch of optical technology concerned with the transmission of light pulses through fibers
made of transparent materials such as glass, fused silica, and plastic.
fibre
Physical media types supported by the Fibre Channel specification, such as optical fiber,
twisted pair, and coaxial cable.
Fibre Channel
Integrated set of standards recognized by ANSI which defines specific protocols for flexible
information transfer. Logically, a point-to-point serial data channel, structured for high
performance.
Fibre Channel fabric element
Any device linked to a fabric. Information about these devices is recorded in a management
information base (MIB) which can be accessed by fabric management software.
Fibre Channel I/O controller
Controls the embedded Fibre Channel port and configures the ports’ ASICs.
fibre port module card
Each fiber port module card provides four Fibre Channel connections through duplex small
form factor pluggable (SFP) fiber-optic transceivers.
FICON
An IBM set of products and services introduced in 1999 that is based on the Fibre Channel
Standard. FICON technology uses fiber-optic cables as the data transmission medium and
significantly improves I/O performance (including one Gbps bidirectional data transfer)
FICON Management Server
An optional feature that can be enabled on the Director or Switch through the Product
Manager application. When enabled, host control and management of the Director or Switch
is provided through an S/390 Parallel Enterprise or zSeries Server attached to a Director or
Switch port.
field-replaceable unit
Assembly removed and replaced in its entirety when any one of its components fails.
firmware
Embedded program code that resides and executes on the Switch.