Zoning User's Guide

GLOSSARY

Alias server A Fabric software facility that supports multicast group management.

AL_PA Arbitrated Loop Physical Address. The address of an individual port in a

loop. A loop can have one or multiple AL_PAs.

Arbitrated loop A fibre channel transport structured as a loop. Allows communication

between ports without using a switch. Requires successful arbitration by a

port before a circuit is established. Supports up to 126 devices and 1 fabric

attachment. Similar to a “shared bandwidth ring” on a network.

ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode. A broadband technology for transmitting data

over LANs or WANs, based on relaying cells of a fixed size. Provides

any-to-any connectivity, and nodes can transmit simultaneously.

Class F A class of service used for interswitch control traffic. Provides

connectionless service with notification of delivery or nondelivery between

two E_Ports.

Class 2 Connectionless service between ports with notification of delivery or

nondelivery. The transmission and routing of Class 2 and Class 3 frames is

the same.

Class 3 Connectionless service between ports without notification of delivery. The

transmission and routing of Class 2 and Class 3 frames is the same.

Community (SNMP) A relationship between an SNMP agent and a set of SNMP managers that

defines authentication, access control, and proxy characteristics.

Credit When applied to a switch, the maximum number of receive buffers provided

by an F_Port or FL_Port to its attached N_Port or NL_Port, respectively,

such that the N_Port or NL_Port can transmit frames without over-running

the F_Port or FL_Port.