MPE/iX Glossary of Terms and Acronyms (32650-90887)

14 Chapter1
Glossary of Terms
boot path Boot paths are used to bring up the system from disk or tape. The primary
boot path is used for booting the system from disk resident software. The
alternate boot path is used for booting the system from a boot tape. The
console boot path is used to determine if the system can autoboot without
operator intervention.
boot ROM Performs tests on the computer's hardware, finds all devices that are
accessible through the computer, and then loads either a specified
operating system or the first operating system found according to a specific
search algorithm.
boot tape A tape created by backing up the system with the system generator
(SYSGEN) utility program. The tape is then used to reload the system.
Also referred to as a system load tape. Equivalent to MPE V/E coldload
tape.
bottleneck A system resource that is being completely used and is compromising
system performance.
branch A machine instruction that alters the sequence of instructions being
executed by the CPU.
break 1. An operation that interrupts (suspends or aborts) an executing process
and allows the user to initiate some other operation.
2. To press the
Break key on the terminal or call the CAUSEBREAK
intrinsic. If a process is only suspended, it may be resumed with the
RESUME command.
broadcast A communication method of sending a message to all devices on a link
simultaneously.
broadcast bus network A network in which nodes are connected by a linear run of
cable. Messages are simultaneously transmitted to every node. Typically,
the nodes process only those messages addressed to them and ignore all
other messages. The opposite of point-to-point network.
broadcast space An implementation to address multiple processors on a bus. Local
broadcast address space is used when all processors on a bus with the I/O
module are to be interrupted. A global broadcast address space is used
when all processors system-wide are to be interrupted.
b-tree index An index type supported by DBCore that maintains tuples in sorted order
by key value and is used for accessing a particular tuple in a set of tuples.
buffer The part of a computer or device memory where data is held temporarily
until it can be processed or transmitted elsewhere. A buffer usually refers
to a memory area that is reserved for I/O operations.
bug Computer industry jargon for a computer problem.
bundled systems A pricing option. It allows a group of products to be purchased at a
lower cost than if they were each purchased separately.
bus A common group of hardware lines that are used to transmit information
between digitally based devices or components.